The Eternal Nature of Punishment
The eternal nature of the punishment
that the faithless and wicked are to suffer in hellfire presents a problem
for many people. Given the fact that evil acts are marked by the finiteness
of the world, how, they ask, can requital for those acts be eternal and
everlasting? Can there be any common measure between a finite act and an
infinite punishment?
A punishment that is to extend over an indefinite future does indeed represent
an extreme form of torment; it is terrifying and induces a shudder merely
to think of a punishment for which no limit is set in time.
It is also true that according to human judicial systems and penal provisions
the punishment of lawbreakers and offenders is fixed according to the crimes
they have committed; some punishments are brief in duration while others
last longer. The offences men commit are not uniform, either qualitatively
or quantitatively, and the penalties awarded them also cannot be uniform.
We must remind ourselves at this point that utter justice prevails in God's
judging of men, for an accounting will be made of even the slightest of
deeds. Neither an atom's weight of good shall remain unrewarded nor shall
a single offender escape punishment, unless he benefit from God's forgiveness
and mercy. How then could the punishment dispensed by God not be precisely
commensurate with the offence?
If no one objects to the eternity of the paradise in which the blessed
reside, this is because paradise and hellfire are not founded on a common
basis. There is a manifest difference between eternal punishment and eternal
reward. The reward that God dispenses without measure derives from His
generosity and mercy, and no one therefore raises any objection. The objection
pertains only to faithless evildoers residing eternally in hellfire, without
their torment being lessened for a single instant.
Is such a punishment for the necessarily limited and finite sin and corruption
of which the sinner was guilty compatible with the principle of divine
justice, even if they dominated his whole life? Let us suppose someone
spends his whole life in the swamp of atheism, unbelief and corruption;
it cannot last much more than a century, which is like a brief instant
when compared with eternity.
In their attempt to resolve this contradiction between the justice of God
and the eternity of punishment, some scholars have interpreted the word
khulud (eternity) occurring in verses that deal with the punishment
of sinners in the extended sense of "a period of indefinite length,"
thereby freeing their minds from this troublesome burden.
This interpretation is, however, unacceptable and unrealistic. Apart from
the fact that it is not supported by any reliable proof, there is the general
principle that we are permitted to make such interpretations only when
they do not clash with the clear and obvious sense of the verse. The Qur'an
is quite clear in assigning the terrible fate of eternal punishment to
a certain group of persons who in a sense have freely created it for themselves.
Indeed, the Qur'an can be said itself to refute firmly such mitigating
interpretations:
"Do they not know that the punishment of whomsoever opposes God
and His Messenger is the fire of hell, to reside therein eternally?"
(9:63).
"They are those whose lot in the hereafter will be nothing but
the fire" (11:16).
"Those who engaged in disbelief and called Our signs lies are the
people of hellfire; they shall dwell in it eternally" (2:39).
"Whoever among you Muslims turns back from his religion and dies
in a state of unbelief, his deeds shall vanish, both in this world and
the hereafter, and he will always be a companion of the fire"
(2:217).
Given the clarity of these verses, it is not possible to give them same
special interpretation in order to deny the permanence of the punishment
of hellfire. The text of the verses proclaims that permanent residence
in hellfire shall be the lot of those unbelievers for whom all possible
avenues to salvation are blocked. As for those who have committed a certain
number of lesser sins and offences, they shall either spend an appropriate
amount of time in hellfire or receive the kindness and forgiveness of God.
The Fear of God and its Moral Effect
It is the fear of God's just punishments that motivates many people to
observe His laws, and such fear, being grounded in religious faith, has
an infinitely greater effect on men's souls than coercion and force. If
a person accustoms himself to shunning God's wrath, society will be protected
from the sins he might otherwise have committed. Piety is, then, a powerful
watchman; whenever the influence of religious teaching fades, crimes begin
to increase.
