Help

[Robert Ryan]

I am doing my term paper for school, and I have to compare Dante's concept of hell to other religions version of hell. I am having trouble with Judaism version of hell. So far I have only been able to find the words "Sheol and Ghenna." Do these words represent a physcial locaton of hell, or do the describe what it looks like. Can anyone help me.

[39mto39g]

What the hell robert. Ah, No
Hell is for heros. Hell is a state of mind. Hell is a, Hell.
Hell no we wont go. What the hell, To hell with it. The hell with you. Hell, of , a , hell.

Ron

[Arrow]

The owners of the site are Messianic Jews. (Jews that believe that Jesus is the Messiah)

http://www.yeshuatyisrael.com/sheol.htm

http://www.yeshuatyisrael.com/

[David]

Sheol
Gehenna

[phuloi]

I would defer to Sis on any matters of Heaven or Hell-No doubt!

[Boats]

Looking around I found this statement on your subject.

Jews do not believe in Hell, because by definition, Hell is the place for the ETERNAL punishment of the soul, in the next life, for the sins committed in this life. Although Judaism certainly believes in a punishment in the next life for the sins committed in this life, Jews do not believe in Hell because we believe Gd to be forgiving, compassionate, and merciful. So, the idea of an ETERNAL punishment makes Gd look Cruel, and prevents us from believing in a hell.

Every time in the Christian translation of the Hebrew Scriptures the text reads, 'hell,' it is a bad translation. The word usually MIStranslated this way is the Hebrew word, 'Sheol,' which comes from the same word meaning 'question', and so 'Sheol' is 'the Unknown.'

By the way, please note that the verse from Ecclesiastes reads:::

Ecclesiastes 12:7 Then shall the dust return to
the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return
unto Gd who gave it.

It says, 'the spirit returns to Gd,' not the 'Good Spirit,' and not even 'the Jewish Spirit.' Jews do not believe that only Jews go to heaven.

Furthermore, if 'the dust returns to dust,' meaning that the physical ends, how can the tortures of a Christian hell be only physical, when there is no body to be tortured??

[Boats]

What Do Jews Believe About Hell?

IS HELL A PLACE OF ANNIHILATION OR ETERNAL TORMENT?


In Old Testament times, the Hebrew term "Sheol" (the abode of the dead) contained two compartments separated by an impassable gulf. The righteous awaited resurrection in the "Bosom of Abraham" (Paradise), while the unrighteous awaited resurrection in "Gehenna" (Hebrew) or "Hades" (Greek) a place of torment.


“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.


The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'


"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'”
Luke 16:19-26


After the Cross, Jesus freed the captives (the righteous who were in Sheol) and brought the disembodied spirits to the Third Heaven (God's abode). Paradise is now with Jesus and Sheol now only contains Gehenna/Hades - called Hell in English.


At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people. Matthew 27:51-53


But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men."
Ephesians 4:7-8


The Hebrew word abaddon is often translated from Hebrew into English as the word destruction.


The following two definitions are from Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary:
\A*bad"don\ ([.a]*b[a^]d"d[u^]n), n. [Heb. [=a]badd[=o]n destruction, abyss, fr. [=a]bad to be lost, to perish.]


1. The destroyer, or angel of the bottomless pit; -- the same as Apollyon and Asmodeus.


2. Hell; the bottomless pit. [Poetic]



Smith's Bible Dictionary defines Abaddon as follows:


ABADDON, "the angel of the bottomless pit." From the occurrence of the word in (Psalms 88:11) the rabbis have made Abaddon the nethermost of the two regions into which they divide the lower world, but that in (Revelation 9:11) Abaddon is the angel and not the abyss is perfectly evident in the Greek.


The rabbis call the nethermost division of Sheol (deepest division or bottomless pit), Abaddon. Abaddon in the Old Testament is equivalent to Gehenna (Hebrew) or Hades (Greek) or Hell (English). The Abaddon (meaning - Destroyer) referred to in the Book of Revelation is the name of the fallen angel who is king of the demons who emerge from the bottomless pit.


The term Abaddon, although often translated into English as the word destruction, is a place of eternal torment and not a place of annihilation.


