Does the Islam religion have the concept of Hell?
Also is there an equivalent to purgatory or limbo?
In terms of Islam how would hell be described ?
What does Islam say about the afterlife of Muslims who 
have not quite lived up to the teachings of Islam?
(do they all go to heaven eventually or somewhere else??)
And what does Islam say about the fate of those who are not Muslims
(Jews, Christians, atheists, agnostics, hindus etc)
Do they get to heaven or is there some other place reserved for them?
and with respect to the above questions are there different answers for 
different muslim sects? 

Yours Truly 
Mongolia

Hi
Thanks for the interesting question.

The Isalmic religion deals with three main ideals: 
- Tawhid, the Unity of Allah.
- Nubuuwa, prophecy.
- Eschatology or the study of general afterlife.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eschatology)

The Islam believes in the bodily resurrection of the dead, the
fulfillment of the divine plan for creation, and the immortality of
the human soul.
The righteous people are rewarded with the pleasures of Jannah or
Heaven, while the unrighteous will be punished in Jahannam or Hell. A
good part of the Quran deals with these beliefs, with many Hadith (the
sayings and doings of Muhammad the prophet and his Sahab -
companions).

One's eternal destination will depends on the ratio of good to bad
deeds in life. On the Last Day, resurrected humans and Jinn will be
judged by Allah according to their deeds. They are either granted
admission to Jannah, where they will enjoy spiritual and physical
pleasures for eternity, or condemned to Jahannam to suffer spiritual
and physical torture.
The day of judgment is described as passing over Hell on a narrow
bridge in order to enter Paradise. Those who fall, weighted by their
bad or evil deeds, will remain in Hell forever.
The Quran specifies two exceptions to this general rule: 
- Warriors who die fighting in the cause of God are ushered
immediately to God's presence (2:159 and 3:169).
- Enemies of Islam are sentenced immediately to Hell upon death.

Islam describes Jannah as a place of physical pleasure, sometimes
interpreted literally, sometimes allegorically. Heaven is most often
described as a cool, very well-shaded, and irrigated garden. The
righteous which are deserving of this reward are  described in
explicitly physical terms - including unlimited food and drink and
promises of enormous palaces staffed with multitudes of servants, and
perfect, perpetually-virgin spouses.
Only the Five Pillars of Faith
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Pillars_of_Islam) determine who
will have access to Jannah.
Allah is the one who knows best who will enter Jannah and even people
of the other Abrahamic faiths ("People of the book") will also get
into heaven.

The Muslims who are not intitled to reach Jannah are punished with a
temporary stay in Jahannam, but will go to heaven later providing
there is "one atom of faith in their hearts" as told by Muhammed the
prophet.
Non Muslims, on the other hand will be punished eternally and do not
have chance of pardon from Jahannam.
Some Muslims also believe that people who do not accept the Prophet
Muhammed after hearing his message, will receive eternal damnation in
hell.

The descriptions in the Quran of Jahannam are much like the
descriptions of Jannah, very visual: Skin is burned off the sinner's
body and then they are given new skin so it can be rp[eatedly burned
off. Boiling water is poured down throats and it destroys their inner
bowels apart. Extreme heat and cold are applied to the sinner's body
as punishments.

There are two main sects in Islam: The Sunni and The Shi'ite. Sunni
Islam is the largest denomination, but some countries it is a
minority.
"Sunnis have their historical roots in the majority group who followed
Abu Bakr, an effective leader, as Muhammad's successor, instead of his
cousin and son-in-law Ali. The Sunnis are so named because they
believe themselves to follow the sunnah or "custom" of the Prophet.
Shi'ites are those Muslims who followed Ali, the closest relative of
Muhammad, as Muhammad's successor."
"Sufi Islam is not exactly a sect, but the mystical expression of
Islam... Sufism might be compared to Christian monasticism, in that
both emphasize a quiet, simple life focused on obeying and
experiencing God. Opinions of Sufis differ within the Muslim
community. "
A comparison chart can also be found here:

http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/comparison_charts/islamic_sects.htm


