185- The Qur’an describes Hereafter and the Chastisement in the Hell (Series: Inviting Reflections – A Note for the Medical Scientists).

Thousands of verses of the Holy Qur’an speak about the Torment and Chastisement of the hell which the wicked and sinful people are going to undergo for ever after the Day of Judgement. This Day of Judgement will also be unbearable for the transgressors and for those who did not pay any heed to the dictates of the Qur’an and did not submit before Will of the Lord Almighty. Allah Says:

?????? ???????? ??? ??????? ??????? ???? ????????? ?????? ???????????? ?????? ???????????? ???????? "

."????? ????? ???? ??????????? ???????? ?????? ????? ???????? ? ????? ????????? ???????? ????????? ???????????? ? ??????????? ????????? ??????

(But whoever turns away from My Reminder (al-Qur’an al-Karim), for him is a confined (straitened) life. And We will raise him on the Day of Resurrection blind." He will say: "My Lord, why did You raise me blind, though I was seeing (in my life)?" He (Allah) will say: "Just as Our revelations came to you, and you had ignored them. In the same way you will be ignored today”). Surah: 20, Verse: 124-126.

The Day of Judgement is also described in the following way:

?????? ??????????? ???????? ????? ?????????? ?????? ?????????? ???????? ????? ????? ?????? ????????? ??????? ???????? ?????????

????? ??? ??????????? ????????? ??????? ??????? ???????

(On the Day (of Judgement) when you will see it: every nursing mother will discard her infant, and every pregnant woman will abort her load, and you will see the people drunk, even though they are not drunk---but the punishment of Allah is severe). Surah: 22, Verse: 2.

On that Day there will be no refuge and no place to hide for the wicked. After the accountability and award of Hell or Heaven, people will be sent to their respective places which they deserved. The Holy Qur’an is full of description of both hell and heaven. For the people of heaven---the righteous servants of Allah, along with other bounties and favors of Allah, the summum bonum and the highest good will be the Beatific Vision (????????? ????????  : The eternal and direct visual perception of Allah Almighty ) as said by the Qur’an:

."??????? ?????????? ?????????? ? ?????? ???????? ?????????"

(Many faces, that day, will be glowing, looking towards their Lord). Surah: 75, Verse: 22-23.

How the Chastisement will be Inflicted in the Hell?

The human beings are also reminded that the most severe punishment and chastisement is that which is administered through fire in the hereafter:

."???? ????? ????????? ??????? ?????? ? ????? ??????? ???????????"

(O Muhammad! Say: "The fire of Hell is fiercer in heat." If only they could understand!) Surah: 9, Verse: 81.

This severest possible chastisement in the hell is described in the Qur’an in the following manner:

????? ????????? ???????? ??????????? ?????? ??????????? ?????? ???????? ???????? ?????????? ?????????????? ???????? ????????? ??????????? ?????????? ? ????? ??????? ????? ???????? ????????

(Those who reject Our revelations---We (Allah) will scorch them in a Fire. Every time their skins are cooked, We will replace them with other skins, so they will experience the suffering. Allah is Most Powerful, Most Wise). Surah: 4, Verse: 56.

Dear readers! Why the skin of the wicked and the sinful will be changed in the hell to make them to taste the torment through fire? It has been replied by the recent histological and anatomical studies through their new discoveries and bringing forth new facts about the skin.

Skin is the largest body organ having abundant sense receptors. In an average square inch of skin: it contains 2800 openings for sweat and oil glands, 72 feet of nerves, hundreds of pain and sense receptors and 15 feet of blood vessels. Below the skin there are other tissues like fascia, muscles and bones but there are no free nerve endings to transmit the pain to the brain except in a few viscera. Thorough burning or removal of skin means that almost there are no more free nerve endings are left to feel pain.

The key phrase in the above Qur’anic verse is:

."???????? ???????? ?????????? ?????????????? ???????? ?????????"

which means: “whenever their skins are thoroughly cooked and burnt, We (Allah) shall change their skins with other skins”. It is further said:  " ??????????? ?????????? "(In order to make them taste the chastisement) which means: “keeping them able continuously to taste the chastisement of the hell-fire”. It is interesting to note that the word employed by the Qur’an here is: "????????" which implies burning of something to the last stage; and in the present context: burning the skin to the extent that all pain receptors are fully destroyed; therefore, changing of skin is required to keep the wicked in pain.

Dear readers! The physiological data of the Qur’an invites us to ponder about the Divine Design and to take the Holy Qur’an as an avenue of knowledge.

May Allah Almighty save us from the hell-fire and that is the real success as claimed by the Holy Qur’an. A Qur’anic verse reads:

."????? ???????? ???? ???????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????? ???? "

(Whoever is swayed from the Fire, and admitted to Paradise, has won). Surah: 3, Verse: 185.