THE CONDITION OF THE MONOTHEISTS IN HELL
The Condition of the Monotheists in Hell and their Removal from it by the Mercy of The Most Merciful and the Intercession of the Intercessors
It has been previously mentioned in authentic hadiths that the believers pass on the Sirat,some of whom pass safely, while others fall into Hell-fire. When the inhabitants of Paradise enter Paradise, they will miss some of their brothers who fell into Hell-fire, so they ask Allah the Exalted, to remove them from it.
Zayd Ibn Aslam narrated from ‘Ata’ Ibn Yasar, on the authority Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri (radijAllahu ‘anhu), that the Prophet (pbuh) said in a lengthy hadith, of which we previously mentioned the part about passing on the Sirat… then he (pbuh) said: “When the believers find rescue from the Fire, by One in Whose hand is my soul, there will be none among you more eager to claim a right than the believers on the Day of Resurrection in saving their brothers in the Fire. They will say, ‘O our Lord, they were fasting along with us, praying and performing pilgrimage.’ It will be said to them, ‘Take out those whom you recognise.’The Fire would be forbidden to consume their faces, and they’ll take out a large number of people who had been overtaken by Fire up to the middle of the shin or up to the knees. They will then say, ‘O our Lord, none of those about whom you commanded us remains in it.’ He will then Say, ‘Go and take out (of Hell) anyone in whose heart you find goodness equal to the weight of one (gold) dinar’ They will then take out a large number of people.Then they will say,’O our Lord! We have not left anyone about whom You commanded us.’ He will then say, ‘Go and take out (of Hell) anyone in whose heart you find goodness equal to the weight of half a (gold) dinar’ Then they will take out a large number of people, and will say, ‘O our Lord! We have not left anyone about whom You commanded us.’Then He will say, ‘Go and take out (of Hell) anyone in whose heart you find goodness equal to the weight of an atom.’They would bring out a large number of people, and would then say, ‘O our Lord, now we have not left anyone in it (Hell) having any good in him.’” Abu Sa’id Al-Khudrl (radijAllahu ‘anhu) said: “If you don’t testify to this hadith, then recite if you like: then say, ‘Go and take out (of Hell) anyone in whose heart you find goodness equal to the weight of half a (gold) dinar’ Then they will take out a large number of people, and will say, ‘O our Lord! We have not left anyone about whom You commanded us.’Then He will say, ‘Go and take out (of Hell) anyone in whose heart you find goodness equal to the weight of an atom.’They would bring out a large number of people, and would then say, ‘O our Lord, now we have not left anyone in it (Hell) having any good in him.’” Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri (radijAllahu ‘anhu) said: “If you don’t testify to this hadith, then recite if you like:
“Surely Allah wrongs not the weight of an atom; and if it is a good deed, He multiplies it and gives from Himself a great reward. “ (al-Nisa (4): 40)
Allah, the Exalted will then say, “The Angels have interceded, the messengers have interceded, the believers have interceded, and no one remains (to grant pardon) but the Most Merciful of the merciful.’ He will then take a handful from Fire and bring out people who never did any good and who had been turned into charcoal, and will cast them into a river called the ‘river of life’ that lies on the outskirts of Paradise.They will come out as a seed comes cut from the silt carried by flood …” and he narrated the rest of the hadith. It is reported by both Bukhari and Muslim; this wording is from Muslim. (Reference already mentioned earlier)
When he said: “never did any good” he was referring to the physical deeds ( jawarih). However, the roots of belief were within them. That is why it was stated in the hadith of the man, who commanded his family to burn him after death, that he did not do any good except believe in the oneness of Allah. It was stated by Imam Ahmad on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (radiyAllahu ‘anhu), attributed to the Prophet (pbuh), ( Bukhari, #3481, #7506 and Muslim, #2756) and from Ibn Mas( ud (radijAllahu ‘anhu), from his own saying.
This is affirmed by what is narrated on the authority of Anas (radiyAllahu ‘anhu), that the Prophet (pbuh) said in the hadith of intercession, “I will say, ‘O Lord, allow me to intercede for whoever said: ‘There is no deity except Allah.’ Allah will then say, “By my Power, by my Majesty, by My Supremacy and by My Greatness, I will take out of Hell (Fire) whoever said: ‘There is no deity except Allah.’” This is reported in both Bukhari and Muslim; (Bukhari, 13/395-397 and Muslim, #193) in Muslim’s version it has the wording, “The Lord will say, ‘That is not for you, or that is not what lies with you.’” This indicates that those whom Allah takes out of the Fire with his Mercy—without intercession from a creation—are those who declared the Oneness of Allah (tawhid) and did not do any good deeds alongside it; Allah knows best.
