Heaven and Hell: an Islamic Perspective
The Day of Judgment: Heaven or Hell Whether it is a belief in Heaven, Paradise, Afterlife, Shangri-la, Nirvana, or the Great Pearly Gates in the sky, nearly every religion in the world teaches us there will be a realm of eternal delight for devout followers of their teachings as well as a place of shame and despair for those who commit evil. Islam is no exception. In fact over a quarter of the Qur’an’s verse’s relate directly to the next life. Heaven (Jannah) in Islam is a physical place where every wish is instantaneously fulfilled, all one has to do is ask. As for evil doers and malcontents, Islam provides another destination. Hell (Jahannam) in Islam is a place wherein evil doers hear on earth will wear clothing of burning pitch, eat barbed fruits and snakes and scorpions will be their constant companions. Interestingly hell is not as much for punishment as it is for purification and only because of the mercy of Allah, all Muslims are ordered released from hell in order to enter heaven, non-Muslims however seem destined to an eternal existence in hell. In Islam belief, when a person dies, the soul is “stored” in the grave along with the body. The moment the funeral is over and the last person of the congregation has stepped 40 steps away from the grave, the soul receives a visit from two angels, Munkar and Nakir, (The Denied and The Denier). who ask the newly dead three questions: Who is your Lord, what was your way of life and finally, who is your prophet? If the soul answers the three questions correctly (God, Surrender (or obedience) to God’s will and the name of the prophet we followed) then we are accepted into the eternal gardens of delight, our storage space is expanded to the size of a large room and we sleep and dream peacefully until the Day of Judgment. If however the soul answers the questions to the dissatisfaction of the Angels, they strike our spirit body with a blunt instrument and command our storage space to squeeze in upon us
Cited: Emerick, Yahiya. "Understanding Islam". Penguin Group . Book. 2 May 2012. Religious Facts. Islamic Beliefs about the Afterlife. http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/beliefs/afterlife.htm. Web. 2 May 2012.