The difference between Sunni and Shia sects of Islam do not exist to
the extreme degrees that non-Muslims may assume. While there are
slight variations in the way they view their religious leaders and
attach meaning to the history of Muhammad. family, cultural and
political differences hold the most divisive power. Both sects
emphasize the Five Pillars of Islam, read the same Quran, and consider
each other Muslims





Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_eschatology

http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/fastfacts/overview.htm

http://www.muslim.org/islam/int-is35.htm

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-differences-between-the-sunni-and-shia-sects-of-islam.htm

Landog
Very good and somewhat surprising (even scary) answer. Any comments on
this subject would be welcome.
Mongolia

Having read the answer from Landog, I am amazed. As regular readers
know, I would usually counter any claims with scriptures from the
Bible, but in this case, will renege. what astounds me is the
similarity with Catholic beliefs. Heaven, Hell [ a place of torment] a
mix of physical and spiritual [ is that possible?] effects, a divided
following, with no love but an emphasis on obedience. A god who would
allow cruelty with burning etc. Divided loyalties between relatives.
And all this from a god who claims to have created everything. Is the
Islam heaven a place for physical or spiritual. I would think that a
body is needed to enjoy food and other pleasures. And a body needs
other requirements, water etc. For such things to exist, surely a
place with the physical aspects of the earth is required. The
Catholics answer to tough questions is " its a mystery". Is it also a
mystery to Muslims. This is not to denigrate beliefs to to try and
understand. I am at a total loss.

I am not ready for it
- but 25 years ago I was introduced to Suficism, by a guy who had
spent some years ....

It rings a chord.

- one needs to choose ones own view 
- but ethics need to be contemporary

Pugwashjw-ga,
What a nice comment!  You are right, we (I ) do usually expect a good
Bible-based response from you.
Something about Islam that is often overseen is that it..., (I'll try
to choose my words carefully)  the text of the Koran responds to the
religions of the time, accepting a lot of Old Testament and
recognizing the existance of Jesus, and also dealing with the
"problem" of the Christian Trinity in relationship to the idea of a
single diety.  The Trinity was a problem for some Christians at the
time too.

But I don't want to start a discussion about that.  :)
The Koran apparently agreed with then current concepts of heaven and hell.
Why not?  Keep to the straight and narrow when crossing that bridge.

I seem to remember that the previous Pope "did away with" hellfire and
damnation, but someone will correct me if that is wrong.

Regards, Myoarin

All,
I liked very much your comments on this subject.
I would very much like to add my own personal aspects on such matters.
But choose to refrain in order to try and remain utterly unbiased in
this community.

landog.

Landog,
What admirable and unusual restraint!  Not from you, but for here  :)

Pugwashjw

Like yourself I was a little amazed at Landog's answer to my question. 

I am however curious about your comments with respect to hell and the
teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. I would agree with you up to a
point
that there are interesting similiarities between the Islamic and
Catholic views of hell. There are also some key differences (for
example the islamic concept of reward and punishment is more physical
while the catholic concept is more spiritual)
The Roman Catholic church has probably toned down its more traditional
view of hell and who are eligible to go there. Furthermore of the
various Christian faiths (anglican, methodist, presbyterian,
baptist,etc )I cannot remember the Catholic Church having any
particular monopoly in it's belief of Hell been a place of everlasting
punishment. I understood most Christian sects
had a similiar concept of Hell.

I am assuming from your alias you are a member of the Jehovah's Witness
faith.
(apologies if I am wrong on this!!)

