What Is Jahannam? Hell in Islam

Jahannam (Arabic: جهنم) is pronounced ja-HAN-nam. The Qur’an also calls it an-Nar, “the Fire”. The name is related to the Hebrew Gehinnom (Gehenna), the valley whose name became a byword for punishment in Jewish and Christian tradition.

Meaning

Muslims believe that Hell is real. The Qur’an speaks of it plainly and seriously, as a place of punishment for those who knowingly reject God and for grave wrongdoing such as oppression and cruelty that a person never repented from. It is not a place of injustice: no one is wronged even slightly, and no one carries another’s burden.

At the same time, the Qur’an makes clear that God does not want to punish His servants:

مَّا يَفْعَلُ ٱللَّهُ بِعَذَابِكُمْ إِن شَكَرْتُمْ وَءَامَنتُمْ ۚ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ شَاكِرًا عَلِيمًۭا ﴿١٤٧﴾

What would Allah do with your punishment if you are grateful and believe? And ever is Allah Appreciative and Knowing.

According to authentic hadith, believers who enter it because of their sins will not remain there forever; God’s mercy will bring them out (Bukhari 22).

Fear and hope together

Muslims are taught to hold fear and hope in balance, like two wings of a bird. Fear of Hell keeps a person from harming others and from taking sin lightly; hope in God’s mercy keeps them from despair. The Qur’an tells even those who have wronged themselves greatly never to lose hope, because God forgives all sins for those who turn back to Him (Qur’an 39:53).

Who will end up where is for God alone to judge. Muslims are not taught to condemn individuals, but to look to their own souls.

Note

To understand the whole picture of the life to come, read What Happens After Death? and What Happens to My Past Sins?