Isaiah 66:22-24 speaks of the everlasting Kingdom to come (the enduring new heavens and new earth) and of the eternal punishment of the wicked (their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched):


"As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me," declares the LORD , "so will your name and descendants endure. From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me," says the LORD ."And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind."
Isaiah 66:22-24 NIV


Job 31:12 - Amplified Version:
For [uncontrolled passion] is a fire which consumes to Abaddon (to destruction, ruin, and the place of final torment); [that fire once lighted would rage until all is consumed] and would burn to the root all my [life's] increase.


Proverbs 15:11
Death and Destruction [Hebrew [ Sheol and Abaddon ] ] lie open before the LORD - how much more the hearts of men!


Proverbs 27:20
Death and Destruction [Hebrew [ Sheol and Abaddon ] ] are never satisfied, and neither are the eyes of man.


Psalm 88:11
Will Your loving kindness be declared in the grave,
Your faithfulness in Abaddon? Psalm 88:11 NASB


Modern day Judaism, even the religion practiced by the Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox, is rabbinical Judaism and not biblical Judaism. The following excerpt concerning the afterlife is from the web site “Judaism 101” (emphasis mine):


Traditional Judaism firmly believes that death is not the end of human existence. However, because Judaism is primarily focused on life here and now rather than on the afterlife, Judaism does not have much dogma about the afterlife, and leaves a great deal of room for personal opinion. It is possible for an Orthodox Jew to believe that the souls of the righteous dead go to a place similar to the Christian heaven, or that they are reincarnated through many lifetimes, or that they simply wait until the coming of the messiah, when they will be resurrected. Likewise, Orthodox Jews can believe that the souls of the wicked are tormented by demons of their own creation, or that wicked souls are simply destroyed at death, ceasing to exist.


Many Jews today deny the existence of hell and Satan, yet there are many passages of Scripture in the Old Testament to support the literal existence of both hell and Satan.


Job 2:7
So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.


Psalm 109:6
Appoint an evil man or [the Evil One]] to oppose him; let an accuser or [let Satan]] stand at his right hand.


Zechariah 3:1
Then he showed me Joshua ; the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD , and Satan [ accuser ] standing at his right side to accuse him.


Zechariah 3:2
The LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?"


The Old Testament does speak of hell and the Devil although many Jewish people and even rabbis would deny the literal existence of either Satan or eternal torment. There are also a number of Christian cults which falsely teach that hell is a place of annihilation. In the New Testament we find 81 references to hell, devils or Satan. It is clear from the following passage from the Book of Daniel that both the righteous and the unrighteous will be raised to experience eternity.


But at that time your people-everyone whose name is found written in the book-will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Daniel 12:1b-2


Satan is a deceiver and a liar. It is one of his greatest deceptions to have people believe that he does not exist and that there is no place of eternal torment. Pray that the veil is removed from the hearts of the Jewish people. Pray that they may not only read the Word of God, but truly understand the Holy Scriptures and be brought to Godly repentance.

[Boats]

What lies beneath
Why fewer Americans believe in hell than in heaven
By Michael Paulson, Globe Staff | June 29, 2008

LIFE IS HELL, or so the expression goes, but, for many Americans, the afterlife is looking up.

Last week's release of a sweeping study by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life confirmed a long-developing trend in popular cosmology: belief in heaven is outstripping belief in hell.

The Pew survey, significant for the breadth and depth made possible by its unusually large 35,000-person sample, found that 74 percent of Americans say they think there is a heaven, "where people who have led good lives are eternally rewarded," while just 59 percent think there is a hell, "where people who have led bad lives, and die without being sorry, are eternally punished."

At first blush, the idea of a God who rewards good but does not punish evil seems counterintuitive, after centuries in which one of the key benefits of eternal salvation - and one of the promises of conversion to Christianity - was the avoidance of eternal damnation.

But hell experts - and yes, there are scholars who spend this life studying the next one - say the underworld has been losing favor for some time. Since the Enlightenment, a liberalizing trend in religion has favored conceptions of God as benevolent, rather than judgmental. But also, there are peculiarly American characteristics to this emerging hell gap: an insistent optimism, perhaps a kind of cultural self-contentedness, and a tolerance born of diversity that makes damning the other more problematic.

