When you do something, you should think about how not to slip into one of the seven deadly sins. These sins are pride, anger, greed, gluttony, lust, envy and sloth. Church historians say the concept of the seven deadly sins originated with Pope Gregory I.
Back in 400, he reworked the lists of “evil thoughts”, taking them from the ancient Sumerian, Greek, and Egyptian cultures and deducing from them the seven most egregious moral offenses. He did this in order to help Christians escape the hellish afterlife. Christians believe that hell has special punishments for those who commit one or more of the seven deadly sins. History does not record how these “traditional” punishments came about, but most of them do not seem to have a close connection with sin itself. Next we will give a brief overview of the sins considered mortal and the punishments for them.
Pride
Pride is the dangerously depraved selfishness that arises when one’s own desires and whims are placed above the well-being of others. This vicious sin leads to other vices and separates a person from God's grace. Pride is considered the worst of sins. The punishment for it is breaking the wheel - wheeling. Previously, the wheel used to break the bones of the arms and legs. This was considered a method of torture. From Greek mythology we know the wheel of fire to which sinners were tied in Tartarus. This flaming wheel revolved forever. So to be forever burning in flames and spinning all the time is pretty terrifying.
Greed
When a person is obsessed with the thirst for profit and strives for material property, then he is obsessed with the sin of greed. But now this is a very sensitive topic, since modern society is built on capitalism, which requires some greed. The punishment for this sin is that the person is boiled in large cauldrons. Even a technically dead subject feels the full pain of this punishment. And for usury, which is also a sin, the sinner will be hung upside down and eaten by worms.
Gluttony
Excessive passion for food, reaching the point of wastefulness, is gluttony or gluttony, another mortal sin. St. Thomas of Aquitaine was the first to criticize gluttony. He took this sin to another level by breaking it down into different forms of manifestation. If you, for example, love expensive food, then you are a glutton. If you look forward to food, then you are a glutton. Therefore, punishment awaits you in hell - there you will do your favorite thing - gluttony. But the menu will be very different from yours. Instead of your favorite foods, you will eat rats, spiders and toads.
Punishments of Hell described in the Qur'an and Hadith
Belief in the existence of Heaven and Hell is an integral part of iman.
Every Muslim should believe that in the next world he has two paths - Jannat or Jahannam. In Paradise a person will expect pleasure and bliss, and in Hell - punishment and torment.
Punishments of Hell in Islam
1. The lightest punishment
Sinners will face many different types of punishment, which will become real torture for them. Indicative in this regard is the torment that is considered the easiest in Jahannam. One of the hadiths says: “The lightest punishment of hell will be when the feet of a sinner are placed on coals, and their heat begins to boil his brain” (Bukhari). Hence, one should think about what other punishments the inhabitants of Hell will expect if this torment is considered the easiest.
Even the name of the one who will take the easiest degree of Jahannam is known. He will be the uncle of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) and the father of one of the closest Sahaba - Abu Talib. The fact is that the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) was brought up in his uncle’s house from an early age. In addition, Abu Talib was next to Muhammad (s.g.w.) in the most difficult time - the first years of prophecy. Despite the fact that the uncle of the Prophet (s.g.w.) remained a polytheist, he did not turn away from his nephew and patronized him in every possible way. But nevertheless, he remained a pagan until the end of his days, although his nephew persuaded him to say the Shahada. It is precisely because of his refusal to believe in the One Lord that Abu Talib will end up in Hell, but for his services to the Prophet (s.g.w.) he will be awarded its easiest degree.
2. Punishment by fire
The second punishment for the inhabitants of Hell will be a hot fire that will consume sinners. The torment of such people will be very severe, since the flame of Jahannam is 70 times hotter than earthly fire (Bukhari). But at the same time, they will burn in it and will not die, but will only be subjected to torture until they atone for their sins.
Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) said: “In Jahannam there will be those whom the fire will consume up to the ankles, waist or neck” (Muslim).
At the same time, the first to be thrown into the Hellfire will be the hypocrites who in earthly life performed namaz, paid zakat, read the Holy Quran, but did this not for the pleasure of Allah, but for the sake of praise from people, for the sake of ostentatious piety. It is the hypocrites who will find themselves at the worst stage of Jahannam and the most severe torment awaits them.
In addition, three more categories of people will end up in the Hellfire: “the arrogant, the mushrik (those who worshiped anyone other than Allah) and the creators of images” (Bukhari).
