By Imam Murtadha Gusau
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation. May the salutations of Allah, His peace and blessings be upon our beloved Prophet, his family, his companions and his true and sincere followers until the Last Day – then to proceed:
Jahannam, Hawiya, Hutama, and Saqar are the names Allah has used in the Noble Qur’an for hell. Hell will be a place for disbelievers in Allah, hypocrites, idolaters, the arrogant, those who treat religion as a pastime, have broken the treaty, made fun of Allah’s messengers or reality of Day of Judgment, murderers, ones misappropriating inheritance especially of orphans, those who are accused of slandering chaste women will dwell in hell. As Allah Almighty says in Qur’an that:
“Indeed, those who disbelieve and commit wrong [or injustice] – never will Allah forgive them, nor will He guide them to a path. Except for the path of Hell; they will abide therein forever. And that, for Allah, is [always] easy.” [Surah Nisa, verse 168, 169]
But Who Will Enter The Hell First?
According to a Hadith, the first three people whom Allah will call to send them to the hell will be an Islamic scholar, a martyr, and a wealthy man. The Hadith is as follows:
The Martyr:
On the authority of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) say:
“The first of people against whom judgment will be pronounced on the Day of Resurrection will be a man who died a martyr. He will be brought and Allah will make known to him His favours and he will recognise them. [The Allah Almighty] will say: And what did you do about them? He will say: I fought for you until I died a martyr. He will say: You have lied – you did but fight that it might be said [of you]: He is courageous. And so it was said. Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hellfire.
The Scholar:
[Another] will be a man who has studied [religious] knowledge and has taught it and who used to recite the Qur’an. He will be brought and Allah will make known to him His favours and he will recognise them. [Allah The Almighty] will say: And what did you do about them? He will say: I studied [religious] knowledge and I taught it and I recited the Qur’an for Your sake. He will say: You have lied – you did but study [religious] knowledge that it might be said [of you]: He is learned. And you recited the Qur’an that it might be said [of you]: He is a reciter. And so it was said. Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hellfire.
The Richman:
[Another] will be a man whom Allah had made rich and to whom He had given all kinds of wealth. He will be brought and Allah will make known to him His favours and he will recognise them. [Allah The Almighty] will say: And what did you do about them? He will say: I left no path [untrodden] in which You like money to be spent without spending in it for Your sake. He will say: You have lied – you did but do so that it might be said [of you]: He is open-handed. And so it was said. Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hellfire.” [Muslim]
May Allah save us from the punishment of hell fire, Ameen!
All praises and thanks are due to Allah alone, Lord of the worlds. May the peace, blessings and salutations of Allah be upon our noble Messenger, Muhammad, and upon his family, his Companions and his true and sincere followers.
Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumu’ah and the late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okene’s Mosques, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: gusauimam@gmail.com or +2348038289761.