Abu’l-Haytham narrated on the authority of Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri (radiyAllahu ‘anhu), that the Prophet (pbuh) said: “Then the Bridge will be set up over Hell-fire. There will be thorns like the thorn of Al-Sa’dan. Some will escape and be safe, some will be lacerated and let go, and some will be pushed into the Fire and detained therein. When Allah is done judging between His servants, and the believers look for people who were, in the worldly life, praying with them, paying zakat with them, fasting with them, performing Pilgrimage with them and going to war with them. They will say, “O our Lord! Some of Your servants who were with us in life, praying with us, paying zakat with us, fasting with us, performing pilgrimage with us and going to war with us, yet we cannot see them. Allah the Exalted will say, “Go to the Fire; whomever you find [of them], take them out.” Thereupon, they will take them out after the Fire has overtaken them according to theirsins.Some of them are overtaken to their feet, some are overtaken to their knees, some are overtaken to their waists, some are overtaken to their breasts, and some are overtaken to their necks, but their faces are sound. They are brought out and thrown in the ‘fountain of life’.” It was asked, “O Allah’s Prophet,what is the fountain of life?” He replied, “The bathing of the inhabitants of Paradise; they sprout therein as the plant sprouts in the flood water. The Prophets will then intercede for everyone who sincerely testified that there is no deity except Allah, and they take them out of the Fire. Allah then bestows His Mercy upon those inside it, so he does not leave a single person whose heart had an atom’s weight of belief except removes him therefrom.”
Reported by Al-Hakim, and he said: ‘Its chain of narrators is authentic.’
A similar hadith was reported in both Bukhari and Muslim (Bukhari, #22, and Muslim, #184) from Malik, from ‘Amr Ibn Yahya Al-Mazini, from his father, from Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri (radiyAllahu ‘anhu), that the Prophet (pbuh) said: “Allah will admit into Paradise those deserving of Paradise, and He will admit whom He wishes out of His Mercy. He will admit those condemned to Hell into the Hell-fire and He will then Say, ‘Whomever you find having as much faith in his heart as a grain of mustard, bring him out.’ They will then be brought out blackened, and would be cast into the river of Haya} (rain) or Hayat (life), (The Narrator is in doubt as to which is the right term.) and they will sprout as does a seed in the silt carried away by flood. Have you not seen that it comes out yellow (fresh) and intertwined?” This is the wording of Al-Bukhari’s version. In Muslim’s version,itstates, “They will then be brought out burned and turned to charcoal.”
It is also reported in both Bukhari and Muslim (Bukhari, #806, #6573, #7437, Muslim, #182, Tirmidhi, 2560 and Ahmad, 2/275, 276, 293, 534.) from Al-Zuhri, from ‘Ata’ Ibn Yasar, on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (radiyAllahu ‘anhu) that the Prophet (pbuh) said: “When Allah has finished Judging among the people, He will take whomever He wills out of Hell through His Mercy. He will then order the Angels to take out of the Fire all those who used to worship none but Allah from among those whom Allah wants to show Mercy to; and those who testified (in the world) that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah. The Angels will recognise them in the Fire by the marks of prostration (on their foreheads)—for the Fire will consume the human body except the mark of prostration as Allah has forbidden the Fire from doing so. They will come out of the (Hell) Fire, completely burnt and then the water of life will be poured over them and they will grow under it as does a seed that comes in the mud of the torrent.” Then he stated the rest of the hadith.
Muslim stated from Yazid Al-Faqir, on the authority of Jabir (radiyAllahu ‘anhu), that the Messenger (pbuh) said: “Verily people will be brought out from the Fire and they will be burnt except the exterior of their faces; and they would enter Paradise.” (Muslim, #191, #319)
He also stated (Muslim, #185) from Abu Nadrah, from Abu Sa’id (radiyAllahu ‘anhu), that the Prophet (pbuh) said: “The (permanent) inhabitants of the Fire are those who are doomed to it, and verily they will neither die nor live in it. But the people whom the Fire would afflict (temporarily) because of their sins—or did he say ‘because of their misdeeds’—Allah will cause them to die till they would be turned into charcoal. Then they will be granted intercession, they will be brought in groups and they will be spread out on the rivers of Paradise and it will be said: ‘O People of Paradise! Pour water over them.’ They will then sprout forth like the sprouting of seed in the silt carried by flood.” The apparent meaning of the hadith is that these people actually die and their souls leave their bodies.
This is supported by what Al-Bazzar stated from ‘Abdullah Ibn Raja’, from Abu Umamah Ibn Sahl, on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (radiyAllahu ‘anhu), that the Prophet (pbuh) said: “The lowest among the inhabitants of Paradise in share (of fortune), are people whom Allah removes from the Fire. The Lord Most Exalted is pleased with them as they did not associate anyone with Allah. They are thrown into the open and they sprout as herbs do. When the souls return to their bodies, they say, ‘O our Lord! Just as You removed us from the Fire and returned our souls to our bodies, remove our faces from the Fire.’ So their faces are removed from the Fire.”
