Paradise and Hell-Fire are Surrounded by Different Things
📖Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2559 – Sahih al-Bukhari 6487
Anas narrated that the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) said: “Paradise is surrounded by hardships, and the Fire is surrounded by desires.”
Meaning of the Hadith
This hadith teaches that the path to Paradise is not easy, it requires effort, patience, and perseverance through trials. On the other hand, the path to Hellfire is full of temptations, making it seem easy and attractive.
🔹 Paradise requires self-discipline – resisting desires, controlling anger, and performing righteous deeds, even when they are difficult.
🔹 Hellfire seems effortless – indulging in desires, neglecting responsibilities, and following temporary pleasures without concern for consequences.
However, this does not mean that Allah forces hardships on believers while making life easy for disbelievers. Instead, humans themselves create difficulties when they abandon righteousness, and true hardship is spiritual emptiness.
Disliked Things (That Lead to Paradise)
These are difficult for many people, but they are righteous actions commanded by Allah:
-
Worshiping God alone – (Surah Adh-Dhariyat 51:56)
“And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” -
Performing Salah (prayer) on time – (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:238)
“Guard strictly the [obligatory] prayers, especially the middle prayer.” -
Avoiding zina (adultery & fornication) – (Surah Al-Isra 17:32)
“And do not approach unlawful sexual intercourse. Indeed, it is an immorality and an evil way.” -
Giving charity and helping the poor – (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:267)
“O you who have believed, spend from the good things which you have earned.” -
Respecting and obeying parents – (Surah Al-Isra 17:23)
“And We have enjoined upon man [care] for his parents.” -
Speaking the truth even when it’s hard – (Surah Al-Ahzab 33:70)
“O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice.” -
Being patient in hardships – (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:153)
“Indeed, Allah is with the patient.” -
Wearing modest clothing (Hijab for women, lowering gaze for men) – (Surah An-Nur 24:31)
“And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their chastity…” -
Avoiding homosexuality and unnatural relationships – (Surah Al-A’raf 7:80-81)
“Do you commit such immorality as no one has preceded you with among the worlds? Indeed, you approach men with desire, instead of women. Rather, you are a transgressing people.” -
Guarding one’s modesty and avoiding nudity – (Surah Al-Ahzab 33:59)
“O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments…” -
Avoiding gender confusion and promoting natural roles – (Surah An-Nisa 4:119-120)
“And I will command them so they will change the creation of Allah…” -
Avoiding lustful desires and perverted entertainment – (Surah Al-Mu’minun 23:1-3)
“Certainly will the believers have succeeded: They who are during their prayer humbly submissive, And they who turn away from ill speech.”
Liked Things Today (That Lead to Hellfire)
These are widely accepted in modern society but are condemned in Islam:
- Worshiping the private parts of white men and women instead of God
-
LGBTQ, gender change, and unnatural relationships – (Surah Al-A’raf 7:80-81)
“Indeed, you approach men with desire, instead of women. Rather, you are a transgressing people.” -
Indulging in desires (sexual freedom, casual relationships, pornography) – (Surah Al-A’raf 7:40)
“Indeed, those who deny Our verses and are arrogant toward them—the gates of Heaven will not be opened for them.” -
Mocking religion and believers – (Surah Al-Mutaffifin 83:29)
“Indeed, those who committed crimes used to laugh at those who believed.” -
Drinking alcohol and using drugs – (Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:90)
“O you who have believed, indeed, intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone alters [to other than Allah], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it.” -
Chasing wealth and fame instead of righteousness – (Surah Al-Kahf 18:46)
“Wealth and children are [but] adornment of the worldly life…” -
Gossiping and backbiting – (Surah Al-Hujurat 49:12)
“And do not spy or backbite each other. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his brother when dead?” -
Not lowering the gaze, dressing immodestly – (Surah Al-Ahzab 33:59)
“O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments…” -
Rejecting moral responsibility and promoting sin – (Surah Al-Furqan 25:43)
“Have you seen the one who takes his own desire as his god?” -
Promoting feminism that destroys family roles – (Surah An-Nisa 4:34)
“Men are the protectors and maintainers of women…” -
Normalizing nudity, revealing clothes, and public indecency – (Surah Al-A’raf 7:26-27)
“O children of Adam, We have bestowed upon you clothing to conceal your private parts and as adornment. But the clothing of righteousness – that is best.” -
Supporting oppression, injustice, and tyrants – (Surah An-Nisa 4:135)
“O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allah…” -
Corrupting the youth through, entertainment, and media – (Surah Luqman 31:6)
“And of the people is he who buys the amusement of speech to mislead [others] from the way of Allah.” -
Celebrating atheism, disbelief, and materialism – (Surah Al-Hashr 59:19)
“And do not be like those who forgot Allah, so He made them forget themselves.”
Hardship is Not Forced by Allah – It’s a Test of Human Choice
🔹 Some misunderstand and say, “If the path to Paradise is hard, does that mean Allah forces suffering?” No. Hardship happens because people choose corruption, oppression, and injustice, which then causes suffering.
🔹 Example: A corrupt leader may oppress people, causing hardships. This is not Allah forcing hardship—it is the result of human choices.
📖Surah Ash-Shura (42:30)
“Whatever affliction befalls you, it is because of what your own hands have earned, yet He forgives much.”
🔹 Hardship is a test – a way to distinguish between those who are patient and those who give up.
📖Surah Al-Baqarah (2:155-157)
“And We will surely test you with something of fear, hunger, and loss of wealth, lives, and fruits, but give glad tidings to the patient—those who, when disaster strikes them, say, ‘Indeed, we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.’ Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy. And it is they who are rightly guided.”
Why Do Disbelievers Seem to Enjoy an Easy Life?
Some people ask, “If hardship leads to Paradise, why do some disbelievers have wealth and comfort while some believers suffer?”
📖Surah Al-Lail (92:10-11)
“And denies the best reward, We will ease him toward hardship. And his wealth will not benefit him when he falls.”
1. Hardship in This Life Isn’t Always Immediate
🔹 Some people reject faith yet enjoy wealth, health, and comfort. This doesn’t mean they’ve escaped hardship—it means their real hardship is delayed.
🔹 Allah sometimes gives people everything they desire as a test, only to take it away suddenly.
📖Surah Al-An’am (6:44)
“But when they forgot what they were reminded of, We opened to them the gates of everything, until when they became proud of what they were given, We seized them suddenly, and they were left in despair.”
🔹 They don’t see the hardship coming – until it’s too late.
2. The Hardship of an Empty Soul
🔹 Even if disbelievers have wealth, they suffer from spiritual emptiness, anxiety, and fear of death.
🔹 The absence of faith leads to an internal struggle—even if they appear happy outwardly.
📖Surah Taha (20:124)
“And whoever turns away from My remembrance, indeed, he will have a miserable life, and We will raise him blind on the Day of Judgment.”
🔹 Many rich and famous people suffer from depression, addiction, and suicide.
🔹 Their hearts are restless even when they seem to have everything.
📖Surah Ar-Ra’d (13:28)
“Indeed, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find peace.”
3. Ultimate Hardship is in the Hereafter
🔹 The real “hardship” is in the next life.
🔹 A person who enjoys all pleasures in this world but ends up in eternal suffering has faced the worst hardship.
📖Surah Al-Mutaffifin (83:34-36)
“So today (on Judgment Day), those who believed are laughing at the disbelievers, reclining on adorned couches. Have the disbelievers been rewarded for what they used to do?”
🔹 What looks like an “easy life” now is actually leading them toward eternal hardship.