Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Dear Brother Burhan,

While reading the Holy Quran, it always seems that on the day of judgement, Allah will decide if a person goes to the Heaven or Hell and then live there for ever. Was I taught wrong that if one goes to hell for what one did, he/she will stay there for a length of time depending upon the deeds and then may go to heaven eventually?. Regards.

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Answer:

Time limit in Hell

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Beloved brother in Islam, one must understand and believe, that whatever is mentioned in the Holy Quran is the very words of wisdom of the Lord of the Worlds Himself, and the Absolute Truth! Truth is what is declared in the Holy Quran, and if one is taught anything that goes against the guidance of the Quran; it obviously cannot be the Truth!

Indeed, the Quran declares that whoever is condemned to the Hell Fire, will never ever get out of it, and will live in there for ever and ever! Some people have invented a false belief that the believers will stay for a limited time to pay for their evil deeds in the Fire of Hell, but will eventually be taken out of there and be given Paradise! This notion is absolutely against the guidance of the Holy Quran, and the Justice of Allah Subhanah. Allah Subhanah will Judge each individual according to his deeds, and if He Wills, He may forgive all the evil deeds of the person (except the sin of Shirk, which He has Himself declared that He will not forgive). But it does not behove the Majesty and Justice of the Supreme Lord to change His Decision once He has declared it!

The people who have formed this false notion, are those, who like to continue doing their evil deeds; and have created a false hope that no matter what they do, just because they were born as muslims, they will ultimately be given Paradise! Their inner souls have made their notions fair-seeming to them, and they have accepted that they will spend some time in the Fire of Hell, because ultimately Allah has to give them Paradise! These poor ignorant souls have just not realized the ferocity, the intensity, and the viciousness of the Fire of Hell! Had they realized the extremity of the conditions of the Hell Fire, they would never have wanted to get even close to it; leave alone spend a few hundred years in it!!!!!!!!

This same belief, that some ‘special’ people will get out of the Hell Fire because they are followers of a specific Prophet of Allah Subhanah, is severely condemned by Allah Subhanah in the Glorious Quran! The Jews and the Christians always declared themselves as the ‘chosen people’, and they held this false belief that the fire of Hell will not even touch them, and even if it did, they will eventually come out of there because of their association with their Prophet; which Allah Subhanah has completely shattered from its roots in the Glorious Quran!

It is indeed unfortunate and ignorance on the part of some of the believers, that today they have created the same set of beliefs for themselves, rather than sincerely turning to Allah Subhanah and seeking His Pardon and Forgiveness, and following the Straight Path of Islam.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verses 78-82:

78 And there are among them illiterates, who know not the Book but (see therein their own) desires, and they do nothing but conjecture.

79 Then woe to those, who write the Book with their own hands and then say: "This is from Allah"; to traffic with it for a miserable price! Woe to them for what their hands do write, and for the gain they make thereby.

80 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?"

81 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).

82 But those who have faith and work righteousness, they are Companions of the Garden, therein shall they abide (for ever).

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imraan verses 23-25:

23 Hast thou not turned thy vision to those who have been given a portion of the Book? They are invited to the Book of Allah to settle their dispute, but a party of them turn back and decline (the arbitration).

24 This because they say: "The fire shall not touch us but for a few numbered days"; for their forgeries deceive them as to their own religion.

25 But how (will they fare), when We gather them together against a Day about which there is no doubt, and each soul will be paid out just what it has earned without (favor or injustice)?

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verse 18:

(Both) the Jews and the Christians say: "We are sons of Allah and His beloved." Say: "Why then doth He punish you for your sins? Nay, ye are but men of the men He hath created: He forgiveth whom He pleaseth and He punisheth whom He pleaseth. And to Allah belongeth the dominion of the heavens and the earth and all that is between: and unto Him is the final goal (of all)."

The criteria of who will deserve Paradise and who will deserve Hell Fire is clearly declared by Allah Subhanah in the Glorious Quran! The Decisions of Allah Subhanah are not based on some ‘special’ people’s whims, and fancies, and hopes, and conjectures; but they are based on His Perfect Knowledge and Wisdom!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 101 Surah Al-Qaaria verses 6-11:

6 Then he whose balance (of good deeds) will be (found) heavy

7 Will be in a life of good pleasure and satisfaction.

8 But he whose balance (of good deeds) will be (found) light

9 Will have his home in a (bottomless) pit.

10 And what will explain to thee what this is?

11 (It is) a Fire Blazing fiercely!

We seek the refuge of the Merciful from even being brought near this evil and horrible eternal home of the wicked, named ‘Jahannam’!

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan