سورة الحجر

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Nasr who said: "I asked Imam Kazim (peace be upon him) about a man who bequeathed a juz' (part) of his wealth [to be spent on some matter; how much of his wealth should be spent]?" The Imam said: "One-seventh; because Allah the Exalted says: لَها سَبْعَةُ أَبْوابٍ لِکُلِّ بابٍ مِنْهُمْ جُزْءٌ مَقْسُومٌ [It has seven gates; for every gate there shall be a separate party of them]." I said: "A man who bequeathed a sahm (share) of his wealth [how much of his wealth should be spent]?" He said: "By sahm is meant one-eighth"; then he recited this verse: The zakat is only for the poor and the needy, and those who work to [collect] it, and those whose hearts are to be reconciled, and for [the freeing of] slaves, and [the paying off of] the debtors, and in the way of [strengthening the religion of] Allah, and for the wayfarers; this is an obligatory [important] duty from Allah, and Allah is All-Knowing and All-Wise! (Tawbah/60) [in which eight groups are mentioned].

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): Through each gate of Hell, the people of one religion enter, and Paradise has eight gates.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Hell has seven gates, and these gates are in tiers, one above the other; and he placed one of his hands upon the other and said: "It is like this." And Allah has placed the gardens of Paradise side by side [without tiers] and has placed the fires one above the other; the lowest tier of Hell is Jahannam, and above it is Laza, above it al-Hutamah, above it Saqar, above it al-Jahim, above it al-Sa'ir, and above it al-Hawiyah.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): Concerning the verse لَهَا سَبْعَةُ أَبْوَابٍ لِّکُلِّ بَابٍ مِّنْهُمْ جُزْءٌ مَّقْسُومٌ [It has seven gates; for every gate there shall be a separate party of them]; I have heard — and Allah is the One who knows [the truth] — that Allah has made Hell in seven levels. The highest of them is "al-Jahim," whose people stand upon a hard rock in it, and their brains boil as what is in a cooking pot boils. The second level is "Laza" — the burning flames of fire; it tears away the hands, feet and the skin of the head; and it calls those who turned their backs on Allah's command, and [likewise] those who amassed and hoarded wealth! (al-Ma'arij/15–18). The third level is "Saqar" — [a fire that] leaves nothing and spares nothing! It utterly transforms the skin of the body! Nineteen [angels of punishment] are appointed over it. (al-Muddaththir/27–30). The fourth level is "al-Hutamah"; it throws out sparks from itself like a great palace; as though [in speed and multitude] they were yellow camels [scattering in every direction]! (al-Mursalat/32–33); whoever falls into it is crushed like powdered antimony (kohl), but the soul does not die; and every time they are [crushed] like powdered kohl they return again to their first state. The fifth level is "al-Hawiyah," in which Malik (the keeper of Hell) is stationed. The people of Hell call out: "O Malik! Give us some water!" So when he [wills to] bring them water, he brings them vessels of copper and fire, inside which is filthy, stinking water — the water that flows from their skins like molten metal; whenever they lift up the vessel to drink from it, the flesh of their faces falls off into the vessel from the intensity of its heat; as Allah the Exalted has said: And if they call for water, water will be brought to them like molten metal which scalds their faces! What an evil drink, and what an evil resting place! (al-Kahf/29). And whoever falls into that level, he plunges seventy years into the fire, and every time his skin is burnt, a new skin grows for him. The sixth level is "al-Sa'ir," in which there are three hundred pavilions of fire, and in every pavilion three hundred palaces of fire, and in every palace three hundred houses of fire, and in every house three hundred kinds of the torment of Hell; in it are snakes and scorpions of fire, and yokes, chains and shackles of fire; just as Allah says: Indeed We have prepared for the disbelievers chains and shackles and a blazing fire. (al-Insan/4). The seventh level is "Jahannam," in which is the well of "al-Falaq"; whenever it is opened it makes the fire of Hell blaze up intensely, and it is the most severe and most burning fire; and as for the mountain of "Sa'ud," it is a mountain of fiery copper in the midst of Jahannam; and as for the valley of "Atham," it is a valley of molten copper that flows around the mountain of "Sa'ud," and it is the most severe torment of Hell.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Fudayl al-Rizqi narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him), who narrated from his father, from his grandfather, that Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) said: "Hell has seven gates. Through one gate enter Fir'awn, Haman and Qarun; through one gate enter the polytheists and the disbelievers who did not believe in Allah for even the blink of an eye; and through another gate the Banu Umayya enter, and that gate is exclusive to the Banu Umayya — no one else will enter with them through it. It is the gate of the blazing flame of the fire, the gate of the tormenting Hell, the gate that plunges downward, which casts them down for seventy khareef (each khareef is eighty years), and whenever it has cast them down for seventy khareef, Hell hurls them upward for seventy khareef, and then plunges them down again for seventy khareef, and this action is repeated forever, and they will be in Hell eternally and everlastingly. And there is another gate through which our enemies and those who fought against us and humiliated us enter, and this gate is the greatest of the gates and the most intense in heat." I said: "That gate which you narrated from your father (peace be upon him) from your grandfather (peace be upon him), that the Banu Umayya enter through it — is it exclusive to those of the Banu Umayya who died in a state of polytheism, or will those who [outwardly] embraced Islam also enter through it?" The Imam said: "May you be without a mother! (This expression is used often in Arabic and is not always for censure.) Did you not hear that Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) said: 'The polytheists and disbelievers enter through another gate which is exclusive to the polytheists and disbelievers who do not believe in the Day of Reckoning' (Ghafir/27), and this is another gate through which the Banu Umayya enter, and it is exclusive to Abu Sufyan, Mu'awiya and the family of Marwan; and when they enter through that gate, the fire crushes them severely, and neither is their cry heard therein, nor do they remain alive therein, nor do they die."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): لَها سَبْعَةُ أَبْوابٍ لِکُلِّ بابٍ مِنْهُمْ جُزْءٌ مَقْسُومٌ [It has seven gates; for every gate there shall be a separate party of them] — whoever dies at the time of death in a state of disbelief, disobedience to Allah, polytheism, hypocrisy or oppression, then لَها سَبْعَةُ أَبْوابٍ لِکُلِّ بابٍ مِنْهُمْ جُزْءٌ مَقْسُومٌ [it has seven gates; for every gate there shall be a separate party of them].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): When Mansur al-Dawaniqi summoned Sulayman ibn Mihran al-A'mash (one of the special companions of Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him)) [to his court], al-A'mash performed the ritual bath, put on a shroud and rubbed camphor on himself. [When he came before Mansur,] Mansur said to him: "Narrate to me that hadith which the two of us heard from Ja'far al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) in the quarter of Banu Himman." Al-A'mash says: I said to him: "Which hadith?" He said: "The hadith of the pillars of Hell." I said: "Excuse me [from this]." He said: "There is no way out; you must narrate it." I said: "Ja'far ibn Muhammad (peace be upon him) narrated from his forefathers (peace be upon them) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'Hell has seven gates, and those gates are the pillars and foundations of Hell, belonging to seven tyrants.'" Then al-A'mash mentioned the names of these individuals: "Nimrod ibn Kan'an, the tyrant of the time of Ibrahim al-Khalil (peace be upon him); Mus'ab ibn al-Walid, the tyrant of the time of Musa (peace be upon him); Abu Jahl ibn Hisham; ... and the sixth, Yazid, the killer of my son (Imam Husayn (peace be upon him))." [Al-A'mash says:] At this point I fell silent. Mansur said: "And the seventh tyrant?" I said: "A man from the Banu al-Abbas who will take charge of the caliphate; his title is al-Dawaniqi and his name is al-Mansur." He said: "You have spoken the truth! Ja'far ibn Muhammad (peace be upon him) narrated it to us in just this way."

