Monday, 31 October 2022

Islam – The Religion of Depression and Misery

Did you know that the Quran teaches that Allah has deliberately created many human beings and genies for the express purpose of condemning them to hell?

Whomsoever God guides, he is rightly guided; and whom He leads astray — they are the losers. We have created for Gehenna many jinn and men: they have hearts, but understand not with them; they have eyes, but perceive not with them; they have ears, but they hear not with them. They are like cattle; nay, rather they are further astray. Those — they are the heedless. S. 7:178-179 Arberry

Had thy Lord willed, He would have made mankind one nation; but they continue in their differences excepting those on whom thy Lord has mercy. To that end He created them, and perfectly is fulfilled the word of thy Lord: ‘I shall assuredly fill Gehenna with jinn and men all together.’ S. 11:118-119 Arberry

If We had so willed, We could have given every soul its guidance; but now My Word is realized — “Assuredly I shall fill Gehenna with jinn and men all together.” S. 32:13 Arberry

Did you also know that the Islamic faith is perhaps the only religion which promises that every single person must enter into hell, while failing to give the individual believer the absolute assurance that s/he will be taken out from there?

The human being says, “Shall I be brought to life again after I will die?” Does he not remember that We created him when he did not exist? By your Lord, We will bring them back to life with satan and gather them around hell in large groups. Then We will separate from every group those who were strongly rebellious against the Beneficent God. We know best who deserves greater suffering in hell fire. It is the inevitable decree of your Lord that every one of you will be taken to hell. We will save the pious ones from the hell fire and leave the unjust people therein in crowded groups. S. 19:66-72 Muhammad Sarwar https://www.islamawakened.com/quran/19/st23.htm

Note how the following versions translate the specific verse in question:

and there is not one of you but shall pass through it: a decree from your Lord which must be fulfilled. Wahiduddin Khan https://www.islamawakened.com/quran/19/st38.htm

There is none of you, but ones who go down to itThis had been a thing decreed, that decreed by thy Lord. S. 19:71 Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar https://www.islamawakened.com/quran/19/st46.htm

And all of you will go through it. This is a decree from your Lord that must be fulfilled. Safi Kaskas https://www.islamawakened.com/quran/19/st64.htm

And decidedly not one of you (there is), except that he will go (herded) down to it; that, for your Lord, has been a thing decreed, a must. Muhammad Mahmoud Ghali https://www.islamawakened.com/quran/19/st21.htm

And not from you [(who are mentioned in Verses 19/65-70) would remain outside] but must be one who entered it (i.e., Hell). (This) is unto your Nourisher-Sustainer, a decree, decreed. Dr. Kamal Omar https://www.islamawakened.com/quran/19/st48.htm

There is not one of you but will go down to it. This has been an unavoidable decree of your Lord. Tala A. Itani https://www.islamawakened.com/quran/19/st56.htm

And every single one of you will encounter it. This for your Lord is a certainty that will come to pass. The Monotheist Group (2013 Edition) https://www.islamawakened.com/quran/19/st58.htm

Every one of you will tour the Hell (to feel how awful of a place it is.) Bijan Moeinian https://www.islamawakened.com/quran/19/st11.htm

There is not one of you who shall not go down to it: such is a thing decreed, determined by your Lord. Hasan Al-Fatih Qaribullah https://www.islamawakened.com/quran/19/st16.htm

And there is none among you who He will not pass through (experience) Hell! This is, by your Rabb, a definite decree. Ahmed Hulusi https://www.islamawakened.com/quran/19/st63.htm

Not one of you there is, but he shall go down to it; that for thy Lord is a thing decreed, determined. Arberry

There is not one of you who will not go down to it,- that is settled and decided by thy Lord. Palmer

There shall be none of you but shall descend into the same hell: This is an established decree upon thy Lord. Sale

No one is there of you who shall not go down unto it – This is a settled decree with thy Lord – Rodwell

There is not one among you who shall not pass through it: such is the absolute decree of your Lord. N. J. Dawood (2014)

And here is how some of Islam’s greatest commentators explained this passage:

There is not one of you but shall come to it that is but shall enter Hell. That is an inevitability already decreed by your Lord something which He made inevitable and which He decreed; He will not waive it. (Tafsir al-Jalalayn https://altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=74&tSoraNo=19&tAyahNo=71&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2; bold and underline emphasis ours)

