Afterlife

"And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where are also the beast and the false prophet; and they shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne; and books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [the book] of life: and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, [even] the lake of fire. And if any was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire."

"But for the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part [shall be] in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death."

"As Moses entered hell, the fire withdrew a distance of five hundred parasangs, and the Angel of Hell, Nasargiel, asked him, "Who art thou?" and he answered, "I am Moses, the son of Amram." Nasargiel: "This is not thy place, thou belongest in Paradise." Moses: "I came hither to see the manifestation of the power of God.""

"Moses saw men undergoing torture by the Angels of Destruction: some of the sinners were suspended by their eyelids, some by their ears, some by their hands, and some by their tongues, and they cried bitterly. And women were suspended by their hair and by their breasts, and in other ways, all on chains of fire. Nasargiel explained: "These hang by their eyes, because they looked lustfully upon the wives of their neighbors, and with a covetous eye upon the possessions of their fellow-men. These hang by their ears because they listened to empty and vain speech, and turned their ear away from hearing the Torah. These hang by their tongues, because they talked slander, and accustomed their tongue to foolish babbling. These hang by their feet, because they walked with them in order to spy upon their fellow-men, but they walked not to the synagogue, to offer prayer unto their Creator. These hang by their hands, because with them they robbed their neighbors of their possessions, and committed murder. These women hang by their hair and their breasts, because they uncovered them in the presence of young men, so that they conceived desire unto them, and fell into sin.""

"Moses saw the place called Alukah, where sinners were suspended by their feet, their heads downward, and their bodies covered with black worms, each five hundred parasangs long. They lamented, and cried: "Woe unto us for the punishment of hell. Give us death, that we may die!" Nasargiel explained: "These are the sinners that swore falsely, profaned the Sabbath and the holy days, despised the sages, called their neighbors by unseemly nicknames, wronged the orphan and the widow, and bore false witness. Therefore bath God delivered them to these worms.""

"Moses went thence to another place, and there he saw sinners prone on their faces, with two thousand scorpions lashing, stinging, and tormenting them, while the tortured victims cried bitterly. Each of the scorpions had seventy thousand heads, each head seventy thousand mouths, each mouth seventy thousand stings, and each sting seventy thousand pouches of poison and venom, which the sinners are forced to drink down, although the anguish is so racking that their eyes melt in their sockets. Nasargiel explained: "These are the sinners who caused the Israelites to lose their money, who exalted themselves above the community, who put their neighbors to shame in public, who delivered their fellow-Israelites into the hands of the Gentiles, who denied the Torah of Moses, and who maintained that God is not the Creator of the world.""

"Then Moses saw the place called Tit ba-Yawen, in which the sinners stand in mud up to their navels, while the Angels of Destruction lash them with fiery chains, and break their teeth with fiery stones, from morning until evening, and during the night they make their teeth grow again, to the length of a parasang, only to break them anew the next morning. Nasargiel explained: "These are the sinners who ate carrion and forbidden flesh, who lent their money at usury, who wrote the Name of God on amulets for Gentiles, who used false weights, who stole money from their fellow-Israelites, who ate on the Day of Atonement, who ate forbidden fat, and animals and reptiles that are an abomination, and who drank blood.""

"Then Nasargiel said to Moses: "Come and see how the sinners are burnt in hell," and Moses answered, "I cannot go there," but Nasargiel replied, "Let the light of the Shekinah precede thee, and the fire of hell will have no power over thee." Moses yielded, and he saw how the sinners were burnt, one half of their bodies being immersed in fire and the other half in snow, while worms bred in their own flesh crawled over them, and the Angels of Destruction beat them incessantly. Nasargiel explained: "These are the sinners who committed incest, murder, and idolatry, who cursed their parents and their teachers, and who, like Nimrod and others, called themselves gods." In this place, which is called Abaddon, he saw the sinners taking snow by stealth and putting it in their armpits, to relieve the pain inflicted by the scorching fire, and he was convinced that the saying was true, "The wicked mend not their ways even at the gate of hell.""

