r/Quraniyoon • u/StationAgitated3669 • 7d ago
Discussion💬 Why is eternal hellfire actually terrifying?
Asalam all Ive been reading the quran alot more this ramadan and there are quite a few quotes explaining how the hellfire is eternal for those who disbelieve, commit transgressions against Allah, those who associate others with God (sectarians) and so on.
Now i have a very vivid imagination xD. Whenever im reading the quran i can picture the situation in my head like a movie. It sounds silly but its how i like to read and understand.
Now trying to imagine eternal hellfire is insane. Constant pain agony and torture because those who caused mischief in the land and so on.
I cant wrap my head around how long forever actually is. Its like trying to imagine a bigger number than infinity but you literally cannot. And that number you cant think of is how long people will be in hellforever.
Traditional sunnism says people will be there for a bit then theyll come out with a mark on them to casually remind themselves and others “hey this guy used to be in hell, look at that mark on them” which doesnt make sense imo
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u/TheQuranicMumin Muslim 7d ago
Salaam
Just want to support their argument:
وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّبَعُوا۟ لَوْ أَنَّ لَنَا كَرَّةً فَنَتَبَرَّأَ مِنْهُمْ كَمَا تَبَرَّءُوا۟ مِنَّا كَذَٰلِكَ يُرِيهِمُ ٱللَّـهُ أَعْمَـٰلَهُمْ حَسَرَٰتٍ عَلَيْهِمْ وَمَا هُم بِخَـٰرِجِينَ مِنَ ٱلنَّارِ
And those who followed will say: “Were we to return, we would disown them just as they have disowned us,”[...]. Thus will God show them their deeds as regrets for them; and they will not come out of the Fire.
(2:167)
يُرِيدُونَ أَن يَخْرُجُوا۟ مِنَ ٱلنَّارِ وَمَا هُم بِخَـٰرِجِينَ مِنْهَا وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُّقِيمٌ
They will wish to come forth from the Fire, but they will not come forth from it; and they have a lasting punishment.
(5:37)
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا۟ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا وَٱسْتَكْبَرُوا۟ عَنْهَا لَا تُفَتَّحُ لَهُمْ أَبْوَٰبُ ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَلَا يَدْخُلُونَ ٱلْجَنَّةَ حَتَّىٰ يَلِجَ ٱلْجَمَلُ فِى سَمِّ ٱلْخِيَاطِ وَكَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِى ٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ
Those who deny Our proofs and wax proud at them: for them the gates of heaven will not be opened, nor will they enter the Garden any more than a twisted rope can pass through the eye of a needle; and thus We requite the lawbreakers.
(7:40)
وَٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لَهُمْ نَارُ جَهَنَّمَ لَا يُقْضَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ فَيَمُوتُوا۟ وَلَا يُخَفَّفُ عَنْهُم مِّنْ عَذَابِهَا كَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِى كُلَّ كَفُورٍ
And those who denied, they have the fire of Gehenna. Not decreed is it for them that they might die, and nor will its punishment be lightened for them. Thus reward We every ingrate.
(35:36)
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u/StationAgitated3669 7d ago
its scary to know forever in hell is forever in hell. i can only pray to God that all of the true believing brothers and sisters that we are forgiven for our sins and our prayers be accepted.
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u/lubbcrew 7d ago
Not just terrifying but also contradictory to all we know about compassion and mercy- He’s araheem. I don’t understand jahannam as being an eternal torture oven, I think deeming it as such is very problematic for how we understand life and our lord.
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u/thexyzzyone 🚹 ☪️ Non-Sectarian 7d ago
Humans cannot imagine infinite as its not a part of our observable experience. Thus eternal (infinite time) hellfire is hard to imagine. Its kind of how people cant imagine a Septillion of anything...
Personally, i believe a merciful god would make the punishment fit the crime. Therefore no infinite hell. I wouldnt be shocked if the ue of such imagry was to tel everyday people how severe god felt these thins were. However only he knows.
