Isa In Hell?
- philhoraia
- May 27, 2024
- 4 min read
S 21:98 You and what you worship instead of Allah are gravel of Jahannam. You are going down to it.
Now, very shortly after this verse was 'revealed', a problem was found which Allah wasn't expecting.
From an Answering Islam article:
An alert Muslim will point out that I need to just look ahead a few verses in this sura and the problem introduced in verse 98 will find its solution in verses 101-103.
Surely you and what you worship besides Allahare the firewood of hell; to it you shall come.-- Sura 21:98Surely (as for) those for whom the good has already gone forth from Us,they shall be kept far off from it;They will not hear its faintest sound, and they shall abide in that which their souls long for.The great fearful event shall not grieve them,and the angels shall meet them: This is your day which you were promised.-- Sura 21:101-103
It is now necessary to look carefully at the occasion for the revelation of this verse. It is described in detail in Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah, translated as "The Life of Muhammad" by A. Guillaume, page 163:
The apostle sat one day, so I have heard, with al-Walid b. al-Mughira in the mosque, and al-Nadr b. al-Harith came and sat with them in the assembly where some of Quraysh were. When the apostle spoke al-Nadr interrupted him, and the apostle spoke to him until he silenced him. Then he read to him and to the others: "Verily ye and what ye serve other than God is the fuel of hell. You will come to it. If these had been gods they would not have come to it, but all will be in it everlastingly. There is wailing and there they will not hear".Then the apostle rose and `Abdullah b. al-Ziba`ra al-Sahmi came and sat down. Al-Walid said to him: "By God, al-Nadr could not stand up to the (grand)son of `Abdu'l-Muttalib just now and Muhammad alleged that we and our gods are fuel for hell" `Abdullah said: "If I had found him I would have refuted him. Ask Muhammad, `Is everything which is worshipped besides God in Gehenna with those who worship it?' We worship the angels; the Jews worship `Uzayr; and the Christians worship Jesus Son of Mary." Al-Walid and those with him in the assembly marvelled at `Abdullah's words and thought that he had argued convincingly. When the apostle was told of this he said: "Everyone who wishes to be worshipped to the exclusion of God will be with those who worship him. They worship only satans and those they have ordered to be worshipped." So God revealed concerning that "Those who have received kindness from us in the past will be removed far from it and will not hear its sound and they abide eternally in their heart's desire", i.e. Jesus Son of Mary and `Uzayr and those rabbis and monks who have lived in obedience to God, whom the erring people worship as lords beside God. And He revealed concerning their assertion that they worship angels and that they are the daughters of God, "And they say the Merciful has chosen a son, (exalted be He above this); nay, they are but honoured slaves, they do not speak before He speaks, and they carry out His commands", as far as the words, "and he of them who says, I am God as well as He, that one we shall repay with Gehenna. Thus do they repay the sinful ones." Qur'an Difficulty: Will Jesus be in Hell?
S 21:98 would of course mean that even mountains and trees would end up in hell.
Let's look at the verses that were dreamed up following verse 98.
S 21:101-103 Those for whom goodness has preceded from us, those are removed from it. / They do not hear its faint sound and they abide indefinitely in what their souls have desired. / The greatest apprehension does not grieve them and the angels receive them. This is your day which you were promised.
It should be obvious to the reader that Allah's afterthought doesn't actually save the verse.
'Those for whom goodness has preceded from us'; wouldn't that include human beings, including idolators, who supposedly receive goodness from Allah? Would idolators be excluded from the Islamic hell? Does goodness precede from Allah for the angels? Nowhere in this verse does it say that those who are merely worshipped without their consent would not be damned. What about Adam whom the angels were commanded to do sujud to, and to Adam himself? The Prostration to Adam -- A Quranic Problem [Part 1] See also my post, The Angels Commanded to Do Sujud and Iblis’ Refusal
An objection may be raised concerning the word 'what'. Allah's boss failed to raise an objection on the grounds that 'what' wasn't applicable to animate beings. And in quran we find 'what' being used in reference to Allah.
Further reading:
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