The Tale of Ǧahannam: 'Hell' According to Early Muslim Tradition (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798296890948)

This thesis is primarily a study of the concept of Hell in Islam as it was imagined by early Muslims. Hell in Islam has received limited attention by Muslim andWestern scholars of Islam, even though it occupies an important place in the events of the Day of Judgment and in the minds of those interested in learning about the Day of Judgment according to Islam. The relative lack of information about Ǧahannam, particularly in languages other than Arabic, is among the reasons forthe paucity of literature by Western scholars. This study provides information about Ǧahannam and takes on the task of giving Ǧahannam the attention it deserves. A general view of Ǧahannam in Islam will be introducedas well as its topography, its inhabitants, and the types of punishmentsused in it. In addition, the issue of its permanency will be discussed.This investigation willfocus on the thoughts of the first three generations without introducing later understandings, beliefs, or imaginations. Therefore, it will set asidewhat is currently said about Ǧahannam and examine what early generations said about it.
I argue that authentic ḥadīṯ did in fact reflect early Muslims' understanding of Ǧahannam. Therefore, the study will substantially rely on what was said by the Prophet related to Ǧahannam in addition to what is written in the Qurʾān regarding it. As ḥadīṯ serves as a lamp to shed light on the way early Muslim perceivedǦahannam, this study will address methodological and terminological issues related to ḥadīṯ and discuss how the methods of early ḥadīṯ critics proved to be reliable in ḥadīṯ authentication processes. In relation to the issue of ḥadīṯ authenticity, the study will introduceand explorewhat later came to be the science of ʾUṣūl al-Ḥadīṯ and its related genera. It will also touch on the problem of tadlīs (concealing the defects in a ḥadīṯ) and how ḥadīṯ critics were aware of it. Furthermore, because Western scholars generally agree that early ḥadīṯ critics limited their authentication of ḥadīṯ to examining ʾisnād (the chain of narrators), the study will also discuss matn or naṣṣ (text) criticism, in particular during the early period of Islam, by providing examples of such criticism applied by al-Ṣaḥābah.

Author: Nael Abd El-Rahaman
ISBN-13: 9798296890948
Publisher: Independently Published
Language: English
Published: 08/07/2025
Pages: 194
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.59lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.41d