(part 1 of 3): Talking to Angels
We start with a new series of articles about the conversations that take place in paradise and in hell. We hope that by remembering what Paradise / Heavenly Gardens and Hell describe to us, we will be able to experience and imagine the events that will take place when we have ours See stay in the hereafter before us.
Why does God give us insight into these conversations? The Quran contains not only descriptions of the heavenly gardens and hell, but also conversations, dialogues, speeches and intellectual discussions. If similar scenarios are repeated over and over again, it is a sign that God says: „Take care!“ It is our duty, therefore, to do just that – be careful, either with the hope of a blissful stay known as the Celestial Gardens, or to seek shelter from the fire of hell. This information is repeated again and again so that we think long and hard.
In the following articles we will look at different categories of conversations. The conversations of the angels with the residents of the Celestial Gardens, the conversations among the inmates of Hellfire, the conversations that take place between the residents of the Celestial Gardens and those of the Hellfire, between the residents of the Celestial Gardens and the Hellfire with their relatives, and that Conversations that God has with the inhabitants of the Celestial Gardens and those of Hellfire. In addition, we will consider what the residents of the Celestial Gardens and those of Hellfire speak to each other to teach each other and their inner dialogues. Let us start with the conversations between the angels and the people in the hereafter.
Conversation with angels
Angels live among people from the beginning of our life to the end. They are responsible for breathing the soul into the fetus, they report our good and bad deeds, and they pull the souls out of our bodies at the time of death. When we enter our last location, our afterlife, they are with us and we will be able to speak to them.
The people of the Heavenly Gardens
The eternal stay of those who have spent their lives patiently in the face of adversity and who have striven to be righteous in times of hardship and lightness are the eternal heavenly gardens, also known as enna. When the people who spend eternity in the Heavenly Gardens enter their new home, they will greet the angels. These are the gatekeepers of the Celestial Gardens and they will say, „Come in peace because of your patience.“ The Heavenly Gardens are a place of eternal peace and total satisfaction.
„And those who feared their Lord will be brought to paradise in droves until, when they reach it, his gates open and his guards say to them:“ Peace be upon you! Be happy and go there and stay in it forever! “ (Quran 39:73)
Any feeling of injury or pain is removed from their hearts. They will respond to the angels by praising God and the conversation continues.
„… All praise is due to God who led us to this (paradise)! We could not have found the way if God had not guided us. Our Lord’s messengers have indeed brought the truth.“ And it is said to them: „This is the paradise that is given to you as an inheritance for what you have done.“ (Quran 7:43)
The people of hellfire
The conversations that will take place between the inmates of hellfire and the angels will be very different. The inmates of Hellfire will have a completely different experience. Instead of eagerly waiting to enter eternal abode, those destined for hell must be rounded up like a flock and dragged by the angels charged with hellfire. When these people are thrown in, the angels will say, „Hasn’t a warner come to you?“
„She almost wants to burst with anger. Whenever a crowd is thrown in, their guards will ask, „Hasn’t a warner come to you?“ They will say: „Yes, certainly, a warner came to us, but we denied it and said:“ God has not sent anything down; you are just in a big mistake. „And they will say (further):“ If we had only listened or had understanding, we would not have been among the inhabitants of the blazing fire. „(Quran 67: 8-10)
However, this was not the first time that these inmates of the fire had a conversation with the angels. When the angel of death and his helpers gather to remove the souls of such people, they ask directly, where are those you worshiped? Because at this stage of life his idols are conspicuously absent.
… until Our messengers come to bring death to them; they will say: „Where is what you used to call instead of God?“ Those will answer: „We cannot find them“; and they will testify against themselves that they were unbelievers. (Quran 7:37)
After a while, the people of Hell lose hope. They cried out to God but received no answer, so they start asking the angels, the gatekeepers. Ask your Lord, they say, ask Him to ease our punishment. The angels respond with words that increase their disappointment.
