Southern Baptists should be commended for their actions on June 15.
No, not for passing a resolution to support their belief in an "eternal, conscious punishment" (or hell) for non-Christians; they were dead wrong in understanding Jesus' teachings there. But for their ability to develop consensus around such an ambiguous notion. It is a hell of a success.
Seriously, there is no dearth of theories when it comes to the big fire pit. Experts love to debate whether hell is time-bound or eternal, literal or symbolic, and exclusive to non-members or open to mankind.
Add to these theories the premise of hell by Prophet Muhammad: a place largely symbolic, extremely inclusive but not eternal.
Think of hell as a hospital where sick souls belonging to any religion will be admitted for, not punishment, but treatment, albeit a painful one. And since there is no health insurance company known to man that would be willing to pay for an eternal hospitalization...
No, seriously. When it comes to duration, Prophet Muhammad clearly agrees with Pastor Rob Bell's hell: Not eternal.
Whenever the scope of faith brigades expanded in history, the path to human salvation shrunk. Following the same trend, the influential Southern Baptist Church condemned more than 60 million non-Christian Americans to an eternal hell on June 15. And in all fairness, there are some Muslim clerics who would argue a similar fate for non-Muslims.
So before all hell breaks loose in the conservative blogosphere, let me explain.
Prophet Muhammad taught us, "But as for him whose scales (of good deeds) are light. Hell will be his mother (Quran 101:9-10)." Like a fetus goes through the stages of physical maturation in a mother's womb, a guilty soul passes through the stages of spiritual maturation in hell, according to many Muslims, until they are cleansed. Hell in Islam is therefore a penitentiary.
A penitentiary designed to be vacant one day. Prophet Muhammad said, "Verily a day would come over hell when there shall not be a single human being in it" (Kanzul Ummal Vol. VII, page 245). Another tradition goes as far as, "A time will come when no one will be left in Hell; winds will blow and the windows and doors of Hell will make a rattling noise on account of the blowing winds." (Tafsir-ul-Maalam-ul-Tanzil under verse Hud:107)
"No one" includes not only Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus or members of other faiths but even those who make life hell on earth for some believers by mocking God. Now that's inclusive.
In comparison, a group of Christians dispatching billions of people worldwide to an eternal hell from their climate controlled meeting hall comes across as self-serving.
Don't take this reformation theory too lightly though. Prophet Muhammad conveyed a long list of acts which could lead one to the torment of hell, such as, dying in the state of disbelief (2:218), killing a believer (4:94) arrogance (7:49), pride (39:61) hypocrisy (4:144), sinfulness (71:26), wickedness (80:39-43), rejecting the truth (76:5) and others.
Granted, some Muslims argue that such transgressors don't have a cat in hell's chance of being forgiven. But God leaves a ray of hope for them in Quran, "I will inflict my punishment on whom I will. But My mercy encompasses all things (9:157).
On one hand the Prophet acts like a preventive medicine doctor, prescribing people to visit their sick brothers as a vaccine against hell (Abu-Dawood, Book 20:3091). On the other, he mimics a firefighter by reassuring that "God will stretch forth His hand into hell and all those who fall into His grip will be taken out of hell."
My friends at Baptist Church, I get the hint. You are trying to say that as a Muslim I am headed towards an eternal hell for accepting Jesus as a true Prophet of God while your ex-Presidents like Jerry Vines are all heaven bound despite abusing and mocking my Prophet.
I am not moved by the declaration. Because according to Prophet Muhammad, my belief in Jesus as a true apostle of God actually opens up the possibility of salvation for me. "If anyone testifies that None has the right to be worshipped but Allah Alone Who has no partners, and that Muhammad is His Slave and His Apostle, and that Jesus is Allah's Slave and His Apostle and His Word which He bestowed on Mary and a Spirit created by Him, and that Paradise is true, and Hell is true, Allah will admit him into Paradise with the deeds which he had done even if those deeds were few." (Bukhari. Volume 4, Book 45, No. 644)
The theory of an eternal hell is bound to die today or tomorrow. Trust me; it will not be a cold day in hell before that happens.
Faheem Younus is an adjunct faculty member for religion/history at the Community Colleges of Baltimore County and a clinical associate professor at the University of Maryland. He can be reached at Faheem.Younus@Ahmadiyya.us
Follow Dr. Faheem Younus on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FaheemYounus
Tim Suttle: Why Are Evangelicals Losing Influence?
