Threat of Hell, Promise of Heavan

[جوري]

This thread is very similar to this one
http://www.islamicboard.com/comparative-religion/30923-believe-god-burn-hell-forever.html

I believe many have answered what religion entails to them outside the boundries of reward and punishment.....You are right only in the sense that ... religion probably has no value unless you as a person give it value..... not loaning it credence doesn't however mean that it isn't an integral part of humanity, or that it is unnecessary-- a desert rat might be able to concentrate water and not need it as much or at all, but it doesn't mean that it isn't the essence of life and a necessary sustenance to the rest of creation!......

peace!

 

[syilla]

Yeh thats true- God only helps those who want help. And those who want help will appreciate having a strong driving force to do good and abstain from evil, namely the threat of hell and the promise of paradise.

A disbeliever doesnt believe in hell. But it doesnt mean it doesnt exist.

:thumbs_up

 

[Ali_slave of Allah]

Re: "Believe in God or burn in hell forever"

i think he was telling a story

 

[north_malaysian]

Re: "Believe in God or burn in hell forever"

So God creates humans to worship Him? Does he need an ego stroke?

Yeah... because human have a tendency to forget him...

 

[north_malaysian]

Re: "Believe in God or burn in hell forever"

Isnt it haram to slap in the face?

I think there is a hadith on it....

 

[snakelegs]

It is my belief that the threat of heall and promise of heaven are only as effective as the belief in them. So this threat and promise are useful to keep believers from questioning but useless to bring in new converts.

If you don't believe hell exists, being told you will go there unless you change your belief is just going to leave you wondering... [removed end of quote].

many ideas - political and religious - are promoted by causing fear among the targeted "audience".
i would agree with your comment above, except the sadomasochist part. people are easily manipulated thru fear - fear of hell, fear of terrorism, etc. etc. it is used to sell a variety of things besides ideas - life insurance comes to mind, a whole line of products, etc. etc.

 

[snakelegs]

A disbeliever doesnt believe in hell. But it doesnt mean it doesnt exist.

i agree.

 

[Umar001]

It is my belief that the threat of heall and promise of heaven are only as effective as the belief in them. So this threat and promise are useful to keep believers from questioning but useless to bring in new converts.

If you don't believe hell exists, being told you will go there unless you change your belief is just going to leave you wondering... [removed end of quote]

I have a similar problem with a friend who tells me 'Look man without Jesus you gonna burn for real I aint playing'

And am like, ok but I could tell you the same bout islam and a hindu the same about Hinduism or what ever.

And he just says 'LOok man for real, forget that, I dont want you to go hell man'

So I can see the problem that would arise if a Muslim went up to an athiest and told him G-d is gonna put you in hell, and the athiest would just think, there is no G-d and No hell!

 

[glo]

I have a similar problem with a friend who tells me 'Look man without Jesus you gonna burn for real I aint playing'

And am like, ok but I could tell you the same bout islam and a hindu the same about Hinduism or what ever.

And he just says 'LOok man for real, forget that, I dont want you to go hell man'

So I can see the problem that would arise if a Muslim went up to an athiest and told him G-d is gonna put you in hell, and the athiest would just think, there is no G-d and No hell!

You make a good point, Isa!

We all have our own perception of what hell may be like ... based on the teachings of our religion.
But there is more to choosing your faith than just being terrified of hell - otherwise everybody would flock to the religion which describes hell to be the most terrible in the most graphical detail (whichever religion that may be)

By the end of the day we all have our personal reasons why we believe what we believe ... and none of us knows for sure if we were right until the time of our death.
We can only follow God in the best way we know!

Peace

 

[Umar001]

You make a good point, Isa!

We all have our own perception of what hell may be like ... based on the teachings of our religion.
But there is more to choosing your faith than just being terrified of hell - otherwise everybody would flock to the religion which describes hell to be the most terrible in the most graphical detail (whichever religion that may be)
Peace

Glad we agree about some stuff then lol

 

[glo]

Glad we agree about some stuff then lol

It's a miracle!!!

Peace to you, Isa

 

[Ibn Abi Ahmed]

Hi glo,

and none of us knows for sure if we were right until the time of our death.

I am positive you will disagree with me, but we muslims know what exactly happens to us after death. It is only a matter of time before one realizes it, dont you think? And you will agree that a realization after death is a realization too late?

And, wont it be too late then, to find out what was the Truth after dying? To die, and realize that one was on the wrong path all his life? To find out, that he not only lost this world, but lost the good in the hereafter as well? That would be a great loss! To be shown Paradise and then be told, "This is where you would have been had you not done such and such"? Imagine the feeling of regret!

Peace!

 

[جوري]

Every soul shall have regrets....
If the soul were good... it will regret not having done better to be more elevated in the hereafter....
if the soul were bad... well what a horrible insurmountable truth that is..... they will beg a second chance.... but... there is only one chance....... albiet a long one at time for some... still some don't reflect......

 

[Umar001]

Hi glo,



I am positive you will disagree with me, but we muslims know what exactly happens to us after death. It is only a matter of time before one realizes it, dont you think? And you will agree that a realization after death is a realization too late?

And, wont it be too late then, to find out what was the Truth after dying? To die, and realize that one was on the wrong path all his life? To find out, that he not only lost this world, but lost the good in the hereafter as well? That would be a great loss! To be shown Paradise and then be told, "This is where you would have been had you not done such and such"? Imagine the feeling of regret!

Peace!

Lol this is why I only quoted what I quote with regards to me and Glo's agreement.

And Peace be upon u too Glo

 

[glo]

Hi glo,
I am positive you will disagree with me, but we muslims know what exactly happens to us after death. It is only a matter of time before one realizes it, dont you think? And you will agree that a realization after death is a realization too late?