(There is not one of you but shall approach it) there is not a single one of you, to the exclusion of prophets and messengers, save that he will enter it, i.e. hell. (That is a fixed ordinance of your Lord) it is a decree that must necessarily take place. (Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs https://altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=73&tSoraNo=19&tAyahNo=71&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2; bold and underline emphasis ours)

There is a major problem with the above commentary. The only persons exempted from going to hell are the Lord Jesus and his blessed mother, since the Muslim scripture plainly states that Allah took Jesus to be with him where he is, and placed his glorious mother on a high and secure place:

When God said, ‘Jesus, I will take thee to Me and will raise thee to Me and I will purify thee of those who believe not. I will set thy followers above the unbelievers till the Resurrection Day. Then unto Me shall you return, and I will decide between you, as to what you were at variance on. S. 3:55 Arberry

God raised him up to Him; God is All-mighty, All-wise. S. 4:158 Arberry

And We made the son of Mary and his mother a sign; and We gave them both shelter on high, a place of security and springs. S. 23:50 Hamid S. Aziz https://www.islamawakened.com/quran/23/st15.htm

The fact is that everyone else must enter into hell, including the prophets and messengers, according to the Quran!

The next traditions show that even Muhammad’s close companions knew that they too would have to go to hell, which caused them great fear and anxiety since they weren’t certain whether they would ever come out from there:

According to Ibn Humayd – Salamah – Muhammad b. Ishaq – Muhammad b. Ja‘far b. al-Zubayr – ‘Urwah b. al-Zubayr, who said: The Messenger of God sent his expedition to Mu’tah in Jumada I of the year 8. He put Zayd b. Harithah in command of the men and said, “If Zayd b. Harithah is killed, Ja‘far b. Abi Talib shall be in command of the men; if Ja‘far is killed, ‘Abdallah b. Rawahah shall be in command… When ‘Abdallah b. Rawahah said goodbye with the other commanders of the Messenger of God who were doing so, HE WEPT. They said to him, “What is making you weep, Ibn Rawahah?” He said, “By God, I have no love of this world or excessive love for you, but I heard the Messenger of God recite a verse from the Book of God that mentioned the Fire [of Hell] – ‘Not one of you there is, but he shall go down to it; that for thy Lord is a thing decreed, determined’ – AND I DO NOT KNOW HOW I CAN COME OUT AFTER GOING DOWN.” The Muslims said, “May God accompany you, defend you, and bring you back to us in good health.” … (The History of Al-Tabari: The Victory of Islam, translated by Michael Fishbein [State University of New York Press (SUNY), Albany 1997], Volume VIII (8), pp. 152-153; bold and capital emphasis ours)

And:

Also narrated by Abdel Razak, narrated by Ibn Ayena, narrated by Ismail Ibn Abu Khalid, narrated by Qais Ibn Abu Hazem who said that Abdallah Ibn Rawaha placed his head on his wife’s lap AND BEGAN TO WEEP, so his wife began to weep also. So he asked her, “Why are you weeping?” She responded, “I saw you weeping and so I started to weep.” He said, “I remembered the saying of Allah – who is glorified and exalted – ‘Not one of you but will pass through it’ (Q. 19:71), AND I DON’T KNOW IF I WILL BE SAVED FROM IT OR NOT.” In another narration it adds the phrase, ‘he said this while he was ill.’

Also narrated by Ibn Jarir, narrated by Abu Kurayb, narrated by Ibn Yaman, narrated by Malik Ibn Maghul, narrated by Ibn Ishaq who said, “Whenever Abu Maysarah would lie down on his bed he would say, ‘I WISH MY MOTHER HAD NEVER BORE ME.’ AND THEN HE WOULD BEGIN TO WEEP. When asked why he was weeping he would respond, ‘WE WERE TOLD THAT WE WOULD ENTER HELL, BUT WE WEREN’T TOLD THAT WE WOULD EXIT FROM IT.’”

