Paradise and Hell

Hell is the abode which Allah has prepared for those who do not believe in Him, those who rebel against His laws and disbelieve in His Messengers. It is the punishment for His enemies, the prison for evildoers: It is the ultimate humiliation and loss; there is nothing worse: "Our Lord! Verily, whom You admit to the Fire, indeed, You have disgraced him, and never will the Dhâlimûn [polytheists and wrongdoers] find any helpers" (3:192) "Know they not that whoever opposes and shows hostility to Allah and His Messenger, certainly for him will be the fire of Hell to abide therein? That is extreme disgrace". (9:63) "The losers are those who will lose themselves and their families on the Day of Resurrection. Verily, that will be a manifest loss!" (39:15)

Hell is eternal and its inmates will remain there forever: Evil indeed it [Hell] is as an abode and as a place to dwell" (25:66) "This is so! And for the Taghîn [transgressors] - will be an evil final return - Hell! Where they will burn, and worst [indeed] is that place to rest!" (38:55-6)

Contrary to many, Paradise and hell are entities that have been already created: Proofs from the Qur'ân and Hadîth in support of this are, for example: "Race with one another in hastening towards forgiveness from your Lord, and Paradise the width whereof is as the width of the heaven and the earth, prepared for those who believe in Allâh and His Messengers. That is the Grace of Allâh, which He bestows on whom He is pleased with. And Allâh is the Owner of Great Bounty". (57:21) "...for Paradise as wide as are the heavens and the earth, prepared for al- Muttaqun" (3:133)

More proof: "And fear the fire, which is prepared for the disbelievers" (3:131) "And indeed he (Muhammad) saw him (Jibrîl) at a second descent (ie another time), near Sidrat al-Muntahâ (lote tree of the utmost boundary (beyond which none can pass), near it is the Paradise of Abode" (53:13- 15)

The Prophet (saw) saw Sidrat al-Muntahâ, a tree in Heaven, and near it, Paradise, as is mention in al-Bukhâri, and Muslim in the hadîth of Anâs (ra). At the end of this narrative of al-Isrâ, the Prophet (saw) said, Then Jibrîl brought me to Sidrat al- Muntahâ which was veiled in colours indescribable. Then I entered Paradise, and its lights were of pearls and its soil was musk". "When Allâh (swt) created Paradise and Hell, He sent Jibrîl to Paradise, saying"Go and look at it and at what I have prepared therein for its inhabitants". So he went and looked at it and at what Allâh had prepared therein for its inhabitants.... then He sent him to Hellfire saying, "Go and look at it and what I have prepared therein for its inhabitants" So he looked at it and saw that it was in layers, one above the other...."

Also during a solar eclipse the prophet said: Whilst I was standing here I saw everything that you have been promised, I even saw myself picking some of the fruits of Paradise, when you saw me stepping forward. And I saw Hellfire, parts of it consuming other parts, when you saw me stepping backward". "I saw Paradise and I tried to take a bunch of its fruit. If I had managed to do so, you would have eaten from it until the end of time. And I saw the Fire of Hell, and I have never seen anything so horrific or terrifying. I saw that the majority of its inhabitants are women."

Also Imam Muslim reports the prophet said: By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, if you had seen what I saw, you would laugh little and cry much." They said, "What did you see, O Messenger of Allâh?", He said, “I saw Paradise and Hell".

The Prophet (saw) also ascended into jannah on the night of Mi'raj in his 'Isra (night journey): for example "...I saw four rivers flowing out from beneath Sidrat al-Muntahaa, two visible and two hidden." (Muslim) "Whilst I was walking in Paradise I saw a river whose banks were domes of hollow pearls and I asked, "What is this, O Jibreel?" He said, "This is al-Kawthar which your Rabb has given to you". (from Anas ibn Mâlik, Sahih al- Bukhâri)

More evidence: I entered Paradise where I saw ar-Rumaysa, the wife of Abu Talhah. And I heard footsteps and asked, "Who is that?" He (Jibreel) said, "That is Bilâl". And I saw a palace with women in its courtyard. I asked, "Whose is this?" They said, It is for 'Umar ibn al- Khattab" (Mishkât al-Masâbih, 3/226)

Imâm Ahmed, Ibn Hibbân and al-Hâkim report from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (saw) said, The children of the believers are in Paradise, being cared for by Ibrâhim (as) [and in the narration of Abu Nu'aym, ad-Dawylami, and Ibn Asakir it adds- "and Sarah, until they give them back to their parents on the day of Resurrection"] Also: When anyone of you dies, he will be shown his position morning and evening. If he is one of the people of Paradise then he will be one of the people of Paradise, and if he is one of the people of Hell, then he will be one of the people of Hell, and he will be told, "This is your position, until Allâh (swt) resurrects you on the Day of Resurrection

More proof of the existance of paradise and that the souls of the Believers are there: Abu Dawûd, "Ka'b ibn Mâlik said the Messenger of Allah said, "Verily the soul of the believer is a bird hanging on to the trees of Paradise, until Allah returns it to its body on the day of Resurrection" This makes it clear that souls will enter Paradise before the Day of Resurrection.

Who are the Keepers of Hell? O you who believe! Save yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is men and stones, over which are [appointed] angels stern [and] severe, who flinch not [from executing] the Commands they receive from Allâh, but do [precisely what] they are commanded." (66:6)

So thus the angels are the keepers over the hell and they number 19: "Soon I will cast him into Hellfire. And what will explain to you what Hellfire is? Naught does it permit to endure, and naught does it leave alone! Darkening and changing the color of man! Over it are nineteen [angels as guardians and keepers of Hell]" (74:26-30)

This number was a challenge to the kuffâr who thought that they would easily overcome such a small number, but they did not realise that one of these angels has the strength to confront the whole of mankind on his own. For this reason, Allâh (swt) said in the next âyah: "And We have set none but angels as guardians of the Fire, and We have fixed their numbers [19] only as a trial for the disbelievers.." (74:31) Ibn Rajab said, "What is known and well-established among the earlier and later generations (as-Salaf wal-Khalaf) is that the trial came about when the number of angels was mentioned and the kuffâr thought that it was possible to kill them. They thought that they would be able to fight and resist them. They did not know that humankind in its entireity would not be able to resist even ONE of them." (at-Takhwîf min an-Nâr, p.174)

Where is Hell located? The correct answer is that only Allah knows and one should not even waste time discussing this