:Question<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The disbelievers ask why Quran\nrepeatedly emphasizes the issue of torture, pain, punishment, and suffering in\nthe Hellfire? Is such a God beneficent\nand merciful, or rather murderous and bloodthirsty?” Please refute this\nstatement using verses from the Holy Quran which express Allah’s (SWT) mercy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
:Answer<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similar to how you have worded your\nquestion, it is best that we begin by seeing if the verses of the Holy Quran\ntalk solely about painful punishment, or do they rather discuss other aspects\nas well? From thereon we will follow up\non the topic of punishment, its effects, and the view one can find towards the\none who punishes. Truly, for one who punishes, can anything but unkindness and\ncruelty be expected?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As you may already be aware, the Holy\nQuran includes many verses with different words and phrases all pointing to\nAllah’s (SWT) pervasive mercy. Words like Rahman (referring to Allah’s (SWT)\ngeneral mercy), Rahim (referring to Allah’s (SWT) special mercy), Arham\nal-Rahimin (the most gracious), Ra’ouf (kind), Wadood (affectionate), and many\nmore all fall under this category of Allah’s mercy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Usually the most important and\ndominant concepts of a school of thought can be found in its title or slogan.\nOne of the most important slogans in Islam is “Bismillah al-Rahman\nal-Rahim” (In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful). Muslims\nusually begin their daily activities and work with this phrase. In addition,\nwith the exception of one chapter, all chapters in the Holy Quran begin with\nthis phrase. Allah (SWT) has various names and titles; however it is very\ninteresting that from amongst all these names (1), the titles Rahman\n(Compassionate) and Rahim (Merciful) are specifically chosen for praising Him.\nMoreover Muslims refer to Allah’s (SWT) mercy as they call Him with these two\ntitles at least 60 times a day in their daily prayers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Allah’s (SWT) mercy in the Holy Quran<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other than the times the word\nCompassionate (Rahman), has come in the phrase “Bismillah al-Rahman\nal-Rahim”, the word Rahman has been mentioned forty one times and the word\nMerciful (Rahim) can be seen eighty other times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taking a look at the other verses of\nthe Holy Quran will introduce us to other insights regarding the mercy of Allah\n(SWT). One verse explicitly states that Allah (SWT) has made mercy obligatory\nupon Himself: “\u2026your Lord has ordained mercy on Himself\u2026” (2) However, such a verse cannot be seen about\nHis wrath. The Holy Quran even includes different examples where Allah (SWT)\nhas forgiven people through His pervasive mercy, even though they had not asked\nfor forgiveness. The Holy Quran presents Allah’s (SWT) immense mercy to such an\nextent that other than the great sin of polytheism, all other sins may be\nforgiven: “(Surely) Allah does not (ever) forgive that anything should be\nassociated with Him (polytheism), and forgives what is less than that to whomsoever\n(He pleases and believes worthy)\u2026” (3)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Allah’s (SWT) mercy from the beginning\nof creation to the end of creation<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When the Holy Quran presents the\nbeginning of human creation, it declares Allah’s (SWT) mercy as the reason of\ncreation:”\u2026 Except those on whom your Lord has mercy on; and for this\n(acceptance of mercy) He created them\u2026” (4) Similarly, the mercy of Allah\nis again reminded when the end of the world and the resurrection day is\ndiscussed: “Say: To whom belongs what is in the heavens and the earth?\nSay: To Allah; He has ordained mercy (and forgiveness) on Himself; (and for\nthis reason) certainly He will gather you on the resurrection day, there is no\ndoubt about it\u2026” (5)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore, it is obvious that in\nintroducing Allah (SWT) to the non-believers, the Holy Quran refers to Allah’s\nmercy before all else, and describes Him as the owner of pervasive mercy:\n“But if they accuse you of falsehood (and don’t accept these facts), then\nsay: Your Lord is the Lord of All-encompassing mercy\u2026”(6)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No disappointment whatsoever<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Holy Quran describes this mercy to\nbe so vast that only the misled people lose hope. Quoting Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) (PBUH), the\nQuran says: “And who despairs of the mercy of his Lord but those who are\nastray!?” (7) Despite all their sins and disobediences, Allah (SWT)\ncontinues to call them His servants, telling them not to lose hope in His mercy\nfor He is all-forgiving: “Say: O my servants who have acted extravagantly\nand oppressively against their own souls! Do not despair of the mercy of Allah;\nsurely Allah forgives all the sins, because He is Forgiving and Merciful”.\n(8)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Examples of Allah’s (SWT) mercy<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Holy Quran goes a step further and\npresents more direct examples from Allah’s (SWT) mercy. In (30:21)(9), the Holy\nQuran mentions that the love and compassion between man and his wife is made by\nAllah (SWT), being a sign out of His other various signs. As a result, this\nlove and compassion is also granted by Allah (SWT); and surely His own mercy\ngoes far beyond all this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We may have seen someone ignore his\nresponsibilities toward another person, making him liable to face the\nconsequences. If the latter is a kind and passionate person, he will basically\nforgive that person. However, would it seem very common for that kind and\npassionate person to reward the disobedient as well? Our kind and merciful Lord has said that He\nwould turn the sins and disobedience of those who believe, repent, and improve\ninto goodness and virtue. (10)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Allah’s (SWT) forgiveness; a unique\nmercy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do you know the true definition of\nAllah’s (SWT) forgiveness (Safh), which is named as one of His characteristics?