"Hell is for nonbelievers, and most Americans don't believe there are nonbelievers next door, even if their religion is different," said Alan F. Segal, a professor of religion at Barnard College and the author of "Life After Death: A History of the Afterlife in Western Religion."

"They believe everyone has an equal chance, at this life and the next," Segal said. "So hell is disappearing, absolutely."

Hell and its many variants have a complex history, posited by many cultures and faiths as a place, often beneath the earth, where sinners are punished, where the devil reigns and God is absent. In Mesopotamia, hell was the land beyond, a territory for the dead that kept them apart from the living. In ancient Egypt, rulers prepared for immortality in the heavens, while others risked torment by demons.

The Hebrew Bible does not describe hell, but rather a dark and silent place called Sheol, where the spirits of the dead reside. But in the New Testament, more details start to emerge - in the parable of Lazarus, as recounted in Luke, a selfish rich man is tormented in a netherworld by flames after his death, while a poor man is comforted at the bosom of Abraham.

But it has often been writers and artists, rather than scriptures, who have elaborated on what perils or paradise might await. Dante, the Italian poet, famously wrote of a journey to hell, welcomed by the sign, "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here," and encountering nine circles of wickedness and punishment. Hieronymus Bosch, the Flemish painter, offered a nightmarish vision of fires and torments meted out by animal-like demons. John Milton, the English poet, depicted Satan in a lake of fire.

"In the body of literature about hell, you see a range of punishments," said Martha Himmelfarb, a professor of religion at Princeton University and the author of "Tours of Hell: An Apocalyptic Form in Jewish and Christian Literature."

"Some are measure for measure, so if you blaspheme, you get hanged by your tongue, while others are lakes of fire, or pools of excrement and horrible fluid that people are sunk in," she said.

The prospect of hell, for the nonbeliever as well as the sinner, has been of particular importance for evangelizing faiths - that is, those that place a major emphasis on the conversion of new members - and missionaries often cited the avoidance of hell as one of the enticements to conversion to a faith such as Christianity or Islam.

But in a large multicultural society, such as the United States, people are likely to encounter others whose faiths are different from their own, and that, scholars say, has led to a decreasing willingness to accept the notion that a particular faith offers an exclusive ticket to heaven. The Pew poll found that large majorities now say they do not believe their religions provide the only path to salvation, regardless of what their religious leaders tell them.

"People are increasingly less willing to say, 'I have the truth, and you either have my truth, or you're going to hell,' " said Nancy T. Ammerman, a professor of the sociology of religion at Boston University.

The survey found that about three-quarters of Americans - 74 percent - believe in life after death. This belief is most pronounced among Mormons, 98 percent of whom believe that there is life after death - a stunningly high number for any survey, but reflective of Mormon teaching that the bodies and spirits of its adherents will be reunited - resurrected - sometime after their physical death. Atheists, not surprisingly, are the least likely to believe in life after death, followed by agnostics, Jews, and Jehovah's Witnesses.

One of the benefits of the large sample size of the Pew study is that it allowed attention to minority faiths that are often too small to be accurately studied by general surveys. The Pew work was one of the first major studies to examine attitudes to life after death among American Buddhists and Hindus, and found that 62 percent of Buddhists in the United States say they believe in nirvana, which the pollsters defined as "the ultimate state transcending pain and desire"; 61 percent of Hindus in the United States say they believe in reincarnation.

But the consensus about an afterlife masks considerable variation in the details.

Only among evangelical Protestants and Muslims does belief in hell run close to belief in heaven; the gap is significant among adherents of all other faiths.

"Once upon a time, belief in heaven and hell were very closely related - they were in many people's views two sides of the same coin - [but] that does not seem to be the case any more," said John C. Green, a professor of political science at the University of Akron and also a senior fellow with the Pew Forum. "Many more people believe in heaven than believe in hell. It does seem to be associated with a decline in viewing God as a judge, and as someone who punishes people, but a continuing emphasis on a view of God as someone who is merciful and generous and forgiving."

Mormons are the most likely to believe in heaven, but just average in their belief in hell. The biggest believers in hell are evangelical Protestants, African-American Protestants, and Muslims.

