Argument in the Qur’an (7/8)

Arguments among the People in Hell

All this is certainly true–the bickering of the People of the Fire.
(Surah Sad: 64)

The Qur’an tells us that at the point of death, the unbelievers will experience great pains and violent tremors, and that angels will announce to them the eternal sufferings of Hell. This is described in the Qur’an as the angles taking them in death and beating their backs and faces with their wings.

How will it be when the angels take them in death, beating their faces and their backs? The angels ask those they take while they are wronging themselves: “What were your circumstances?” They reply: “We were oppressed on Earth.” They say: “Was Allah’s Earth not wide enough for you to have migrated elsewhere?” The shelter of such people will be Hell. What an evil destination! Except for those men, women, and children who really are oppressed and do not have any other possibility and are not guided to any way. It may well be that Allah will pardon them. Allah is Ever-Pardoning, Ever-Forgiving. (Surat an-Nisa’: 97-99)

We can see that the unbelievers claim of weakness, helplessness, and blamelessness at the hour of their death will be of no avail. This will only increase their hopelessness and draw them further into the fire of Hell. For this reason, every individual in Hell is prepared to “sell” his or her neighbor so that they will experience the same (and even worse) misery.

... Each time a nation enters, it will curse its sister nation, until, when they are all gathered together in it, the last of them will say to the first: “Our Lord, those are the ones who misguided us, so give them a double punishment in the Fire.” He will say: “Each will receive double. But you do not know it.” (Surat al-A‘raf: 38)

In Hell, these people will wish a double portion of misery and damnation for those “lords’” and “masters” who led them astray. The mutual friendship and support they pretended to have, as well as their common assaults against the believers, will have been of no use. No bond of friendship or relation will exist any more. Arguing in Hell with each other, they will say: “And now we have no one to intercede for us. We do not have a single loyal friend” (Surat ash-Shu‘ara’: 100-101).

On the contrary, those in Hell will try “to place their friends who misguided them beneath their feet so that they will be among the lowest of the low” (Surah Fussilat: 29). In this environment of conflict and chaos, they will argue and level accusations at each other:

Those who do not believe say: “We will never believe in this Qur’an, nor in what came before it.” If only you could see when the wrongdoers, standing in the presence of their Lord, cast accusations back and forth at each other. Those deemed weak will say to those deemed great: “Were it not for you, we would have been believers!” (Surah Saba’: 31)

When they are squabbling with one another in the Fire, the weak will say to those deemed great: “We were your followers, so why do you not relieve us of a portion of the Fire?” (Surah Ghafir: 47)

We see that those in Hell accuse each other while trying to make themselves appear innocent and blameless. In their earthly lives, they denied Allah’s existence and religious morality and were determined not to believe in the Qur’an; when they come to Hell, they clearly show their hypocrisy by saying:“Were it not for you, we would have been believers!” (Surah Saba’: 31).

Another interesting point is this: even if these people are not believers and are determined not to believe, there are others who are prepared to put forth the extra effort to divert them from the straight path:

Those deemed weak will say to those deemed great: “No, it was your scheming night and day when you commanded us to reject Allah and assign equals to Him.” (Surah Saba’: 33)

“You used to come at us from a position of power.” (Surat as-Saffat: 28)

Those people who organize themselves to divert others from Allah’s true path are, without any doubt, the squadron of satan.