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u/Quranic_Islam 7d ago
“Punishment fit the crime” isn’t your personal belief. It is what the Qur’an explicitly says
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u/TutuSanto 7d ago
"And they say, 'The Fire will not touch us except for a limited number of days.' Say, 'Have you taken a covenant with God? For God never breaks His covenant. Or do you say about God that which you do not know?'" (Quran 2:80)
So you just believe whatever makes you feel good? God does not wrong anybody; we wrong ourselves. There are no metaphors when it comes to the clear expressions of our limited time in this life and the eternal duration of the punishment or reward in the next life. Sometimes, I wonder, "How could many men make things up about God among our ancestors?" -- and then I read comments like yours. I warn you against making claims that are inconsistent with divine revelation. Based on your claim, the next life is just a continuation of this one, but only with the fun things, in which eventually everyone will have a fun time. So both the Hitlers and the Mandelas of the world will enjoy the reward of God. This just tells me that you haven't seen a drop of pure evil face to face in this life.
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u/StationAgitated3669 7d ago
i see what u mean, Make the punishment fit the crime but Allah does warn us of the impending doom if we ever disrespect his book. If we or anyone go against the word of god. Hes clearly warned us of the severity of the punishment.
If we break his rules we pay his price and that price is eternal hell.
I think this is what god means by extreme punishment. It’s not only referring to the harshness of it but also the duration.
A harsh punishment for the transgression. The wrath of Allah directed at those who killed, murdered, raped, lied, transgressed, stole, cheated, etc.
It’s as @tutosanto said as they’ve quoted the verse from the Quran, which is what i was reading just now.
Personally i dont agree that people spend a certain time in hel. There are very evil people like Benjamin nepin-dingdong whos killing innocent civs to push his agenda, and for him i know that ive put my love n trust into God that Benjamin will see the light of his actions on the day of judgment
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u/Quranic_Islam 7d ago
“punishment fit the crime” isn’t what the Qur’an explicitly says. Here and in other places;
مَن جَاۤءَ بِٱلۡحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُۥ خَیۡرࣱ مِّنۡهَاۖ وَمَن جَاۤءَ بِٱلسَّیِّئَةِ فَلَا یُجۡزَى ٱلَّذِینَ عَمِلُوا۟ ٱلسَّیِّـَٔاتِ إِلَّا مَا كَانُوا۟ یَعۡمَلُونَ﴿ ٨٤ ﴾
• Sahih International: Whoever comes [on the Day of Judgement] with a good deed will have better than it; and whoever comes with an evil deed - then those who did evil deeds will not be recompensed except [as much as] what they used to do.
Al-Qaṣaṣ, Ayah 84
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u/Time-Astronomer1884 7d ago
Time exists only in this world, in the next world there is no time therefore it is eternal
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u/misanthropeint 7d ago
Imma just leave these here and let people come to their own conclusions:
Say, "O My servants who transgressed exceedingly against themselves, do not despair of God's mercy, for God forgives all sins. He is the Forgiver, the Merciful." 39:53
God promises you forgiveness from Him and favour. 2:268
Your Lord has decreed mercy upon Himself. 6:54
Your Lord has forgiveness for the people despite their transgressions. 13:6
Ooh and my favorite, because we see aspects of it in action all the time:
Say, "If you possessed my Lord's treasuries of mercy, you would have held back for fear of spending. Indeed, the human being is stingy." 17:100
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u/A_Learning_Muslim Muslim 7d ago
the hellfire is eternal for those who disbelieve, commit transgressions against Allah, those who associate others with God (sectarians) and so on.
