QUESTION:
The Wahabi Nawasib took a part of your blessed lecture out of its context with the purpose of leading people astray. However, this actually leads people to become guided, and it particularly leads many Shi’a to search deeper into the true religion of Shiism. In essence, you said that most of the Shi’a do not know who their first and greatest enemy is… and then you said that if we go back to the narrations of Ahlul-Bayt; we’ll discover that Omar is in the deepest part of Hell, and that Abu Bakr is placed a little bit higher than him, and that Iblees is placed a little bit higher than them both. Can you please mention this narration for us as well as the other narrations that specify the locations of Abu Bakr, Omar and Iblees in the Fire of Hell, and which state that Iblees has a higher position of Hellfire than these two? And can you please provide the sources?
Al-Darazi
ANSWER:
In the Name of Allah, the All-Beneficent, the All-Merciful.
May Allah bless Muhammad and his Family and damn their enemies.
Al-Ayyashi (may Allah’s satisfaction be upon him) narrated in his Tafseer on the authority of Imam al-Sadiq (may peace be upon him), who said:
When the Day of Resurrection approaches, Iblees will be brought in seventy chains and seventy manacles. Thereupon Abu Bakr will look at Omar (being fastened) in one-hundred and twenty manacles and one-hundred and twenty chains. Iblees will then look (at Omar) and say: ‘Who is this man whom Allah has multiplied his punishment, whereas I have tempted all of this creation?!’ Then it shall be said: ‘He is Omar!’ Then he will say: ‘For what reason was he given this punishment?’ Then it shall be said: ‘For his injustice caused upon Ali (may peace be upon him).
Tafseer al-Ayyashi, volume 2, page 224
Sulaim, son of Qais al-Hilali (may Allah’s satisfaction be upon him), narrated on the authority of Salman al-Farsi (may Allah’s satisfaction be upon him), who said:
When the Day of Resurrection approaches, Iblees will be brought tied in a rope of fire, and Omar will be brought tied in two ropes of fire. Upon then, Iblees will rush towards him and say: ‘May you be bereaved from your mother! Who are you? I am the one who has tempted the first and the last, and still, I am only tied with one rope, whereas you are tied with two ropes?!’ Then he will say: ‘I am the one who commanded people and was obeyed, meanwhile Allah commanded people and was disobeyed.
Kitab Sulaim bin Qais, page 164
Al-Mufid (may Allah’s satisfaction be upon him) narrates on the authority of Imam al-Sadiq, who narrates of the Commander of the Faithful (may peace be upon them both), who said:
One day I went to the rear end of Kufa and Qanbar was walking in front of me. Suddenly, Iblees came towards us, and I said: ‘You are the evil old man!’ He said: ‘And why do you say this, O Commander of the Faithful? Indeed, I shall narrate to you a conversation between me and Allah (Glorious and Exalted is He) alone, there was no third among us; When I fell to the Fourth Heaven, I cried: O my God and my Master! I do not think You have created any creature eviler than me! Then Allah (Exalted is He) revealed unto me: Yes indeed, I have created someone who is eviler than you. Go to Malik so he can show him to you.
Then I went to Malik and said: The All-Peace sends peace upon you, and He tells you to show me who is eviler than me. Thereupon Malik took me to Hellfire, and he removed the highest cover (of the highest level of Hell) and black fire came out, which I thought had taken me and Malik. He said to it: Calm down! and it calmed. Then he took me to the second cover, and fire that was more black and hotter than the first came out. He said to it: Disappear! and it disappeared. And so it went all the way to the seventh cover, and each fire that came out from every level was more intense than the previous one. Then fire came out from it (the seventh) and I thought it had taken me and Malik and everything Allah (Glorious and Exalted is He) has created! Then I placed my hand on my eye and said: Command it, O Malik, to disappear, and it shall disappear! He said: You shall never disappear until a certain known time! Then he commanded it, so it disappeared. Then I saw two men; in their necks were chains of fire that hanged them from above, and on their heads were people with whips of fire and they were whipping them. I said: O Malik, who are these two? He said: Have you not read what is written on the bottom side of the Throne: There is no god but Allah, Mohammad is the Messenger of Allah, You supported him and assisted him with Ali. Then he said: These two are their enemies and oppressors.
Al-Ikhtisas, by Al-Mufid, page 108. The formulation above is taken from Bihar al-Anwar, by Al-Majlisi, volume 8, page 315
Sheikh Hassan, son of Sulayman al-Hilli, narrates on the authority of Huzaifa (may Allah’s satisfaction be upon him) who said in the long narration of Farhat al-Zahra, where he narrates of Allah’s Messenger (may Allah’s blessings be upon him and his family), who narrates of Allah (Exalted is He) who said the following in a Hadith Qudsi where he promised to curse and punish Omar (may Allah’s curse be upon him):
And I will burn him along with his companions in the deepest part (of Hellfire) to such a degree that Iblees will be treated better than him and curse him!
Al-Muhtadhir, by Sheikh Hassan, son of Sulayman, page 51
The Office of Sheikh al-Habib
