"' . . . My wealth availed me not. My power has passed from me.' Take him and shackle him. Then cast him in Hellfire. Then put him in a chain whose length is seventy cubits. Truly he did not believe in God the Magnificent, and did not urge feeding the indigent."
Quran 69:28-34
This passage is drawn from the 69th surah, al-Haqqah, here rendered as "The Undeniable Reality." The language here is very typical of the Quran, including the reference to the Hellfire as part of a discussion of the punishment of the day of judgment. Is the Quran nothing more than an endless litany of threats of eternal damnation? No, of course not, and I'm hoping the many passages we've examined over the year (can't believe we're already 243 days into this venture) show. That said, there are certainly enough passages that deal with the Hellfire. You know me, I inevitably come down on the side of a metaphoric reading of the Quran (and all holy books, for that matter), and, as always, I'll throw in my disclaimer that I speak for me and me alone and certainly not for Islam or even a healthy minority of Muslims. Even if you do side with a more metaphoric meaning of things it does emphasize the importance of considering every one of your actions seriously, because, in the end, any discussion of a day of judgment is really a discussion of your own personal conduct. If you absolutely believe in the day of judgment as laid out in these powerful words and images then it is still absolutely a clarion call to focus on the weight of your actions. Having said all that, what strikes me about this passage is the emphasis, also typical for the Quran and for Islam more generally, to look after the needy. At the beginning of the passage an individual is lamenting the fact that in the end of all things "My wealth availed me not. My power has passed from me." Consider his crimes: "Truly he did not believe in God the Magnificent, and did not urge feeding the indigent." We've talked at length about the centrality of the message of belief and performing righteous deeds, and I would argue that this is just one more example.
Quran 69:28-34
This passage is drawn from the 69th surah, al-Haqqah, here rendered as "The Undeniable Reality." The language here is very typical of the Quran, including the reference to the Hellfire as part of a discussion of the punishment of the day of judgment. Is the Quran nothing more than an endless litany of threats of eternal damnation? No, of course not, and I'm hoping the many passages we've examined over the year (can't believe we're already 243 days into this venture) show. That said, there are certainly enough passages that deal with the Hellfire. You know me, I inevitably come down on the side of a metaphoric reading of the Quran (and all holy books, for that matter), and, as always, I'll throw in my disclaimer that I speak for me and me alone and certainly not for Islam or even a healthy minority of Muslims. Even if you do side with a more metaphoric meaning of things it does emphasize the importance of considering every one of your actions seriously, because, in the end, any discussion of a day of judgment is really a discussion of your own personal conduct. If you absolutely believe in the day of judgment as laid out in these powerful words and images then it is still absolutely a clarion call to focus on the weight of your actions. Having said all that, what strikes me about this passage is the emphasis, also typical for the Quran and for Islam more generally, to look after the needy. At the beginning of the passage an individual is lamenting the fact that in the end of all things "My wealth availed me not. My power has passed from me." Consider his crimes: "Truly he did not believe in God the Magnificent, and did not urge feeding the indigent." We've talked at length about the centrality of the message of belief and performing righteous deeds, and I would argue that this is just one more example.
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