1 Introducing Hell in Islamic Studies

Abstract

In regard to the afterlife, scholars of Islam in the West have demonstrated a remarkably irenic temper, preferring to give far more attention to paradise than to hell. The Islamic hell, for the most part, has been viewed as no more than the mirror image of paradise, an ugly reflection of the beauties and the joys in heaven. Consequently, it has been considered a phenomenon of secondary logical and ontological order, as well as interest. The few general overviews of Islamic eschatology largely bypass the infernal regions,1 and the dedicated studies of the Islamic paradise, of which there are a fair number,2 cannot be said to be paralleled by the same number of scholarly forays into the Islamic hell.3 While the entry on paradise in the second edition of the Encyclopaedia of Islam (1954Islam ( -2005

Paradise and Hell in Islamic Traditions

“…39 Further, it would be fallacious to underestimate the important place that hell occupies in the Muslim religious imagination. 40 In fact, hell, as the "sandal" hadith tells us, is as closely intertwined with this world as paradise.…”

To Heaven or to Hell: Are Muslims’ Afterlife Hope and Fear Balanced? A Cross-Cultural Study

“…Belief in afterlife reward and punishment is one of the most basic manifestations of the religious phenomenon, especially the Abrahamic religions. For example, the subject of afterlife reward and punishment is a major theme found throughout the Qur'an, the main source text of the Islamic religion (Dastmalchian 2017; Lange 2016; Murata and Chittick 1994). Currently, studies have begun to pay attention to the importance of understanding the details of afterlife beliefs concerning reward and punishment in order to understand the psychological and social impact of these beliefs (Ghayas and Batool 2017; Wrocawska-Warchala and Warchala 2015).…”

“…This relationship between worldly life and the afterlife in Islam is confirmed by many verses in the Qur'an and prophetic sayings ( hadith ) of the Prophet Muhammad (Shafer 2012). For example, many Qur'anic verses describe in detail the penalties that those who fail the test will be subjected to, and the rewards that those who succeed will receive in the afterlife (Lange 2016; Murata and Chittick 1994). In addition, the verses of the Qur'an that mention the characteristics of God often combine the attributes of mercy and wrath (Qur'an 15:49, 50).…”