Sizable majorities of Jews, Buddhists and Hindus, as well as atheists, agnostics, and the rest of the unaffiliated, say they do not believe in hell. But hell is most unbelievable to Jehovah's Witnesses, just 9 percent of whom say they believe, reflecting that faith's teaching that the wicked are simply annihilated upon death. There are also regional differences - belief in hell is highest in Mississippi (82 percent), and lowest in New Hampshire and Vermont (37 percent); Massachusetts ranks near the bottom, with 45 percent of people saying they believe in hell.

"There has always been this tug of war in American religious history, between the older conservative tradition - fire and brimstone and hell - and the liberal tradition, which stems from the Enlightenment," said Carlos M. N. Eire, a professor of history and religious studies at Yale University.

The decline of hell may be related to a certain American Pollyannaism. Segal, the Barnard scholar, notes that American visions of heaven increasingly resemble, well, America, without the problems; "it's sort of like a retirement home in the sky, or maybe an assisted living community without the physical deficiencies," he said.

The gap in belief between heaven and hell may also be part of a general tendency to emphasize the sunnier side of the divine. In many churches, for example, portraits of Jesus as the good shepherd are now favored over depictions of him dying on the cross - an emphasis on salvation, rather than suffering, although both are part of the Christian story.

"It's perhaps about American optimism - we would really like to think that there are nice things in store for us on the other side of death, and we are very reluctant to be judgmental, or to think about punishment, even for people who have done bad things," Ammerman said.

Of course, that optimism is challenged constantly by evidence of evil. In fact, some polls have suggested that belief in hell rose after Sept. 11, 2001, and, although the evidence is debatable, it is clear that believers struggle to reconcile their faith in a good God with all the suffering and wickedness they see.

"Evil is always a hot topic among people who study religion, and it's one of the big questions people always grapple with - 'If there's an all-powerful God, why is there a holocaust?' " said Bart D. Ehrman, a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

"People who believe in hell still think that if God is a just god, he has to punish evil," said Ehrman, who is the author of "God's Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question - Why We Suffer."

"But in our modern age, there's enough skepticism around for people to doubt whether hell makes sense, whereas heaven makes sense because they want to live forever."

Michael Paulson covers religion for the Globe. He can be reached at mpaulson@globe.com.

[Boats]

Mr. Ryan - while looking over some subject matter relating to the Jewish understanding of Hell - I can across this and wonder if your studies touched on the Koran. I've never read any on this subject - but found this article on the web and decided to post it.

I'm a schooled Catholic and my thoughts on this are my own. I've always thought that many of the religious sects overlap to some degree. I have no issues whether one is an atheist or holier than thou. I feel that each mans reasons for his beliefs are his or her business. Many a war has been fought over such issues or in differences.

Let me know what you think about their message they are sending.



ISLAMIC HELL-TORTURE CHAMBER FOR UNBELIEVERS

I n this article I shall describe the Islamic Hell or Jahannum which was an imagination of Prophet Mohammed used primarily for two reasons:

To have a torture chamber for all the kafirs (unbelievers and people of other religions)
To terrorize people into accepting Islam.

The purpose of Hell in Islam is not to punish the Muslim wrong-doers. Because, for them Mohammed will recommend paradise, beautiful virgins and young boys on the Day of Judgment. His recommendation is final and Allah cannot deny it. It is available to all murderers, rapists, arsonists, cheats, thugs, pickpockets and pimps provided they are following Islam. On the contrary, a flaming Hell is reserved only for all Hindus, Sikhs, Jews and Christians, no matter how pious and God-fearing they may have been.

This article is divided in two sections. The first section deals with the brutal instructions Prophet Mohammed gives to his followers about Kafirs and how to torture, maim and murder them ruthlessly.

The second section explains the various procedures devised by Prophet Mohammed's sick imagination for torturing people of other religions in Hell.

Instructions to Muslims about Unbelievers

Koran 9:29
Fight those who do not profess the true faith (Islam) till they pay the jiziya (poll tax) with the hand of humility.

So here Prophet Mohammed is instructing a true Muslim to fight people of other religions until the unbelievers debase themselves and pay tax for their existence. So the greatness of Islam is revealed only when follwers of other religions are humiliated.