„And those in the fire will say to the guardians of the Ǧahannam,“ Ask your Lord to release us from the punishment one day. “ They will say, „Didn’t your messengers come to you with clear evidence?“ Those will say, „Yes.“ (The guards) will say, „So keep asking.“ … (Quran 40: 49-50)
(part 2 of 3): Dialogues and discussions
Conversations between the people of paradise and the people of hell
The dialogues that take place between the people of Paradise and the people whose stay is hell are mentioned in various places in the Quran. When we read these verses and think about them, it is compulsory for us to think about them and learn something from the disappointment of those facing the horror of hell. We should taste their fear and learn from their mistakes. Reading about them in the Quran allows us to experience some of their anguish, but it also allows us to see how easily we can avoid this destination.
„Everyone will pay for what he has sent ahead except those of the right who ask each other in gardens about the guilty“ What has brought you in Saqar? “ They say, „We weren’t with those who prayed, nor did we feed the poor. And we chatted with the babblers. And we used to deny the day of judgment until death came to us.“ (Quran 74: 40-47)
„And the inhabitants of paradise cry out to the inhabitants of hell:“ See, we have found as truth what our Lord promised us. Did you also find truth as what your Lord (you) promised ? “ Those say, „Yes.“ … „(Quran 7:44)
„And the inhabitants of the fire call to the inhabitants of paradise:“ Pour some water over us or something that God has given you. “ They say, „Verily, God has prevented both of the unbelievers.“ (Quran 7:50)
It is clear that the suffering of those in hell is exacerbated because they are able to see and hear the gifts given to the inhabitants of paradise.
Conversations between the inhabitants of paradise among
themselves The words of God in the Quran tell us that the inhabitants of paradise will question each other about their past lives.
„And they turn to each other questioningly (and) they say:“ Truly, in the past we were fearful with our relatives (before the punishment in hell) but God has been gracious to us and saved us from the pain of the scorching wind. „( Quran 52: 25-27)
The majority of the verses describing the conversations of the people of Paradise with one another confirm that they will continue their righteous behavior by praising God and thanking Him for the gifts He has given them. Though they believed that God’s promise was true and therefore acted accordingly, they are overwhelmed with gratitude by the supreme splendor of paradise.
„And they will say:“ All praise is due to God, who has removed the sadness from us. Our Lord is truly forgiving, thankful, who made us in His grace in the dwelling place of eternity. No hardship touches us in it, nor does it touch us in it fatigue. “ (Quran 35: 34-35)
„They will say:“ All praise is due to God, who has fulfilled His promise to us and has given us the (paradise) landscape as a heritage so that we can live in paradise wherever it is we like.“ So how beautiful is the wages of those who have provided for it „(Quran 39:74)
Talks between the people of Hellfire among themselves
If the people destined to spend eternity in hellfire are driven to the fire, they will be shocked that the people or idols whom they had previously trusted and who had followed were unable to to help you. The leaders, who are referred to as arrogant in the Quran, admit to their weaker followers that they themselves have gone astray. Therefore, everyone who followed them followed a life deprived of grace.
„And they turn to each other and ask each other. They will say, „Verily, you used to come to us from the right.“ Those will answer: „No, you were not believers yourself. And we had no power over you; but you were a violent people. Now our Lord’s word against us has been fulfilled. We will certainly have to taste (the punishment). And we seduced you because we were wrong ourselves. “ (Quran 37: 27-32)
And they will all step before God; then the weak will say to the haughty, „Certainly, we were your followers, so can’t you relieve us of God’s punishment?“ They will say: „If God had shown us the way, we would certainly have shown you the way. It does not matter to us whether we show impatience or remain patient: there is no escape for us.“ (Quran 14:21)
And when the matter is decided, that is, the thing who is destined for paradise and who is destined for hell, the infamous hell fire inmate, Satan himself, will reveal the great truth. It is a truth and a scenario that God revealed to us in the Quran, but one that many people do not take seriously. That he, Satan, was a liar. Satan’s promises will never be fulfilled, his promises are empty and he believed in God himself.
„And when the matter is settled, Satan will say:“ God made a true promise to you, but I promised you something and did not keep it. And I had no power over you except to call you; and you obey me So do not blame me, but blame yourself. I cannot save you, nor can you save me. I have already dismissed from you that you put me (God) at your side. “ The wrongdoers will truly be given a painful punishment. „(Quran 14:22)
(part 3 of 3): And I will never be angry with you again.
