They will go between it (Hell) and the boiling hot water!

“Yatoofo” is back and forth (think Tawwaf)

“Hameem” and “Aan” are synonyms but two separate nouns that both describe the water of Hellfire, they mean water that is both boiling and scalding. Generally water gives you comfort and extinguishes the fire, but the water of Jahannam is such that the Mujrimoon will try to escape the fire via the water, only to find it‟s punishment also severe. And they will be running back and forth between the fire and the water, and this is their Tawwaf. There will be absolutely no respite for this punishment. Allah says in the Qur'an, if they ask for help, they shall be helped with water that is like burning oil. Thus both the fire and the water will punish in it‟s own way.

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Why is the punishment so severe?

Because what was asked of was so simple, logical and rational and yet they still refused. This punishment is not for the sinners of the Muslims, rather for those that rejected Allah and his

messenger, and there is a big difference between the two. Again, this punishment is for the one who refuses to acknowledge Allah as his Lord

Will the believers be spared the sights and sounds of Jahannum?

Yes from the sights and sounds that cause distress and grief, Allah says they won‟t hear the hissing but they will be shown Jahannum (as a means to show Allah‟s bounty that you have been saved from it)

45. Then which of the Blessings of your Lord will you both (jinns and men) deny?

The surah now shifts focus to Jannah….

A number of opinions exist about the levels of Jannah that are mentioned in the ayaat that follow.

Ayah 46 mentions that, whoever fears the station of his Lord will have 2 Jannahs, and ayah 62 mentions that beside these two (mention in ayah 46), there are two other Jannahs which are lesser than them or below them.

The majority opinion is that what is being talked about is two levels of Jannah, a higher Jannah (46 onward) and a lower level (62 onward) and that the elite get the higher level and those not as elite get the lower level of Jannah.

A second opinion is that Allah mentions that everyone will get all 4 of these Jannahs, two high and two low.

A third opinion is that some people will get four and some will get 2 higher and some will get 2 lower

The first opinion which is the majority opinion has much Qur'anic evidence.

On multiple times occasions, Allah references 3 categories of people, 2 righteous types and 1 of

sinners. In Surah Waqi‟ah, Allah mentions 2 good types of people (Ashab‟l yameen) and 1 bad (Ashab‟l shimaal). In Surah Faatir: 32 Allah defines 3 explicit categories: we gave the book to those who we chose amongst our servants, some dhaalim (who wrong themselves), some muqtassid (they are moderate) and some are saabiqun Khayraat (foremost in good deeds)!

Why does Allah lump all sinners in 1 and 2 categories for the righteous even though there are a higher number of sinners?

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There are more details given of those that are good people to encourage us to do good, and less details for the bad to show us that we really don‟t want to go there.

46. But for him who [the true believer of Islamic Monotheism who performs all the duties ordained by Allah and His Messenger Muhammad , and keeps away (abstain) from all kinds of sin and evil deeds prohibited in Islam and] fears the standing before his Lord, there will be two Gardens (i.e. in Paradise).

“Maqam” has two meanings,

1) The status of Allah. Whoever fears the status of Allah and the rank that Allah is most-deserving of 2) Our own status i.e. Whoever fears his own standing on the Day of Judgement

Are there are really two Jannahs or is a generic way of saying multiple Jannat, how do we reconcile with the reference in this ayah of “Jannataan”?

In Surah Saba: 15, Allah speaks of plurality in a dual form. The people of Saba had a great miracle, they had 2 jannahs, 1 on the right and 1 on the left. From history we know the people of Saba had many Jannaat yet Allah says they had Janataan (in the dual form).

Allah knows best, thus we conclude that Janataan is generic for many Jannahs and we know that the more righteous people will get more and more. It is also ok to be literalistic and say that this means two Jannahs only and this is allowable.

The Prophet (s) said (as narrated in Sahih Bokhari), Everyone will get two Jannahs of silver and two Jannahs of gold, everything silver in the first two and everything gold in the other two, and this gives credence to the opinion that everyone will get 4 Jannahs.

Allah links obtaining these Jannahs to fear. There are three primary emotions needed to enter Jannah and these are love, fear and hope. So why is fear emphasized? Because the most important factor that prevents committing sins is fear, the other reason is that anytime one of these two emotions are mentioned the other two are implied.

Comparing this to the mention of Jannah in verse 62, Those on a lesser level, “doon” in Arabic means lesser than. The quantity is the same (2 Jannahs) but the quality is different, and this is what we notice in these 2 comparisons.

47. Then which of the Blessings of your Lord will you both (jinns and men) deny?

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So what is inside the Jannah?...