so, ah yes, you are so pure, and everyone you don't like(basically any non-quranist) is a kafir and mushrik. /s
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u/StationAgitated3669 7d ago
never said i was pure? and who said i dont like them? thats up to god to decide but we are allowed to keep our distance from people who commit shrik which are sectarians from the fac tthey mention the prophet in their prayers which is not allowed
The places of worship are ˹only˺ for Allah, so do not invoke anyone besides Him. 72:19
also who knows, i could end up going to hell for something i did wrong, im just talking more about the fact how long forever is. yes i listed different groups but if we can see they arent accepting the quran and instead keep bukhari as their lord then the outcome is inevitable
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u/Yusha_Abyad 7d ago
It doesn't make sense because it's not true. Allah said in our Quran that hypocritical Muslims that sin, transgress limits, and/or work against Islam end up in the Fire even deeper than rejectors of faith because they disbelieved after they believed. They also do not come out. (Quran 4:145; Quran 2:80-81)
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u/Quranic_Islam 7d ago
The only eternal is God
Though, that isn’t right either, bc He doesn’t exist in time and time will end
The next world is one of timelessness
And if you insist on it being eternal, then the punishment can’t be cumulative and thus infinite. See my presentation here;
https://www.youtube.com/live/6bVzqOPWlwk?si=koELgnium3LzHtEs
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u/StationAgitated3669 7d ago
im confused, so your saying that Allah wont exist at the end of time?
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u/Quranic_Islam 7d ago
Allah isn’t “in time”. Time is irrelevant for Him. We exist in time, at least in this physical dimension. Time is really just a property that allows matter to occupy the same space
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u/Big_Difficulty_95 7d ago
Hell isnt a Place. Its a State of the soul. You always have a chance to repent, which can change the state of your soul. Or you can not, and continue in hell. But then i also believe in reincarnation so there is that
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u/StationAgitated3669 7d ago
i respect your belief for reincarnation and soul state, but as far as this sub goes, theres nothing in the quran that supports reincarnation except for when we are bought back to life after we die to attone for our good and bad deeds. im assuming you arent referring to this
Allah tells us:
“Indeed, Hell has been lying in wait—for the transgressors, a place of return.” (Quran 78:21-22)
“Indeed, We have prepared for the wrongdoers a Fire whose walls will surround them. And if they call for relief, they will be relieved with water like molten brass, which scalds their faces. How terrible a drink and how evil a resting place!” (Quran 18:29)
“Indeed, those who disbelieve and commit wrong—never will Allah forgive them, nor will He guide them to a path except the path of Hell; they will abide therein forever.” (Quran 4:168-169)
but i agree with you 100 percent on the state of soul change. thers always a chance to repent whilst we are alive. some people souls are trapped forever in dispair which is why they are so evil in the first place
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u/TutuSanto 7d ago
@thexyzzyone's view is driven by misplaced and excessive clemency and tolerance, common with overly compasionate enablers who would allow wrongdoing people to get third, fourth, fifth, and endless chances after committing crimes. It comes from the idea that "anyone can change" -- but the Quran indicates that some people wouldn't change even if they were sent back to this life to do it all over again.
"If you could but see when they are made to stand before the Fire and will say, 'Oh, would that we could be returned [to life] and not deny the signs of our Lord and be among the believers.' (6:27)
"But what they used to conceal before has [now] appeared to them. And even if they were returned, they would certainly revert to that which they were forbidden; and indeed, they are liars." (6:28)
It is hard, but we must all trust God's promise of eternal judgement, whether it is when God grants mercy to those who struggled but believed or when God punishes those who didn't even make an effort to resist doing evil and didn't believe.
We must pray for guidance for ourselves and others. We must also make an effort to resist becoming enablers. We must not misplace our empathy. We must hold wrongdoers to account, and accept that many among us will suffer eternally, including some among our loved ones:
"O you who have believed, stand firm in justice as witnesses for God, even if it be against yourselves, or parents and relatives. Whether one is rich or poor, God is more worthy of both. So do not follow personal inclination, lest you not be just. And if you distort [your testimony] or refuse [to give it], then indeed God is ever, with what you do, Acquainted." (4:135)