3. Chains and shackles
Some of the inhabitants of Gehenna will be chained and shackled. The Holy Quran says about this:
“We have prepared for the disbelievers chains, shackles and fire” (76:4)
4. Stabbing yourself
Special punishment awaits suicides in Hell. The torment of this category of people will be identical to the method of their suicide. The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “Whoever commits suicide by suffocation will strangle himself in Gehenna, and whoever pierces himself will stab himself in Hell” (Bukhari).
5. Drinking someone else's sweat
Those people who abused alcoholic beverages in earthly life, according to the hadith cited by Muslim, will drink the sweat and secretions of other inhabitants of Gehenna in Hell.
6. Boiling water
The sixth punishment in Jahannam will be a shower under boiling water. The hadith says that the inhabitants of Hell will suffer from boiling water being poured on them, which will corrode their internal organs, and then will come out through their legs, and this circle will be repeated endlessly (Tirmidhi).
7. Crying blood
Also, sinners in Gehenna will weep from their humiliated situation, as stated in the hadith: “The inhabitants of Jahannam will weep so that ships can sail on their tears, and they will weep with their blood” (Hakim, Albani).
8. Food of sinners
In Gehenna, people will eat special foods that will be extremely disgusting to them. One of these dishes will be the Zakkum tree. The Holy Quran says about this plant:
“Zakkum will become the food of the sinner. Like dregs of oil (or molten copper), it will boil in the bellies..." (44:43-45)
Also, sinners will be fed with hellish thorns, which will not give a feeling of fullness, but will only cause torment.
The drink for them will be purulent liquid, as stated in Surah “Ibrahim”:
“They will give him purulent water to drink. He will drink it in sips, but will barely be able to swallow it..." (14:16-17)
Another drink will be boiling water, which will be so hot that the sinners’ internal organs will rupture.
9. Skinning
The endless flaying of the skin from their bodies will be a severe torment for sinners. The fact is that when all the skin is torn off, a new one will appear in its place, and this will continue indefinitely. In the Holy Qur'an Allah says:
“This is the fire of Hell, tearing the skin from the head...” (70:15-16)
10. Hell snakes
In addition to sinners, animals will also live in Gehenna, which will cause additional torment to the souls of people. Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) told the Sahaba: “Truly, there live great snakes in Hell, the pain from whose bite a person will feel for 70 years” (Ahmad, Tabarani).
Hellish Shackles
What sins lead a person to Hell
1) Disbelief (kufr). The most serious sin in Islam is considered unbelief - lack of faith in Allah. Its severity is evidenced by the fact that this is the only sin that the Almighty does not forgive His creatures. In addition, people who find themselves in Gehenna due to unbelief will remain in Hell forever, while others will be able to atone for their guilt. This is confirmed by the verse:
“Sinners will forever be tormented in Gehenna” (43:74)
2) Hypocrisy (nifaq). In this case, we are talking about those people who perform religious practice and, it would seem, should end up in Paradise. But munafiks (hypocrites) perform prayers and give alms not for the pleasure of Allah, but for the sake of positive public opinion. That is, such people strive for praise from others. The Holy Scripture says about the stay of the munafiks in Gehenna:
“The hypocrites will be at the lowest level of Fire” (4:145)
3) Suicide and murder. It is known that the life of every person belongs only to Allah, which means that only He has the right to grant or deprive His slaves of life. If someone commits suicide, it means that he is opposing the will of the Lord of the worlds and is trying to get ahead of Him. At the same time, in Hell, a suicide will torment himself in the way in which he took his own life. If, for example, he threw himself from the roof of a building, then in Gehenna he will constantly be thrown off a cliff and experience torment from this, since it is impossible to die in Jahannam.
The situation is similar with murderers. Committing intentional murder also leads a person to Gehenna.
4) Adultery (zina). One of the most common sins these days is having sex with someone you are not married to. Also, special forms of zina include homosexuality, bestiality and group sex as prohibited forms of intimacy. The Prophet (s.g.w.) warned: “The faces of those who committed zina will burn” (Bukhari). This hadith confirms that adultery leads to Gehenna.
5) Usury (riba). Many people these days are forced to resort to loans because they do not have enough funds to buy certain things. However, few people think about the harmfulness of this sin, which leads, first of all, to inflation. One of the hadiths says: “The one who lives on money obtained by usury, as well as the one who takes money from usurers... will be cursed on the Day of Judgment” (Nasai, Ibn Hibban).