I would be very interested to hear from your own perspective where
members of your faith are destined to go after they die. And also what
your faith says about other Christian beliefs , non-Christian
religions and non believers?
Kind Regards
Mongolia

Mongolia..Only scriptures can be used to try and prove anything. We
are born sinners and commit sins throughout our life, big and small.
Our death pays for those sins [ Romans 6;23] In death we are asleep, [
as per Lazarus,,well known Bible story] When dead there is no action
AT ALL [ GENESIS 3;19..ECCLESIASTES 9; 5,6,10...EZEKIEL 18;4..ISAIAH
26;14, and I quote " They are dead; they will not live, Impotent in
death, they will not rise up"] Nothing here about a separate 'soul'
flitting off anywhere. The word 'soul' translated from the Hebrew
'NEPHESH' which means 'that which breathes'. a soul breathes. It is
the complete 'us'. We die, we sleep in death, we are resurrected back
to earth with a physical body [ as Jesus was..he accepted food] given
the option to obey God or not. Those who do get to continue to live on
the earth [ Psalm 37; 9-12, 29 & 34] and no longer have to look
forward to death, it being done away with [ Revelation 21;4]. The only
mention of people going to heaven is at Revelation 7;4 and 14;1, and
specifies a number 144,000. These are very special ones who have
always been faithful to Almighty God and Jesus and are given the
privilege, as spiritual beings, and above the status of angels, of
being Kings and Priests to aid Jesus in the Judgement. The judgement
applies ONLY to the behaviour of people AFTER they have been
resurrected during the thousand year period when Satan is abyssed. And
even those whose behaviour is exemplary during that time, will be
tested a final time when Satan is released from the abyss at the end
of the the thousand years and allowed to TRY and influence those
remaining. You ask where will these people be. My answer is here, on
the earth, as stated at Psalm 37. By correlatong all these scriptures,
and there is one for every point I made, it makes sense. heaven
already has its population of angels. We are designed for the earth.
Why would God want us up there and what would we do? Our future is
here.

mongolia; A further point. Revelation 20;10 states that the Devil was
hurled into the lake of fire to be tormented day and night forever and
ever. This is where the concept of eternal punishment came from. but
at verse 14, death and hades [hell?] were sent to the same place. but
they are conditions. Can a condition be tormented? No. They are just
done away with, no longer there. Then at Luke 10;18, Jesus said ' I
began to behold Satan already fallen'. When you compare all the
scriptures, one against another, the whole Bible makes sense.

Hi all, how are you? I in certainly in no way wish to change the feel
of the direction of this question. So my next statement is only to
point out the militude of real questions raised by hell. When reading
the answer given, all I could think of was how could I bypass
judgement and take a job as a employe of haven or hell. Hey being a
gorgious wife for pleasure, or even serving fine food would be better
then having your skin burned off. I know my point is seemingly
senseless, but it does pose real questions. There is a simple fact of
our existance that does pertain to this and is seemingly constantly
over looked. "I can experience nothing beyond my own conscious." Now
if I relate this to physical being then I can experience with out a
body. My thoughts are all I have, they are my conscious, they are who
I am. My thoughts are not part of my physical body, thought is not a
product of the brain. This tells me that my entire existance is in my
mind, but very real in my body. Now this leads me to the experience of
greater mental anguish over the things I have done then mental anguish
of the pain I physically feel. Now this tell me I am responsible for
my actions and choice is an action and it tells me I suffer greater
from what I do to myself. Now what I am saying is heaven and hell are
the same place and we create it for ourselves with the choices we
make. "we must judge ourselves." This is one of the objective truths
of my existance I get from the life of Jesus. God will judge us by how
we judge ourselves. Everything we do we do onto ourselves.

Now someone has said that the bible needs to verify everything. Well
this is a little back wards. This means I may have to go against my
choice for me of what is right or wrong based only on what I feel
should be right because of what I want to believe. You see, my
strength of belief will not alow this. Now I totaly agree with the use
of the bible. It verifies my belief for me, with my understanding,
each time it has been presented. My faith in my belief I get from
Jesus, and his own words, and my understanding of everything.