Hell - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Afterlife in Islam - ReligionFacts
There are two major "Holy Books" that lay claim to having the Creator's authority, and each of these present a verbal picture of what "hell" is. If any want to see scriptures on this subject and try to figure out what the true picture is they can check the two links below.
http://www.truechristianityevangelism.org/hell.html
http://www.truechristianityevangelism.org/koranhell.html
They believe heaven and hell are temporary institutions which serve as army reserves for an eventual battle between god and satan
Its really the foundation of their beliefs
koran surah 004.169 (read the whole verse, but here is the "hell forever part")
Khalifa: except the way to Hell, wherein they abide forever.
YUSUFALI: Except the way of Hell, to dwell therein for ever.
PICKTHAL: Except the road of hell, wherein they will abide for ever.
SHAKIR: Except the path of hell, to abide in it for ever.
Mohsin Khan: Except the way of Hell, to dwell therein forever.
Julio Cortes (Spanish): que el camino de la gehena, en la que estarán eternamente, para siempre.
Hamza Piccardo (Italian): eccetto la via dell'Inferno dove rimarranno in perpetuo.
El-Hayek (Portuguese): A não ser o do inferno, onde morarão eternamente.
Here is a french translation (no author, but came from an islamic website): que le chemin de l'Enfer où ils demeureront éternellement
1 6 8 Those who disbelieve and act
unjustly, Allåh will never forgive
them, nor guide them to a path,
1 6 9 Except the path of hell, to
abide in it for a long time. And that is
easy to Allåh.
The reason for giving of all these hideous, extremely painful details is so that, these acts like a deterrent. There are museums, books, movies, pictures and people who keep on reminding about those miseries so that we do not destroy ourselves.
Sometimes just a hint of some horror is enough. “Don’t smoke it’s not good for you”. Next comes Surgeon General’s warning, next comes gory, ugly, horrific pictures on the cigarette pack. If you decide not to use tobacco, after looking at this picture http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PLoS_oral_cancer.png (Wikipedia , oral cancer). Then there is nothing wrong in showing it to you.
The fact that, author is pointing (one can be taken out of this misery after sometime) shows that after all these self-destructive actions, God still saves from our own follies.
Matthew 13:41,50
13:41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everything that causes sin as well as all lawbreakers. 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mark 9:48 (NET)
9:48 where their worm never dies and the fire is never quenched
Revelation 14:10 (NET)
14:10 that person will also drink of the wine of God’s anger that has been mixed undiluted in the cup of his wrath, and he will be tortured with fire and sulfur in front of the holy angels and in front of the Lamb.
...We have readied a fire whose billowing folds will encompass them from all sides; and if they beg for water, they will be given water [hot] like molten lead, which will scald their faces: how dreadful a drink, and how evil a place to rest!
John 3:16, 36 (NET)
3:16 For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life. The one who rejects the Son will not see life, but God’s wrath remains on him
What do you think about this one?
koran 2:6-7
As to those who reject Faith, it is the same to them whether thou warn them or do not warn them; they will not believe. Allah hath set a seal on their hearts and on their hearing, and on their eyes is a veil; great is the penalty they (incur).
Would you like to receive an 'eternal' wrath (John 3:16, 36) above?
[5] Surely those who disbelieve from among the people of the Book and the Mushrikïn shall be in fire of hell, to dwell therein forever. They are the worst of all creatures.
Surah 004.169
Khalifa: except the way to Hell, wherein they abide forever.
YUSUFALI: Except the way of Hell, to dwell therein for ever.
PICKTHAL: Except the road of hell, wherein they will abide for ever.
SHAKIR: Except the path of hell, to abide in it for ever.
Mohsin Khan: Except the way of Hell, to dwell therein forever.
Julio Cortes (Spanish): que el camino de la gehena, en la que estarán eternamente, para siempre.
Hamza Piccardo (Italian): eccetto la via dell'Inferno dove rimarranno in perpetuo.
El-Hayek (Portuguese): A não ser o do inferno, onde morarão eternamente.
que le chemin de l'Enfer où ils demeureront éternellement
Its funny that on this Memorial day, I met a priest who insisted that since I do not believe in Jesus, I am destined to go to hell and I kept telling him that according to my belief (as an Ahmadi Muslim) its up to God to decide who is going where. Muslims do not believe that all Non-Muslims will go to hell-just because they are not Muslims.
Quite horrendous isn't it.
My copy here seems to indicate that non-believers will face a painful doom of various tortures.
Why do people keep insisting on lying about "mistranslations of the Koran", when we have access to five or six -dozen- translations at any good bookstore/library that all say the same thing?
I don't think it Is because they are considered deficient in their intelligence. Nor is it because they are considered to be deficient in their religion (see Sahih Bukhari Volume 1, Book 6, Number 301). So why is it?