Imam al-Sadiq, upon whom be peace, says:
"The one who knows that God sees and hears his speech and that He
is aware of all his deeds, both good and bad, is restrained by this knowledge
and the faith on which it rests from all kinds of sin. Such a person will
fear his Lord and refuse to follow the inclinations of desire." (Tafsir
al-Burhan, p. 1071)
This type of fear is quite different from those noxious fears which arise
from weakness and humiliation and, far from impelling man to do anything
useful, bar his path to progress and happiness. The fear that results from
concern for the ultimate outcome of one's actions is like a warning to
man not to pollute himself with sin but instead to embark on the path of
duty and responsibility which guarantees true happiness and success. Fear
of the unpleasant consequences of an harmful act transforms man into a
disciplined being, one marked by caution, prudence and foresight. Such
a person will perform all his tasks, great or small, with the utmost care
and trustworthiness. He will reflect at all times on the greatness and
magnificence of the Creator, and, suspended between hope and fear, as religion
dictates, he both hopes for God's infinite favor and is heedful of the
consequences of his acts, being sure not to fall into the trap of desire
or arrogance. Imam al-Sadiq, upon whom be peace, said:
"Fear and anxiety are like watchmen set over man's heart while hope
is an intercessor on behalf of the self and its needs. Those who know God
hope for His favor while they fear Him. Hope and fear are like the two
wings of faith, and it is only those believers who possess both can fly
toward the station of God's pleasure.
"With the eye of intellect they look upon God's exhortations and threats.
The fear of God directs their attention to God's justice, which is identical
with His essence, and prevents them from polluting themselves with sin.
Hope in God summons them to receive His favor and generosity. In short,
hope keeps the heart alive, while fear suppresses satanic inclination."
(Muhajjat al-Bayda, Vol. VII, p. 283)
Speaking of the positive effect of the awareness of death, Imam al-Sadiq,
upon whom be peace, said on another occasion:
"The awareness of death drives away from man's inner being all lust
and illicit passion; severe the roots of negligence and lack of awareness;
strengthens the hope of the heart for the fulfillment of God's promises;
softens and makes tender his nature, shatters the signs and emblems of
idolatry; quenches the fire of greed; and displays to him the pettiness
and worthlessness of the world. This is what is implied in the saying of
the Most Noble Messenger: `An hour's reflection is worth more than a year's
worship.' (Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. III, p. 128)
* * * * *
Immersion in the affairs of this world does indeed place a veil of oblivion
and neglect before the vision of man, it causes him to turn his back on
lofty spiritual values, so that in the end he meets death empty-handed.
One day, the Commander of the Faithful, `Ali, upon whom be peace, entered
the market of Basra. He saw people utterly absorbed in themselves and the
business of buying and selling; it was as if death and resurrection would
never happen. This atmosphere of negligence deeply disturbed him, so he
wept and said: "O servants of the world, O slaves to the worldly!
Throughout the day you are busy buying and selling, swearing oaths as you
do so, and your nights are spent in sleep and a state of complete unawareness.
So day and night you are unaware of the hereafter and the outcome of your
affair; when, then will you prepare yourselves for the journey that awaits
you, and when will you gather the provisions you need? When will you begin
to remember the hereafter and resurrection?" (Safinat al-Bihar,
Vol. I, p. 674)
Imam al-Sajjad, upon whom be peace, said while addressing God in prayer,
"O God, prolong my life as long as its days are spent in worship and
obedience to You. If a moment should come when my life becomes the pasture
of Satan, take my soul and bring my life to an end before Your dislike
overtakes me or Your anger seizes me." ("Du'a-yi Makarim al-Akhlaq"
in Sahifa-yi Sajjadiya)
At the same time, as long as man is in this world, he desires certain bodily
pleasures and enjoyments. This urgent longing is a general one, not confined
to a given group of people. The objects of this desire represent indeed
a necessity, which is brought to an end only by death. Accordingly, God
does not deprive anyone of these pleasures (in their pure and licit form),
nor does He encourage anyone to turn away completely from the affairs of
this world. However, He does encourage man to redirect his hopes away from
the false and impermanent values of this world toward true values and genuine
aspirations; He warns him not to be deceived by the transient and ambiguous
pleasures of this world or to become so attached to his desires and longings
that he is deprived of lasting reward in the hereafter. In other words,
man is exhorted to devote his attention at all times to seeking the pleasure
and satisfaction of God.
