"Necessity of Hell" A comparison of Qur’anic and Biblical views

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا قُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ وَأَهْلِيكُمْ نَارًا وَقُودُهَا النَّاسُ وَالْحِجَارَة

“O you who believe! save yourselves and your families from a fire whose fuel is men and stones…”

(Al-Tahrīm 66:6)

A division of mankind into two groups, those who go to Heaven and those who go to Hell, is a common factor into two theologies of Islam and Christianity. The view of the Hereafter narrated by two of the world’s largest religions is a very similar one. Both the Qur’an and the Bible give descriptions of what Hell is going to be, and the imagery associated with Hell in the two faith groups are akin to one another. However, the majority theological views in both religions is that God has not created Heaven and Hell, nor this world, in an arbitrary manner. Rather Hell, and the punishment awaiting those who enter it, serves an important part in the structure of creation. The obvious purpose of Hell is to punish the sinners and criminals , in effect it is a means of carrying out divine justice. However, the true nature of Hell is more profound than merely a grandiose legal system. In the following we shall examine the necessity for Hell according to the two religions of Islam and Christianity, and see if they, aside from similar ideas and imagery, share a parallel philosophy of Hell as well.

Justice necessitates that a crime be punished, and in the same way that it holds true for physics, every action must have a consequence, in ethical terms this means that good deeds be rewarded and evil one’s be punished. As it stands, God’s being just necessitates the punishment of evil actions.[1]

“Shall We treat those who believe and do good like the mischief-makers in the earth? Or shall We make those who guard (against evil) like the wicked?”

(Saad 38:28)

It is absurd to imagine that the atrocities committed by the great tyrants who walked the earth, and those who gladly carried out their bidding, should be left unpunished. Certainly Christianity agrees with Islam on this[2] as the Bible states:

“…they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just…”[3]

Hell is therefore the fitting punishment for those who have aggressed against others. However the punishment in the hereafter, according to Islamic theology, is not alike punishment given in this world. Rather “the relationship between a deed and its punishment is a natural and ontological relationship.”[4] As the Qur’an states:

“They will find all that they did, placed before them: And not one will thy Lord treat with injustice.”

(Al-Kahf 18:49)

Rather the punishment will only be the external manifestation (ta’wīl)[5] of the actions committed in this life, it will be the natural and unseen outcome of actions, which in this world might have only limited consequences. It is the likeness of a person crossing the street while the light is red. If the person were to be captured for jay-walking and the punishment was a death-penalty, one would be distraught at such a heavy punishment, rather the punishment of Hell is as if one were to get hit by a car when crossing said road, in the latter case it is only the natural outcome of the danger of indulging in crossing the road when the light is red. Thus it Hell is not legislated punishment, but rather it is the result of the evil actions of people.

According to mainstream Christian theology, where actions are not considered as important in one’s final judgement as in Islamic theology, “condemnation comes to the wicked and the unrepentant and results in eternal punishment, but no … believer who trusts in Christ will be condemned. Jesus came to save rather than to condemn, and he frees us from final condemnation.”[6] Because of the forgiving nature of God in Biblical theology the very existence of Hell has been questioned by some Christian scholars who “found it difficult to reconcile the idea of a loving God with the notion of continuing vindictive or retributive punishment of sinners.”[7]

These troubles have led some to propose the idea of conditional immortality, whereby only those who believe in Christ are resurrected to enjoy the bliss of afterlife; a notion that has been criticized as lacking proper scriptural evidence.[8] However the problem persisted, and despite the immense scriptural evidence indicating a Hell and judgement, Christians have steadily moved towards a direction of marginalizing Hell to a point where some have exclaimed that “Hell disappeared.”[9]

However, the Bible clearly forwards a view of God as the Judge, “who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom.”[10] In this view, the Biblical perspective of God’s justice is in line with Islamic thinking, whereby the sinners, people who oppress others and themselves, must be punished. Similarly both agree that the response of a person to the revelation of God is crucial in their judgement.[11] Those who deny the signs of their lord, or live in disobedience after accepting Him,[12] will be dealt with harshly in the afterlife. Interestingly the Qur’an mentions two dominant characteristics of the people of Hellfire:

“Surely he did not believe in Allah, the Great,

Nor did he urge the feeding of the poor.”

(Al-Hāqqah 69:33-34)

The two major qualities that are mentioned again and again are disbelieving in God’s communications,[13] and not feeding the poor.[14] In effect it is disbelief and the social injustice, of the rich amassing wealth whilst the poor starve, that has required the justice of God to punish those whom deal unjustly with their fellow man without impunity in this life.

