It's really important that we don't say about Allah things we wish to be in accordance with what sits well with us.
I appreciate your response. I know you mean well, but I certainly did not intend to say something which is merely of my opinion. I don't think you have read those Ahadith carefully enough because there are two lengthy versions, and one goes further than the other in saying that people will be interceded for. It goes so far as to say that Allah would take out those who did NO good before. When the Holy Prophet (saw) intercedes and his intercession is accepted, after around four times, then everyone will be taken out of Hell who could come out, and the rest are imprisoned forever.
Narrated Anas: The Prophet said, "On the Day of Resurrection the Believers will assemble and say, 'Let us ask somebody to intercede for us with our Lord.' So they will go to Adam and say, 'You are the father of all the people, and Allah created you with His Own
hands, and ordered the angels to prostrate to you, and taught you the names of all things; so please intercede for us with your Lord, so that He may relieve us from this place of ours.' Adam will say, 'I am not fit for this (i.e. intercession for you).' Then Adam will remember his sin and feel ashamed thereof. He will say, 'Go to Noah, for he was the first Apostle, Allah sent to the inhabitants of the earth.' They will go to him and Noah will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking.' He will remember his appeal to his Lord to do what he had no knowledge of, then he will feel ashamed thereof and will say, 'Go to the Khalil--r-Rahman (i.e. Abraham).' They will go to him and he will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking. Go to Moses, the slave to whom Allah spoke (directly) and gave him the Torah .' So they will go to him and he will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking.' and he will mention (his) killing a person who was not a killer, and so he will feel ashamed thereof before his Lord, and he will say, 'Go to Jesus, Allah's Slave, His Apostle and Allah's Word and a Spirit coming from Him. Jesus will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking, go to Muhammad the Slave of Allah whose past and future sins were forgiven by Allah.' So they will come to me and I will proceed till I will ask my Lord's Permission and I will be given permission. When I see my Lord, I will fall down in Prostration and He will let me remain in that state as long as He wishes and then I will be addressed.' (Muhammad!) Raise your head. Ask, and your request will be granted; say, and your saying will be listened to; intercede, and your intercession will be accepted.' I will raise my head and praise Allah with a saying (i.e. invocation) He will teach me, and then I will intercede. He will fix a limit for me (to intercede for) whom I will admit into Paradise. Then I will come back again to Allah, and when I see my Lord, the same thing will happen to me. And then I will intercede and Allah will fix a limit for me to intercede whom I will let into Paradise, then I will come back for the third time; and then I will come back for the fourth time, and will say, 'None remains in Hell but those whom the Quran has imprisoned (in Hell) and who have been destined to an eternal stay in Hell.' " (The compiler) Abu 'Abdullah said: 'But those whom the Qur'an has imprisoned in Hell,' refers to the Statement of Allah: "They will dwell therein forever." (16.29) (Book
#60, Hadith
#3)
(Sahih Bukhari)
another version says that there will also be Angels, prophets and believers who will intercede on the behalf of some people. After all of this, there will remain people who did no good at all in this life. This is mentioned after the intercession of everyone else. Those are the people Allah will bring up with His Hand.
Narrated Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri: We said, "O Allah's Apostle! Shall we see our Lord on the Day of Resurrection?" He said, "Do you have any difficulty in seeing the sun and the moon when the sky is clear?" We said, "No." He said, "So you will have no difficulty in seeing your Lord on that Day as you have no difficulty in seeing the sun and the moon (in a clear sky)." The Prophet then said, "Somebody will then announce, 'Let every nation follow what they used to worship.' So the companions of the cross will go with their cross, and the idolators (will go) with their idols, and the companions of every god (false deities) (will go) with their god, till there remain those who used to worship Allah, both the obedient ones and the mischievous ones, and some of the people of the Scripture. Then Hell will be presented to them as if it were a mirage. Then it will be said to the Jews, "What did you use to worship?' They will reply, 'We used to worship Ezra, the son of Allah.' It will be said to them, 'You are liars, for Allah has neither a wife nor a son. What do you want (now)?' They will reply, 'We want You to provide us with water.' Then it will be said to them 'Drink,' and they will fall down in Hell (instead). Then it will be said to the Christians, 'What did you use to worship?' They will reply, 'We used to worship Messiah, the son of Allah.' It will be said, 'You are liars, for Allah has neither a wife nor a son. What: do you want (now)?' They will say, 'We want You to provide us with water.' It will be said to them, 'Drink,' and they will fall down in Hell (instead). When there remain only those who used to worship Allah (Alone), both the obedient ones and the mischievous ones, it will be said to them, 'What keeps you here when all the people have gone?' They will say, 'We parted with them (in the world) when we were in greater need of them than we are today, we heard the call of one proclaiming, 'Let every nation follow what they used to worship,' and now we are waiting for our Lord.' Then the Almighty will come to them in a shape other than the one which they saw the first time, and He will say, 'I am your Lord,' and they will say, 'You are not our Lord.' And none will speak: to Him then but the Prophets, and then it will be said to them, 'Do you know any sign by which you can recognize Him?' They will say. 