How will the Believers go to Paradise when Everyone will Enter the Hellfire?
Brief description of the dubiety
In the Holy Quran in Surah Mariam, verse 71, it has been revealed that upon Allah’s definite decree, all people will enter the hellfire; however other verses of the Quran such as Surah al-Baqarah, veres 82, and Surah al-Nisa, verse 124 indicate that the believers will enter paradise. How can we understand the apparent contradiction of these verses because if one verse says that everyone will enter the hellfire, how is it possible that the believers will enter paradise?
Detailed description of the dubiety
Contradictory Verses
Verse which states that all will enter the hellfire
In verses 71 and 72 of Surah Mariam, it has been revealed that: “There is none of you but will come to it: a [matter that is a] decided certainty with your Lord. Then We will deliver those who are God conscious, and leave the wrongdoers in it, fallen on their knees.” This verse implies that everyone - believers or not - will enter the hellfire upon Allah’s definite decree.
Verses which indicate that the believers will enter paradise
In verse 82 of Surah al-Baqarah, it has been revealed that: “And those who have faith and do righteous deeds - they shall be the inhabitants of paradise; they will remain in it [forever].” It is understood from this verse that the believers will enter paradise and will not enter the hellfire, because the believers are the inhabitants of paradise and it is clear that anyone who is an inhabitant of paradise will not enter the hellfire.
Following this theme, other verses have also been revealed. In Surah al-Tawbah, verse 111 Allah says:
“Indeed Allah has bought from the faithful their souls and their possessions for paradise to be theirs: they fight in the way of Allah, kill, and are killed. A promise binding upon Him in the Tawrat, and the Injeel and the Quran. And who is truer to his promise than Allah? So rejoice in the bargain that you have made with Him, and that is the great success.”
As well, in Surah al-Nisa, verse 124 it says: “And whoever does righteous deeds, whether male or female, should he be faithful - such shall enter paradise and they will not be wronged [so much as] the speck on a date-stone.”
Summary
In the verse of Surah Mariam, it says that upon Allah’s definite decree, all will enter into the hellfire. But on the other hand, it has been revealed in other verses that the believers are the inhabitants of paradise and will remain there forever. How is it possible that Allah upon a definite decree, will enter everyone into the hellfire, for the believers to enter paradise? These verses seem to refute each other and appear to be irreconcilable.
A summarized response
Through deliberation and attention to the meaning of ‘wurud’ (entrance) in the Arabic language and also with attention to the instances of the usage of this word in the verses of the Holy Quran, it becomes clear that there is no negation, nor contradiction between verse 71 of Surah Mariam, and verses in the other group. This is because the meaning of the word ‘wurud’ is ‘to arrive, to appear and to be present at a place,’ but it does not indicate entrance into that place at all, thus it does not reveal anything in regards to the admittance or the lack thereof into a certain area. Additionally, verses 101-103 of Surah al-Anbiya are contextual of the fact that the word ‘wurud’ in verse 71 of Surah Mariam cannot mean ‘to enter.’ Therefore, this verse has no negation, nor is there any contradiction with the other verses.
A detailed response
Historical background of the dubiety
The meaning of verse 71 in Surah Mariam has also been questioned by Muslims in the past and the nature of this question can be seen in the narrations. Amongst these traditions is one that has been narrated from Imam al-Sadiq in Tafseer Qummi. Therefore, the peculiarity about the meaning and intent of this verse has been around since the time of the 6th Imam and possibly even before that, and therefore this dubiety is not considered to be one that has recently emerged. [1]
It has been narrated from Imam al-Sadiq that in regards to this verse “All of you will be entered into the hellfire,” he replied: “Have you not heard someone say: ‘we entered that tribe?’ But here, the intent of that man by ‘entered’ was to arrive and to be present at, not entrance.”
Premise: Analysis of the meaning of the word ‘wurud’ and its Quranic usage
Analyzing the meaning of the word ‘wurud’ in the Arabic language
In order to define the word ‘warid’ (enter) in the text “وَ إِنْ مِنْكُمْ إِلَّا وارِدُها” from verse 71 of Surah Mariam, we must firstly refer back to the dictionaries. In the book Lisan al-Arab, it says:وَرَدَ عليه: أَشرَفَ عليه، دخله “أَو لم يدخله. The translation of this text is this that: ‘he entered, meaning that he appeared, but not whether he entered it or not’. [2]
In the book Misbah al-Munir, under the word ‘warada’ it has been explained that: “وَرَدَ: الْبَعِيرُ و غَيْرُهُ الْمَاءَ (يَرِدهُ) (وُرُوداً) بَلَغَهُ وَ وَافَاهُ مِنْ غَيْرِ دُخُولٍ و قَدْ يَحْصُلُ دُخُولٌ فِيه” the translation of this text is as follows: ‘the arrival of a camel or non-camel at a body of water, means that it arrived at its trough without entering the water, but of course sometimes it does enter the water.’ [3]
With due attention to the posed meanings in the dictionaries regarding the word ‘warada,’ it is understood that the word ‘wurud’ in the Arabic language means ‘to be present, to arrive at something and to appear upon something, regardless of whether it actually entered that thing or not.’
Analyzing the instances in which the word ‘wurud’ has been used in the Holy Quran
In the verses of the Holy Quran, the word ‘wurud’ has also been used to mean: ‘to be present and to appear,’ but it does not necessitate an actual entrance into that place. Amongst the verses in which the word ‘wurud’ does not indicate entrance is verse 23 of Surah al-Qasas where it says: “When he arrived at the well of Median, he found there a throng of people watering [their flocks], and he found besides them, two women holding back [their flock]. He said, ‘What is your business?’ They said, ‘We do not water [our flock] until the shepherds have driven out [their flocks], and our father is an aged man.’” It is clear that Prophet Musa did not enter the water well, but he was present there; however, even though this is true, the word ‘warada’ has been used in the verse and it says: “وَ لَمَّا وَرَدَ ماءَ مَدْيَنَ” So we can conclude that this word has no indication or necessity with entrance, because if it indicated the meaning of entrance, then the usage of this word in this instance would be wrong.