Acts and Punishments
Now let us see how it is possible to accept the lack of proportion that
appears to be present in God's punishing the unbelievers, criminals and
tyrants with an eternity in hellfire. How can such an apparent departure
from justice be attributed to God?
Once we begin to look at this question with some degree of profundity,
we will see that it is implicitly based on the incorrect assumption that
punishments in the next world are unchanging and fixed in accordance with
the legislator's assessment of the degree of the crime that is to be punished.
Once this assumption is made, there is indeed no way of reconciling an
eternity in hellfire with the necessarily finite nature of any offence.
However, the relationship between a deed and its punishment is a natural
and ontological relationship, the latter being the fruit and result of
the former; the punishment is not fixed for the deed by means of a set
of fixed juridical criteria. Once this is understood, the problem can easily
be resolved.
The pain and torment that the sinner suffers after resurrection are themselves
properties of the deed, properties which have a natural continuation and
therefore pursue the sinner in the hereafter. The Qur'an indicates this
in the following verses:
"Their evil deeds will become apparent before them, and that which
they mocked will befall them" (45:33).
"They will find that which they did present before them, and God
shall not wrong anyone" (18:49).
"On the day of resurrection, men shall come forth separately from
their graves to confront their deeds; all who have done an atom's weight
of good shall see it, and all who have done an atom's weight of evil shall
see it" (99:6-8).
"Whoever has done a good deed will find it before him on the day
of resurrection, and likewise whatever ugly and sinful act he may have
committed" (3:30).
Imam al-Sadiq, upon whom be peace, said:
"Gabriel came to meet the Most Noble Messenger and said to him, `O
Muhammad, lead your life as you wish but ultimately you will be brought
face to face with death. Love whomever you wish, but ultimately the day
will come when you must bid him farewell and be parted from him. Do whatever
you wish while in this world, but on the day of resurrection you shall
find your deeds before you again." (al-Kafi, Vol. III, p. 255)
What is meant by the seeing of deeds in the hereafter is man's being confronted
with the shape and form his deeds have assumed in conformity to the conditions
of that realm.
Despite our assumption that our deeds are the matter of an instant, lacking
all permanence, they weigh so heavily in certain instances that they penetrate
all dimensions of existence.
The following example may help us to understand what is meant. Imagine
someone whose outlook is entirely negative and who wears at all times the
spectacles of pessimism. Such a person will see the entire world shrouded
in a black veil of darkness. Instead of being filled with joy or tranquillity
by the wonders and subtleties of the natural realm, his spirit will be
oppressed and borne down by his pessimistic mode of thought. He will never
be able to remove the dark veil he has fashioned from the entrancing visage
that every created phenomenon would otherwise present. This painful pessimism
cannot fail to create a painful torment within his soul, giving rise there
to desperation and misery. It can even be said to be more painful than
blindness, for while the blind are deprived from seeing the beauteous aspect
of the world, the pessimist suffers acute misery anew whenever he beholds
each of the countless phenomena of creation.
From one point of view, the pessimism of such an individual can be said
to be limited and finite, but since it is multiplied by all the phenomena
he encounters in the world, it can also be said to be infinite: the pessimist
finds himself confronted by innumerable instances of blackness, ugliness
and evil.
Let us suppose that someone leads another one to the wrong path, and that
the offspring of the one whom he has lead astray persist on that path.
Each of the offspring then commits thousands of sins and corrupt acts.
All those evil deeds will be the result of a single act the effects of
which continue indefinitely; they will be like a chain going back to that
first individual. All those acts will accordingly be brought back to their
point of departure.
The Qur'an says:
"On the day of resurrection they will bear the heavy burden of
their own sins, as well as that of the sins of those whose ignorance and
foolishness they exploited in order to lead them astray. What an evil burden
it is they will carry!" (16:25).
Imam al-Baqir, upon whom be peace, said:
"Whoever among God's servants established an evil custom among men
will be charged with a sin equivalent to the sin of those whom he has led
astray, without their sin being diminished in any way." (Safinat
al-Bihar, Vol. I, p. 674)
Thus a finite action on the part of man may be equivalent to an infinite
series of actions.
