Chapter 29: Description Of Paradise And Hell
Hazrat Shaykh Abu Ja’far said that our belief about Paradise was that it was a house of peace and eternity, where there were no ailments, death, calamity, sanctions, misery, poverty or any kind of incapacity. On the other hand, it was a place of permanence, which was full of resources, piety and virtues for its residents. Its dwellers would neither feel tired nor experience any agony in it. There will be every provision that was desired by its residents, which will make their eyes full of joy and pleasure, and they will live there permanently.
The residents were also the holders of God’s kindness and approvals and would be accommodated in various districts of Paradise according to their final status. Some would stay with the Angels, who were busy in adoring God, and others would enjoy the company of the most beautiful women with charming eyes. They would be served with the best of food and clothes by adorable young servants. Their clothes would be made from silk and brocade and they would be provided with comfortable sofas and chairs. They would be assigned with anything that they desired.
Hazrat Imam Ja’far As-Sadiq (‘a) said, “There are three types of people who worship God. There is one group, who worship Him for the Paradise and its comforts, and his supplication resembles that of traders, and the other group worships Him for the fear of His Hell. Their supplication is like that of slaves. There is a third group that worships God with love. This is the supplication of gracious people and this is the group, which will find peace and tranquillity, as God has said:
وَهُمْ مِنْ فَزَعٍ يَوْمَئِذٍ آمِنُونَ
“They will remain free of any fear on that day” (27:89).
Our belief about Hell was that it was a place of disgrace and ignominy and a place for taking avenging from polytheists, infidels and sinners. They would remain there permanently, while sinful believers and monotheists would be removed from the hell with God’s compassion and
intercession of the Prophet and Imams.
It was reported that sinners who were monotheists would not suffer the agony of hell, but they would undergo some pain, while getting out of hell and this will be the punishment of their self-created wounds because
وَمَا رَبُّكَ بِظَلَّامٍ لِلْعَبِيدِ
“God is not unjust toward His servants” (41:46).
In fact, the dwellers of hell were really destitute, where they would neither die nor get any relief from their punishment. They would not feel the pleasure of refreshing air or chilled water (78:24). Instead, they would be served with boiled polluted water (78:25) in return for their deeds (78:26). If they required a meal, they would be served with bitter cactus1. And, if they complained, they would be given a drink resembling molten copper, which would burn their faces (18:29). What an awful drink and what a hideous place to live!
The occupants of Hell would cry to God, saying:
أَخْرِجْنَا مِنْهَا فَإِنْ عُدْنَا فَإِنَّا ظَالِمُونَ
“Take us out of this place and if we repeated those deeds then we shall certainly be liable for this punishment” (23:107).
They would not be answered for a long time and then they would be told that they must stay in this fire like a disgraced person (43:77), and not plead to Him (23:108).
They would then cry and ask the management of Hell to request their God to let them die, but they would be answered that they had to stay in the same state. It was mentioned through authentic traditions that God would order some people to be sent to hell and then He would direct its management that neither their feet nor their hands or their tongues and their faces should be burned, because they used to walk to the mosque for prayers, raised their hands for supplication to their Lord and recited the Holy Qur’an with tongues and performed complete ablution.
The caretaker would ask them – “O Miserable people, what made you to come to hell?” They would reply that they had performed these acts for the pleasure of others instead of God. They would be told that they should ask their reward from them, whom they wanted to please.
It was our belief that Paradise and Hell had already been created.
On the night of ascension, the Prophet had visited Paradise and observed Hell. It was also our belief that a person did not die, until he saw his place in Hell or Paradise, and a believer did not part with the world, until she (the world) had been presented to him in the most beautiful form and in that state, he viewed his house in Paradise. He was then given an option to choose between the present life and the hereafter, but he opted for the hereafter and then his spirit was captured. It was a proverb in the Arabic language that when one died it was said he was carrying out an act of generosity with his life, which meant that he was offering his life not under duress but with pleasure and joy.
The paradise in which Adam stayed was one of the gardens of this world, where the Sun used to rise and set. That was not the Paradise of the hereafter, because if it were so, Adam would not have parted with it. It was our belief also that the residents of Paradise would permanently remain there to receive the best of the God’s blessings, while the Hell dwellers would remain in that anguish forever.
Anyone, who entered Paradise, would be shown a place in the Hell to let him know that if he had disobeyed God that would have been his place of abode. The same would happen to the Hell dwellers, who would be shown houses in the Paradise that belonged to them, if they had obeyed God.
Finally, the devout believers would be allotted those houses permanently that were made originally for the folks who chose their places in the Hell instead of Paradise, due to their disobedience of God, as declared in the Qur’an:
أُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْوَارِثُونَ
“These houses will be owned by those” (23:10).
الَّذِينَ يَرِثُونَ الْفِرْدَوْسَ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ
“Who are the recipient of Paradise, and they will stay there permanently” (23:11).
A person in the lowest rank of Paradise will find his living standard ten times better than what the world could ever provide to him.