Internal dialogues
When the matter is decided and the people of Hellfire have been led away and the people of Paradise have entered the garden, each group will talk to each other. Their lives in this world are not forgotten and for both groups there is an eternity in which they look back and analyze why – why am I suffering or why am I being given this luxury? The matter has been decided, the short time that has been spent in this world is over, and eternal life has begun.
„He (God) will say,“ How many years have you been on earth? “ They say, „We stayed for a day or part of a day, but ask those who can do the math.“ He (God) says: „You only linger if you only knew it! (Quran 23: 112-114)
We know that the inhabitants of paradise and hell will turn to each other and ask questions, but what will they say to themselves, how will they feel, deprived, alone and abandoned? God tells us that they will sigh with fear and frustration. It’s hard for us to imagine, but we know that they seem to give up hope.
„As for those who are unfortunate, they will get into the fire, where they will sigh and sob.“ (Quran 11: 106)
„… has prepared a blazing fire for them, in which they will stay forever. They will find neither protectors nor helpers. On the day when their faces are turned in the fire, they will say:“ Oh, if we obeyed Allah; and we would have obeyed the Messenger! „(Quran 33:
If the people of Hellfire think about why those who have followed them in this world are unable to help them in their suffering, there is a lesson for us to learn. In the Quran and the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad we can read and see with the eye of our minds how accurate our own situation may be.
What a contrast and a joy it will be for those who have entered paradise. You will have the extreme pleasure of seeing God, this is something that people from hellfire are denied. „No, they will certainly not have access to their master that day.“ (Quran 83:15)
The people of Paradise and the people of Hellfire are talking to family members
There are not many verses from the Quran or from the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad that God’s blessings and peace are on him that show us conversations between people in their last place of residence with their family members. However, there is evidence to show that they will actually remember their lives in this world and think of their family members.
„And they turn to each other questioningly (and) they say:“ Truly, in the past we were anxious with our relatives, but Allah has been gracious to us and saved us from the pain of the scorching wind. We used to pray to Him before. He is the Benevolent, the Merciful. „“ (Quran 52: 25-28)
Conversations between God and the people of Hellfire
The conversations that we will find between God and the people of Hellfire are not that numerous. It is easier for us to find verses in the Quran where they, the people of hell talk to each other or with the angels who guard the gates of hell. However, there is a conversation that is remarkable and that should remain clear in our minds so that we can prevent ourselves from ever hearing these terrible words. The people of hell will say,
„Our Lord, lead us out of her (hell). If we return (for disobedience), we will truly be wicked.“ He will say: „Down there with you, and don’t talk to me!“ (Quran 23: 107-108)
Conversations between God and the people of Paradise
In the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad we find a very touching and enjoyable conversation between God and the last person, which is freed from the agony in hell by the grace of God. The man is invited to enter paradise, and so he will go there and think that paradise is full. The man returns to God and says, „My lord, I have found paradise fully“ and God will answer: „Go and enter paradise, because there you will have something ten times better than this world and everything is in it. The Prophet Muhammad said: „This is the man with the lowest status from the people in paradise.“ [1]
Another man is asked by God if he has everything he wants and he will answer his master by saying, „Yes, but I want to make things grow.“ So he will go and plant his seeds and within a wink they will grow, ripen, be harvested and piled up like mountains. [2]
We will end our three-part series with a beautiful statement, hoping that anyone who reads or hears this wonderful conversation will be part of this conversation at the end of their life and the beginning of the hereafter.
God will say to the people of paradise: „O people of paradise!“ They will answer: „We are here, our Lord and all the best is in your hands.“ God will say: „Are you satisfied?“ They will answer: „How could we not be satisfied when you have granted us that? what you have granted to no one else of your creation. „He will say:“ Shall I not grant you something that is better than that? „They will say:“ O our Lord! What could be better than that? „God will say:“ I grant you my joy and I will never be angry with you again. „[3]
Footnotes:
[1] Sahieh Al-Bukhari
[2] Sahieh Al-Bukhari
[ 3] Sahieh Al-Bukhari, Sahieh Muslim
Source: https://www.islamland.com/deu/articles/gesprche-in-paradies-und-hlle