While on the cross two very important things happened that relate
totaly to heaven and hell. The first is Jesus is to have said,
"Forgive them father for they know not what they do." Well if this is
the son of God and we fear God then we see this as what was done onto
Jesus as what Jesus was asking his father to forgive. Well with my
understanding, everything we do, we do unto ourselves. So Jesus was
asking God to forgive them for what they were doing to their selves
because he knew it was damaging their eternal soul, not his.

Now secound is the Person next to him on a cross. He is said to have
seen this. I understand this this way. He realized that Jesus was
asking for forgiveness of the wrong being done on to him. This made
him understand that what he had done in his life was wrong. He saw
clearly for the first time who he was. He adimited he deserved what he
was getting for the life he had lead.(became consciously aware of who
he was) He then asked for Jesus to take him to his father with him.
Jesus's responce was not through me you can come. It was not I got an
in so I will gat you in. It was not since you asked me you can get in.
It was,(since he became conciously aware)"You will by beside me in the
kingdom of heaven." Or something like that.

Heaven or Hell, just take an honest look at who you are because you
are creating it now.

I truly don't mean this as a resistance to anything that was here
before, this is just how I understand it.

take care,
airspace

I think heaven is not like a lolly pop for the kids so we make this as
a goal in our life also we don't have to be afraid the hell will burn
our body. The relatioship with Jesus is everything!

Regards, Bp05

In response to Bp 05. Your reply seems to indicate that you do believe
in the possibility of burning in hell, as taught by the Catholic
church. If I am wrong here, I apologise. But you do state that belief
in Jesus is everything. If belief equates with faith, then you are
simply wrong. Faith by itself is not enough. Jesus himself gave a
commandment to his disciples at Matthew 28; 19,20. to make disciples
and to observe all his teachings.  This applies to everyone, not just
a small group of 'leaders' or 'priests'. Jesus changed the whole
Jewish system with their priestly leaders. these are the works that go
with our faith. James 2; 17-26 emphasises the importance of the
necessary works.

Dear pugwashjw-ga,

Thank you for your comment and sorry not to response earlier.
On my previous comment I wrote "relationship" and not "belief". 
If we have relationship with Him, we learn how to think and feel, to
say and to do like Him also.

If we emphasize on "faith" only we will slip in to the antinomian
(cheap grace). But if we only emphasize on "work" we will easyly to
slip into the legalism. We should have a balance understanding on this
issue.

We only saved by grace, with an infinite price, infinite sacrifice on
the cross. If we realize this, we will live in harmony and obedience
to God's law/Jesus teaching's.

God bless, BP05

Hell is a place of non-existence.  The bible frequently uses the term
"fire" in the bible as a term for destruction.  If you read Jonah 2:2
you will see that jonah said that he was in the belly of hell.  Thus,
he was saying that he was in his grave, for sure there was no burning
fire in the belly of the wale.  If you read in Revelation 20:14, you
will see that death and hades(hell), were cast into the lake of fire. 
Death is a state of existence and surely cannot burn.  Some people
belive that hell is the fire, why would god throw hell into hell? 
Like I said, fire means destruction.  The verse is saying that death
and hell will be destroyed.

Hell is a place of non-existence.  The bible frequently uses the term
"fire" in the bible as a term for destruction.  If you read Jonah 2:2
you will see that jonah said that he was in the belly of hell.  Thus,
he was saying that he was in his grave, for sure there was no burning
fire in the belly of the wale.                                        
                                       If you read in Revelation
20:14, you will see that death and hades(hell), were cast into the
lake of fire.  Death is a state of existence and surely cannot burn. 
Some people belive that hell is the fire, why would god throw hell
into hell?  Like I said, fire means destruction.  The verse is saying
that death and hell will be destroyed.