Attention must be paid to the fact that sometimes, contexts of definition limit the meaning of one word to a specific meaning. For example, it is possible for the word ‘wurud’ to mean entrance due to the presence of context in a text; however, without context this word means ‘to be present’ and ‘to appear’ on its own, and it does not necessitate entrance; contrarily, it is more general than entrance or the lack thereof. With due attention to this point, in some verses the word ‘wurud’ indicates entrance, as well as the meaning of ‘to be present,’ but it does not meant that the meaning of this word will always indicate entry into somewhere.
Analyzing the meaning of the word ‘wurud’ in the text of Surah Mariam, verse 71
With due attention to the premise, even though the word ‘wurud’ can mean entrance, or to be present, and appear without entrance - in the Holy Quran, this word has come in the meaning of both things - entrance, and to be present and appear without entrance - but attention must be paid to the fact that the word ‘wurud’ is in need of context in order for it to mean ‘to enter,’ and this word on its own does not mean ‘to enter.’ So, if this word is used without context and its meaning is concordant with being present or appearing without entrance, then it must be said that this word does not indicate entrance, and it has no relevance to the meaning, but it only indicates presence and appearance.
The meaning of ‘wurud’ in verse 71 of Surah Mariam is both in line with the meaning of ‘entrance’ and ‘presence and appearance without entrance,’ because no context is present that could indicate that this word ‘wurud’ means ‘entrance’ in this specific verse. So it must be said that the word ‘wurud’ in this verse, in regards to the meaning ‘entrance’ has no relevance, and only indicates ‘presence and appearance.’ In other words, this verse only implied that all of you will appear in the hellfire and you will be made aware of it, but not that you will actually enter into it.
On top of this, verses 101 to 103 of Surah al-Anbiya are contextual of verse 71 of Surah Mariam and they read as follows: “Indeed those to whom there has gone beforehand [the promise of] the best reward from Us will be kept away from it. They will not hear even its faint sound and they will remain [forever] in what their souls desire. The Great Terror will not upset them, and the angels will receive them [saying]: ‘This is your day which you were promised.’” The verses of the Holy Quran are contextual of each other. Just like the sentences of one person at different times and places sometimes results in understanding the speaker’s intent in other ambiguous instances. Therefore, these verses are contextual to the fact that the word ‘wurud’ in verse 71 of Surah Mariam cannot mean ‘to enter’ because someone who is at a distance from the hellfire, in such a way that one cannot even hear the sounds from it, definitely cannot be inside the hellfire. So, with due attention to these verses, the meaning of verse 71 of Surah Mariam is that all of you will appear at the hellfire and you will be aware of it, but that does not mean that you will be made to actually enter into it.
Analyzing the meaning of verse 72 of Surah Mariam
At first, it is possible for it to seem like the meaning of verse 72 of Surah Mariam also indicates entrance into the hellfire, because Allah has revealed in this verse that: “Then We will deliver those who are God conscious, and leave the wrongdoers in it, fallen on their knees.” This verse explains that the God conscious will be delivered from the hellfire and the oppressors will be left to remain in there. At first glance, it may appear that someone who is delivered from somewhere or is left inside somewhere must have entered into that place. Such that both the God conscious and the oppressors will be entered into the hellfire, then the believers will be drawn out from the fire and be saved, but the oppressors will be left in there. However, this meaning of the verse is not correct, because like the previous verse, it does not indicate entrance into the hellfire, since neither being saved from, nor being taken out of necessitates having been in the actual hellfire.
On one hand, saving is correct if you are rescuing someone from a perilous situation, or distancing someone from a perilous situation. Therefore if someone who is presently in perdition is distanced from that perilous situation – or one has not yet entered into that perilous situation – it would be said that one has been saved. [4]
Raghib Isfahani has defined the word ‘yadharu’ in this manner: «يقال: فلان يَذَرُ الشيءَ أي: يقذفه لقلّة اعتداده به» it is said: someone scattered ‘yadharu’ something; i.e. someone flung that thing because he doesn’t attribute importance to it.] [5] Based on this definition of the phrase «وَ نَذَرُ الظَّالِمِينَ» “and leave the wrongdoers in it” in this verse, the meaning is that the wrongdoers who are present in the hellfire were flung into it and then let loose. Therefore, this verse does not indicate being in the hellfire at all, because if someone is present at (or near) the hellfire, but has not yet entered into it is thrown into the fire, then he has been released into it.
Conclusion
With due attention to the meaning of the word ‘wurud’ in the Arabic language and also with attention to the instances in which this word has been used in the verses of the Holy Quran, the meaning of the text “وَ إِنْ مِنْكُمْ إِلَّا وارِدُها” in verse 71 of Surah Mariam is as follows: All people will reach the hellfire and will be present at its edge and will appear there to be made aware of it. Verses 101 to 103 of Surah al-Anbiya are contextual that this arrival and appearance does not necessitate actually entering the hellfire. Therefore, verse 71 of Surah Mariam does not negate, nor does it contradict the verses that indicate that the believers will be entered into paradise, because the believers, after arriving at the hellfire and being present there, instead of being put into the fire, will be delivered from there and will go to paradise forever. However, the oppressors will be flung into the hellfire.