Miskin Abu Fatimah reported from Al-Yaman Ibn Yazid, from Muhammad Ibn Humayr, from Muhammad Ibn Ali, from his father, from his grandfather, that the Prophet (pbuh) said: “When those who committed major sins among the believers from all nations die persisting on their major sins, without regret or repentance; those among them who enter Hell-fire through the first door do not have their eyes turned blue or their faces turned black, they are not coupled with the devils, bound in chains, drink scalding water or wear pitch (tar) in Hell-fire. Allah forbade eternal habitation for their bodies in the Fire, because of their belief. And He forbade their faces to be consumed by the Fire, because of prostration [to Allah]. Some of them are overtaken by fire up to their feet, some are overtaken to their waists, and some are overtaken to their necks, according to their sins and deeds. Some of them stay there a month before getting out of it, some stay for a year before getting out, and the longest of them stays for a period equivalent to the life of the world, since it was created until it perishes. When Allah wills to let them out of it, the Jews and the Christians and other inhabitants of Hell-fire from the worshippers of [false] religions and idols say to the believers who are in Hell-Fire, ‘You believed in Allah, His Book, and His Messengers, yet you and us both are equally in Hell-fire.’ Thereupon, Allah becomes angry like never before (by their statement), so he takes out the believers to a fountain in Paradise, which is what is referred to in the verse,
“Perhaps those who disbelieve will wish that they had been Muslims. ‘“ (Al-Hijr(15): 2)
Stated by Ibn Abi Hatim and others, and Al-Isma’ili stated an elaborated version of it. Al-Darqutni said in his Kitab Al-Mukhtalaq that, “This hadith is munkar, Al-Yaman is unknown, Miskin is a weak narrator, and Muhammad Ibn Humayr is not known to have narrated any other hadlth apart from this one.”
The hadith narrated by Anas (radiyAllahu ‘anhu) was already stated, regarding the man who keeps calling, “O Compassionate! O Benefactor!” for a thousand years, before being taken out of it.
We stated through Marwan Ibn Mu’awiyah, from Hazim, from Al-Hasan, ‘The believers in Hell-fire are not chained, so the Angels of Hell-fire say to each other, ‘Why are these chained and they are not?’ Thereupon, a caller says to them, ‘Because they used to walk in the darkness to the masajid.”
Marwan Ibn Mu’awiyah reports from Malik Ibn Abu’l-Hasan, that Al-Hasan said: “A man comes out of the fire after one thousand years.” He added, “I wish I were that man.” (Believers must assume hope and always think good about Allah, while also maintaining fear of His Punishment.)
Section One: Having Good Expectation of Allah, the Exalted
Ahmad Ibn Abu Al-Hawari said: ‘I entered upon Abu Sulayman whilst he was weeping, so I asked, ‘Why do you weep?’ He said: ‘If Allah called me to account for my sins, I would call upon Him to account for His forgiveness. If He called me to account for my greed, I would call upon Him to account for His generosity. If he sends me to Hell-fire, I would tell its inhabitants that I love Him.”
Ibn Abi Dunya stated in his book Husn-al-zann-billahi (Lit: Having good thoughts and assuming good expectations from Allah Almighty) [through a chain of narrators] that Ali Ibn Bakkar was asked about good expectations from Allah, and he said: “[To expect] that he does not join you with the wretched in the same residence (of Hell-fire).’
It is narrated from Salman Ibn Al-Hakam Ibn Awanah that a man supplicated to Allah in Arafat and said: ‘Do not punish us with the Fire after You settled belief of Your oneness (tawhid) in our hearts.’ He then cried and said: ‘I do not think that You would do that, for You are as forgiving as You are.’ Then he cried again and said: ‘Even if You did, it would be on account of our sins. Do not join us with the people with whom we have been enemies for You.’
Hakim Ibn Jabir said: ‘Ibrahim (‘alayhi as-salam) said: ‘O Allah! Do not join those who associated others with You with those who did not.’”
Ibn Abi Dunya reported from Abu Hafs al-Sirafi that when ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattab (radiyAllahu ‘anhu) recited the verse,
“And they swear by Allah their strongest oaths [that] Allah will not resurrect one who dies. “ (Al-Nahl (16): 38)
He used to say, ‘And we swear by Allah our strongest oath that Allah will resurrect one who dies. Will You join the two oaths in the same residence?’ He then cried intensely.
Abu Na’im conveyed [through a chain of narrators] that Awn Ibn Abdullah said: ‘Allah was never to rescue us from an evil and then return us to it,
“And you were on the edge of a pit of the Fire, and He saved you from it. “ (Al- Imran (3): 103)
Allah was never to join the two oaths in Hell-fire,
“And they swear by Allah their strongest oaths [that] Allah will not resurrect one who dies. “ (Al-Nahl (16): 38)
And we swear by Allah our strongest oath that Allah will resurrect one who dies.”
Muhammad Ibn Ishaq Al-Sarraj narrated from Hammad Ibn Al-Mu’mil Al-Kalbi, from some of his companions, that Ibn Al-Sammak said: “When Harun Al-Rashid called for me, he said: ‘Speak and supplicate’; so I supplicated with a supplication that he liked. I said in my supplication,‘ O Allah! You said:
“And they swear by Allah their strongest oaths [that] Allah will not resurrect one who dies. “ (Al-Nahl (16): 38)
O Allah! We swear by Allah our strongest oath that You will resurrect one who dies. Would you gather the two oaths in the same place?’ At this, Harun began to weep.”
By Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbali
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