You have been created for eternity .you are merely being moved form one home to another."

The Prophet of Islam (S.A.).All divinely revealed religions have specified that man is not destroyed by death but only goes from this world to another world, and in that world will receive the due reward for his deeds, good or bad.

All divine prophets and their followers have mentioned this point, that the amazing harmony and order of the universe is not in vain, and that after the removal from this world, all the actions that were done here will be investigated, so we should prepare ourselves for such a sure and certain future and always say:

ربنا ما خلقت هذا باطلا" سبحانك فقنا عذاب النار .....
(سوره آل عمران آيه 191)

Our Lord, Thou hast not created this for vanity. Glory be to Thee! Guard us against the chastisement of the Fire." (IH; 191)

Now let us look at some of the clear proofs of the Return.

The matter of the Return, which all religions specify and about which God's prophets have warned people with all insistence, is not just something to be accepted blindly, for the intellect acknowledges it to be sure and certain on the basis of the wisdom, justice and mercy of Allah.

God's wisdom requires that those who do good should not be left without reward, and that those who do evil should not be left without punishment, and that the oppressed be delivered from their oppression. We can see that this world is not a place of complete reward and punishment, and that many good-doers and evildoers die before they receive a complete, just reward for their deeds. Evildoers, with all their crimes and wrongs, benefit from the resources of life, and the oppressed are not delivered from their oppression.

Thus, if the records of these people were to terminate right here, and there is no Return and resurrection, what would have happened to God's infinite justice, wisdom and mercy?

How can it be said that the Just, Wise and Merciful Creator brought a world into existence where important people are troubled with oppression and injustice, and after a while become nothing?

We all know that this would be nothing less than injustice. The insignificant justice and wisdom of man, even, is not compatible with such works, so how is it possible that an All-wise God should be like that? How is it possible that a God Who had no need to create us, and whose aim in creating us was only to train us and make our existence productive, could be satisfied merely with this present world? How could He cut the root of man's existence before he became aware and reached fruition and annihilate him?

Without doubt, God will give complete reward and punishment for all deeds and behaviour in another world, and will neglect nothing.

ام حسب الذين اجترحوا السيئات ان نجعلهم كالذين آمنوا و عملوا الصالحات سواء محياهم و مماتهم ساء ما يحكمون. و خلق الله السموات و الارض بالحق و لتجزي كل بفس بما كسبت و هم لايظلمون.
(سوره جاثيه آيه 21-22)

Or do those who commit evil deeds think that we shall make them as those who believe and do righteous deeds, equal their living and their dying? How ill they judge! Allah created the heavens and the earth in truth, and that every soul may be recompensed for what it has earned; and they shall not be Wrangell." (XLV; 21-22)

Also, in this limited world it is impossible to punish some deeds and works. For example, someone who drops an atom bomb and blows millions of people into blood and dust, his death, in the face of the death of millions of people, cannot be called punishment, and his complete reward will come in the next world, which is an eternal world.

Similarly, the life of this world, mixed with difficulties and discomforts, is too small for God to reward the doers of good there, the people who have devoted themselves throughout their lives to service to God and to do good towards other creatures, or who have saved countless numbers of souls from certain death.

We have seen and heard with our own eyes and ears in this world how many people have, for example, dealt unjustly with their mothers and fathers, but has had no triumph in their lives, or who have killed their parents and died themselves young. We have also seen how many people have been kind to the mothers and fathers, and have received their reward in this world and lived successful lives; and again how many people have not observed the rights of orphans, and have seen the ominous fruits of their work in this world.

The Qur'an has threatened people with the consequences of injustice towards orphans and has said:

وليخش الذين لوا تركوا من خلفهم ذرية ضعافا خافوا عليهم فليتقوا الله
(سوره نساء آيه 9)

"And let those fear (from hurting orphans) who, ~ they left behind them weak see4 would be afraid on their account and let them fear Allah. (IV; 9)

Imam Baqir (AS.) said: "Allah has allotted two punishments for consuming the property of orphans, a torment in this world and a retribution in the next."