Not only does every human act leave some trace in the human world; its
also leaves a profound imprint, of a specific type, on the world of the
unseen. It sets in motion waves of attraction or repulsion; if the act
be evil, the entire world of the unseen unites to repel it, and if it be
good, to attract it.
* * * * *
A further error is to imagine that the relationship between an evil act
and its punishment is a temporal one. The duration of punishment is commensurate
with the quality or the nature of the sin, not with its duration; it is
this type of commensurateness which constitutes the real relationship between
our acts and requital in the hereafter. Temporal duration is not at all
at issue. Once one understands punishment and requital to be the direct
effects of the act itself, it is no longer logical to look for quantitative
equality between act and requital.
To illustrate this point let us look at a further example. The external
world manifests a kind of reaction to each of our acts; those who burn
in the fire created by their deeds can be said at the same time to be suffering
from the consequences of this law. Let us suppose some young man wants
to fly in the air. He goes up to the roof of the building where he lives
and trying to fly falls to the ground, breaking his spine and becoming
paralyzed.
On account of his fantasies, the wretched youth is thus robbed of the use
of his legs for the rest of his life and is condemned to pain, misery and
deprivation. He indulged his fantasy for only an instant, but the consequences
may be as much as fifty years spent sitting confined to his home.
This story of the fateful consequences of falling off a roof illustrates
well how the results of our acts rebound upon us. Just as the home becomes
a prison for the foolish young man, we also construct prisons for ourselves
with our deeds. To use a different metaphor, our acts become like scars
on our faces.
Is it contrary to justice that a single moment of neglect and indulgence
should be followed by a lifetime of regret, that there should be such a
lack of equivalence between the deed and its consequence the irreparable
destruction of life? Is there not some contradiction between the outcome
of the act and the quantitative finiteness of the act itself?
Let us suppose that the person in our story were to live on not for fifty
years but for several thousand years; he would still be burdened for his
entire life with the consequences of that one moment's foolishness, and
again it could be said that this is unjust.
The connection between an offence and its punishment is therefore not a
temporal one, whether in this world or the next.
Even to the penal codes that are enforced in this world, no attention is
paid to the temporal or spatial quantity of the crime; it is the type of
the crime, the nature of the offence, that is crucial. The number of times
the crime has been committed and the period over which it has extended
are not regarded as decisive.
Which should receive the greater punishment: a criminal who in one instant
blows ten people to pieces by throwing a grenade at them, or someone who
listens to frivolous music for ten years?
Someone may blind twenty people or more in a very short time and be sentenced
to life imprisonment for doing so; is there any relationship between this
offence and its punishment, in terms of duration or quantity? Of course
not.
In short, the laws that are enacted among men also do not make any temporal
connection between a given crime and its punishment.
* * * * *
The foregoing discussion has established that a single instance of grave
crime, a murder or offence of similar type carries within it innumerable
destructive consequences, the ultimate explosion of which will cause man
to burn for all eternity.
It is man himself who knowingly and willingly tramples on God's commands,
who averts himself from the truth, and who pollutes himself with unbelief,
atheism and sin. He creates thereby his own fate and must ineluctably suffer
the consequences of his deeds.
The various examples we have cited all have one defect. The causes and
reasons that lead to a given result, the way in which a foolish person
is caught up in the consequences of his deeds, all this can be understood
easily by people. There is nothing remarkable about such situations and
they are accounted quite ordinary. By contrast, the reward and punishment
that are dispensed in the hereafter are beyond the scope of our sensory
experience; they are subject to doubt and may even be denied. The consequences
of deeds as they become manifest in the hereafter are indeed similar to
the consequences that can be seen in this world; there is, however, a great
disparity in terms of scale and precision.
Our acts and conduct in this world create their own punishment and requital,
which remains suspended over our head like a hailstorm until the day of
resurrection. We are exclusively responsible for our own acts, because
man has the power to decide freely in this life and he cannot regard himself
as the mere nuts-and-bolts of society or history.
