Allah the Exalted says about the believers: «وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ سَنُدْخِلُهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا ۖ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقًّا ۚ وَمَنْ أَصْدَقُ مِنَ اللَّهِ قِيلًا» Translation: “And those who believe and do righteous deeds, we will admit them to gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. Allah has promised in truth, and who is more truthful in word than Allah?”
Allah the Almighty, in His Holy Word, also says: «وَيُبَشِّرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ الصَّالِحَاتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ أَجْرًا حَسَنًا، مَّاكِثِينَ فِيهِ أَبَدًا» Translation: “And He gives good tidings to the believers who do righteous deeds that they will have a good reward, wherein they will abide forever.”
He also says: «كُلَّمَا أَرَادُوا أَن يَخْرُجُوا مِنْهَا أُعِيدُوا فِيهَا» Translation: “Whenever they wish to get out of it, they will be returned to it.”
And in another place, it says: «يُرِيدُونَ أَن يَخْرُجُوا مِنَ النَّارِ وَمَا هُم بِخَارِجِينَ مِنْهَا وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُّقِيمٌ» Translation: “They want to get out of the Fire, but they will never get out of it. And for them is a lasting punishment.”
Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Zamnin, after mentioning several verses in his book, writes: “If Allah, the Exalted, had mentioned the word ‘Kholood’ in just one verse, it would have been sufficient for those to whom Allah, the Exalted, has granted belief in Islam.”
It is worth noting that the Quranic evidence of Ahl-Sunnah wa-al Jama’ah is very abundant, and mentioning all of them is not feasible in this section.
Imam Taqi al-Din Sabki, may Allah have mercy on him, in his book Al-Habib Be Biqqa Al-Jannah wa Al-Nar, after mentioning 34 verses to prove the permanence of Hell, writes: “These are thirty-four verses in which the word ‘Kholood’ and its derivatives are mentioned.” He also states that the permanence of Paradise is mentioned in more than 38 verses.
B) Hadiths of the Prophet (PBUH)
The Prophet (PBUH) says in a hadith: “Whoever enters Paradise will enjoy its blessings, will never despair, will remain eternal, and will not die.”
The Prophet (PBUH) said in another hadith: “The caller will call out: O people of Paradise, you will live and never die, you will be healthy and never get sick, you will remain young and never get old, and you will be in bliss and never get disappointed.” This is what Allah the Almighty said: «وَتِلْكَ الْجَنَّةُ الَّتِي أُورِثْتُمُوهَا بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ» Translation: “And this is Paradise which you have been given because of what you used to do.”
Another hadith states: “On the Day of Resurrection, death will be brought and slaughtered between Paradise and Hell. Then it will be said to the people of Paradise: ‘O people of Paradise, abide forever; there will be no death after this,’ and it will be said to the people of Hell: ‘O people of Hell, abide forever; there will be no death after this.’”
C) The Consensus (Ijma) of the Ummah
Imam Baghdadi, may Allah have mercy on him, says: “All Sunnis and the best people of this Ummah who have passed away are unanimous on the permanence of Paradise and Hell, and also on the permanence of the blessings of the people of Paradise and the permanence of the punishment of the disbelievers in the fire of Hell.”
Allama Taqi al-Din Ali ibn Abdul Kafi Sabki, in his book Al-Habib Be Biqqa Al-Jannah wa Al-Nar, writes: “The belief and conviction of Muslims is that Paradise and Hell will not be destroyed. Abu Muhammad Ibn Hazm (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated a consensus on this matter and said: ‘Whoever opposes this belief is a disbeliever by consensus.’ There is no doubt about this issue, as it is necessarily clear and obvious in religion.”
Allamah Luqani, may Allah have mercy on him, also clarified the consensus and stated: “The consensus of Muslims is that the people of Paradise will be eternal in Paradise and the disbelievers will be eternal in Hell.”
D) The Sayings of Scholars
Imam Bazdavi (may Allah have mercy on him) stated: “The majority of the people of the Qiblah believe that Paradise and Hell will not perish. The people of Paradise will be in bliss forever, and the people of Hell will be in torment forever.”
Imam Ibn Abi al-Izz al-Hanafi (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote the following after quoting the view of Allama Tahawi (may Allah have mercy on him), who said: “Paradise and Hell will never perish or be destroyed.”
Ibn Zamnin (may Allah have mercy on him) said about the belief of the Sunnis: “The Sunnis believe that Paradise and Hell will not perish and that their inhabitants will not die.”
Imam Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) concluded in his book Al-Tazkirah Ba’hawal Al-Mawti Wa Amour Al-Akhira, after mentioning many hadiths: “These authentic hadiths are a clear text on the immortality of the people of the two realms (Paradise and Hell) who will be in them continuously and forever, without a specific end or time. There is neither death nor life, neither comfort nor salvation.”
Response to the Jahmiyyah’s Arguments
Before responding to the Jahmiyyah’s arguments, it should be noted that this group and their fellow-thinkers rely heavily on their intellects in many matters. For this reason, they deny whatever their intellects are unable to understand.
In this matter, since they have not found narrative proof for their claim, they have resorted to rational arguments. The response to the Jahmiyyah’s rational doubt is that the existence of Paradise and Hell is not an intrinsic matter, but rather Allah Almighty preserves them. Divine existence, however, is real and intrinsic. Therefore, the Jahmiyyah’s view is in complete contradiction with the Quranic texts and the authentic hadiths of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
Scholars believe that the Jahmiyyah, with their views, clearly contradicted the verses of the Holy Quran and, in some cases, even committed blasphemy. The book Al-Radd ‘Ali Man Qal Bafna’ Al-Jannah and Al-Naar states: “This view has not been narrated from any of the predecessors, Sahaba, or Tabi’een in good faith. Rather, this view has only been narrated from Jahm bin Safwan and his followers. Many Islamic scholars have rejected this view and even considered it a reason for declaring them disbelievers.”
Abdullah bin Ahmad, in the book Al-Sunnah, Al-Atharm in the book Al-Sunnah, and Imam Bukhari in the book Khalq Affa’al Al-Ibad have narrated from Khareejah bin Mus’ab, who said: “The Jahmiyyah have committed blasphemy in many places against the verses of the Holy Quran.”
Four Examples of These Cases:
1. The Permanence of the Fruits and Shades of Paradise: Allah Almighty says: «أُکلُهَا دَائِمٌ وَظِلُّهَا» Translation: “Its fruits are permanent, and its shade is also so.” The Jahmiyyah and their followers claim that this permanence is not permanent.
2. The Sustenance of the People of Paradise: Allah says: «إِنَّ هَذَا لَرِزْقُنَا مَا لَهُ مِنْ نَفَادٍ» Translation: “This is Our sustenance, which will never cease.” However, the Jahmiyyah believes that this sustenance will also come to an end.
3. The Blessings of Paradise: Allah says: «لَا مَقْطُوعَةٍ وَلَا مَمْنُوعَةٍ» Translation: “It is neither cut off nor forbidden.” Whoever claims that these blessings will be cut off has undoubtedly committed disbelief.
4. The everlasting mercy of Allah (s.w.t): Allah says: «عَطَاءً غَیْرَ مَجْذُوذٍ» Translation: “[We give] a giving that never ends.” This means that Allah’s giving and forgiveness never end. Whoever claims that this giving is finite is a disbeliever.
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