Jannah (Paradise) and Jahannam (Hell) are two opposite places, one is happiness and luxury. The other is punishment and suffering. One is for believers, good people, and the other is for unbelievers, evil people!
The joys, pleasures, and luxuries of Paradise have been spoken of; no ear of the world has heard it, no eye has seen it, and no one can imagine it. Likewise, we can’t experience the horrors of the punishment of Jahannam in this world. The severity of the punishment of Jahannam is beyond human comprehension.
Name of Jahannam (Hell)
Hell is called Jahannam 59 times in the Quran. Also called by other names. Like—
1. Jaheem (The Blazing Fire)
2. Hutamah (The Crusher)
3. An Naar (The Fire)
4. Sa’eer (bright fire)
5. Habiyah (Abyss)
6. Laja (A burning flame)
7. Saqaar.
According to many scholars, ‘Falaq’ is also the name of Jahannam and it is kept under the sea, only Allah knows best. The Holy Qur’an mentions these seven names of Hell along with Jahannam. They may be described by different names to emphasize the diversity of their punishments. But sinners will certainly be thrown into various levels of Jahannam according to their deeds!
1: Jaheem—his name occurs 26 times in the Quran. “Those who disbelieve and deny my revelations are the dwellers of Jaheem” (Quran 5:10).
2: Hutamah—This name occurs two times in the Quran. “Never, he must be thrown into the crusher! Do you know what crusher is? s? It is the burning fire of Allah (God)! which will reach the heart” (Quran 104:4-7)
3: Naar—the punishment of fire is mentioned in many places in the Quran. “And those who deny and try to falsify My signs, they will be the dwellers of the Fire” (Quran 2:39).
4: Sa’eer—his name occurs 18 times in the Quran. “They (the sinners) will also say, If we had listened and tried to understand, we would not have been in Hell” (Quran 67:10).
5: Habiyah—”And “whose scales will be light, his/her destination will be Habiya. Do you know what it is? Burning fire” (Quran 101:8-11).
6: Laja—This name is found in Quran chapter 70, verse 15. Which doesn’t seem to be the original name; rather, it expresses the intensity and ferocity of the fire. “Never, surely it is a burning fire, which will peel off the skin” (Quran 70:15-16).
7: Saqaar—This name occurs 4 times in the Quran. “Soon I will burn him at the Saqaar (fire). Do you know what Saqaar is? It will keep nothing, and nothing will remain” (Quran 74:26-28).
A Brief Description of Jahannam
Allah Almighty, referring to Jahannam, says, “It is a place where people will neither die nor live” (Quran 87:13). Jahannam has gates and guards and this place will be the ‘worst resting place’ of sinners. Various calamities will befall them. Criminals will be scurrying about in the intense heat. In pain they will want to get out—but cannot (Quran16:29, 29:71-72, 2:206, 3:12, 13:28, 14:29, 78:21, 55:44, 22:22).
And surely Hell is the promised place for them all. It has seven doors. For each door, there is a certain class from among them. And the disbelievers will be dragged to hell in groups. When they finally reach Hell, its gates will be opened (Quran 15:43-44, 39:71).
Surely it (Hell) will spread sparks like palaces. It is like a yellow ostrich (Quran77:32-33).
Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud (RA) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, ‘Jahannam will be brought to the arena of Resurrection. Which 70 thousand angels will drag (bound) with 70 thousand chains. (Muslim: 2842)
The depths of Jahannam
A large stone thrown from above takes 70 years to reach the bottom!
Abu Musa Ash’ari (RA) said, The Prophet (PBUH) said, “If a stone is thrown at the mouth of Jahannam (Hell), the stone will go down for 70 years, but it will not reach the end of Hell (Silsilah Sahiha Ha/1496).
Abu Huraira reported: We were in the company of Allah’s Messenger (PBUH), and we heard a terrible sound. Thereupon Allah’s Apostle (PBUH) said: Do you know what (sound) is this? We said Allah and His Messenger know best. Thereupon he said, That is a stone that was thrown seventy years before in Hell, and it has been constantly slipping down, and now it has reached its base.
Fuel of Jahannam
The fuel of Jahannam will be people and stones (Quran 2:24). “O you who believe, protect yourselves and your families from fire, whose fuel will be men and stones, in which guards are very strict! They do not disobey Allah’s orders; rather, they do what is instructed” (Quran 66:6).
Resident of Jahannam
“I will certainly fill Jahannam with jinn and human beings—this declaration of your Lord will be fulfilled” (11:119). Of course, the sinners of humans and jinn will be the inhabitants of Jahannam (Quran 32:13, 7:179, 19:68, 35:6).
They are all inhabitants of Hell, who are strong, fierce, loud-voiced, and arrogant (Silsilah Sahiha Ha/1444).
The shape of the Jahannam dweller
The width between the two shoulders of a Kafir (disbeliever) will be equal to the distance covered by a fast rider in three days (Bukhari 6551).
Some narrations also state that the teeth of the people of Jahannam will be as big as Mount Uhud.
The dress of Jahannam dweller
The clothes of the people of Jahannam will be of fire (Quran 22:19).