This leads us to the second major function of Hell, by which it acts as a deterrent against offences in this life. The best keeper of law is one’s own conscience, and if every servant of God is fearful of his Lord’s station[15] then he will not transgress the bounds set by God, and will deal with kindness and justice amongst his fellow man. As Sayyid Lari points out[16] only promise of Paradise is not sufficient to motivate man to good deeds. If one only relied on the mercy of God he would quickly assume that all his evil actions would be forgiven and there would be no end to his mischief. This principle can be applied equally to the Christian conception of Hell.

The third and final role of Hell is to act as a purification to those who cannot enter Heaven without the necessary purification. In Hell the evil deeds which one has committed are atoned for until one is ready to enter Paradise. The view being that those who rejected the communications of God will reside therein forever, but those who believed and because of their weak faith committed indecency are to be punished for those acts.[17] Thus it is that the Qur’an speaks of purifying the people of Paradise:

“Surely those who guard (against evil) shall be in the midst of gardens and fountains: Enter them in peace, secure. And We will root out whatever of rancor is in their breasts-- (they shall be) as brethren, on raised couches, face to face.”

(Al-Hijr 15:46-47)

Those who do not manage to purify themselves in this life[18] will be forced to purify in Hell. This purification is the necessary requirement for entering Paradise where the servant will be granted “whatever the heart desires…”[19]. This, combined with human freewill, necessitates for a person to be in full control of himself and his desires, otherwise if people with pride, jealousy, greed, hate, anger and other such vices were allowed into Paradise, where all that they wished comes into being as soon as they wish it, chaos and misery would ensue. This is perhaps what is insinuated by the verse: “He indeed shall be successful who purifies himself.”[20] Certainly the ahādīth that speak of the intercession of the Prophet (s) coming to those in Hell are numerous,[21] which would mean that for those who had faith in God and His Messenger (s) there would be a chance to come out of Hell. The concept of intercession does not exist in Christianity, rather judgement will be delivered by Christ to all on the day of resurrection after which the world shall be divided into those who go to Hell and those who go to Heaven, as we have seen.

Heaven and Hell are both a deeply rooted part of both Islam and Christianity, even though Hell in Christian thought has recently began to be sidelined. We have seen how Hell is needed primarily to serve the justice of God, to act as a deterrent against offence, and finally as a purification for those who could not purify in this life (albeit a very difficult purification!). The two religions discussed share the first two principles, but differ on the last, as no mention of any such purification or intercession is made in the Bible. Hell continues to be a vivid part of Islamic-Christian religious thought and imagery.

"Our Lord! avert from us the Wrath of Hell, for its Wrath is indeed an affliction grievous”

(Al-Furqān 25:65)

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[1] Lari, Sayyid Mujtaba Musavi, Resurrection Judgement and the Hereafter, p. 154

[2] Milne, Bruce, Know the Truth: A Handbook of Christian Belief, p. 276

[3] John, 5:29-30

[4] Lari, Sayyid Mujtaba Musavi, Resurrection Judgement and the Hereafter, p. 220

[5] Al-A'raf (7:53)

[6] Elwell, Walter A. The Concise Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, p. 259

[7] McGrath, Alister E., Christian Theology: An Introduction, p. 478

[8] Ibid.

[9] Morgan, Christopher W., Hell Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents Eternal Punishment, p. 16

[10] 2 Timothy 4:1

[11] Milne, Bruce, Know the Truth: A Handbook of Christian Belief, p. 271

[12] Romans 2:12-16

[13] Especially the Resurrection and Judgement

[14] Also see for example Qur’an 56:45-47, 107:1-3, 92:8-11 and 74:43-46

[15] Qur’an 79:40

[16] Lari, Sayyid Mujtaba Musavi, Resurrection Judgement and the Hereafter, p. 155

[17] Al-Khoei Foundation, Rationality of Islam, p. 44

[18] Qur’an 87:14

[19] Qur’an 43:71

[20] Qur’an 87:14

[21] Al-Ghazali, The Remembrance of Death and the Afterlife, p. 210 - 216

Bibliography

• Lari, Sayyid Mujtaba Musavi, Resurrection Judgement and the Hereafter, Qum: Foundation of Islamic Cultural Propagation in the World (1992)
• Milne, Bruce, Know the Truth: A Handbook of Christian Belief, Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press (1982)
• Al-Khoei Foundation, Rationality of Islam, Karachi: Islamic Seminary Publication (1991)
• Morgan, Christopher W. (ed.), Hell Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents Eternal Punishment, Zondervan (2004)
• Elwell, Walter A. The Concise Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Michigan: Baker Book House (1991)
• McGrath, Alister E., Christian Theology: An Introduction, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing (2006)
• Al-Ghazali, The Remembrance of Death and the Afterlife: Book XL of the Revival of the Religious Sciences, T. J. Winter (trans.), Cambridge: The Islamic Texts Society (1989)