6) Lies and gossip. Such seemingly easy vices as lies and gossip lead a person to go to Hell. Unfortunately, many people resort to them for their own selfish purposes. Basically, lies are used to elevate oneself and belittle others, which often gives rise to other sinful acts.
One day, one companion of the Prophet (s.g.w.) named Muaz (r.a.) turned to him with a question: “Are we going to be responsible for what we say in earthly life?” To which God's Messenger (s.g.v.) replied: “Will people end up in Gehenna except for their tongues?” (Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah).
But there is an exception to this rule - a white lie, since it is carried out with good intentions, and therefore is not considered sinful.
7) Witchcraft. The reason a person ends up in Hell can also be witchcraft, which people often resort to to induce damage or a love spell. Muslims should beware of this sin, as God's Prophet (s.a.w.) said: “The Koduns fall into polytheism” (Nasai).
Consumption of the forbidden. In this case, it means eating foods that are prohibited by Shariah. Ingestion of forbidden food not only harms the health of the body, but can also lead a person to Gehenna. The Holy Scripture says:
“Eat of the lawful good things We have provided for you...” (2:172)
Envy
Envy can be defined as resentful greed for another person's appearance or possessions. This sin pushed Cain to kill his brother, because he wanted the mercy God showed to Abel. Proverbs says that “envy causes bones to rot.” But this is not a hint at punishing envious people. In hell, for a life full of envy, sinners are immersed in ice water. And gossips in the underworld will be hanged by their teeth, and then laid out on hot benches.
Laziness. Heresy. Suicide
Laziness is a habitual reluctance to exert yourself. This sin differs from others in that it does not require abundance, as with other sins. For lazy people there is a pit filled with snakes in hell.
Heresy
The Seven Deadly Sins are described so that people will remember the traps set by the devil. For this we must say thanks to Pope Gregory I. But besides mortals, there are other sins for which people are punished in hell. One of them is the sin of heresy.
Heretics, of course, include atheists and Pope Anastasius II, who wanted to bridge the gap with the Eastern Church, which separated after the schism. He was ready to accept baptisms performed by the Eastern Church as legal. For such sinners there are flaming tombs prepared in hell.
Suicide
If a person commits suicide, then, according to Dante, he is simply turned into a living thorn bush that feels pain. These bushes are constantly eaten by harpies. When they tear a branch from a thorn tree, blood appears at the break site and drips onto the ground. Therefore, the problems of suicides do not end after death, but only begin with renewed vigor. Suicide is also a great sin.
Why are circles of hell needed?
The 9 circles of hell according to Dante correspond to the nine main sins, each of which has its own punishment. People who have committed minor offenses go to the upper levels, they go down to the lower hell with grave sins, and at the very bottom of hell the Devil is chained.
A river flows through hell, which originates from the sobbing eyes of the biblical old man-idol; his tears are the focus of the world's evil. The river flows through all nine circles and on each circle changes its appearance and name, turning into an icy lake at the center of the earth.
There is a guard at every level
At each level, a guard watches over sinners. The guards are described as monstrous and ferocious; with greed and anger they accept the souls of sinners and send them to eternal suffering. Souls will bear their torment without any hope of forgiveness until the Last Judgment. Then they will return to their fleshly shells, rise from their graves, and after the judgment is completed, their suffering will increase.
Flattery
It is interesting that the punishment of flatterers is much stronger than that of heretics who burn in their own tombs. Flatterers are punished by being plunged into a sea of excrement, which is the personification of the crap they said in life. The same punishment awaits flatterers in Hinduism. It differs only in that among the Hindus the river is filled with blood and urine.
Thus, the image of hell and the fear of it have reached us since ancient times. It became the basis of religious morality. From the Bible it follows that sinners will be tormented in hell forever, they are doomed to eternal torment. In the Revelations of John the Theologian it is said: “Whoever was not written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.”
How do Christians know how the world works?
First of all, from the Revelation of God Himself, which is contained in the Holy Scriptures. The very first commandment that Moses received from God reads: I am the Lord thy God... thou shalt have no other gods before Me (Exodus 20: 2,3). From the prophet Isaiah we read: I am God, and there is no other God, and there is none like Me (Isaiah 46:9). The Epistle of the Apostle James says: There is one Lawgiver and Judge, able to save and destroy (James 4:12). All biblical books are permeated with the idea that the universe was created by One God and is governed by the laws established by Him. Both physical and moral.
