D
EATH AND THE LIFE OF THE HEREAFTER
163
Those who took their religion as a diversion and a game, and
were deluded by the life of the world. Today We will forget them
just as they forgot the encounter of this Day and denied Our
Signs. (Surat al-A'raf: 51)
In the Fire a grievous punishment, which is not comparable with
any pain in this world, awaits the people of the Fire. The Fire is a place
abounding with fear, pain, desperation and unhappiness. The people of
the Fire pray to Allah and ask for a way out of the Fire. But once in the
Fire, it is too late to feel sorrow or regret. We mentioned to you earlier
about the regret Pharaoh felt. Allah grants man opportunities until the
moment of his death. Once he dies and starts his life in the hereafter,
however, feeling regret is no longer of any use.
The people of the Fire live a life infinitely worse than that of
animals. The only nourishment they have is the fruit of the bitter thorn
and the tree of Zaqqum. Their drink is blood and pus. With skin rent, flesh
burned, and blood splattering all over, they lead a degrading life. Hands
tied to their necks, they are cast into the core of fire. Furthermore, this life
of suffering lasts for all eternity, unless Allah wills otherwise.
Allah, states the following in the Qur'an:
Above them is a sealed vault of Fire. (Surat al-Balad: 20)