My references are Sahih, deemed by the islamic scholars as 'reliable', 'sound'. You chose to call them myths just because they don't fit your preconceived notions. My references are widely available from hundreds of islamic websites, including the Muslim Student Association. You've got a big problem in your hands...
themselves to Him, and believing men and believing women, and obe
dient men and obedient women and truthful men and truthful women,
and men steadfast in their faith and steadfast women, and men who are
humble and women who are humble, and men who give alms and wo
men who give alms, and men who fast and women who fast, and men
who guard their chastity and women who guard their chastity, and men
who remember Allah much and women who remember Him — Allah
has prepared for all of them forgiveness and a great reward. 33:6
You asked why. This is why a majority of new converts to Islam are women.
6. Those who think this is ‘soft pedaling’ would have a point if this was some post-9/11 bandwagon of giving Islam a makeover. We have been saying this for over a century when there was absolutely nothing for us to gain (and much to lose at the hand of fanatics) from this understanding.
7. Finally, there is no intention to “push an agenda” on my part. I believe in the survival of the fittest. I am not Al-Azhar, giving a decree. Instead all I am saying is that based on some of the data that I have seen “The theory of an eternal hell is bound to die today or tomorrow.” It’s not fit to survive no matter which faith presents it.
My intention is to spread a peaceful and inclusive message. So I repeat: No eternal hell. I wish you well
I appreciate your article - which raises some valid points, and I respect your intention. But I don't think it was wise to presume that you speak for "Islam" when your argument was based more on leaps of logic than actual scriptural analysis (with all due respect). It would have been better to pose questions rather than to definitively speak of "Islam's understanding".
Is believing in temporary hell an Ahmadiyyah tradition? You said: "We have been saying this for over a century" -- who is "we"? Be a little more transparent, please.
I would also remind you that the Qur'an has specifically warned us against indulging in excessive speculation about the allegorical parts of the scripture (3:7), and all talk of heaven and hell is allegorical, as the Qur'an itself says. Maybe hell is eternal, maybe it only seems eternal. To speculate about it - and then to suggest that 'God must not be merciful' if your argument isn't accepted - seems extremely reckless and arrogant. And you are, in effect, making a "decree" when you claim to present "Islam's understanding" or what "the Prophet clearly agrees" with. Is there an Islamically-grounded argument for a non-eternal hell? Certainly. Is there an Islamically-grounded argument for the eternity of hell? Certainly. Don't be so fast to speak for "Islam".
~Peace
I appreciate your comments and very thoughtful pointers. No offense taken to anything my friend. So let me say in the spirit of transparency:
1. I believe I can talk for Islam. Just like you or anyone else can talk for Islam. If the argument holds no water, it will be eliminated automatically. Survival of the fittest. What I cannot and should not try to do is to talk for all Muslims.
2. Yes, this is the Ahmadiyya Muslim understanding. My author's profile and my email contact mentions my affiliations. Sorry if that was not transparent enough.
3. I have spent ample time and energy to research this topic. Therefore I firmly believe I have clarity on this issue of a non-eternal hell. That's the beauty of this country (USA). We have the freedom to express our differences and still go to dinner together afterwards.
I would love for more and more people to speak 'for Islam'. The message of Islam came with an insurance policy from God Almighty. There is no risk. The world needs to see who stands where.
Trust me. I have no intention to 'convert' your thinking. This is just a dialogue and I would have felt bad ignoring your direct and thoughtful comment.
Just think about it though... What benefit would Islam, Prophet Muhammad (sa) or mankind would receive by an eternal hell?
Peace on you too.
1. God Almighty claims to be the “great forgiver” or “Ghaffar” at least four times in the Holy Quran (38:67, 39:6, 40:43, 71:11). Therefore, we must understand the word “Abada” in the same context. If we were to believe “abada” to mean forever, then how could be God Almighty be a “great forgiver”? To avoid a contradiction in Quran, it’s important to take the larger context into consideration.
2. This is clearly in line with the larger theme of Quran which is guidance for mankind (2:186), not a punishment.
3. The same meaning will be congruent with the character of Prophet Muhammad (sa) who was sent as “Rahmatulil Aalimeen” or a mercy for mankind. This is why the hadith I quoted in the article becomes relevant.
4. The hadith (1.12.770) that someone quoted, in fact, exactly goes to prove the point of God's mercy and not an eternal hell. The word “khalidoon” in the hadith again, should not be understood as forever as previously mentioned. Rest of the hadith actually narrates how one of the last person from hell was forgiven by God Almighty. It’s a very long hadith so I would just quote this part: “others will receive punishment and will get out of Hell, till when Allah intends mercy on whomever He likes amongst the people of Hell”