Sometimes the afflictions and blights from which a man suffers are the result of bad deeds which originate from him, and truly retribution will come in this world till that person becomes aware of what he is doing and ceases from it. In many ayahs, the Qur'an explains this matter.

و ما اصابكم من مصيبة فبما كسبت ايديكم
(سوره شوري آيه 30)

"Whatever affliction visits you is for what your own hands have earned." (XLII,-30)

فليحذر الذين يخالفون عن امره ان تصيبهم فتنة او يصيبهم عذاب اليم
(سوره نور آيه 63)

"So let those who go against His command beware, lest a trial befall them, or there befall them a pain fid chastisement." (XXIP~63)

ان الله لايغير ما بقوم حتي يغيروا ما بانفسهم
(سوره رعد آيه 11)

Allah changes not what is in a people, until they change what is in themselves." (XIII,~ 11)

Some tribes and people who rebelled against the prophets of God sometimes saw the worldly punishment for their deeds in the world itself. The Qur'an narrates the tortures of the people of Hud, the people of Hud, the people of Salih, the people of Lut and the people of Shu'ayb and others (see Surah Hud and elsewhere).

These retributions are a living witness to the fact that God, the Just and Merciful is not pleased with evil-doing and oppression and will give complete rewards for all deeds in another world. Generally, the retributions of this world are a sample of the complete retributions for deeds in the other world. And anyone who takes notice of the rewards of this world will soon see that man is not left to himself, and will meet with an exact reckoning in the next world for all his deeds and behaviour.

It must be remembered that it is sometimes necessary for the building and perfecting of righteous individuals that troubles and hardships should occur, and these should in no way be thought of as rewards. Thus, also, some evil-doers may not get the just reward they deserve for their deeds, but this is not a proof that they are subject to a special grace from God, or that they have been overlooked, for their punishment will be meted out to them in the next world.

Of all the Divine religions, Islam lays the most emphasis on the Return, to the extent that few subjects in Islam are given the same degree of prominence. More than a thousand ayahs of the Qur'an refer especially to the Return and life after death, whereas the ayahs, which refer to individual and social laws and prescriptions in the Qur'an, scarcely reach five hundred. So belief in the Return must be counted as one of the foundations and basis of the pure Islamic religion.

The ayahs revealed in the Qur'an about the return fall into different categories, which we shall now demonstrate with some examples.

About the necessity of the Return it is written:

ايحسب الانسان ان يترك سدي
(سوره قيامة آيه 36)

"What, does man reckon he shall be left without aim (after death)?(LXXV; 36)

و ما خلقنا السماء و الارض و ما بينهما باطلا، ذالك ظن الذين كفروا فويل للذين كفروا من النار. ام نجعل الذين آمنوا و عملوا الصالحات كالمفسدين في الارض ام نجعل المتقين كالفجار
(سوره ص آيه 27-28)

"We have not created the heavens and the earth, and what is between them, for vanity; such is the thou gut of the unbelievers, wherefore woe unto the unbelievers because of the Fire! Or shall we make those who believe and do righteous deeds as the workers of cooption in the earth, or shall we make the god-fearing as the Transgressors"(XXX VIII; 27-28)

و لا تحسبن الله غافلا عما يعمل الظالمون انما يوخرهم ليوم تشخيص فيه الابصار
(سوره ابراهيم آيه 42)

"Deem not that Allah is heedless of what the evildoers work; He is only deferring them to a day when eyes shall stare." (XII'~ 42)

Those who ascribed partners to Allah did not believe in the Resurrection and considered it improbable. One day Ubayy ibn Khalaf brought some decaying bones before the Prophet (S.A.) and crumbled them in his own hands, saying:

من يحيي العظام و هي رميم
(سوره يس آيه 78)

"Who shall quicken these bones where they are decayed?" (XXXVI; 78)

In answer, Allah said that He had forgotten his first coming into existence:

قل يحييها الذي انشاها اول مرة و هو بكل خلق عليم
(سوره يس آيه 79)

"Say: 'He shall quicken them, who originated them the first-time; He knows all creation. "(XXXVI;

He also said:

اوليس الذي خلق السموات و الارض بقادر علي ان يخلق مثلهم بلي و هو الخلاق العليم
(سوره يس آيه 81)

earth, able to create the like of them? Yes indeed,~ He is the All-creator the All-knowing." (XXXVI; 81)

About people being believers or unbelievers, and in description of what will be given to the unbelievers in hell and the believers in heaven, it says:

فاما من طغي و اثر الحيوة الدنيا فان الجحيم هي الماوي و اما من خاف مقام ربه و نهي النفس عن الهوي فان الجنة هي الماوي
(سوره النازعات آيه 37-41)

"Then as for him who was insolent and preferred the life of the world, surely hell shall be the refuge. But as for him who feared the station of his Lord and forbade the soul its caprice, surely the Garden shall be the refuge"(LXJUX,~ 37-41)

من عمل سيئة فلا يجزي الا مثلها و من عمل صالحا من ذكر او انثي و هو مومن فاؤلئك يدخلون الجنة يرزقون فيها بغير حساب
(سوره مومن آيه 40)

"Whosoever does an evil deed shall be recompensed only with the like of it, but whosoever does a righteous deed, be they male or female, believing - those shall enter the Garden, therein provided without reckoning." (XL; 40)

The Qur'an explicitly states the difficulties of Resurrection and the severity of the punishment so that people should fear Allah and do good.

يا ايهاالناس اتقوا ربكم ان زلزلة الساعة شيئي عظيم. يوم ترونها تذهل كل مرضة عما ارضعت و تضع كل ذات حمل حملها و تري الناس سكاري و ما هم بسكاري ولكن عذاب الله شديد
(سوره حج آيه 2-1)

the Hour is a mighty thing; on that day when you behold it, every suckling woman shall neglect the child she has suckled, and every pregnant woman shall deposit her burden, and thou shalt see mankind drunk, yet. they are not drunk, but Allah's chastisement is terrible." (XXII; 1-2)

فاذا جائت الصاخة. يوم يفر المرة من اخية و امه و ابيه. و صاحبته و بنيه. لكل امري منهم يومئذ شأن يغنيه.
(سوره عبس آيه 37-38)

"And when the Blast shall sound, upon the day when a man shall flee from his brother, his mother, his father, his consort, his sons. Every man that day shall have business to suffice him." (LXXX,- 33-37)

يوم تجد كل نفس ما عملت من خير محضرآ و ما عملت من سوء تودلوا ان بينها و بينه امدآ بعيدآ.
(سوره آل عمران آيه 30)

"The day that every soul shall find what it has done of good brought forwar4 and what it has done of evil, it shall wish if there were only a far space between it and that day. (III, 30)

Hundreds more ayahs expound the subject of the Return and the reckoning of the Day of Resurrection~ If these ayahs are considered with care and attention, it will transform man's behaviour in this world to such an extent that he will not undertake a thing more without reckoning it and he will fear Allah. He will gather together provisions for his eternal life here in this world, which is a kind of farm. Pure-hearted Muslims, out of fear of the next world, will carefully weigh their acts and words and even thoughts, they will keep the nights free of sleep, and devote themselves to worship, to supplicating Allah. They will not do things dictated by their pleasure, and spend the night and day thinking how to improve themselves and the community.

Sa'sa'ah ibn Suhan said: "1 was present in the mosque at Kufah for the morning prayer. Hazrat 'All, Amir al-mu'minin prayed with us, and, after the salam, he sat facing the qibla, engaged himself in remembrance of Allah (dhik7), not looking at all to the right or to the left of himself;, until the sun had risen. Then he turned to us and said: 'In the time of my beloved Prophet of Allah (S.A.), there were people who were engaged in sajdah and ruku' in this night till the morning, and when it became light they were disheveled of hair and covered in dust, and their foreheads were marked with the effects of sajdah. When they remembered death, like trees whipped by the wind, they fell into great commotion and wept, soaking their clothes in their tears.' Then Hazrat 'AII(A.S) stood up and said: 'it would seem that those who have remained are in forgetfulness."