\nWe, as humans, may have disobeyed an authority during our lives. Supposing that\nhe has forgiven us and treated us with kindness, naturally any time we meet\nhim, we would remember the incident and feel some shame. If that person is\nextremely kind, he will forget about our disobedience; however, he cannot make\nus forget our fault, nor can he stop us from feeling shameful. Allah (SWT)\nhowever, is indeed different. Although He does not forget anything, He makes it\nso that we forget our disobedience and do not feel any embarrassment. This is what Allah’s (SWT) forgiveness\n(Safh) means \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If so much mercy, so why torture?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If Allah (SWT) has so much mercy, then\nwhy did He create Hell? Why has He\ntalked about its tortures in the Holy Quran? Does it mean that although\ncreating heaven originates from Allah\u2018s (SWT) mercy, He has neglected His mercy\nwhen creating Hell?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If we refer to the teachings of Ahl\nal-Bayt (PBUT) for these aspects, we will come to surprising statements. Our\nImams (PBUT) have taught us that Allah’s (SWT) mercy precedes His wrath (11).\nMoreover, in a phrase of Sahifah Sajjadiah (12), Imam Sajjad (PBUH) addresses\nAllah (SWT) through the following: “O my Lord! You are the one whose mercy\nprecedes His wrath (13)”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking carefully into this precious\nstatement, we understand that Imam Sajjad (PBUH) is teaching us that Allah’s\n(SWT) wrath is controlled by His mercy, meaning that His anger originates from\nHis mercy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the monotheistic\nthoughts, Allah (SWT) is free from all needs; thus, our sins and disobedience\nneither benefits nor harms Him. Therefore, the divine obligations and\nprohibitions are for our own benefits, and are in fact means for our\naccomplishment. The instructions, programs, and methods He has sent us through\nHis messengers are all based on His mercy. If we commit ourselves to these\ninstructions, we will achieve accomplishment; otherwise, we will not gain\nanything but loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Allah’s (SWT) warnings, a sight of His\nmercy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Allah (SWT) did not suffice to\nonly sending orders, but rather placed rewards for obeying Him, and punishment\nfor not obeying Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Allah’s (SWT) purpose of punishment is\ndifferent from the punishment carried out by the human beings, in that Allah’s\npunishments are not out of fun or revenge. The Holy Quran states that even the\ncreation of Hell derives from Allah’s mercy. If the hell did not exist and\npeople did not fear its torture, many people would not have the motivation to\nmove in the path of accomplishment and would not turn away from corruption.\nThus even the Hellfire in itself is a result of Allah’s (SWT) mercy. If Allah\n(SWT) had not created the Hellfire, and if we had been assured that no torture\nexisted, Allah’s (SWT) warnings would have become useless and many people would\nhave freely remained misled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In order to further\nclarify this subject, let us look into the following example. A doctor who has a sick son realizes that he\nmust remove the harmful tumor from his son’s body. When the father uses a knife\nand cuts his son’s body, does he do such out of anger, want of money and fame,\nor does he do such out of his fatherly love and affection toward his son?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The same thing is true about Allah\n(SWT). Considering the fact that He does not need our obedience, and that our\ndisobedience does not hurt Him, wouldn’t the creation of Hell originate from\nnothing but mercy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The origin of punishment in the\nhereafter<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition, many of the divine\nwarnings for the punishments are to inform us of the essence and truth of our\nown deeds. The Holy Quran clearly notifies us of this fact; for instance, when\na person usurps an orphan’s property, the essence of his act is nothing but\nfire. In fact, he is eating fire (14), but he does not feel its heat because he\nis like a person who is not conscious. \nHe will however feel and recognize the fire on the Day of Judgment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore, in the Holy Quran, Allah\n(SWT) informs us about the validity of our deeds, and warns us about their\nresults. This is similar to telling someone that excess in eating can result in\na stomach ache. Our body has been\ndesigned in such a way that overeating can result in a stomach ache. The same\nthing is true about our souls: committing sins results in undesirable\ninfluences upon our souls. A few recognize the influence right away, whereas\nothers may recognize them after awhile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thus, Allah (SWT) has only informed us\nabout the natural laws that run in this world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oppression and assault, what is our\nDuty?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The question yet remains as to what\nour duty is towards those who abuse the rights of other people. Do the kindest\npeople admire such people for their oppression or do they reproach and punish\nthem? After all, how do the most democratic governments treat those who have\nrecurrently committed crimes, and have overlooked all kinds of mercy and\nkindness? How do communities prevent people\nfrom abusing the rights of others? Is there any way other than punishment and\nchastisement?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore, punishing the abusers is a\nwise, humane, and innate issue, which has deterrent influences as well. Allah’s\n(SWT) wrath has the same rationale. If it was not because of Allah’s (SWT)\nwarning of punishment, then how could one control his\/her desire from abusing\nthe rights of others?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The creation of Hell therefore does in\nfact originate from the mercy of Allah (SWT). \nHe warns us of our wrongdoings and through the divine punishment\nprevents people from abusing each other’s rights.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
:Question The disbelievers ask why Quran repeatedly emphasizes the issue of torture, pain, punishment, and suffering in the Hellfire? Is such a God beneficent and merciful, or rather murderous and bloodthirsty?” Please refute this statement using verses from the Holy Quran which express Allah’s (SWT) mercy. :Answer Similar to how you have worded your question, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28282,28250],"tags":[17778,18046,18040,18044,17943,18043,18045],"class_list":["post-3858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-monotheism","category-questions","tag-allah","tag-mercy","tag-monotheism","tag-punishment","tag-quran","tag-the-divine-mercy-and-the-punishment-in-the-hereafter","tag-worde"],"yoast_head":"\n