Fountain of Christianity — Page 45
45 26 i. e. , the inmates of Hell will abide in it forever, but God shall deliver them from it when He so wishes, for He can do what He pleases. This teaching is completely in accord with God’s perfect attributes, for His attributes are both Jal ali [possessing awe and glory] and Jam ali [possessing beauty, kindness]. He is the One who causes the wound, and He is the One who ap- plies the soothing balm. 27 It is unreasonable and contrary to the perfect attributes of God to think that, after He has con- demned someone to Hell, His awe-inspiring attributes should continue to manifest themselves forever while the attributes of compassion and forgiveness should remain dormant, and His benevolence and mercy should become forever suspended. On the contrary, we know from what God says in His Book that the inmates of Hell will dwell in it for a long time—which has metaphorically been called 'eternity' in view of human weakness—but the attribute of mercy and kindness shall thereafter manifest itself and God shall put His Hand into Hell and take out as many as it will hold. This Hadith also shows that salvation will be granted 26 H u d, 11:108 [Publishers] 27 It is in itself unreasonable to argue that man should be condemned to everlasting punishment, and that, in accordance with God’s eternal existence, the inmates of Hell should also remain in it forever. God, too, has something to do with their failings, for it is He Who created weakness in their nature. The inmates of Hell, therefore, deserve leniency due to the weakness which God Himself has put in their nature. [Author]