    Once you die, you are sleeping just as jesus said that Lazaruth
was sleeping when he raised him from the dead.  Don't you think that
Lazaruth would of told of all the stories of hell, or heaven, if he
would have went.  When you die you go to hell(grave), you are there
until jesus comes back to judge the living and the "dead".  If you
read in John 5:25, you can see that the dead will hear the voice of
the son of man, and they that hear shall live. It didn't say those in
heaven or hell, it said those that are "dead".

   When we die we go into a state of non-existence.  As it is stated
in Ecclesiastes 9:5, The living are conscious that they will die, but
the dead know nothing.  In Psalms 146:4 it states that "his breath
goeth forth, he returneth to his earth, in that day his thoughts
perish."

   One thing that I do not understand about the Catholic belief is how
they listen to a priest and call the priest father.  The bible says
nothing of we needing man to get to our father.  In Matthew 23:1 , It
says that you must call no one on earth your father, since you have
only one father, and he is in heaven.  What is it that the catholic's
do not understand about that?  If you read in Matthew 6:6, it says to
go into a closet and pray to god, not to go say it to a man.  If you
look in 6:7, it says not to use repetitions for thinking that you will
be heard.  I have seen many catholics repeat many prayers over and
over again.  You are supposed to pray from your heart, not from
memorization.  There is only one mediator between god and us, and it
is not a priest.  As 1 timothy 2:5 says, that there is "one god and
mediator between god and me, Christ Jesus.

  
    Matthew 6: 9-12. Many catholics will refer back to the our father
prayer, it starts our as "you should pray like this: our father....". 
It doesn't state to directly pray that prayer.  It is a model on how
we should pray.  It speaks about giving us the food we need, forgive
us when we sin, deliver us from evil...etc.  This is how we should
pray when we pray from our heart, not memorization.

Many religions just believe what they believe because of tradition.  I
like religions that teach directly from the bible, not from tradition.

I will answer your question thru my life as a muslim and my teachings
about Islam.  Islam does have a concept of Heaven and Hell.  Everyone
on earth commits sins and hopefeully repents to ALLAH to forgive these
sins.  Muslims believe that on the shoulders of every person are two 2
Angels (Kiramen and Kathibeen.  The one on the left shoulder records
every bad deed and the one on the right shoulder records every good
deed taken place in the entire lifetime of that person.  Once the Day
of Judegement arrives there will be scales (balances) placed on earth
and they will balance out all your good deeds and all your bad deeds. 
If your balance tips more towards the bad side then you enter Hell, if
the good side then you enter Heaven.  There are many levels of Hell
Fire as there are many levels to Heaven.  If a person commits sin to a
max point - then he/she will be placed in a torterous Hell Fire.  Hell
in itself all togheter is unbearable torterous, we can just imagine
how bad the deeper levels of hell are.  In Hell you will be punished
according to what sins you committed on earth.

When Allah (swt) created Paradise and Hell-fire, He sent Gabriel to
Paradise, saying: Look at it and at what I have prepared therein for
its inhabitants. The Prophet  said: So he came to it and looked at it
and at what Allah had prepared therein for its inhabitants. The
Prophet  said: So he returned to Him and said: By your glory, no one
hears of it without entering it. So He ordered that it be encompassed
by forms of hardship, and He said: Return to it and look at what I
have prepared therein for its inhabitants. The Prophet  said: So he
returned to it and found that it was encompassed by forms of hardship.
Then he returned to Him and said: By Your glory, I fear that no one
will enter it. He said: Go to Hell-fire and look at it and what I have
prepared therein for its inhabitants, and he fount that it was in
layers, one above the other. Then he returned to Him and said: By Your
glory, no one who hears of it will enter it. So He ordered that it be
encompassed by lusts. Then He said: Return to it. And he returned to
it and said: By Your glory, I am frightened that no one will escape
from entering it.