Once rebellion, corruption and disobedience engulf a person's whole being,
so that he expends all his energies on wrongdoing and servitude to the
basest desires, he must pay the price for his choice, which is none other
than being permanently deprived of God's bounties. This entirely natural
and ineluctable fate is not at all irreconcilable with God's justice, for
His Essence is utterly pure of any trace of injustice.
The descent of punishment on the rebellious and sinful is nothing other
than the natural result of their deeds. Likewise, what the pure and the
virtuous come to enjoy is nothing other than the fruit and the effect of
their deeds. Through the piety and the veracity they have practiced, they
have themselves produced the happiness that they enjoy both in this world
and the hereafter. The truth of this is apparent from the famous saying
of the Most Noble Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him and his family,
"This world is the tillage of the hereafter."
This being the case, what wise person will choose the worse of the two
destinies that lie open before him? Man is the shining jewel of creation;
he should do nothing to detract from his brilliance by entrusting the control
of his being to base desires. The burning desires of the instinctual self
will find it easy to dominate completely the hearts and the wills of those
who volunteer to serve them. Let us not permit the blinding smoke that
arises from our desires to blind the eye of intelligence so that we stumble
into the pit of eternal perdition.
* * * * *
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, is reported
to have said:
"God Almighty will address man as follows on the day of judgement:
"'O Son of Adam! I was sick and you did not visit Me.'
"Then man will reply, 'How might I visit You, seeing that You are
the Creator of both worlds?' God will answer, 'Did you not know that such-and-such
a servant of Mine fell sick? You did not care enough to visit him; it you
had, you would have found Me with him.'
"God will then continue, 'O son of Adam! I asked you for food and
you did not feed Me.' Man will reply, `How might I feed You, seeing that
You are the Creator of both worlds?' God will answer, `Did you not know
that such-and-such a servant of Mine asked you for food? You refused to
feed him; if you had fed him, you would have found Me with him.'
"God will then continue, 'O son of Adam! I asked you to give Me water
to drink and you refused Me.' Man will reply, 'How might I give You water
to drink, seeing that Your power holds the fate of all things in its hand?'
God will answer, 'A servant of Mine asked you for water to drink, but you
refused him. If you had given him water, you would have found Me with him."
(al-Wasa'il, Vol. II, p. 636)
The essential nature of man, in both its corporeal and spiritual dimensions,
predisposes him to love and to creative effort. If certain negative impulses
cause him to engage in transgression, oppression and harshness, this represents
a kind of pathological state in which man has decided to fill himself with
corruption and impurity; there is always a way open for him to emerge from
this state.
The Qur'an regards it as imperative for man that he should react to sin
and rebellion against God with disgust. Thus it proclaims:
"God has made faith beloved of you and adorned it to your hearts,
and He has made sin and disbelief ugly and repellent" (49:7).
In order to choose the path of justice and true happiness, to reach the
shore of salvation, it is therefore enough to follow the path that our
indwelling and essential nature has traced out before us.
Imam al-Sadiq, upon whom be peace, says the following concerning the eternal
nature of punishment:
"If one group among the people of hellfire is destined to stay there
eternally, this is because it was their intention to persist in sin if
they were made immortal in this world. Likewise, it the people of paradise
are destined to remain there eternally, this is because it was their intention
always to obey God and His commands it they were made immortal in this
world. The type of eternal existence each group enjoys is therefore determined
by its own aims and intentions." (Ibid., Vol. I, p. 36)
It is true that intention alone is not enough to earn punishment; no one
can be punished merely for conceiving a certain intention. At the same
time intention is like a key that unlocks the door to man's inner being
and permits its contents to be seen.
Once rebellion, evil and wrongdoing reach the level in a person that he
decides to sin permanently, so that disbelief engulfs his whole being,
the wellsprings of virtue and good dry up within him and all paths leading
to salvation and the worship of truth are blocked off.
It should be borne in mind that there is no essential contradiction between
enjoying the bounties of this world and those of the hereafter; to enjoy
the blessings of this world in a legitimate manner will not lead to deprivation
in the hereafter.