One day after the Prophet of Islam (S.A.) had prayed the Morning Prayer in the mosque, he saw a youth named Harithah who had become pale, emaciated and his eyes were sunken. The Prophet asked him how he felt. He said: In a state of certainty's The Prophet was surprised at his answer and said: "Every certainty has a rea1ity what is the reality of your certainty?"

He said: "0 Prophet! My certainty has made me depressed, and steals sleep from my eyes, and makes me hot with thirst in the middle of the day. I renounce this world and all that is in it. Now it is as if I see the Resurrection taking place and the people coming to be reckoned. I also am among them, and I can see that one group is enjoying the blessings of heaven and are sitting on the heavenly thrones around them and are speaking to each other. And I can see that another group is being punished in the fire; their cries for help and protection are loud, and it seems that right now the crackling of the flames of the Fire is resounding in my ears."

The Prophet (S.A.) told his companions: "He is a slave whose heart Allah has filled with a brilliant faith." Then he told the youth: "Be watchful that this state does not leave you." The youth said: "0 Prophet! Pray to Allah that I may be martyred in your service." The Prophet prayed for his martyrdom, and it was not long before he attained his glory in one of the wars along with other persons.

That which does not die and will never die is Allah. We, slaves, will one day eventually leave this world.

The setting of the sun each day is a poetical metaphor for our passing away. How good it is, if we meet with another day, just like the sun, beaming and bright on the horizon of the Resurrection. The sunset is inevitable; death, too, is a reality which, like it or not, must happen.

What we must think about is what after death will happen to us? Will we become nothing? Will everyone's life merely end in death? Or will remain, and if so, what will our remaining be like?

Those who do not believe in God consider death to be the becoming nothing of man, and life just limited to one or two days. They say that everyone's turn is short-lived. But those who are based in revelation are completely opposed to this view, and they say that man is immortal and that death is just a ladder leading to the world of Purgatory and Resurrection, which is the everlasting resting place.

According to clear ayahs of the Qur'an and many hadiths from the leaders of Islam, death is not the becoming nothing of man. The human spirit, after death, remains, and experiences blessings or torment up to the time of the turmoil of Resurrection.

This period from death to Resurrection is called Barzakh.

This life of Barzakh is a real existence, not imaginary or illusory. Allah says:

و لا تحصبن الذين قتلوا في سبيل الله امواتآ بل احياء عند ربهم يرزقون فرحين بما آتيهم الله من فضله...
(سوره آل عمران آيه 169-170)

Count not those who were slain in the way of Allah as dead, but rather living with their Lord, being sustained, rejoicing in the bounty which Allah has given them...' (III; 169-170)

phrase 'living with their Lord, being sustained' would be meaningless.

Similarly in the case of the man of Ya-Sin, the believer, who advised his people to follow the Messengers of 'Isa(A.S.), but they did not and killed him, the Qur'an says:

قيل ادخل الجنة قال ياليت قومي يعلمون. بما غفرلي ربي و جعلني من المكرمين.
(سوره يس آيه 27-28)

'It was said: 'Enter Paradise!' He said: 'Ah, would that my people had knowledge that my Lord has forgiven me, and that he has placed me among the honours " (XXXV!~ 26-27)

It is evident that the meaning of Paradise in this ayah is the Purgatory or Barzakh which people of faith benefit from in between death and the resurrection.

The Qur'an said of the unbelievers and those who, till the moment of death, continue in unacceptable ways:

'Till, when death comes to one of them, he says, My Lord, return me; haply I shall do righteousness in that I forsook' (XXHI,~ 99)

But their wish is unfulfilled, and they are told:

كلا انها كلمة هو قائلها و من ورائهم برزخ الي يوم يبعثون.
(سوره مؤمنون آيه 99-100)

"Nay, it is but a word he speaks, and behind them, there is a barrier until the day that they shall be raised up." (XXIII; 100)

the battle of Badr had just died down and the enemy runs away. The dead remained. Some of the dead who were unbelievers were dumped in a well The Prophet (S.A.) came to the head of the well and said to the dead: '0 ye unbelievers! You were the accomplices of evil. You drove the Prophet of Allah from his home, and joined together in war against him. Now I have seen the promise of my God fulfilled. Have you also seen the promise of your god proved true?'