"They said: We cannot prefer thee to what has come to us of clear arguments and to Him Who made us, so decide as thou wilt decide. Thou canst only decide about this world's life. Surely we believe in our Lord that He may forgive us our faults and the magic to which thou didst compel us. And Allah is Best and ever Abiding. Whoso comes guilty to his Lord, for him is surely hell. He will neither die therein, nor live. And whoso comes to Him a believer, having done good deeds, for them are high ranks, Gardens of perpetuity, wherein flow rivers, to abide therein. And such is the reward of him who purifies himself."

"One of them said: "I used to have a friend who said: 'Are you among those who believe that when we die and turn into dust and bones, later we will be inquired?' " He said: "Can anyone find him?" So when he looked, he saw him in the midst of Hell. He said: "By God, you nearly misguided me! And had it not been for my Lord's blessing, I would have been with you. Are we then not going to die, except for our first death, and we will not be punished?" Such is the greatest triumph."

"So give admonition! (because) admonition is useful, he who is thoughtful will consider while the unrighteous one will neglect it, one who will be burnt in the great Fire, then therein he will neither live nor die."

"So when the great Calamity comes; The day when man remembers everything that he has done, And hell is made manifest to him who beholds. Then as for him who is inordinate, And prioritizes the life of this world, Hell is surely the abode. And as for him who fears to stand before his Lord and restrains himself from low desires, The Paradise is surely the abode."

"As for one who transgressed, and prioritized the worldly life, then Hell will be the abode."

"Whoever desires this world's life and its finery, We repay them their deeds therein, and they are not made to suffer loss in it. These are they for whom there is nothing but Fire in the Hereafter. And what they work therein is fruitless and their deeds are vain. Is he then (like these), who has with him clear proof from his Lord, and a witness from Him recites it, and before it, the Book of Moses, a guide and a mercy? These believe in it. And whoever of the parties disbelieves in it, the Fire is his promised place. So be not in doubt about It. Surely it is the truth from thy Lord, but most men believe not."

"Besides Him they worship on nothing but idols and they call on nothing but rebellious Satan, whom Allah has cursed. And he said: "Certainly I will take of Thy servants an appointed portion; And certainly I will lead them astray and excite in them vain desires and bid them so that they will slit the ears of the cattle, and bid them" so that they will alter Allah's creation. And whoever takes Satan for a guardian, ignores Allah, he indeed suffers a great loss. He promises them and excites vain desires in them. And Satan promises them only to deceive. for these, their refuge is Hell, and they will find no escape from it."

"And when Abraham said: My Lord, make this a secure town and provide its people with fruits, such of them as believe in God and the Last Day. He said: And whoever disbelieves, I shall grant him enjoyment for a short while, then I shall drive him to the chastisement of the Fire. And it is an evil destination."

"Whoso disbelieves in Allah after his belief -- not he who is compelled while his heart is content with faith, but he who opens (his) breast for disbelief -- on them is the wrath of Allah, and for them is a grievous chastisement. That is because they love this world's life more than the Hereafter, and because Allah guides not the disbelieving people. These are they whose hearts and ears and eyes Allah has sealed and these are the heedless ones. No doubt that in the Hereafter they are the losers."

"It may be that your Lord will have mercy on you. And if you return (to mischief), We will return (to punishment). And We have made hell a prison for the disbelievers. Surely this Qur'an guides to that which is most upright, and gives good news to the believers who do good that theirs is a great reward, And that those who believe not in the Hereafter, We have prepared for them a painful chastisement. And man prays for evil as he ought to pray for good; and man is ever hasty. And We made the night and the day two signs, then We have made the sign of the night to pass away and We have made the sign of the day manifest, so that you may seek grace from your Lord, and that you may know the numbering of years and the reckoning. And We have explained everything with distinctness. And We have made every man's actions to cling to his neck, and We shall bring forth to him on the day of Resurrection a book which he will find wide open. Read thy book. Thine own soul is sufficient as a reckoner against thee this day."