Koran 8:12
Remember Thy Lord inspired the angels (with the message): "I am with you: give firmness to the believers, I will instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers, Smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger tips of them."

Here Mohammed is giving step by step instruction on how to torture and kill Kafirs if they don't follow Islam.

Koran 9:5
"Then, when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolators wherever ye find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them and prepare for them each ambush. But if they repent and establish worship and pay the poor-due, then leave their way free. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful."

In the above verse Prophet Mohammed is clearly instructing his followers to kill the idolators in any brutal way possible until the idolators submit themselves to Islam. Allah is indeed merciful !!

Koran 9:73
Prophet, make war on the unbelievers and the hypocrites and deal rigorously with them. Hell shall be their Home: an evil fate.

Here Mohammed is trying to justify his brutal acts. He conveniently claims divine justification for the expression of his hatred by saying Allah himself revealed to him personally that people of other religions are evil and belong in Hell. Therefore, according to Mohammed any barbaric act against the unbelievers is completely justified.

Koran 4:144
Believers, do not choose the unbelievers rather than the faithful as your friends. Would you give Allah a clear proof against yourselves ?

This verse clearly states that a Muslim can only befreind a Muslim. Mohammed in order to ensure that his followers will not befriend and get influenced by people of other religions, revealed this verse. This verse illustrates that if a Muslim befriends a Non-Muslim than the wrath of Allah will be on him. Therefore in Islam, people of other religions should be treated with contempt,disrespect and cruelty.

Koran 47:4
When you meet the unbelievers in the Jihad strike off their heads and, when you have laid them low, bind your captives firmly. Then grant them their freedom or take ransom from them, until War shall lay down her burdens.

In the above verse, Mohammed is giving detailed instruction about how to maim and torture unbelievers in Jihad. And finally when the Muslims are satisfied enough after torturing and maiming the unbelievers, they should proceed to demand ransom for the captives. All for the sake for all-merciful Allah !!

Koran 5:33-34
The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His messenger and strive after corruption in the land will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet and alternate sides cut off, or will be expelled out of the land. Such will be their degradation in the world, and in the Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom; Save those who repent before ye overpower them. For know that Allah is Forgiving, merciful.

In this verse, Mohammed devises another recipe for torturing unbelievers. This particular recipe involves chopping off alternate limbs and expelling the Kafirs (people following other religions) out of the land.




Instructions to Muslims regarding Christians and Jews

Prophet Mohammed has reserved special position for certain sects of Unbelievers in his so called "Holy Book" Koran. Those unbelievers are none other than followers of Christianity and Judaism. I have selected few verses from Koran to display what Muslims are taught and instructed as far as treating Christians and Jews is concerned.

Koran 5:51
Believers, take neither Jews nor Christians for your friends. They are friends with one another. Whoever of you seeks their friendship shall become one of their number. Allah does not guide the wrong-doers.

In this verse Prophet Mohammed is clearly instructing his followers never to befriend a Christian or a Jew. Because if they take a Christian or a Jew as a friend, they will commit a wrong deed and Allah's wrath will be on them.

Koran 5:57
Believers, do not seek the friendship of the infidels and those who were given the Book before you, who have made your religion a jest and a pasttime...

Here "those who were given the Book before you" refers to Christians and Jews. Once again Mohammed is warning Muslims of all time never to befriend a Christian or a Jew.

Koran 5:64
The Jews say: 'God's hand is chained.' May their own hands be chained! May they be cursed for what they say!...

In the above verse Prophet Mohammed is showing his deep respect for the Jews.

Koran 9:29
Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last day, nor hold the forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and his messenger, nor acknowledge the Religion of Truth from among the People of the Book, until they pay the Jiziyah with willing submission. And feel themselves subdued.

Here 'People of the Book' refers to Christians and Jews. The 'Religion Of Truth' refers to Islam. So in the above verse Prophet Mohammed is instructing Muslims to fight and torture Christians and Jews (who do not believe in Islamic version of God) until they pay tax to Muslims for their existence. Muslims are also strictly instructed to make the Christians and Jews feel 'subdued'. Allah is truly benign !!!