On hearing these words, 'Umar said: "0 Prophet, how can you speak with these who are no more than bodies without spirits?"

'Enough!' said the Prophet, 'I swear by Allah that you can hear no better than they can. Just as I got up and turned away from them, the angels of torment came to beat them with iron clubs.'

Amir al-mu'minin 'All (A.S.), too, was searching among the dead after the battle of Jamal for the body of Ka'b ibn Surah. Ka'b had been appointed in his lifetime to be judge of Basrah, and had been judge there till the end of the Caliphate of 'Uthman. In the battle of Jamal he hung a Qur'an round his neck and together with his family went to the Imam's battle and was killed. After he had found the body, the Imam (A.S.) gave the command to sit him up, and addressed him: "0 Ka'b, I have seen the promise of Allah fulfilled. Have you, too seen it fulfilled?'

Then he ordered the body to be laid down; then he did the same with the body of Talhah. So someone asked him: "What is the use of doing that? They cannot hear your words.'

"I swear by Allah,' he said, "that they heard both my remarks, just as did the dead at Badr with the Prophet."

Also Habbah al-'Arni said: "I went with Amir al-mu'minin, 'All (A.S.) to Wadi as-Salam. The latter stood and it seemed that he spoke with some people. I stood too but became tired, so I sat down, but I was still tired. I got up and sat down again. Still I was tired so I stood up to get my cloak and asked 'Ali if he would alloy me to put my cloak down so that he could sit down for a while. I told him I was afraid he might be tired from standing too much.

"0 Habbah." he said, "this standing up gives no discomfort, because I am busy with speaking familiarly with the dead."

"Are they like this," I asked.

"Yes; if the veil was taken away from your eyes you would see that groups of the dead are sitting speaking to one another."

"Are they bodies or spirits?" I asked.

'Spirits. The faithful, in all corners of the world, do not die unless an order reaches them. In Wadi as-Salam, here and there are chambers of the Garden of Eden and the highest heavens where the spirits of the believers gathered from far and near."

It can be seen from many hadiths that the spirit has a very special relation with the body in the grave, although the nature of this relation is not clear.

The sixth Imam, Ja'far as-Sadiq (A.S.) said:

'Those who deny the questioning in the grave are not from our party (Shi'a).

When the dead person is laid in the grave, the angels of the questioning present themselves and asks him about his din, his beliefs and his deeds. If the individual has faith and has done good, he joins the believers; if not, he joins the unbelievers and evildoers. And everyone will pass the period in Barzakh until the Resurrection with their respective group.

Shaykh Saduq writes in his Risalatu al-I'tiqadat:

"In our opinion, the questioning in the grave is a truth, and he who answers rightly will benefit in the grave from comfort and blessings, and in the next world from the Garden. He who cannot answer rightly will see torment in the grave, and in the Resurrection he will go to the Fire.'

The fourth Imam (A.S.) used to exhort people every Friday in the Mosque of the Prophet (S.A.), saying: "0 People, prefer abstinance and virtuousness. Your return will be to Allah. Each person who has done good here, will find it there, and each person who has done impure deeds wishes that a great distance be put between him and his deeds, Allah put the fear of your torment into you.

'Alas, 0 sons of Adam! What neglectfulness! But they are not neglectful. Death is quicker than anything that tries to overtake it, and it will swallow you. And when it finds you out,... the angel of death will recover your spirit and you will rise alone in the chamber (the grave), and the angel of questioning will come in to you for questions and a hard examination.

"The first question will be about your God whom you worshipped, and about your Prophet who was sent to you, and about your din which you followed, and about your Book which you believed in and read, and about your Imams whose wilayat you accepted and whose orders you carried out. Then they will ask about the reckoning of your life, what way you went, and about your property and wealth, where you disposed of it and how you spent it. So be careful, and after the questions be ready with your answer!' If you are with faith, virtuous, knowing your religion well and following the truthful leaders and a friend of the friends of Allah, Allah will make your tongue speak the truth, and He will give you the good news of the Garden and your happiness. The angels will come before you with gifts and sustenance. Otherwise your tongue will fall to stammering and you will not reply after the questions, and He will make you the promise of the Fire, and the angels will bring torment before you with the entertainment of boiling water and fire.'