You are right, Ahmed - I do disagree. :giggling:

Let me rephrase your statement to 'we muslims believe we know what exactly happens to us after death'.
Same as we Christians/Buddhists/Hindus/Jews etc believe we know what happens after death ...

The reason we all believe to know, is that we believe certain religious teachings.
Convinced as I am that my belief is right, I cannot claim to know. And anybody who claims otherwise is sadly mistaken! :?

Only God knows!

Peace

Isa, put your tongue away! Cheeky! tut tut

 

[- Qatada -]

I feel that the theme of hell/paradise has always been the same throughout history, the two extremes - the fire, and eternal joy. and this has been the theme throughout time. Therefore i feel that the people must have got it from somewhere, and because this idea is so ancient - it is a sign that it came from the oldest religion [which is obviously islaam - submission the Creator - Allaah alone] (starting from the first human Adam and his wife Hawwa [Eve] (peace be upon them.) (even though i know that people may argue otherwise.)


I also feel that the idea of hellfire and paradise is really a reflection of this world. We believe in two extremes of the hereafter, and this world is a mixture of the two. For instance we have pleasure in this world, and we also have pain in this world. The pain is a taster of the eternal punishment which occurs in the hereafter, and the pleasure is similarly a taster of the eternal pleasure of the hereafter. So we have something to reflect on while dwelling in this world, for the little time we spend here.


If every single human dies in this world, then this explains that there has to be some form of next level, and everything that we do isn't created in vain. We will be judged on our actions. It also explains that the Creator never created us for nothing, but it was for a reason, and as muslims - we know it is to worship/obey Him Alone. Everything that Allaah has created, it will return back to Him, and that is the explanation of death.




The argument others use is that people use religion as a form of dictating people and forcing them to obey them, otherwise they will go to hellfire. But we know that islaam is the total opposite, if we see a leader who is disobeying Allaah Almighty and His messenger - in the sense that their not applying the islamic law, then we may not have to obey them.

If anyone feel's that the law revealed to the Messenger of Allaah - Muhammad (peace be upon him) was fake, then they have to realise that even he (peace be upon him) never abused his power because he lived the most poorest of lives till death (yet he was the ruler of arabia), whereas a person who strives for this world would be running after all the wealth and power they could get hold of before death overcame them.



Paradise is a form of positive reinforcement to the ones who worship their Creator alone and do good deeds, whereas those who reject the fact that their Creator should be worshipped alone, and instead follow their lusts and desires, they will return to their Creator, Allaah too. Hellfire is their punishment, and the trials a person goes through in this world may be a form of negative reinforcement (so they may return back to their Creator for help).. if man is sincere, Allaah will guide him/her to the truth.




Allaah Almighty know's best.



Peace.​

 

[Woodrow]

It is my belief that the threat of heall and promise of heaven are only as effective as the belief in them. So this threat and promise are useful to keep believers from questioning but useless to bring in new converts.

If you don't believe hell exists, being told you will go there unless you change your belief is just going to leave you wondering...

Fear of Hell is a poor reason to accept a religion. I choose Islam because I believe it to be the true way to express Love of Allah(swt). I believe in the toal submission to him and accept whatever fate awaits me. I do not worship Him out of fear, I worship him for the blessings of his creations. I worship him for his limitless goodness and fairness.

I doubt very much that the threat of Hell is the bond that holds any person to a belief of God(swt). It is not even a threat, it is simply verification that God(swt) is all just and we shall be rewarded in accordance with our deeds. Sort of like having a job. Our job is to live this life, our pay check will be eternity. Some people work at sub-minimal value and will be paid what they earn. Not a punishment, simply fair pay for the work done.

 

[Ibn Abi Ahmed]

Convinced as I am that my belief is right, I cannot claim to know. And anybody who claims otherwise is sadly mistaken!

But I am positive that what I believe is true! There is a difference.

Only God knows!

That implys that you are not secure in your beliefs to believe something and then say that God only knows. Dont get me wrong, God is the only One that knows all. But to be convinced about something and then state something that implys insecurity shows that you are not fully convinced.

 

[*charisma*]

Hey,

It is my belief that the threat of heall and promise of heaven are only as effective as the belief in them. So this threat and promise are useful to keep believers from questioning but useless to bring in new converts.

If you don't believe hell exists, being told you will go there unless you change your belief is just going to leave you wondering...

What I find interesting is that in Islam we are also told that most of us will be going to hell as well, but we won't remain there forever. Even with this there are still many nonmuslims converting. So in Islam, hell is not made just to be a 'threat' it is also a promise for every sinner whether muslim or nonmuslim, just as paradise is made to be a reward for every believer. There are justifications for each.

As creations, our Creator made it our right to know where we will end up in the end and at least what kind of rewards/punishments we will recieve so that we won't be oblivious on the day of judgement with excuses such as, "well we didn't know what we would be getting ourselves into, its not our fault, you didn't tell us." It's a warning.

Without some type of punishment that will be promised, will be living life on earth to its "fullest" with other intentions than for the intention of pleasing their Lord (partying, drinking, sex, etc.) without many limits in life.

Paradise and Hell, I would say, are probably equally mentioned in Islam. Both are extremes that we've never witnessed before. One is a beautiful, exotic, unimaginable reward, and the other is a terrible, painful, as well as unimaginable punishment.

If you're interested about the descriptions of hell and paradise check these links out:

http://www.islamicboard.com/akhira-hereafter/30767-descriptions-paradise-islam.html

http://www.islamicboard.com/akhira-hereafter/30771-descriptions-hell-islam.html

peace

 

[Umar001]

Assalamu Aleykum, Sister.

What I find interesting is that in Islam we are also told that most of us will be going to hell as well,

I'm just wondering where is this stated? I haven't been told this, sounds scary ffended: