3 - The structure of hell

Summary

Sins and the uncertainty of salvation

This study seeks to investigate the ways in which certain strata of medieval Muslim society conceptualized and enacted punishments against members of their own faith community. According to this principle, as I turn to punishment as an aspect of life in the hereafter, I exclude the punishment of unbelievers (kuffār). If the kuffār are indeed the biggest group among the inhabitants of the Islamic hell, they are by no means the only group of people there. As I propose to show, traditions from the Prophet (ḥadīths) and popular expressions of Muslim eschatology in particular reckoned with a large number of Muslim denizens of hell, who were to suffer punishment in hell for a variety of reasons, and in a variety of ways.

Theologically speaking, the question of who among the members of the Muslim community enters hell hinges on the definition of what constitutes a major sin (kabīra, pl. kabāʾir, lit. “big thing,” Lat. peccatum mortale; cf. the Italian farla grossa). According to the consensus of medieval scholars, only Muslims who commit major, or grave, sins (ahl al-kabāʾir) are to suffer a sojourn in hell. Granted, there is always the possibility of repentance (tawba). It is promised that those among the grave sinners who repent (tāba), and are forgiven for, their (major) sins before they die will enter paradise with no further ado, and will dwell there everlastingly.