Man's placing in Barzakh is intimately connected with his deeds in this world. For those who are virtuous of soul, Barzakh will be a sample of Heaven, and they will see their good deeds reflected in beauty and soft to the eye. Hazrat Imam Hasan 'Askari (AS.) said: "When a believer dies, six beautiful youths will hurry with him to his grave, one of them more fragrant and more beautiful than all the others. On his right, on his left, above him and below him and in front of him and behind him they will stand. Then one standing on the right will say: 'I am prayer'; the one on the left: 'I am zakat'. The one standing in front will say: 'I am fasting'; the one behind: 'I am hajj and 'umrah'. The one at his feet will say: 'I am the goodness which he did to his brothers.' Then all will ask of the most beautiful: 'you, yourself, who are you, who is more perfect?'

"'I am wilayat', he will say, 'and love of the household of Muhammad (S.A.).

However on those who had polluted the surface of the earth with unbelief, impurity and indecent acts, constraint and darkness will fall when they enter the grave, and their angel of torment will inflict suffering on them.

The Prophet of Islam (S.A.) was following the funeral procession of one of the Ansaris; and when he was buried, he sat down on his grave and lowered his head, saying: "0 Allah, I seek refuge from the torments of the grave!'

The questioning of the grave and its torments are not necessarily to be perceived by the physical eye. That power by which the prophets, the Imams, the pure ones and the righteous ones spoke, is enough, and must be accepted.

Mulla Muhsin Fayd says: "These (physical) eyes are not competent to see what happens in the world of Malakut, and what happens in the next world and in Barzakh is the business of Malakut. Did not the companions of the Prophet (S.A.) believe in the descent of Jibra'il, although they could not see him? So also, the torment of the grave is an affair of Malakut, and if this is to be perceived, another sense is necessary of which all are deprived save the prophets and the friends of Allah."

Some people run away from the remembrance of death, and do not give way to thoughts about it. It is as if they have drunk the water of eternity, and think to remain in this world forever. These people are drunk from the wine of neglectfulness. For they know but do not accept that the only thing that is eternal and will not die is Allah. From the results of their neglectfulness of death, they will pass their lives aimlessly. They do not think to reform themselves; their time is spent like the hands of a clock, turning round and round, and how often they will be polluted with dreadful sins. There is not so much difference between their lives and the lives of animals.

The manner of their behaviour is completely the contrary of the way of acting of the chosen ones of Allah. The Prophet of Islam (S.A.) said:

"Remember death very often, so that it may purify you from sins and decrease attachment to a world which is not an introduction to the betterment of the spirit."

On the other hand, there are others who remember death much, following the command of the leaders of the din and profit from every occasion that comes their way for the Day of resurrection. Their world is a world of introduction to the ultimate world. Their search is not for personal benefit and their own desires. From their view the world does not have so much value that they will dirty their hands and clothes with crime and treachery to get it. Rather they are busy with work and pursuits and service in society, so that they will completely take the benefit from this life to the life of the Resurrection.

They do not fear death. The greatest example is Amir al-mu'minin, 'All (A.S.), whose first words when the sword of the enemy fell to martyr him were: "I swear by Allah, I have been delivered!'

Truly, the leaving of the constraints of this world and going to eternity of the everlasting world is an ease and a salvation, but only for those who follow the way of Hazrat 'Ali (A.S.) to purity in the straitened circumstances of this life, and who are occupied with piety in their spirits and souls and thoughts, and with worship and slavery to Allah, and with service to mankind.

Abu Dharr al-Ghifari was asked: 'Why are we disgusted with death'?'

'You have taken up residence in this world,' he replied, "but ruined your next world. So you do not desire to migrate from your home to the place of ruin.'

The Prophet of Islam (S.A.) said: 'do you all wish to go to the Garden?

'Yes,' they all said.

'So cut short your cravings, and always keep death in sight, since you must always be shameful before Allah.'