"And for those who disbelieve in their Lord is the chastisement of hell, and evil is the resort. When they are cast therein, they will hear a loud moaning of it as it heaves, Almost bursting for fury. Whenever a group is cast into it, its keepers ask them: Did not a warner come to you? They say: Yea, indeed a warner came to us, but we denied and said Allah has revealed nothing you are only in great error. And they say: Had we but listened or pondered, we should not have been among the inmates of the burning Fire. Thus they will confess their sins so far (from good) are the inmates of the burning Fire."

"And if thou couldst see when they are made to stand before the Fire, and say: Would that we were sent back! We would not reject the messages of our Lord but would be of the believers. Nay, that which they concealed before will become manifest to them. And if they were sent back, they would certainly go back to that which they are forbidden, and surely they are liars. And they say: There is nothing but our life of this world and we shall not be raised again. And if thou couldst see when they are made to stand before their Lord! He will say: Is not this the truth? They will say: Yea, by our Lord! He will say: Taste then the chastisement because you disbelieved. They are losers indeed who reject the meeting with Allah, until when the hour comes upon them suddenly, they will say: O our grief for out neglecting it! And they bear their burdens on their backs. Now surely evil is that which they bear! And this world's life is naught but a play and an idle sport. And certainly the abode of the Hereafter is better for those who keep their duty. Do you not then understand?"

"Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the succession of night and day, are signs to those possessed of minds; who remember God standing and sitting or lying on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth. ‘ O Lord ! thou hast not created this in vain. We celebrate Thy praise ; then keep us from the torment of the fire ! Lord ! verily, whomsoever Thou hast made to enter the fire, Thou hast disgraced him ; and the unjust shall have none to help them. Lord! verily, we heard a crier calling to the faith, “ Believe in your Lord,” and we did believe. Lord ! forgive us our sins and cover our offences, and let us die with the righteous. Lord ! and bring us what Thou hast promised us by Thy apostles, and disgrace us not upon the resurrection day; for, verily, Thou dost not break Thy promises !’ And the Lord shall answer them, ‘ I waste not the works of a worker amongst you, be it male or female, — one of you is from the other. ‘ Those who fled, and were turned out of their houses, and were harmed in my way, and who fought and were killed, I will cover their offences, and I will make them enter into gardens beneath which rivers flow.’ A reward from God; for God, with Him are the best of rewards."

"The Lamb is, indeed, the emblem of love; but what so terrible as the wrath of the Lamb? The depth of the mercy despised is the measure of the punishment of him that despiseth. No more fearful words than those of the Saviour. The threatenings of the law were temporal, those of the gospel are eternal. It is Christ who reveals the never-dying worm, the unquenchable fire, and He who contrasts with the eternal joys of the redeemed the everlasting woes of the lost. His loving arms would enfold the whole human race, but not while impenitent or unbelieving; the benefits of His redemption are conditional."

"I don't believe in an afterlife, so I don't have to spend my whole life fearing hell, or fearing heaven even more. For whatever the tortures of hell, I think the boredom of heaven would be even worse."

"Heaven is not a place, and it is not a time. Heaven is being perfect."

"I cannot be content with less than heaven; Living, and comprehensive of all life. Thee, universal heaven, celestial all; Thee, sacred seat of intellective time; Field of the soul's best wisdom: home of truth, Star-throned."

"If our Creator has so bountifully provided for our existence here, which is but momentary, and for our temporal wants, which will soon be forgotten, how much more must He have done for our enjoyment in the everlasting world?"

