It is narrated that the flames of Hell will lift its inhabitants high into the air, as sparks are lifted, until they are suspended above. At that point, they will gaze upon the people of Paradise—yet a barrier separates them. The people of Paradise will call out to the people of the Fire:
{“Indeed, we have found what our Lord promised us to be true.”}
(Al-A‘raf: 44).
The people of the Fire will, in desperation, call to the people of Paradise when they see the rivers flowing among them:
{“Pour upon us some water or from whatever Allah has provided you.”}
(Al-A‘raf: 50), but the angels of torment will strike them back with iron rods, forcing them down into the depths of Hell.
Some exegetes interpreted this as the meaning of the verse:
{Every time they want to get out of it from anguish, they will be returned to it} (Al-Hajj: 22).
This interpretation was mentioned by Abu Muhammad Ibn ‘Abd al-Haqq in his book Al-‘Āqibah.
You may ask: How can the people of Paradise see the people of the Fire, or hear them, despite the vast distance and thick barriers between them? The answer is: Do not question this, for Allah strengthens their hearing and sight such that each group can see and hear the other.
The Physical Landscape of Hellfire
There are authentic narrations and statements indicating that Hell contains:
- Mountains, trenches, valleys, seas, tanks, wells, pits, furnaces, prisons, houses, bridges, palaces, millstones, fiery waterwheels, and monstrous creatures such as serpents and scorpions—may Allah protect us from all of them.
Among these narrations:
- Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“The ‘Sa‘ūd’ is a mountain of fire upon which the disbeliever climbs for seventy autumns, then falls as such forever.”
(Reported by al-Tirmidhi, who said: this is a rare hadith, only known through Ibn Lahi‘ah.) - Anas narrated that the drunkard who dies intoxicated will be resurrected intoxicated and cast into a trench in the midst of Hell called As-Sukrān.
The Valley of Wail and Other Places of Torment
Scholars have differed in the interpretation of the verse:
{Wail (woe) to every sinful liar} (Al-Jāthiyah: 7).
Among the interpretations:
- Ibn al-Mubarak narrated through multiple chains that Wail is a valley in Hell into which the disbeliever falls for forty years before reaching the bottom.
- Ibn ‘Atiyyah in his Tafsir mentioned Wail as a tank filled with the pus and filth of the people of Hell.
- Az-Zahrawi reported others saying it is a gate from the gates of Hell.
- Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri also described Wail as a valley between two mountains where the fall is so deep, one would descend for forty years before reaching the bottom.
- Ibn Zayd said regarding the verse {And a shade of black smoke} (Al-Wāqi‘ah: 43), that Yahmūm is a mountain in Hell from whose shade the people of Hell seek refuge—yet it is scorching, suffocating smoke.
- Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyib said: it is not even pleasing to look at.
- Ibn Wahb narrated from Mujāhid regarding the verse {Mawbiqan (a place of destruction)} (Al-Kahf: 52), that it is a valley in Hell called Mawbiq.
- ‘Ikrimah said: It is a river in Hell whose banks flow with fire. On its sides are serpents the size of black mules; if they approach to seize a person, he throws himself into the fire to escape them.
- Anas ibn Malik said: Mawbiq is a valley of pus and blood.
- ‘Ā’ishah, Mother of the Believers, was asked about the verse {Then they will meet with Ghayy} (Maryam: 59), and she replied: “It is a river in Hell.”
Descriptions of the Dwellings and Creatures of Hell
- Ibn ‘Abbās reported that Al-Falaq (from Surah Al-Falaq) is a prison in Hell.
- Ka‘b said it is a house in Hell; when opened, the entire Hellfire screams due to its intense heat. (Reported by Abu Nu‘aym.)
- Abu Nu‘aym also narrated from Ḥumayd ibn Hilāl: Hell contains furnaces so narrow they are like the width of a spearhead, closing in tightly upon those within, due to their deeds.
- Shaqī al-Aṣbaḥī narrated: In Hell is a mountain called Sa‘ūd which the disbeliever climbs for forty autumns before reaching its top, as indicated in the verse {I will force him to climb a steep slope} (Al-Muddaththir: 17).
- There is a palace in Hell called Hawā’, from which the disbeliever is thrown, falling for forty autumns before reaching the bottom, as mentioned in the verse: {And whoever My anger falls upon has indeed fallen} (Ṭāhā: 81).
- A valley named Āthām contains snakes and scorpions. One scorpion has venom equivalent to seventy measures, and its sting burns worse than the Fire of Hell itself.
- Hell contains seventy afflictions, each one a part of its torment.
- Ghayy is another valley, filled with pus and blood, created for those who oppose divine commands.
Sea, Wells, and the Drink of the Inhabitants
- Anas reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“In Hell is a black, foul-smelling sea in which Allah drowns those who consumed His provisions yet worshipped others besides Him.” - Muhammad ibn Wāsi‘ entered upon Bilāl ibn Abī Burdah and said:
“Your father narrated to me from your grandfather, from the Prophet ﷺ:
In Hell is a valley named Lamm Lamm, in which there is a well called Habhab. Allah has made it incumbent upon Himself to house every tyrant therein—beware lest you be among them.” - Ibn al-Mubarak narrated:
“Hell has valleys from which Hell itself seeks refuge daily. In one of those valleys lies a well, and within that well is a serpent—Hell, the valley, and the well all seek refuge in Allah from it.”
The Fate of Sinners and the Misguided
- Abu Hurayrah said:
“There are outer regions of Hell in which the corrupt scholars are spun around on fiery waterwheels. Those who knew them in life will see them and ask: ‘Were you not our teachers?’ They will reply: ‘We commanded you to do good, but we did not do it ourselves.’”
(This meaning is also found in an authentic report in Sahih Muslim from Usāmah ibn Zayd.) - Abu al-Muthannā al-Amlūkī said: “There are people in Hell tied to fiery waterwheels, spinning endlessly without rest or relief.”
- Muhammad ibn Ka‘b al-Quraẓī said: “Mālik (the keeper of Hell) has a station in the center of Hell, upon bridges where the angels of punishment walk. He sees the furthest ends of Hell as clearly as its nearest.”
Punishment for Arrogance and Hypocrisy
- The Prophet ﷺ said:
“The arrogant will be resurrected on the Day of Judgment like tiny ants in the form of people. Humiliation will cover them from every direction. They will be herded into a prison in Hell called Bulus, and given the discharge of the people of Hell to drink—Ṭīnat al-Khabāl.”
(Reported by al-Tirmidhi, who classified it as ḥasan.) - Ṭīnat al-Khabāl is the pus or sweat of the people of Hell, as explained by al-Qurṭubī and confirmed in Sahih al-Bukhārī.
- In another narration, a man asked the Prophet ﷺ about a drink made from barley in Yemen, and the Prophet ﷺ said:
“If it intoxicates, then Allah has promised to make the one who drinks it consume Ṭīnat al-Khabāl in the Hereafter.”
When asked what that is, he said:
“It is the pus of the inhabitants of Hell.”
Alarming End for the Ostentatious
- The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Seek refuge in Allah from the Pit of Grief.”
When asked what it is, he replied:
“A valley in Hell from which even Hell seeks refuge seventy times a day. It is prepared for the ostentatious reciters of Qur’an.”
(Reported by al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Mājah, and others.) - In another version, he said:
“Those most hated by Allah from among the Qur’an reciters are those who frequent the rulers.”
Closing Reflection
These vivid and terrifying descriptions are not merely metaphors—they are part of the unseen realities affirmed by Qur’an, Sunnah, and the statements of righteous scholars. They serve as both a warning and a call to sincerity, repentance, and faithfulness to Allah’s commands.
May Allah protect us and our loved ones from every form of Hell’s torment, and grant us refuge in His Mercy and Paradise.
