There is no better abode for those who are bent on making our lives in this country a living hell, than for them to burn in hell. It is not a curse but a logical summation of our anguish and pain, our helplessness and despondency, our lamentation and our cries. The courts of man have failed to give us justice; the watchnight have colluded with the marauders; even those in uniform who once wielded guns and horsewhip have failed us: They too have joined forces with our tormentors to rob us of our patrimony; sharing the money meant to prosecute a war against the infidels who have waged war on the fatherland. Did I hear someone mention the ecclesiastics, the supposed last bastion of the oppressed; yeah, they too are on the take, receiving billions and millions to invoke spiritual protection for the thieves. Who else do we turn to, but God Almighty; hence, He should condemn them to damnation and the hottest portion of Hell. Van a quemar en el infierno ‘they’ll burn in hell’.
Now, what is this Hell we are talking about? People have asked, is it real? Does God actually sentence people to such a place? Saint Augustine, it was who said that “knowledge of the torment of the damned is part of heavenly bliss”. St Bernardino of Siena also wrote that “there could be no perfect sweetness of song in heaven, if there were no infernal descant from God’s justice”. And we might add, just as there would be no light without darkness, and no sound without silence, therefore, everlasting celestial joy depend on a contrast of everlasting horror. Without Hell, there is no Heaven. And without heaven, there can be no Hell.
For over a thousand years, Hell has been the most fearful place in human imagination. The Sumerians and the Babylonians believed in an underworld that they called the Land of No Return. This ancient belief is reflected in the Sumerian and the Akkadian poems known as “The Epic of Gilgamesh” and the “Descent of Ishtar to the Underworld.” They describe this abode of the dead as a house of darkness, “the house which none leave who have entered it.”
The ancient Egyptians believed in the immortality of the soul, and they had their own concept of the afterworld. The Indo-Iranian religions developed various beliefs on punishment after death. Concerning Hinduism, the French Encyclopedia Universalis (Universal Encyclopedia) states: “There are innumerable descriptions of the 21 hells imagined by the Hindus. Sinners are devoured by wild beasts and by snakes, laboriously roasted, sawed into parts, tormented by thirst and hunger, boiled in oil, or ground to powder in iron or stone vessels.”
The ancient Greeks believed in the survival of a soul (psy.khe). They called Hades the realm of the dead and believed it was ruled over by a god of the same name. The Greeks even invented a Limbo, the abode of children who had died in infancy, and a Purgatory, where a certain mild chastisement purified souls.” According to The World Book Encyclopedia, souls that ended up in Tartarus “suffered eternal torment.” The Romans adopted the Etruscan hell, calling it Orcus or Infernus. They also borrowed the Greek myths about Hades, the king of the underworld, calling him Orcus, or Pluto.
“HELL,” explains the New Catholic Encyclopedia, is the word “used to signify the place of the damned.” A Protestant Encyclopedia defines hell as “the place of future punishment for the wicked.” But belief in such a place of punishment after death is not limited to the main churches of Christendom.
Jainism and Buddhism both have their versions of hell, where impenitent sinners are tormented. Zoroastrianism, founded in Iran, or Persia, also has a hell-a cold, ill-smelling place where the souls of sinners are tormented.
What about the Jews before Jesus’ day? Concerning them, we read in the Encyclopedia Britannica: “From the 5th century B.C. onward, the Jews were in close contact with the Persians and the Greeks, both of whom had well-developed ideas of the hereafter. . . . By the time of Christ, the Jews had acquired a belief that wicked souls would be punished after death in Gehenna.”
Concept of Hell in Islam
The descriptions of Heaven and Hell throughout the Quran are allegorical. What Heaven and Hell are really like is far beyond our comprehension: Hence the need for allegory. Heaven and hell are the rewards of our deeds, in this world. Both are eternal, and there is no escape from Hell, unless it pleases Allah to pardon and forgive; and that is His prerogative.
In Islam, jahannam, which is related to the Hebrew word gehinnom, is a place of blazing fire, boiling water, and a variety of torments for those condemned to it in the hereafter. After the Day of Judgement, it is to be occupied by those who do not believe in God, have disobeyed his laws, or rejected His messengers. “Enemies of Islam” are sent immediately to Hell upon death.
Muslims believe that on Judgement Day all souls will pass over a bridge over hell, As-Sirāt which those destined for hell will find too narrow and fall from into their new abode. Jahannam resembles the Christian versions of Hell in being below heaven and full of fire, but is not the home of the devil.
The Quran, gives many literal descriptions of the condemned in a fiery Hell, contrasting them with the garden-like Paradise (jannah) enjoyed by righteous believers. Suffering in hell is both physical and spiritual, and varies according to the sins of the condemned.
Heaven and Hell are each divided into seven different levels, with occupants assigned to each depending on their actions-good or bad-during their lifetimes. The gate of Hell is guarded by Malik, who is the leader of the angels assigned as the guards of hell also known as Zabaaniyah. While hell is usually described as hot, there is one pit (Zamhareer) characterized in Islamic tradition as unbearably cold, with blizzards, ice, and snow.
Hypocrisy and polytheism (shirk) are particularly grievous sins; the lowest pit of Hell (Hawiyah), is intended for hypocrites who claimed aloud to believe in Allah and his messenger but in their hearts did not. Not all Muslims and scholars agree whether hell is an eternal destination or whether some or all of the condemned will eventually be forgiven and allowed to enter paradise.
Hell is the other side of Aljanna or paradise. It’s a joint ticket.
And they say: “The Fire shall not touch us but for a few numbered days:” Say: “Have ye taken a promise from Allah, for He never breaks His promise? Or is it that ye say of Allah what ye do not know?”(Quran 2:80) Nay, those who seek gain in evil, and are girt round by their sins, they are companions of the Fire: Therein shall they abide [For ever]. (Quran 2:81)
Their wish will be to get out of the Fire, but never will they get out therefrom: Their Penalty will be one that endures. (Quran 5:40)
And those who followed would say: “If only We had one more chance, We would clear ourselves of them, as they have cleared themselves of us.” Thus will Allah show them [The fruits of] their deeds as [nothing but] regrets. Nor will there be a way for them out of the Fire. (Quran 2:167) But those who have faith and work righteousness, they are companions of the Garden: Therein shall they abide [For ever]. (Quran 2:82)
. . . . . . . then fear the Fire whose fuel is men and stones, which is prepared for those who reject Faith. (Quran 2:24)
Those in the Fire will say to the Keepers of Hell: “Pray to your Lord to lighten us the Penalty for a day [at least]!”
They will say: “Did there not come to you your messengers with Clear Signs?” They will say, “Yes”. They will reply, “Then pray [as ye like]! But the prayer of those without Faith is nothing but [futile wandering] in [mazes of] error!” (Quran 40:49-50)
There is no iota of doubt about what awaits these evil doers; for that is what these vermin are. They are not only robbing Paul, they rob Peter too. People without conscience, they send innocent lads to untimely death; arming them with nothing to go fight with infidels armed to the teeth. They have stolen monies, not only for themselves and their children, but also for their children’s children and those yet unborn. Not only will they not know peace in this world: They’ll burn in Hell in the Hereafter.
Credits: Babatunde Jose II