'The Shin,' and so Allah will then uncover His Shin whereupon every believer will prostrate before Him and there will remain those who used to prostrate before Him just for showing off and for gaining good reputation. These people will try to prostrate but their backs will be rigid like one piece of a wood (and they will not be able to prostrate). Then the bridge will be laid across Hell." We, the companions of the Prophet said, "O Allah's Apostle! What is the bridge?' He said, "It is a slippery (bridge) on which there are clamps and (Hooks like) a thorny seed that is wide at one side and narrow at the other and has thorns with bent ends. Such a thorny seed is found in Najd and is called As-Sa'dan. Some of the believers will cross the bridge as quickly as the wink of an eye, some others as quick as lightning, a strong wind, fast horses or she-camels. So some will be safe without any harm; some will be safe after receiving some scratches, and some will fall down into Hell (Fire). The last person will cross by being dragged (over the bridge)." The Prophet said, "You (Muslims) cannot be more pressing in claiming from me a right that has been clearly proved to be yours than the believers in interceding with Almighty for their (Muslim) brothers on that Day, when they see themselves safe. They will say, 'O Allah! (Save) our brothers (for they) used to pray with us, fast with us and also do good deeds with us.' Allah will say, 'Go and take out (of Hell) anyone in whose heart you find faith equal to the weight of one (gold) Dinar.' Allah will forbid the Fire to burn the faces of those sinners. They will go to them and find some of them in Hell (Fire) up to their feet, and some up to the middle of their legs. So they will take out those whom they will recognize and then they will return, and Allah will say (to them), 'Go and take out (of Hell) anyone in whose heart you find faith equal to the weight of one half Dinar.' They will take out whomever they will recognize and return, and then Allah will say, 'Go and take out (of Hell) anyone in whose heart you find faith equal to the weight of an atom (or a smallest ant), and so they will take out all those whom they will recognize." Abu Sa'id said: If you do not believe me then read the Holy Verse:-- 'Surely! Allah wrongs not even of the weight of an atom (or a smallest ant) but if there is any good (done) He doubles it.' (4.40) The Prophet added, "Then the prophets and Angels and the believers will intercede, and (last of all) the Almighty (Allah) will say, 'Now remains My Intercession. He will then hold a
handful of the Fire from which He will take out some people whose bodies have been burnt, and they will be thrown into a river at the entrance of Paradise, called the water of life. They will grow on its banks, as a seed carried by the torrent grows. You have noticed how it grows beside a rock or beside a tree, and how the side facing the sun is usually green while the side facing the shade is white. Those people will come out (of the River of Life) like pearls, and they will have (golden) necklaces, and then they will enter Paradise whereupon the people of Paradise will say, 'These are the people emancipated by the Beneficent. He has admitted them into Paradise without them having done any good deeds and without sending forth any good (for themselves).' Then it will be said to them, 'For you is what you have seen and its equivalent as well.'" (Book
#93, Hadith
#532s)
(Sahih Bukhari)
And the Hand of Allah is not something to take lightly. Remember that the Foot of Allah over Hell caused its sides to encroach upon each other until it said ,"Enough! Enough!":
Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "Paradise and Hell (Fire) quarrelled in the presence of their Lord. Paradise said, 'O Lord! What is wrong with me that only the poor and humble people enter me ?' Hell (Fire) said, I have been favored with the arrogant people.' So Allah said to Paradise, 'You are My Mercy,' and said to Hell, 'You are My Punishment which I inflict upon whom I wish, and I shall fill both of you.'" The Prophet added, "As for Paradise, (it will be filled with good people) because Allah does not wrong any of His created things, and He creates for Hell (Fire) whomever He will, and they will be thrown into it, and it will say thrice, 'Is there any more, till Allah (will put) His Foot over it and it will become full and its sides will come close to each other and it will say, 'Qat! Qat! Qat! (Enough! Enough! Enough!) . (Book #93, Hadith #541)
(Sahih Bukhari)
So then do you think the Hand of Allah would only take out a partial portion of the people of Hell? No. We do not know how long it would be before Allah would intercede on behalf of all of those people, it could be those ahqab which He mentioned (78:23). However, His Hand cannot be limited, because Allah has no limits.
But this is just from the Ahadith.
As for the verses of the Qur'an which say that the stay in Hell is for "khalideena" or "abadan". These terms have two meanings, one is that of a very long time and the other is that of eternity. Consider this then, would Allah ever mean only one meaning for these verses, or both of them? The answer is both. Allah does not misuse words anywhere in the Holy Qur'an. Every word is used for a reason.