Hadith - Sahih Bukhari 4:464, Narrated 'Abdullah bin Abbas , see also
Bukhari 4:464, 7:124

"...Then I saw the (Hell) Fire, and I have never before, seen such a
horrible sight as that, and I saw that the majority of its dwellers
were women." The people asked, "O Allah's Apostle! What is the reason
for that?" He  replied, "Because of their ungratefulness." It was
said. "Do they disbelieve in Allah (are they ungrateful to Allah)?" He
 replied, "They are not thankful to their husbands and are ungrateful
for the favors done to them. Even if you do good to one of them all
your life, when she seems some harshness from you, she will say, "I
have never seen any good from you.' "


Hadith - Reported by Darimi, Narrated Abu Sa'id , Tirmidhi transmitted
something similar but he said seventy instead of ninety-nine.

Allah's Messenger  said: There dominate ninety-nine dragons over the
unbeliever in the grave. They (constantly) bite him and sting him till
there comes the hour (of resurrection). (These dragons are so
poisonous) that if one of them exhales on the Earth, no verdure will
ever grow upon it.


Hadith - Al-Tirmidhi, Narrated Abu Hurayrah  Transmitted by Tirmidhi 

The Prophet  was asked about the things which would enable most people
to enter Paradise. He answered: Being careful about one's obligations
to Allah, and good behaviour. Thereafter, he was asked: What are those
things which will lead a person into Hell? He answered: His mouth and
genitals.


Hadith - Bukhari 8.485, Narrated Abu Huraira   

The Prophet  said, "A slave (of Allah) may utter a word which pleases
Allah without giving it much importance, and because of that Allah
will raise him to degrees (of reward): a slave (of Allah) may utter a
word (carelessly) which displeases Allah without thinking of its
gravity and because of that he will be thrown into the Hell-Fire."

Will anyone die in Hell? Is there any saheeh hadeeth to that effect or
not? If it is true, then what is the nature of this death, and to whom
will it happen?

It was reported in Saheeh Muslim that Aboo Sa?eed al-Khudree (may
Allah be pleased with him) said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ?As for the people of Hell, they
are its inhabitants, and they neither live therein nor die. But there
are people who will enter Hell because of their sins ? or mistakes ?
so Allah will cause them to die once, then when they become like coal,
He will give permission for intercession (for them). They will be
brought group by group to the rivers of Paradise. Then it will be
said: "O people of Paradise! Pour water on them." Then they will grow
like seeds (i.e., the seeds of herbs and aromatic plants, or it was
said, small plants that grow in between grasses, or it may mean
wheat).?"

The scholars said: "What is meant by the people of Hell are its kaafir
inhabitants, who will never come out of it and never die at all.

Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

"But those who disbelieve (in the Oneness of Allah), for them will be
the Fire of Hell. Neither will it have a complete killing effect on
them so that they die, nor shall its torment be lightened for them.
Thus do We requite every disbeliever!" [Faatir 35:36]

As for the sinners among those who believe in the Oneness of Allah,
those who have committed major sins (kabaa?ir), they will be punished
in accordance with the degree of their sins for a period decreed by
Allah, then they will die a lesser death such that they no longer feel
anything, for a period decreed by Allah. Then they will be brought out
dead, turned into coals and carried like luggage, and they will be
thrown into the rivers of Paradise and the water of life will be
poured over them. Then they will grow, like wheat at first, but
quickly, like herbs. Then they will get stronger and be fully formed,
and will be taken to their homes in Paradise. And Allah knows best.

Dear sleep3

Interesting answer to my question from the perspective of a practising muslim.

It is also interesting to compare it to the official answer.

I have a question to pose to you. You say 

>"But those who disbelieve (in the Oneness of Allah), for them will be
>the Fire of Hell. Neither will it have a complete killing effect on
>them so that they die, nor shall its torment be lightened for them.
>Thus do We requite every disbeliever!" [Faatir 35:36]

Does that mean you believe that all non-muslims on this planet are
condemned to eternal punishment in hell?

Kind Regards

Mongolia