One of the most important theme in the Qur'an, perhaps an indication of the preoccupation in Muhammad's mind is that of imagery of hell and the punishment for the unbelievers. This is indicated by the huge number of Qur'anic references:

• 99.9% of humans will be in hell. Sahih al-Bukhari 4.567

  The world population has been growing exponentially, let's just say that today's population is about 1/5 of all people who ever lived (1/2 or 1/3 would probably be more realistic). Thus, out of thirty billion people, only 30 million make it to paradise, that is about 2.5% of all Muslims living today! If we consider this percentage in terms of today's population only, and assuming that only Muslims will make it, then we are looking at a maximum of 6 million Muslims entering paradise as opposed to 1.2 billion Muslims living worldwide!

  Or expressed differently, something Muslims do not tell in their DA'WAH: everyone converting to Islam today has a chance of about 1 / 200 to go to paradise. And as the percentage of Muslims in the total world population rises, the probability for each individual Muslim to make it to paradise is diminishing even further.

• Allah cares not who goes to hell or paradise. According to Musnad Ahmad, No. 17000:

  Narrated Alhassan bin Sewar, narrated Laith (Ibn Saad), from Maawia, from Rashed bin Saad, from Abdelrahman bin Qotada Alsalmi that he said: I heard the prophet of Allah saying: "Allah created Adam, then he took the creation (the people) from his (Adam's) back , and said: ‘These into paradise and I do not care, and these into the fire (hell) and I do not care.’"

• all Muslims will enter Hell, Maryam 19:70-72. See the detailed articles, The Quran on Muslims Entering Hell
  Will Muslims Enter Hell? -- An Analysis of the Conflicting Hadith Reports.

• asked whether it is filled to the full, Qaf 50:30. Compare: "The Prince of Hell saith on a day and a day [ie. day by day] "Give me food unto repletion."
  The Jewish work refers to Isaiah 5:14 as proof. (Othioth, Rabbi Aqiba viii:1, quoted by Tisdall, The Original Sources of the Qur'an, p.125) see also God shall fill Hell with jinn and mankind

• beaten with rods or iron, al-Hajj 22:21

• boiling springs, al-Ghashiyah 88:5

• burning despair and ice cold darkness in, Sad 38:57

• chain of 70 cubits, al-Haqqah 69:32

• fire, al-Mudathir 74:30

• fire burn on their face, Ibrahim 14:49-50

• God shall fill Hell with jinn and mankind, Hud 11:119

• God created many of jinn and mankind for Hell, al-A`raf 7:179

• has 7 doors, al-Hijr 15:44

• has a bitter tree (Zaqqum), ad-Dukhan 44:43-44; al-Waqi`ah 56:52

• inmates will neither die nor remain alive, al-A`la 87:13

• is a pit, al-Qari`ah 101:9-10

• lie against Muhammad will enter Hell,
  * Narrated 'Ali:
  The Prophet said, "Do not tell a lie against me for whoever tells a lie against me (intentionally) then he will surely enter the Hell-fire." (Sahih Bukhari 1.106, Sahih Bukhari 1.107, Sahih Bukhari 1.108, Sahih Bukhari 1.109, Sahih Bukhari 1.110)

• majority of inhabitants of hell are women, Sahih Bukhari 4.464 and many more references.

  For a detailed discussion, see the article The Majority in Hell are Women.

• majority are ungrateful women,
  * Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: The Prophet said: "I was shown the Hell-fire and that the majority of its dwellers were women who were ungrateful." It was asked, "Do they disbelieve in Allah?" (or are they ungrateful to Allah?) He replied, "They are ungrateful to their husbands and are ungrateful for the favors and the good (charitable deeds) done to them. If you have always been good (benevolent) to one of them and then she sees something in you (not of her liking), she will say, 'I have never received any good from you." (Sahih Bukhari 1.28. see also Sahih Bukhari 2.541)

• Muslims who committed grave sins will have to go through Hell-Fire,
  "Those of the Ummah of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who have committed grave sins will be in the Fire, but not forever, provided they die and meet Allah as believers affirming his unity even if they have not repented. They are subject to His will and judgement. If He wants, He will forgive them and pardon them out of His generosity, as is mentioned in the Quran when He says: 'And He forgives anything less than that (shirk) to whoever He wills' (an-Nisa' 4:116) '' (Aqida (creed) of Imam Tahawi, item 68)

• neither die nor live, al-A`la 87:13

• scorching, al-Mudathir 74:27-29

• sinners choke on liquid pus, Ibrahim 14:16-17; al-Muzammil 73:12

• skin change, al-Mudathir 74:27-29

• sores, al-Haqqah 69:36

• stay for a limited duration, an-Naba' 78:23

• the guards of, al-Mu'min 40:49

• thorns, al-Ghashiyah 88:5

• tied to chains, Ibrahim 14:50-99

• tortured in hellfire because they soiled themselves in urine,
  * Narrated Ibn Abbas: The Prophet once passed by two graves, and those two persons (in the graves) were being tortured. He said, "They are being tortured not for a great thing (to avoid). One of them never saved himself from being soiled with his urine, while the other was going about with calumnies (to make enmity between friends). He then took a green leaf of a date-palm tree split it into two pieces and fixed one on each grave. The people said, "O Allah's Apostle! Why have you done so?" He replied, "I hope that their punishment may be lessened till they (the leaf) become dry." (Sahih Bukhari 2.443, Sahih Bukhari 1.215, Sahih Bukhari 1.217, Sahih Bukhari 2.460)

• two or three dead children will shield mother from Hell fire,
  * Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri: Some women requested the Prophet to fix a day for them as the men were taking all his time. On that he promised them one day for religious lessons and commandments. Once during such a lesson the Prophet said, "A woman whose three children die will be shielded by them from the Hell fire." On that a woman asked, "If only two die?" He replied, "Even two (will shield her from the Hell-fire)." (Sahih Bukhari 1.101, also Sahih Bukhari 2.341, Sahih Bukhari 2.342, Sahih Bukhari 2.463)
  * Abu Huraira qualified that the three children referred to in the above mentioned Hadith as not having reached the age of committing sins (i.e. age of puberty) . (Sahih Bukhari 1.102, also Sahih Bukhari 2.340)

• wardens of, al-Mulk 67:8; al-Mudathir 74:28

• wear clothing of tar, Ibrahim 14:50-99
  * Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri: The Prophet said, "When the people of Paradise will enter Paradise and the people of Hell will go to Hell, Allah will order those who have had faith equal to the weight of a grain of mustard seed to be taken out from Hell. So they will be taken out but (by then) they will be blackened (charred). Then they will be put in the river of Haya' (rain) or Hayat (life) (the Narrator is in doubt as to which is the right term), and they will revive like a grain that grows near the bank of a flood channel. Don't you see that it comes out yellow and twisted" (Sahih Bukhari 1.21)

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