On the Doctrine of Hell
Among all the Abrahamic dogmas, the doctrine of Hell is probably the most terrible and frightening. For believers, we usually ignore or downplay this teaching, likely to soothe our own discomfort with the concept. For unbelievers, it is considered barbaric and inhuman, seeming to be constituted by such wicked brutality and violence.
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| A common depiction of Hell from Medieval Europe. |
I find this contemporary attitude towards the doctrine to be very unfortunate. I believe that the idea of Hell, rightly understood, can serve as an effective and powerful catalyst for religious and moral growth. However, it can become an equally vicious impediment to one's Iman (faith) if it's understood in a deficient and careless manner. This is sadly the more common understanding of Hell propagated by clerics and religious educators to lay people, becoming a major source of religious trauma for many.
In order to address this problem, I wish to present a more compelling portrait of Hell that I find to be sensible and spiritually edifying. This is my own interpretation of the doctrine, not representing the teachings of any official or orthodox religious institution. However, it is greatly indebted to the Islamic Mystical Tradition, specifically to the thought and teachings of the Shaykhul Akbar, Ibn Arabi, one of the greatest among our Awliya (saints).
Role of Ethics
All Abrahamic discussions on the afterlife ultimately go back to Ethics. Good works merit the divine reward of Paradise, whereas evil deeds merit the divine punishment of Hell. How exactly does this work, though? How do good works lead one to Paradise, whereas evil deeds lead one to Hell?
In traditional Islamic consciousness, the imagery of the scale is often used to depict judgment. It is upon this scale that the believer's good deeds are weighed. Those whose scales are heavy will taste Paradise, while those whose scales are light will taste Hellfire. This motif of weighing the moral character of the soul is not limited to Islam. Other religious traditions like Christianity or Egyptian Paganism also utilize this imagery to depict judgement.
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| An Ancient Egyptian relief which depicts a heart, considered to be the seat of one's ethical character, being weighed against a feather from Ma'at, the goddess of order and justice. |
Behind this outer and apparent imagery, however, lies an inner and hidden meaning. The motif of the scale is essentially just an imaginal symbol used to describe the spiritual reality of how moral acts shape and impact the Soul.
Spiritual Nature of Actions
One of the biggest differentiators between religious and secular philosophies is the belief in supernatural substances, specifically the Soul. This concept is inextricably linked to the Abrahamic understanding of the afterlife. The Soul is what survives the death of the earthly body, eventually acquiring a new sublime body fitting for her posthumous destiny. This destiny is determined by her own decisions and actions.
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| 'Resurrection' by Khaled al-Saa'i. A series of calligraphical paintings symbolically representing the resurrection of souls. |
In a religious worldview, actions always have a twofold or dual nature. They don't merely have external effects, shaping the outer world. Rather, they also have internal effects, shaping the inner Soul. The Soul is both sculpture and sculptor, able to shape herself by means of her moral actions and decisions. Good deeds purify the Soul, shaping her to be beautiful and exalted. Evil deeds degrade the Soul, shaping her to be corrupted and vile.
How the Soul becomes shaped depends on the nature of her actions. Repetition of compassionate acts will shape a caring and kind soul. Repeated acts of integrity will shape an honest soul. Persistent acts of fortitude will shape a courageous soul. Regular displays of vanity will shape an arrogant soul. Sufficient acts of brutality will shape a cruel soul. Constant acts of hedonism manner will shape a libertine and licentious soul.
Ultimately, the moral identity of the Soul is defined and determined by her own will. The actions and decisions made over the course of her life are irreversibly etched and carved into her very being, either contributing to or detracting from her ethical character. This moral worth is intrinsic and innate, not extrinsically applied by God. In other words, God doesn't just assign the labels "Good" or "Evil" to persons upon 'calculating' their moral value. Rather, the Soul herself bears the weight and consequences of her own actions and decisions, truly becoming Good or Evil in an innate way. The seat of her ethical character is her Qalb (Spiritual Heart).
Judgement by God
According to Islam, All will be judged before God during the Qiyamah (Day of Judgment). Upon resurrection, the Soul will be given a book accounting her entire life, with all actions and intentions detailed therein, no matter how small or minor. Those given the book in their right hand will inherit Paradise, but those given the book in their left hand will suffer Hellfire. In reading their book, the Soul beholds her entire life, proud of her noble works and ashamed of her disgraceful sins.
Judgment is an act of God. Upon appraising persons as good or evil, God then sends them to their final abode. How does this actually work, though? How does God 'send' somebody to Heaven or Hell? Are people physically flown there by angels? Are they even literal places that actually exist, composed of matter and governed by physical laws? Rather, should Heaven and Hell be conceived in a more metaphorical way, construed as spiritual states of closeness to or distance from God?
With respect to the last two questions, I would hold to the Akbarian view of Shaykh Ibn Arabi. He affirms a middle way between these two extremes. On some level, the descriptions of Heaven and Hell found in the Qur'an describe literal realities. There will be 'literal' gardens in Heaven and 'literal' fire in Hell. Fundamentally though, the 'literal' realities are imaginal and illusory.