Koran 9:30
The Jews call 'Uzayr-a son of God', and the Christinas call 'Christ the Son Of God'. That is a saying from their mouth; (In this) they but intimate what the unbelievers of old used to say. Allah's curse be on them: how they are decluded away from the Truth.

Here Prophet Mohammed is wishing that Allah's curse be on Jews and Christians. And what did the Christians and Jews do for such special favour from Allah ? All they did is that out of respect and love, they called their Prophets 'son of God'.




Islamic Hell and Unbelievers

Now we will enter the Islamic Hell brought into existence by Mohammed's hallucination and weird imagination.

Koran 98:1-8
The unbelievers among the People of the Book and the pagans shall burn for ever in the fire of Hell. They are the vilest of all creatures.

Here "People of The Book" refers to Christians and Jews. So according to Prophet Mohammed, Christians, Jews and pagans are the vilest of all creatures in the world. Islam in deed holds a high respect for people of other religions !!

Koran 22:19-22:23
Garments of fire have been prepared for the unbelievers. Sclading water shall be poured upon their heads, melting their skins and that which is in their bellies. They shall be lashed rods of iron. Whenever, in their anguish, they try to escape from Hell, back they shall be dragged, and will be told: 'Taste the torment of the Conflagration!'

Here Mohammed has imagined vividly how people of other religions will be punished in Hell. By his sick and disgusting imagination, he is trying to make sure that people of other religions convert to Islam out of sheer terror of Hell. And if this terror doesn't work, then the Muslims are always instructed to convert unbelievers to Islam brutally by force in Jihad.

Koran 18:28-30
For the wrongdoers We have prepared a fire which will encompass them like the walls of a pavilion. When they cry out for help they shall be showered with water as hot as molten brass, which will scald their faces. Evil shall be their drink, dismal their resting-place.

Who are the "wrong-doers" here ? None other than the people who DO NOT follow Islam. So Prophet Mohammed here continues with his hallucination and gives the description of Islamic Hell in the form of a revelation.

Koran 40:67-40:73
Do you not see how those who dispute the revelation of God turn away from the right path ? Those who have denied the Book and the message We sent through Our apostles shall realize the truth hereafter: when, with chains and shackles round their necks, they shall be dragged through scalding water and then burnt in the fire of Hell.

Prophet Mohammed here explains what will happen to those people who choose NOT to follow his revelation "Quran"- a manual of plunder, rape and murder. So for people of other religions following scriptures other than Quran, Allah has pre-planned punishment. First they shall be dragged through scalding water with chains around their necks and then they will be burnt in the fire of Hell. Allah is truly merciful !!

Koran 43:74
..The unbelievers shall endure forever the torment of Hell. The punishment will never be lightened, and they shall be speechless with despair. We do not wrong, themselves.

Mohammed was not satisfied by just having burnt the unbelievers once in Hell. So here he is saying that the punishment is never-ending and people following other religions will be burnt in Hell forever.

Koran 55:41-52
..That is the Hell which the unbelievers deny. They shall wander between fire and water fiercely seething. Which of your Lord's blessing would you deny ?

Koran 76:1-5
For the unbelievers We have prepared chains and fetters and a blazing Fire...

Koran 73:12
We have in store for the unbelievers heavy fetters and a blazing fire, choking food and harrowing torment: on the day when the earth shall quiver with all its mountains, and the mountains crumble into heaps of shifting sand.

Once again, in the above verses, Mohammed is emphasizing that heavy fetters, choking food and hell fire are in store for the unbelievers while the Muslims enjoy the beautiful virgins and young boys in Islamic Paradise.

Koran 77:20-77:50
Woe on that day to the disbelievers! Begone to the Hell which you deny! Depart into the shadow that will rise high in three columns, giving neither shade nor shelter from the flames, and throwing up sparks as huge as towers, as bright as yellow camels...Eat and enjoy yourselves awhile. You are wicked men..."

In the above verse, Prophet Mohammed is making sure that the people of other religions do not get any shade or shelter when they are burnt up in the Islamic Hell. Allah is also revealing to him that all people other than Muslims are basically wicked in nature.

Koran 8:73
The unbelievers give aid and comfort to each other. If you fail to do likewise, there will be disorder in the land and great corruption.