Food and drink for people of Jahannam
There is a type of fruit in Jahannam called Zaqqum that sinners will be given to eat. It looks like the head of Satan, and it will boil in the stomach like molten copper (Quran44:43-46, 37:64-65).
“Indeed, the tree of Zaqqum is the food of the sinner; it is like molten copper, boiling in the bellies. Like boiling water (it will be said): Seize him, then drag him to the midst of Hell. Then pour over his head the torment of boiling water. (it will be said): Taste, indeed you are the honored, the noble. Indeed, this is what you used to doubt.” (Quran 44:43-50)
If even a drop from the Zaqqum tree falls on the earth, it will destroy all the livelihoods of the inhabitants of the earth (Tirmidhi, 2585)
When the people of Hell ask for water, they will be given hot water like foul-smelling pus. Which will burn their faces and cut their veins and intestines. And it will seem as if death is coming from all sides, but they will not die. (Quran 18:23, 47:15, 14:16-17).
The Lowest Punishment in Jahannam
Among the various levels of punishment in Jahannam, the least punishment will be wearing laced shoes of fire.
Prophet (PBUH) said, The least suffering for the people of Jahannam is the one who has two shoes on his feet and two ribbons of Jahannam and boils his brain with it like a cooking pot. And he will think that he is under the most severe punishment, whereas he will be under the least punishment (Muslim 213).
In Hell, some people will have fire reaching their ankles, some will have fire reaching their knees, some will have fire reaching their waists, and some will have fire reaching their collarbones (Muslim: 2845).
The least punished person of the (Hell) Fire people on the Day of Resurrection will be a man under whose arch of the feet two smoldering embers will be placed, because of which his brain will boil just like Al-Mirjal (copper vessel) or a Qum-qum (narrow-necked vessel) is boiling with water (Bukhari 6561).
Narrated Abu Sa Al-Khudri: I heard Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) when his uncle, Abu Talib, had been mentioned in his presence, saying, “Maybe my intercession will help him (Abu Talib) on the Day of Resurrection so that he may be put in a shallow place in the Fire, with fire reaching his ankles and causing his brain to boil (Bukhari 6564).
“Allah will say to the person who will have the minimum punishment in the Fire on the Day of Resurrection, ‘If you had things equal to whatever is on the earth, would you ransom yourself (from the punishment) with it?’ He will reply, Yes. Allah will say, ‘I asked you a much easier thing than this while you were in the backbone of Adam, that is, not to worship others besides Me, but you refused and insisted to worship others besides Me” (Bukhari 6557).
Punished by shackles and chains
Although the punishment of hell is often referred to as the punishment of fire, there are other punishments in hell, such as the punishment of chains and fetters, the punishment of snakes and scorpions, and the punishment of hot water.
When shackles and chains are around their necks, they will be dragged into boiling water, and then they will be burnt in the fire (Quran 40:71-72).
Verily, we have prepared for the disbelievers chains, fetters, and a blazing fire.’ (Quran 76: 4).
Verily, we have prepared for the wrongdoers a Fire whose walls surround them (Quran 18:29)
Punished by snakes and scorpions
The shape of the snake of Jahannam will be like a big camel, and the shape of the scorpion will be like a mule. The Messenger of Allah said, “For the punishment of those who will be in hell, a large number of fiery snakes have been kept there.” The shape of that snake is like a big camel! If this snake bites someone once, its poison will remain for many days, and blood will flow from the wound for 40 years. Then large scorpions like these snakes will be in abundance in hell. Their shape will be huge like a mule. If they also bite once, their poison will remain for 40 years (Sahih at-Targhib wat Tarhib, Ha/3676; Sahih Ibnu Hibban, Ha/7471; Silsila Sahiha, Ha/3429).
In another description, the snakes of hell will be very venomous and bald-headed. He will have two black spots over his eyes. Narrated by Abu Huraira. He said, The Prophet said, “Whoever Allah has given wealth to, but he has not paid his Zakat, his wealth will be turned into a venomous snake on the Day of Resurrection. “Whose eyes will have two black dots? On the Day of Resurrection, the snake will twist his throat bite his jaws, and say, I am your treasure. (Sahih Bukhari, Ha/1403; Mishkat Ha/1774)
Punishment by hot water and black smoke
Boiling water will be poured over the heads of the disbelievers in Jahannam. As a result, everything inside their stomach and skin will melt and come out. Whenever they want to come out of the torment of Jahannam, they will be struck with a hammer and brought back there and [it will be said], “Taste the torment of the blazing Fire!” (Quran22:19-22).
“And the people of the left—how ˹miserable˺ will they be! ˹They will be˺ in scorching heat and boiling water,in the shade of black smoke, neither cool nor refreshing(Quran56:41-44).
”And for those who disbelieved in their Lord is the punishment of Hell, and wretched is the destination. When they are thrown into it, they hear from it a [dreadful] inhaling while it boils up. It almost bursts with rage. Every time a company is thrown into it, its keepers ask them, “Did there not come to you a warner?” Quran 67:6-8).