To remember those near to you when they met death, and occasional visits to graveyards and the tombs of believers will result in remembrance of death and guidance. The Garden.

ان المتقين في جنات و عيون. ادخلوها بسلام امنين. و نزعنا ما في صدورهم من غل اخوانآ علي سرر متقابلين. لا يمسهم فيها نصب و ما هم منها بمخرجين.
(سوره الحجرآيه 45-48)

'But the god fearing shall be amongst gardens and fountains: 'Enter you them, in peace and security!' We shall strip away all rancor that is in their breasts; as brothers they shall be upon couches set face to face; no fatigue there shall suit them, neither shall they he driven forth from there." (XVI 45-48)

والسابقون السابقون.اولئك المقربون. في جنات النعيم. ثلة من الاولين و قيل من الاخرين. علي سرر موضونة. متكين عليها متقابلين. يطوف عليهم ولدان مخلدون. باكواب و اباريق و كأس من معين. لايصدعون عنها ولا ينزفون. و فاكهة مما يتخيرون. و لحم طير مما يشتهون. و حورعين. كامثال اللؤلؤ المكنون. جراء بما كانوا يعلمون.
(سوره واقعه آيه 10-24)

"The Out strippers (as-Sabiqun), those are they brought nigh (the Throne), in the Gardens of Delight. A throng of the ancients but how few of the later folk Upon close-wrought couches reclining upon them, set face to face, immortal youths going round about them with goblets, and ewers, and a cup from a spring, no brows throbbing, no intoxication, and such fruits as they choose, and such flesh of fowl as they desire, and wide-eyed houris as the likeness of hidden pearls, a recompense for that they laboured' (LVI,~ 10-24)

الا عباد الله المخلصين. اولئك لهم رزق معلوم. فواكه و هم مكرمون. في جنات النعيم علي سرر متقابلين. يطاف عليهم بكأس من معين. بيضاء لذة للشاربين. لا فيها غول ولا هم عنها ينزفون. و عندهم قاصرات الطرف عين. كانهن بيض مكنون.
(سوره صافات آيه 40-49)

"Except for Allah's sincere slaves; for them awaits a known provision - fruits, and they high-honoured in the Gardens of Bliss upon couches, set face to face, a cup from a spring being passed round to them, white, a delight to the drinkers, wherein no sickness is, neither intoxication; and with them wide-eyed maidens restraining their glance as if they were hidden pearls." (XXX VII,~ 40-49)

فاقبل بعضهم علي بعض يتسائلون. قال قائل منهم اني كان لي قرين يقول أانك لمن المصدقين قال هل انتم مطلعون. فاطلع فراه في سواء الجحيم. قال تالله ان كدت لتردين ولولا نعمة ربي لكنت من المحضرين. افما نحن بميتين. الا موتتنا الاولي و ما نحن بمعذبين. ان هذا لهو الفوز العظيم. لمثل هذا فليعمل العاملون.
(سوره صافات آيه 50-61)

"The dwellers in the Garden are talking to one another. One of them says: 'I had a comrade who would say: Are you a confirmer? Wha4 when we are dead and become dust and bones, shall we indeed be requited?' He says: 'Are you looking down?' Then he looks, and sees him in the midst of hell He says: 'By Allah, well nigh thou didst destroy me; but had it not been for my Lord's blessing, I was one of the arraigned. What, do we then not die except for our first death, and are we not chastised? This is indeed the mighty triumph and for the like of this let the workers work" (XXA1'7I,~ 50-61)

Heft hell is the place of the unbelievers and the sinners. Their torment and torture cannot be compared to the torments of this world. Allah gives us a picture of the horror of it in the Qur'an:

ان الذين كفروا بآياتنا سوف نصليهم نارآ كلما نضجت جلودهم بدلناهم جلودآ غيرها ليذوقوا العذاب ان الله كان عزيزآ حكيمآ.
(سوره نساء آيه 56)

"Surely those who disbelieved in our signs - We shall certainly roast them at a Fire; as often as their skins are wholly burned, we shall give them in exchange other skins, that they may taste the chastisement. Surely Allah is All-mighty, All-wise." (IV- 56)