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): When I was taken by night to the heavens (Mi'raj), Jibra'il said to me: 'Paradise and Hell have been commanded to present themselves to you.' So I saw Paradise and its blessings, and Hell and its torments. Paradise had eight gates ... and on the gates of Hell I saw inscriptions. On the first gate were three sentences: 'Whoever places his hope in Allah will be blessed; whoever fears Allah will be safe; and the ruined and deceived one is he who places his hope in other than Allah and fears other than Him.' On the second gate [was written]: 'Whoever wishes not to be naked on the Day of Resurrection, let him clothe the naked in this world; whoever wishes not to be thirsty on the Day of Resurrection, let him give drink to the thirsty in this world; whoever wishes not to be hungry on the Day of Resurrection, let him feed the hungry stomachs in this world.' On the third gate was written: 'Allah has removed the liars, the misers, and the oppressors from His mercy.' On the fourth gate were written three sentences: 'May Allah humiliate the one who dishonours Islam; may Allah humiliate the one who dishonours the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them); may Allah humiliate the one who assists oppressors in their oppression against creation.' On the fifth gate were written three sentences: 'Do not follow the desires of the self, for the desires of the self are opposed to faith; do not speak much about a matter that does not concern you, for it will cause you to be deprived of Allah's mercy; and do not be a helper of the oppressors.' On the sixth gate was written: 'I (Hell) am forbidden to the strivers [in the path of Allah], to those who give charity, and to those who fast.' On the seventh gate were written three sentences: 'Take account of yourselves before you are called to account [on the Day of Resurrection]; reproach yourselves before you are reproached [on the Day of Resurrection]; call upon Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, before you come before Him [on the Day of Resurrection] and no longer have the ability to call upon Him.'

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Indeed Allah is One who loves the odd, and He is One who has chosen the odd [for Himself]; and He has made all things run upon the number seven. Allah the Mighty and Majestic has said: He created seven heavens, and of the earth the like of them. (Talaq/12) And He said: He created seven heavens one above the other. (Mulk/3). And concerning Hell He said: لَها سَبْعَةُ أَبْوابٍ [It has seven gates]; and He said: seven green ears and seven others dry. (Yusuf/43) And His saying: seven fat cows which seven lean ones devour. (Yusuf/43); and He said: a seed that sprouts seven ears. (Baqarah/261) And He said: We gave [Surah] al-Hamd and the mighty Qur'an. (Hijr/87).

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Two Jews came [to Madinah] and asked Imam Ali (peace be upon him) some questions; [among them] they asked: 'Where are Paradise and Hell?' He said: 'Paradise is in the heavens and Hell is in the earth.' They asked: 'What does the number seven indicate?' He said: 'The seven gates of Hell, which are one above the other [and layer upon layer].'