"“The point is: what happens in heaven?” “Unknowable wonderfulness?” “Nonsense. The answer is nothing. Nothing can happen because if something happens, in fact if something can happen, then it doesn’t represent eternity. Our lives are about development, mutation and the possibility of change; that is almost a definition of what life is: change.” “Have you always thought that?” “If you disable change, if you effectively stop time, if you prevent the possibility of the alteration of an individual’s circumstances—and that must incluust have death.” “There are those de at least the possibility that they alter for the worse—then you don’t have life after death; you jwho believe that after death the soul is recreated into another being.” “That is conservative and a little stupid, certainly, but not actually idiotic.” “And there are those who believe that, upon death, the soul is allowed to create its own universe.” “Monomaniacal and laughable as well as provably wrong.” “There there are those who believe that the soul—” “Well, there are all sorts of different beliefs. However, the ones that interest me are those concerning the idea of heaven. That’s the idiocy it annoys me that others cannot see.”"

"I’m sure I’ll go to heaven. I’ve been dull enough."

"Heaven will be inherited by every man who has heaven in his soul. "The kingdom of God is within you.""

"There was no pain when I awoke, No pain at all. Rest, like a goad, Spurred my eyes open — and light broke Upon them like a million swords: And she was there. There are no words.Heaven is for a moment's span. And ever."

"HEAVEN, n. A place where the wicked cease from troubling you with talk of their personal affairs, and the good listen with attention while you expound your own."

"A robin redbreast in a cage Puts all Heaven in a rage."

"To see a World in a Grain of Sand And a Heaven in a Wild Flower, Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand And Eternity in an hour."

"The vision of Christ that thou dost see Is my vision's greatest enemy. Thine has a great hook nose like thine; Mine has a snub nose like to mine. Thine is the Friend of all Mankind; Mine speaks in parables to the blind. Thine loves the same world that mine hates; Thy heaven doors are my hell gates."

"(Devachan is) the “land of gods” literally; a condition, a state of mental bliss. Philosophically a mental condition analogous to, but far more vivid and real than, the most vivid dream. It is the state after death of most mortals."

"Let heaven exist, though my own place may be in hell. Let me be tortured and battered and annihilated, but let there be one instant, one creature, wherein thy enormous Library may find its justification."

"Ah well. Heaven is a state of mind. I knew that now."

"No coward soul is mine, No trembler in the world's storm-troubled sphere: I see Heaven's glories shine, And Faith shines equal, arming me from Fear."

"Heaven does not make holiness, but holiness makes heaven; because if you do not give yourself in sympathy to goodness, goodness cannot give itself in influence to you."

"God’s in His heaven—"

"All places are distant from heaven alike."

"In hope to merit Heaven by making earth a Hell."

"When we come to a comparison of heaven and earth, then we may indeed not only forget all about the present life, but even despise and scorn it."

"All the way to Heaven is heaven because He said,"'I am the Way.""

"It's Christmas in Heaven The snow falls from the sky But it's nice and warm, and everyone Looks smart and wears a tie"

"When I see your heavens, the works of your fingers,"

"Howling is the noise of hell, singing the voice of heaven; sadness the damp of hell, rejoicing the serenity of heaven. And he that hath not this joy here, lacks one of the best pieces of his evidence for the joys of heaven; and hath neglected or refused that earnest, by which God uses to bind his bargain, that true joy in this world shall flow into the joy of heaven, as a river flows into the sea; this joy shall not be put out in death, and a new joy kindled in me in heaven; but as my soul, as soon as it is out of my body, is in heaven, and does not stay for the possession of heaven, nor for the fruition of the sight of God, till it be ascended through air, and lire, and moon, and sun, and planets and firmament, to that place which we conceive to be heaven, but without the thousandth part of a minute's stop, as soon as it issues, is in a glorious light, which is heaven, (for all the way to heaven is heaven; and as those angels, which came from heaven hither, bring heaven with them, and are in heaven here, so that soul that goes to heaven, meets heaven here ; and as those angels do not divest heaven by coming, so these souls invest heaven, in their going.) As my soul shall not go towards heaven, but go by heaven to heaven, to the heaven of heavens, so the true joy of a good soul in this world is the very joy of heaven"

"While the wish of many individuals is to arrive at heaven, we daily behold them on the way to hell."

"There’s heaven on earth. It just happens to be in the ocean."

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."