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This is my first post on DB, I been reading your posts for quite a while and personally think they are excellant and very interesting. You seem to have a very in depth knowledge of Islam, I was wondering have you gained all this from books or have you done islamic studies?, if it is islamic stuidies, where have you studied?

Im not trying to nit pick, just very interested, as i have always got the impression regarding hell as firey type place, with certain outcomes (as you are probably aware) from reading certain hadiths.

If you could more info regarding heavan and hell, and what sources you gained this info from it would be much appreciated.

Regards
SM

yeah he is my hero

sm wrote:This is my first post on DB, I been reading your posts for quite a while and personally think they are excellant and very interesting. You seem to have a very in depth knowledge of Islam, I was wondering have you gained all this from books or have you done islamic studies?, if it is islamic stuidies, where have you studied?

Im not trying to nit pick, just very interested, as i have always got the impression regarding hell as firey type place, with certain outcomes (as you are probably aware) from reading certain hadiths.

If you could more info regarding heavan and hell, and what sources you gained this info from it would be much appreciated.

Firstly, welcome to DF and thanks for posting and starting a thread with my name in it

I am not a scholar nor have I attended any specific course on religious studies. However, I read as widely as possible and have been very active in discussing religion with people and over the internet - starting over 12 years ago on Compuserve's Religion forum (that was the day!).

In discussing/debating with others, issues around Islamic teachings vs other religions and interpretations of Islam within Islam have been brought up which led me to research the answers if I didn't know them. My sources are varied - for other religions the internet allowed me to go directly to adherents and get copies of original material to read (as a result I have read the teachings of many other religions). Christianity I knew well because I stayed with Christian missionaries for a period when I was in my final year of high school (it was a great experience, I took part in the Bible readings etc - but they respected my muslim faith and there weren't any issues - their values were very close to my parents and they were more than happy for me to be staying there rather than a secular household).

Basically, I like to know the answer to questions and since I am a practicing Muslim, I like to know the answers to issues relating to Islam. I therefore ask questions, use Google extensively and try to be critical of what I read/hear.

Coming to the question of the nature of hell - I'll try and dig out references for you, but the concept I outlined in the other thread is based on articles I have read which refer to the Quran and hadith. From memory:

Generally speaking the Quran talks of paradise as a reward that is never-ending - whereas Hell doesn't have this condition. It will be unpleasant, but the point is whether it will be eternal or not.

The Quran also states that human beings cannot comprehend the after-life - we can only be provided with similitudes (it is +like+ so and so).

Hadith say:
- one 'day' the doors of hell will be blowing in the wind as Hell will be empty
- my analogy of hell being in the same place as heaven, but will be painful for some and blissful for others , comes from another hadith where the Prophet, pbuh, was asked specifically where hell would be - after he had told the companions that heaven would extend over the whole universe. His reply was along the lines 'you will not understand this, but hell will be in the same place'.
- Hadith (and perhaps the Quran - I'm not sure here) state that the development of the soul after death will follow the same relative development of a foetus in the womb.
- Hadith also say that heaven will be a place of progress, not static bliss (in this there is much wisdom, for any single, unchanging state will be come 'hellish' over time)

Please excuse me if I don't have time to look up the references in the next few days, but I shall post them here when I get them.

Cheers,
Shafique

Thanks for taking the time to reply,

My only concern is when im reading articles from the internet etc, is to judge whether they are genuine, or part genuine etc, as I have read articles/books in the past only find later (when discussing with collegues)that they are distorting the true Islam for there own personnal agender.
When you reference hadiths, do you always refer to Al Bukari or others?

Anyway slightly of topic, do you actually live and work in Dubai?,

Hope to discuss things in the future.

Kind Regards
SM

I do work and live in Dubai - have been here for just over a year. Before that I was in the UK.

The internet is full of dubious quacks and opinions, but also you have access to the original sources.

You should also be aware that Bukhari is not foolproof - there are contradictory hadith in there as well as those which contradict Quranic verses. The test that scholars use is whether the hadith contradicts the Quran or not, and whether it is internally consistent with other authentic hadith. There are hadith with solid reporting lines, but they are either misreporting what was said, or misinterpreting the sayings they heard.

That said, yes, I do rely on authentic hadith and mostly rely on Bukhari and Muslim (and sometimes the other authentic books). Bukhari and Muslim can usually be relied on to provide the answers to most questions - but at the end of the day the Quran is the final arbiter.

Cheers,
Shafique

shafique wrote:The internet is full of dubious quacks

It sure is!

One should never discuss religion or politics in the company of friends... this I firmly believe.

Dr.D wrote:

shafique wrote:The internet is full of dubious quacks

It sure is!

One should never discuss religion or politics in the company of friends... this I firmly believe.

A healthy relationship is when u can discuss anything but respect others views.