The Qur'an says:
"Say, (O Messenger) `Who has declared forbidden the beautiful gifts
of God that He has created for His servants and has prohibited them from
consuming clean and pure sustenance?' Say, `These blessings are in this
world for the believers, and in the hereafter there will be even purer
bounties made available for them.' We set forth Our signs for a people
Who have knowledge" (7:32).
Another verse says:
"Using what God has bestowed upon you, strive to earn reward and
bliss in the hereafter. Do not forget your share of this world, and do
good, as far as you are able, as God has done good and been generous to
you" (28:77).
Still another verse says:
"O God, bestow good upon in us in this world and in the hereafter,
and preserve us from the torment of hellfire" (2:201).
Islam rejects a life spent fruitlessly in abnegation of the world, for
no one is permitted to declare illicit the enjoyment of the bounties that
God has declared licit.
Naturally, the life of this world must be regarded as the preliminary to
the hereafter, as an occasion for earning happiness and good fortune in
that realm; God has enjoined good-doing on man in order to enable him to
prosper in this world and the hereafter. He further reminds him that all
that has been given to him is in the nature of a trust; he should give
liberally to other a share of whatever he has, in order to earn God's pleasure
thereby.
One of the manifestations of God's favor is that He responds to man's exercise
of liberality and generosity with the goods that are ultimately His by
bestowing further reward on him.
If people are satisfied with the pleasures and phenomena of this world,
God reminds them of the bounties of the hereafter, which are in no way
comparable with the pleasures of this world, although they represent their
continuation in more desirable form; He warns such people to lessen their
attachment to the joys of this world and to aspire instead to those of
the next. To miss the opportunities of this world would be to miss the
rewards of the hereafter, and thus fall prey to useless regret.
The Commander of the Faithful, `Ali, upon whom be peace, said: "How
often does some vile and trivial pleasure prevent man from attaining lofty
degree and bar his path to happiness!" (Ghurar al-Hikam, p.
550)
What causes a contradiction to arise between this world and the hereafter
is exclusive orientation to this world and the choice of it as ultimate
goal. A hungry pursuit of this world alone will necessarily deprive man
of the lofty states of the hereafter.
Man's infatuation with this world, his slavish devotion to the material
joys that it offers, will inevitably alienate him from his true destiny.
His intelligence will yield to lack of awareness; he will cease to advance
and he will find himself stagnating at a point unworthy of his high station.
The Noble Qur'an warns men not to make this unstable world the object of
their worship and their ultimate goal, for it addresses the Noble Prophet
of Islam, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, as follows:
"Turn away from those who have turned away from remembrance of
Us and have no goal other than the life of this world; that is the extent
of their knowledge and awareness" (53:29).
Similarly, another verse of the Qur'an reads:
"They are content with the life of this world, but the life of
this World is but slight when compared with the hereafter" (13:29).
Or again:
"They do not look forward in hope to the meeting with Us and are
content with the life of this world: they are unaware of Our tokens and
signs." (10:7)
Islam, then, does not devalue this world; even grants nobility to the activities
of man in this world.
The fact that man's gaze should be fixed on the next world as his ideal
does not mean that he should have no share of this world.
The Commander of the Faithful, `Ali, upon whom be peace, explained the
matter as follows:
"Men fall into two groups with respects to their deeds and their goals.
"The first group work and strive for the sake of this world alone,
and pursue no other aim. Their immersion in material concerns prevents
them from reflecting on the hereafter, because their thoughts revolve constantly
around the world and its enjoyments. Their concern for the future is limited
to anxiety for the state of those whom they will leave behind. They give
no thought to their own destiny and the hard days that await them, and
the days of their life are spent in attempting to provide for those whom
they will leave behind.
"The other group have chosen the hereafter as their true aim, and
all their efforts are directed to attaining that goal. The world will make
itself available to them without their even seeking it, and thus they will
attain both this world and the hereafter. When they rise in the morning,
they will possess good repute in the eyes of the their Lord, and He will
grant them whatever they will request." (Nahj al-Balagha, ed.
`Abduh, Vol. IV, p.2)