The Great Mohammed divided the Arabian society in two tight compartments: Momins and Kafirs. The word momin means believer in Mohammed and Allah. In contrast a kafir is a non-believer. The momins did not have to be better men than the Kafirs in terms of character or consciousness. Momins had only to recite the Kalima (incantation)- "there is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his Prophet." By doing that the 'momins' become qualified to kill as many kafirs as they could or pleased, looting and burning their belongings and enslaving their women and children in the process. In the above verse, Prophet Mohammed once again is telling his followers to help each other in banning up against unbelievers (people of other religions)

Koran 21:96-21:101
..The unbelievers shall stare in amazement, crying: 'Woe to us! Of this we have been heedless. We have done wrong.' You and your idols shall be the fuel of Hell; therein you sall all go down.

This verse is another instance which displays the deep respect Islam shows towards other religions. Here Prophet Mohammed is stating that people who choose to represent God by idols will be burnt in hell along with their idols. Islam is truly compassionate towards other religions !!

Koran 33:7-12
...But for the unbelievers He has prepared a woeful punishment...

Here, we find the same old blabbering by Mohammed once again regarding how unbelievers will be punished.

Koran 44:40-49
..The fruit of the Zaqqum tree shall be the unbelievers's fruit. Like dregs of oil, like scalding water, it shall simmer in his belly. A voice will cry: 'Seize him and drag him into the depths of Hell. Then pour out scalding water over his head, saying: "Taste this, illustrious and honourable man! This is the punishment which you have doubted."

Koran 52:1-52:15
..On that day they shall be sternly thrown into the fire of Hell, and a voice will say to them: 'This is the Fire which you denied...Burn in its flames. It is the same whether or not you show forbearance. You shall be rewarded according to your deeds.'

Koran 31-37
And burn ye him in the blazing fire. Further, make him march in a chain, whereof the length is seventy cubits. This was he that would not believe in allah Most high amd would not encourage the feeding of the indignant. So no friend hath he here this day. Nor hath he any food except the corruption from the washing of wounds.

Koran 56:52-56
Ye shall surely taste of the tree Zaqqum. Then will ye fill your insides therwith, and drink boiling water on top of it. Indeed ye shall drink like diseased camels raging with thirst. Such will be their entertainment on the day of Requital!

Koran 69:30-37
We shall say: 'Lay hold of him and bind him. Burn him in the fie of Hell, then fasten him with a chain seventy cubits long. For he did not believe Allah the tremendous, and urged not on the feeding of the wretched. Today he shall be friendless here; filth shall be his food, the filth which sinners eat...

The above five verses contain detail description of various kinds of punishments people of other religions will undergo in Islamic Hell. They display the true respect Prophet Mohammed had for people who were not following Islam. And through these verses, Koran (the manual for plunder, rape and murder)which is treated as a timeless scripture by Muslims, teaches how lowly people of other religions should be treated by Muslims regardless of time or space.

Koran 2:39
Those who reject faith shall be the companions of the Fire.

Koran 2:89-90
The curse of Allah is on the unbelievers... humiliating is the punishment.

Koran 13:13
..He hurls his thunderbolts at whom he pleases Yet the unbelievers wrangle about Allah..

Koran 58:5
Those who resist Allah and his messenger will be humbled to dust.

Koran 70:15-16
The fire of Hell will pluck out his being right to the skull..

Koran 5:10
As for those who disbelieve and deny Our revelations, they are the heirs of Hell.

The summary of the above six verses is that a person follwing any religion other than Islam, is automatically assigned to Hell. His good thoughts, good actions or peity are of no value until and unless he follows Islam. So if in this life, a person does not follow Islam and does not believe in Islamic scripture, Allah will store Hell-Fire, Hot water, Molten brass, thunderbolts and other humiliating punishments in the life hereafter for him.

Koran 70:39
We have created the unbelievers out of base matters.

So here Prophet Mohammed claims that all the people of other religions are basically useless and evil because they are made up of base matters. But the same people become Allah's favourite and become capable of earning Houris and young boys when they convert to Islam.

NOTE: The Koranic verses have been taken from works of Abdullah Yusuf Ali and N.J. Dawood

[Robert Ryan]

to all of you. Boats thank you for your information, I need your permission to use you as a refernce for my paper.