هذان خصمان اختصموا في ربهم فالذين كفروا قطعت لهم ثياب من نار يصب من فوق رؤوسهم الحميم.يصهر به ما بطونهم والجلود. ولهم مقامع من حديد. كلما ارادوا ان يخرجوا منها من غم اعيدوا فيها و ذوقوا عذاب الحريق.
(سوره حج آيه 19-22)

"...As for the unbelievers, for them garments of fire shall be cu4 and there shall by poured over their heads boiling water whereby whatsoever is in their bellies and their skins shall be melted, for them await hooked iron rods; as often as they desire in their anguish to come forth from i4 they shall be restored into it, and 'Taste the chastisement of the burning!" (XK11 19-22)

و قال الذين في النار لخزنة جهنم ادعوا ربكم يخفف عنا يومآ من العذاب. قالوا اولم تك تأتيكم رسلكم بالبينات قالوا بلي قالوا فادعوا و ما دعاء الكافرين الا في ضلال.
(سوره مؤمن (غافر) آيه 49-50)

"And those who are in the Fire will say to the keeper of Gehenna, 'Call on your Lor4 to lighten for us one day of the chastisement!' They shall say: 'Did not your Messengers bring you the clear signs?' They say: 'Yes, indeed' They say, 'then do you call?' But the calling of the unbelievers is only in error." (XL;49-50)

ان جهنم كانت مرصادآ. للطاغين مابآ لابثين فيها احقابآ لايذوقون فيها بردآ ولاشرابآ. الا حميمآ و غساقآ. جزاء وفاقآ.
(سوره نبأ آيه 21-26)

"Behold Gehenna is an ambush, for the insolent a resort, therein to tarry for ages, tasting therein neither coolness nor drink save boiling water and pus for a suitable recompense."

ويل لكل همزة المزة. الذي جمع مالآ وعدده. يحسب ان ماله اخلده. كلا لينبذن في الحطمة. و ما ادريك ما الحطمة. نارالله الموقدة. التي تطلع علي الافئدة. انها عليهم موصدة. في عمد ممددة.
(سوره همزه)

"Woe unto every backbiter, slanderer, who has gathered riches and counted them over, thinking-his riches have made him immortal! No indeed; he shall be thrust into the Crusher; and what shall teach thee what is the Crusher? The Fire of Allah kindled roaring over the hearts covered down upon them, in columns outstretched" (CIV)

"Know that the delicate skin of your body cannot tolerate or bear the fire of hell. So pity yourselves! You who have experienced the discomforts of this world, and who know your own in capabilities, and who have seen how when a thorn enters your foot and makes it septic, or the warm stones of the ground burn it, you take the pain. So how will it be when you are between two walls of fire, when you lie on stones and your companion is Satan.

"0 those who are slaves of Allah; remember Allah, remember Allah! While you are well, before you become ill, while you have the opportunity, before you become constrained, strive to be free of the fire of hell, before the way of salvation becomes impossible for you. Give yourself to the way of Allah with eyes clear of sleep, and your stomachs empty (i.e. fasting). Walk in His path; give away your possessions in His path; use your bodies to the benefit of your spirit; and do not withhold from this." (Nahj al-Balaghah)

One of the clear matters in the Qur'an, and also in many hadiths, is the matter of intercession. Intercession is intervention for the pardoning of someone's sins.

This intermediation, which takes place by the permission of Allah in some sins and in the case of some sinners, is based on the expensive mercy and deep kindness of Allah, and is a consequence of the hope of believers.

If one believes and obtains worthiness to be forgiven and pardoned, and does not tall back again from these high positions, although one was not able to repent in this world, Allah will grant one His great Forgiveness by the means~ of intercession. In the Resurrection, the Prophets, the Prophet of Islam and the Pure Imams will, with the permission of Allah, intercede with Him for some sins. Of course, the sins of some persons will be so grave that they cannot merit intercession until they have met with the torment. But some sins are such that they will be completely removed by intercession. Thus a hadith says:

"Our intercession, (i.e. the intercession of the Household of the Prophet) is not the lot of those who take prayer to be a frivolity."