Quranic verse - need clarification

[Rana02]

Salam brothers and sisters,

Hope you are in the best of healthy and Ramadhan is treating you well!

I have been speaking to a non-Muslim lately and she has thrown some arguments at me, most of which I had answers for. However, recently she gave me the following quotes from the Holy Quran -

"Surely, those who disbelieve in our revelations, we will condemn them to the hellfire. Whenever their skins are burnt, we will give them new skins. Thus, they will suffer continuously." (4:56)

"But as for those who disbelieve, garments of fire will be cut out for them; boiling fluid will be poured down on their heads, Whereby that which is in their bellies, and their skins too, will be melted; And for them are hooked rods of iron Whenever, in their anguish, they would go forth from thence they are driven back therein and (it is said unto them): Taste the doom of burning." (22:19-22)

and this is her argument [in her words] -

The Quran clearly states that people get tortured for disbelief. These verses are crystal clear. Disbelief itself is a crime punishable by hell. And there are hundreds of other verses like them. Disbelievers go to hell is probably the most frequent theme of the Quran. Please tell me how the context changes the meaning of those verses. I interpret them to mean just what they say, i.e., disbelievers go to hell and get tortured.



I would really appreciate if anyone could explain these verses and how I can tell her that Islam doesn't teach violence etc. rather it's a peaceful religion.

['Aleena]

Wallaikum assalam
May Allah(SWT) reward you for your noble efforts.

Our life on this earth has a specific purpose; it is not the result of nature's accident, nor is it a punishment for eating the fruit of the forbidden tree. We are here according to God's plan: the wordly life is a test; it is a chance to prove ourselves as deserving of the eternal blissful life in the hereafter. God did not create us just for few years of this life. To be created just for this world's life would amount to a joke played by the Creator with the human species. Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, said," You have not been created to perish; on the contrary, you have been created for eternal life."

According to Islam, the final destination of mankind is the life hereafter. At the end of time, all human beings will be resurrected and will be held accountable for their wordly life. The life in hereafter will be an eternal life. However, whether it will be blissful or full of sorrow depends on how we spend our present life.
This life is a test. Those who pass this test are promised Jannah while those who fail will face punishment.
so what are the requirements of passing this test?
Worshipping only Allah and following the Quran and the hadees.
So if a person spends his life worshipping Allah and avoiding all evil temptations will be granted paradise
whereas a person who does not worship Allah and gains pleasure by indulging in all evil activities will have to face punishment.
So the Quranic verses which speak of punishing the disbelievers has nothing to do with peace or violence. instead it speaks of JUSTICE
Indeed He is the most Just and the most merciful.

"Surely, those who disbelieve in our revelations, we will condemn them to the hellfire. Whenever their skins are burnt, we will give them new skins. Thus, they will suffer continuously." (4:56)

"But as for those who disbelieve, garments of fire will be cut out for them; boiling fluid will be poured down on their heads, Whereby that which is in their bellies, and their skins too, will be melted; And for them are hooked rods of iron Whenever, in their anguish, they would go forth from thence they are driven back therein and (it is said unto them): Taste the doom of burning." (22:19-22)

Many wud find this verse as cruel or harsh but to me they are proof of Allah's love for us.
Suppose Allah(SWT) had promised paradise for the belivers but no hell for the disbelivers as in they wud perish after they die, how many of us wud
have have followed the true path? Most of us follow the Quraan and the Hadees out of fear for hell. Had Allah(SWT) been lenient with the sinners wud it be possible for us to avoid the temptations of the satan. Allah(SWT) has instilled fear in our hearts out of love so that His beloved creation enters Paradise.
I am not good at explaining things but i hope you understood what i m trying to convey.