Also narrated by Abdallah Ibn Al-Mubarak, narrated by Al-Hassan Al-Basri who said, “A man said to his brother, ‘Have you been told that you shall enter hell?’ The brother answered ‘YES.’ He then asked, ‘Have you also been told that you shall exit from it?’ The brother responded ‘NO.’ So he asked, ‘Then why the laughter?’ The brother responded, ‘I have not seen a person laugh until he joined Allah.’” (Tafsir Ibn Kathir http://quran.al-islam.com/Page.aspx?pageid=221&BookID=11&Page=310)

What a depressing religion to believe in! To think that a religion would actually promise its adherents that they all must go to hell, without giving them the assurance that they will ever come out since no one can ever know for certain whether Allah will consider them to be godly enough to be taken out of the fires of hell!

This means that Muslims can never have true peace within their hearts, since they will always live with the fear of knowing that they must go to hell after they die. How, then, can any person ever be happy or joyful believing that hell is the next place they go to once they die?

Contrast this with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus, who assures believers that they will never die and experience God’s wrath, since he promises to give his followers his everlasting peace, and assures them that he will never leave nor abandon them:

“‘I will not leave you fatherless. I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see Me no more. But you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also.’… Jesus answered him, ‘If a man loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and WE will come to him, and make OUR home with him… Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:18-19, 23, 27

“I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ… But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. How much more then, being now justified by His blood, shall we be saved from wrath through Him. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, how much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved by His life. Furthermore, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” Romans 5:1, 8-11

“For they themselves declare how we were received by you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead—Jesus, who delivered us from the wrath to come.” 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10

“For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we should live together with Him.” 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10

“At my first defense no one stood with me, but everyone forsook me. May it not be charged against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear. And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. The Lord will deliver me from every evil work and will preserve me for His heavenly kingdom, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” 2 Timothy 4:16-18

“Let your lives be without love of money, and be content with the things you have. For He has said: ‘I will never leave you, nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’” Hebrews 13:5-6

Now this is truly a message of hope, with all those believing it having nothing to fear anymore, not even death, since they know that their Lord and Savior has conquered the grave and therefore lives forever. And because he is alive forevermore, all those who trust in him shall never die but will also live forever and ever in his glorious presence:

“Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned. But he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God… He who believes in the Son has eternal life. He who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” John 3:14-18, 36

“Truly, truly I say to you, whoever hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life and shall not come into condemnation, but has passed from death into life.” John 5:24

“‘All whom the Father gives Me will come to Me, and he who comes to Me I will never cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who has sent Me, that of all whom He has given Me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.’ The Jews then murmured about Him, because He said, ‘I am the bread which came down from heaven.’ They said, ‘Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, “I have come down from heaven”?’ Jesus therefore answered them, ‘Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who has sent Me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.’” John 6:37-44

“Jesus answered, ‘I do not have a demon. But I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. I do not seek glory for Myself. There is One who seeks it and judges. Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone keeps My word, he shall never see death.’ Then the Jews said to Him, ‘Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham and the prophets died, and You say, “If a man keeps My word, he shall never taste death.” Are You greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets are dead! Who do You make Yourself out to be?’” John 8:49-53

“Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to Him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, yet shall he live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.’” John 11:23-27

“‘Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God. Believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, you may be also. You know where I am going, and you know the way.’ Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know where You are going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” John 14:1-6

“I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfect in unity, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, that they may see My glory which You have given Me. For You loved Me before the creation of the world.” John 17:23-24

“Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves the one born of the Father… for whoever is born of God overcomes the world, and the victory that overcomes the world is our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world, but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?… If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God which He has given concerning His Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has this witness in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made Him out to be a liar, because he does not believe the testimony that God gave about His Son. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life, and whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.” 1 John 5:1, 4-5, 9-13

All scriptural citations taken from the Modern English Version (MEV) of the Holy Bible.

Further Reading

The Quran on Muslims entering Hell https://answeringislam.net/Shamoun/muslims_in_hell.htm

Quran Contradiction: Will All Muslims Go to Hell? https://www.answeringislam.net/Quran/Contra/muslims_in_hell2.htm

Will All Muslims Go to Hell According to the Quran? https://www.answeringislam.net/authors/shamoun/rebuttals/zawadi/muslims_in_hell.html

Will All Muslims Go to Hell? https://www.answeringislam.net/Responses/Osama/karim_in_hell.htm

Will Muslims Enter Hell? An Analysis of the Conflicting Hadith Reports https://www.answeringislam.net/Shamoun/muslims_in_hell_ahadith.htm

Source: https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2018/09/09/islam-the-religion-of-sadness-and-misery/

IHS

No comments:

Post a Comment