Page 116 - The Day of Judgment

114 THE DAY OF JUDGMENT

among them who is the most insolent toward the All-Merciful.
Then We will know best those most deserving to roast in it.
There is not one of you who will not come to it. That is the final
decision of your Lord. Then We will rescue those who guarded
against evil and will leave the wrongdoers in it on their knees.
(Surah Maryam, 66-72)
There is obviously much wisdom in showing Hell to the believers.
When they see the state of Hell from close up, they will fully realize the
distinction and beauty of the faith given to them by Allah, because
Hell is so frightening that their being saved from its suffering evokes a
sense of sheer happiness and gratefulness. They are given the
possibility to compare Hell and Paradise, and so are far more
appreciative of the value of Paradise's eternal and beautiful gifts. Only
by comparison can the value of what is given be fully understood.
Accordingly, part of the wisdom of creating Earth as a testing place is
education. On Earth, people learn right and wrong, beauty and
ugliness, and good and bad by seeing it all and making comparisons.
They are able to do this because Allah gave them the abilities to reason,
to use their conscience, and, most of all, to be in awe of Him.
On the Day of Judgment, all believers, "the best of creatures"
(Surat al-Bayyina, 7), will be separated eternally from the
unbelievers, "the worst of creatures" (Surat al-Bayyina, 6), as
follows:

When the Messengers' time [for testimony] is appointed—
until what day is that deferred? Until the Day of Distinction
[between the true and the false]. And what will teach you what
the Day of Distinction is? On that Day, woe to the unbelievers!
Did We not destroy the earlier peoples, then succeed them with
later ones? That is how We deal with evildoers. On that Day,
woe to the unbelievers! (Surat al-Mursalat, 11-19)