Page 131 - The Truth of the Life of This World

They will look with averted eyes. One of the verses describes this moment
as follows:
And you will see them brought forward to the (penalty), in a humble frame
of mind because of (their) disgrace, (and) looking with a stealthy glance. And
the believers will say: "Those are indeed in loss, who have given to perdition
their own selves and those belonging to them on the day of judgement.
Behold! Truly the wrongdoers are in a lasting penalty!" (Surat ash-Shura: 45)
Hell is created to inflict pain. Despite an abundance of disbelievers, it
still asks for more:
One day We will ask Hell, "Are you filled to the full?" It will say, "Are there
any more (to come)?" (Surah Qaf: 30)
Allah describes the Hell in the Qur'an as follows:

Soon will I cast him into Saqar! And what will explain to you what Saqar is?
Naught does it permit to endure, and naught does it leave alone, darkening
and changing the colour of man! (Surat al-Muddaththir: 26-29)

An Endless Life Behind Locked Doors

As soon as disbelievers arrive in hell, the doors are locked behind them.
Here, they see the most fearsome sights. They immediately understand that
they will be "presented" to hell, the place where they will remain for eter-
nity. The closed doors indicate that there will be no salvation. Allah
describes the state of disbelievers as follows:
And (as for) those who disbelieve in Our signs, they are the people of the
left hand. On them is fire closed over. (Surat al-Balad: 19-20)
The torment in the Qur'an is described as "a severe punishment" (Surah
Ali-'Imran: 176), "a heavy doom" (Surah Ali-'Imran: 4), and "a painful chas-
tisement" (Surah Ali-'Imran: 21). The descriptions of it are inadequate to
give a full understanding of the punishment in hell. Being unable to resist
even minor burns in the world, man cannot grasp being exposed to fire
for all eternity. What is more, the pain that a fire gives in the world is
incomparable to the severe torture of hell. No pain can be similar to that
of hell:
None punishes as He will punish on that day! None binds as He then will
bind. (Surat al-Fajr: 25-26)

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