And the next time she quotes this verse
"Surely, those who disbelieve in our revelations, we will condemn them to the hellfire. Whenever their skins are burnt, we will give them new skins. Thus, they will suffer continuously." (4:56)
Enlighten her with the scientific fact hidden in it

PAIN RECEPTORS PRESENT IN THE SKIN
It was thought that the sense of feeling and pain was only dependent on the brain. Recent discoveries prove that there are pain receptors present in the skin without which a person would not be able to feel pain. When a doctor examines a patient suffering from burn injuries, he verifies the degree of burns by a pinprick. If the patient feels pain, the doctor is happy, because it indicates that the burns are superficial and the pain receptors are intact. On the other hand if the patient does not feel any pain, it indicates that it is a deep burn and the pain receptors have been destroyed. The Qur’aan gives an indication of the existence of pain receptors in the following verse: "Those who reject Our signs, We shall soon Cast into the Fire; As often as their skins Are roasted through, We shall change them For fresh skins, That they may taste The Penalty: for Allah Is Exalted in Power, Wise." [Al-Qur’aan 4:56]

Prof. Tagatat Tejasen, Chairman of the Department of Anatomy at Chiang Mai University in Thailand, has spent a great amount of time on research of pain receptors. Initially he could not believe that the Qur’aan mentioned this scientific fact 1,400 years ago. He later verified the translation of this particular Qur’aanic verse. Prof. Tejasen was so impressed by the scientific accuracy of the Qur’aanic verse, that at the 8th Saudi Medical Conference held in Riyadh on the Scientific Signs of Qur’aan and Sunnah he proclaimed in public: "There is no God but Allah and Muhammad (pbuh) is His Messenger.
source: Quran and Modern science: compatible or incompatible? by DR Zakir Naik

[Alpha Dude]

Wa alaykum salam

The Quran clearly states that people get tortured for disbelief. These verses are crystal clear. Disbelief itself is a crime punishable by hell. And there are hundreds of other verses like them. Disbelievers go to hell is probably the most frequent theme of the Quran. Please tell me how the context changes the meaning of those verses. I interpret them to mean just what they say, i.e., disbelievers go to hell and get tortured.

This is a topic that comes up quite frequently here.

It is an accepted fact that disbelievers will be punished in hell. No muslim would ever dispute that nor try to skew the meaning by saying it depends on the context etc. Like the sister said, it is a crystal clear matter. Most Muslims and non-muslims already know this.

Disbelievers will go to hell because the signs of Allah and the signs of the Prophethood of Muhammad are so clear that they have no right to reject it.

There is however, a difference of opinion on whether or not those people that have never received the message of Islam would enter hell. Allah knows best their fate.

Another thing, a person that disbelieves in his short finite time on Earth would continue in disbelief had he been given the chance to live a much longer time or were he to be given another chance in life. Hence the argument that they're getting an infinite punishment for a finite crime does not apply here.

They would choose wrong every time, thus punishment is justified.

[abdussattar]

What about those people to whom the message of Islam never reached?
(Such as Muhammad(P.B.U.H)'s parents?)

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[أحمد]

:sl:

What about those people to whom the message of Islam never reached?
(Such as Muhammad(P.B.U.H)'s parents?)

(17:15) Whoever is guided is only guided for [the benefit of] his soul. And whoever errs only errs against it. And no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another. And never would We punish until We sent a messenger.

:wa:

[ayesha.ansari]

wonderful discussion here. i really appreciate your courage to know the real meaning of these verses.

[abjad]

(4:56) Surely We shall cast those who reject Our signs into the Fire; and as often as their skins are burnt out, We shall give them other skins in exchange that they may fully taste the chastisement. Surely Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.

(22:19) These are the two parties who have disputed about their Lord. *36 As regards those who have disbelieved, garments of fire have already been cut out for them ; *37 over their heads shall be poured boiling water,
*36 Here all the disputants about Allah have been divided into two main categories in spite of their large numbers:
(1) Those who believe in the Message of the Prophets and adopt the righteous way of life.
(2) Those who reject their Message and follow different ways of disbelief, though they may have countless differences and disputes among themselves.
*37 See v. 50 and E.N. 58 of Chapter XIV (Ibrahim) for explanation.

(22:22) Whenever in their anguish they will try to come out of Hell, they shall be driven back into it (with the rebuke): "Taste now the torment of burning."

I WOULD LIKE to add the Introduction of this sura, nevertheless
It is entirely to the one who wish to read and understand otherwise you may ignore me(wino=INK) and the REAL writer