Now, as for what the Holy Qur'an has said, consider this verse:
101:9
A bereft and Hungry One will be his mother,
(Pickthall)
I chose this translation for a reason. (Keep in mind, I am choosing this verse because however you look at all the other verses on Hell, taking into account the double meaning of the words "abadan" and "khalideena", the Qur'an cannot contradict itself in meaning with any of its own verses.) It says, rather than abode, that Hell will be a mother to the people who burn in there. The arabic word used in this verse is not "daar" for what is called "abode" or "mother", but it uses "ummuhu" (his mother). This is referring to the disbelievers.
So, why would Allah choose the term "ummuhu" when no one stays in their mother forever? The reason is that no one stays in their mother forever. A child stays in the mother's womb for some time, then Allah decrees when that child leaves the womb. Do you see any verse in the Qur'an which says that the child stays in the womb forever? No. This is because that was the reason for Allah choosing this word. There is a very good reason for His choosing it. This verse can be understood in light of what the Qur'an says in other places:
22:5
O mankind! if ye have a doubt about the Resurrection, (consider) that We created you out of dust, then out of sperm, then out of a leech-like clot, then out of a morsel of flesh, partly formed and partly unformed, in order that We may manifest (our power) to you; and We cause whom We will to rest in the wombs for an appointed term, then do We bring you out as babes, then (foster you) that ye may reach your age of full strength; and some of you are called to die, and some are sent back to the feeblest old age, so that they know nothing after having known (much), and (further), thou seest the earth barren and lifeless, but when We pour down rain on it, it is stirred (to life), it swells, and it puts forth every kind of beautiful growth (in pairs).
23:14
Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood; then of that clot We made a (foetus) lump; then we made out of that lump bones and clothed the bones with flesh; then we developed out of it another creature. So blessed be Allah, the best to create!
13:8
Allah doth know what every female (womb) doth bear, by how much the wombs fall short (of their time or number) or do exceed. Every single thing is before His sight, in (due) proportion.
35:11
And Allah did create you from dust; then from a sperm-drop; then He made you in pairs. And no female conceives, or lays down (her load), but with His knowledge. Nor is a man long-lived granted length of days, nor is a part cut off from his life, but is in a Decree (ordained). All this is easy to Allah.
Add on to this, the fact that Allah has stressed in many places in the Holy Qur'an that He rewards people according to their deeds, and that He rewards good deeds more than bad deeds.
40:17
That Day will every soul be requited for what it earned; no injustice will there be that Day, for Allah is Swift in taking account.
74:37
To any of you that chooses to press forward, or to follow behind;-
74:38
Every soul will be (held) in pledge for its deeds.
Interestingly enough, verse 74:48 then says, "
Then will no intercession of (any) intercessors profit them." The commentaries for this says that the intercession of the Prophets, the Angels and the righteous will not profit them.
Then that would only leave Allah's intercession after that. I did not see any commentary mentioning that Allah's intercession is not going to be given for them. This is why that Hadith above said that there is intercession on behalf of those who did no good in their lives.
Continuing,
14:51
That Allah may requite each soul according to its deserts; and verily Allah is swift in calling to account.
45:22
Allah created the heavens and the earth for just ends, and in order that each soul may find the recompense of what it has earned, and none of them be wronged.
3:25
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 (favour or) injustice?
2:281
And fear the Day when ye shall be brought back to Allah. Then shall every soul be paid what it earned, and none shall be dealt with unjustly.
2:286
On no soul doth Allah Place a burden greater than it can bear. It gets every good that it earns, and it suffers every ill that it earns. (Pray "Our Lord! Condemn us not if we forget or fall into error; our Lord! Lay not on us a burden Like that which Thou didst lay on those before us; Our Lord! Lay not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear. Blot out our sins, and grant us forgiveness. Have mercy on us. Thou art our Protector; Help us against those who stand against faith."
23:62
On no soul do We place a burden greater than it can bear: before Us is a record which clearly shows the truth: they will never be wronged.
So I am not making anything up when I say that Allah only punished people according to what they have done. It doesn't take a genius to see that He doesn't punish people infinitely for finite sins. Can a sin be considered infinitely bad? That is what you have to ask yourself. The Qur'an doesn't seem to support the idea that Hell is forever. I am not using some philosophical thinking of my own here. But, when you see what the Qur'an says, it makes sense that Hell is not forever since you cannot possibly say that everyone will be judged according to their sins, and then be left in Hell forever. If doing Shirk and no good deeds equals an infinite amount of sin, then perhaps that is the case. But i do not think that is the case. Why else would Allah even use the concept of a scale in the first place? Also, why would the Holy Prophet (saw) even suggest something contrary to the Holy Qur'an, such as these exact same people having Allah's intercession? Why would both Bukhari and Muslim have this Hadith then?
I don't think I know you and many others have this wrong, I know it.