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| A portrait of Ibn Arabi, an extremely influential Islamic mystic who championed a kind of Islamic Panentheism. He is regarded as the Shaykhul Akbar (Greatest Master) in the Sufi Tradition, Doctor Maximus (Greatest Teacher) in Medieval Europe, and Muhyiddin (Reviver of the Religion) by the broader Islamic Community. |
Ibn Arabi holds that all reality, apart from God himself, is dream-like hallucination and imagination. All creation is a shadow cast by the being of God. As shadow, the cosmos stands in between existence and non-existence, being and non-being, light and void. In the words of Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, "Creation is just meanings set up in images." Under this ontological system, Heaven and Hell are seen as literal in some sense but essentially illusory alongside the rest of creation.
Judgement by Light
The Holy Qur'an says that God is the Light of the heavens and the earth (24:35). This association between God and Light is prevalent in the Islamic tradition due to how this symbolism captures the sublime power of Divinity. In the same way that Light makes manifest the reality of physical things, God makes manifest the reality of all created things. In the same way that Light annihilates physical darkness, God annihilates spiritual darkness in the forms of ignorance and evil.
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| Depictions of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) in the Islamic tradition frequently feature a glowing aura of light around his head or body. This signifies divine illumination and guidance gifted to him by God in order that he may fulfil and carry out his prophetic duties. |
During Judgment, all will stand before their Rabb (Lord). God, being Noumenal Light, illuminates the Soul. Just as earthly light would shine upon all the physical perfections and imperfections of a sculpture, so too will the Divine Light shine upon all the spiritual perfections and imperfections of the Soul, making manifest the degree of its beauty or foulness. Upon being illuminated, the Soul sees, with a kind of spiritual vision, the entirety of her life etched into the sculpture that is her very being. All her decisions, actions, and intentions ever made in all moments of her life have been carved into her Qalb.
When gazing upon her Qalb in full clarity and lucidity, she will rejoice over her all that is good and weep over all that is bad. This gazing upon the Qalb is the spiritual and esoteric reality behind the motif of the Book mentioned earlier. When the Soul outwardly reads the Book God gave her during Qiyamah, she is inwardly gazing upon her own Qalb, beholding her entire life in a single temporal moment.
Among humanity then will appear roughly two groups; the Righteous, who have done their best to live in accordance with nobility and honour; and the Reprobate, who have set aside standards of decency and morals to indulge in their selfish and decadent desires. The Righteous Soul will be joyous, for she will gaze upon her Qalb and see an abundance of beautiful perfections. The Reprobate Soul will be in anguish, for she will gaze upon her Qalb to see many foul and vile imperfections.
Heaven and Hell, then, are the illusory imaginations begotten from these two spiritual states. When the Righteous inwardly gaze upon their beautiful souls, they outwardly dream of Paradise. When the Reprobates inwardly see upon their twisted and contorted souls, they outwardly hallucinate Hellfire. As per Akbarian Metaphysics, Heaven and Hell are 'literal' realities psychologically experienced by Souls, but they are ultimately mere shadows of deeper spiritual realities.
Intrinsic Punishment
Fundamentally, the purpose of religion is Spiritual Edification, and the purpose of humanity is Spiritual Excellence. This Dunya (Earthly World) is the crucible by which our Souls become transformed and transfigured, growing in nobility and honour. Paradise is our true destiny; we will inherit it only if we play our cards wisely. If we do not succeed, then Hell will be our tragic and twisted destination. This doctrine is a continual reminder of our duty to spiritual development and a glimpse of our dreadful fate if we abandon this duty.
As bad as Hell sounds, the reality is actually far worse. The divine punishment of Hell is not extrinsic, inflicted upon the Soul by God's external will and power. If this were the case, the Soul's moral progress would be inauthentic and ungenuine. A person who commits actions solely to avoid punishment doesn't actually have good character but rather a selfish and cowardly one. Actions must be intrinsically motivated for them to actually shape one's soul.
The divine punishment of Hell is intrinsic, imposed upon the Soul by her own guilt and sorrow. God doesn't actually harmfully impact the Soul in any concrete way. Rather, he makes the Soul see herself with perfect clarity and lucidity. Divine Illumination affects the Soul in a subjective, not objective, manner. It is upon seeing her own Qalb that the Soul suffers the torment of regret and shame. It is from this spiritual anguish that the hallucination of Hell is begotten.
Divine Illumination stems from Divine Perfection. In classical Abrahamic consciousness, God is conceived as pure perfect goodness, exemplary in all spiritual and moral attributes. When God illuminates the Soul, she sees not just herself but also her Rabb. More specifically, she sees her imperfect self in the light of her perfect Rabb. The Divine Perfection is so all-encompassing and comprehensive that when she looks towards it, she is able to see a perfect version of herself. The chasm between her potential perfection in the light of God and her actual imperfection, caused by her own actions and decisions, sires the torment of Hell.
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| In Islamic Spirituality, the Prophet Muhammad (saw) has a mystical dimension referred to as his Nur (Light). His Nur is conceived as the root and matrix of all wisdom and knowledge. I would hold that this Nur is responsible for Divine Illumination. Furthermore, the Prophet is considered to be the Insan al-Kamil (Perfect Human) as he is the most perfect being in all creation. When the Soul sees a perfect version of herself in the Nur of Muhammad, she sees the Prophet himself. |
In the final analysis, God is ar-Rahman and ar-Raheem (Most Gracious and Most Merciful), capable of forgiving any and all transgressions. But is the Soul ar-Rahman and ar-Raheem? Will she be able to forgive herself? When she looks upon her Qalb to see who she could have become, could she forgive herself for having robbed away the treasures and riches from her own inheritance? The Reprobate Soul is incapable of forgiving herself, and this torture of her own making becomes her Hellfire.
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