Bismillah
@ MAS please read this also
I think out of all the questions I have had thus far, this has to be the best one, I know
MAS has also asked this.
My answer: There isn't anything that God does, that isn't perfect.
Does it make sense to me that God tortures some people forever, even if its only a few? Well according to my understanding it does.
Now I am not a scholar, and like I said, I still leave some room open if a scholar were to clearly convince me that hell is not eternal.
But if hell is eternal, and of that I am 90% sure, then I do not see how this should effect my faith, or make me question God, as He does as He pleases.
To sum all of this up, and I hope
MAS is also reading, as I can see that this is his main point now, so in a way I would be killing two birds with one stone. This will be my reply to both of you.
From my understanding, (anyone is welcome to disagree with me) the punishment against disobeying God is eternal punishment, but out of Mercy and Justice, God either forgives that person because of their deeds, or allows interceders to plead on that persons behalf (because of their closeness to God), or God removes that person from hell and Forgives.
As Brother Debunker already pointed out, satan is already condemned to an eternity to hell, but has been given respite.
Adam (as) however repented and did not go down the same stubborn line as iblis.
As for the ones who were sent clear signs, and messengers and prophets directly, who showed them miracles and provided clear proof, and still carried on worshipping idols. God will leave those people to their idols, as they were persistent in calling upon them, so now they are left with their gods who cannot help them, nor benefit them.
Now, I don't believe humans are capable of comprehending God. Nor His actions, nor His wisdom, nor understand him in a whollistic way. We are a very limited creation who have not been endowed with the capabilities to come to complete conclusions about God.
So when we question His actions, we are already going down a slippery slope. And I would never question any of his actions.
It says in the Quran, that the father of Yusuf (as) said that no one despairs in God except a non-believer.
I can clearly see why, because if you question His Mercy, then you will question His Wisdom, then you will question His Knowledge. If you continue in that way, then you will either disbelieve in God altogether, or you will change your definition of God, and turn to another religion or group.
When we talk about God, you cannot understand him in a relative sense. You cannot describe him and understand him the way we understand a human being.
How do you understand a Creator that is outside of space and time, who knows the eternal past and eternal future, who has no limits, who does not occupy a space, since space is a created phenomena and is limited. How do you understand a Creator who from His perspective, some of us are already in Hell or Paradise.
My view is we all belong to God, and we are under His governance, and He has only allowed us to temporarily possess governance over what He has given thus in this world and drawn guidelines to follow.
He has the right to do as He pleases, and we are to submit to it, and we do not possess a clear enough understanding of God because of our limitations, so we cannot make conclusions about any of His actions.
God is the only true creator.
All the “creators” in the world only manipulate what he has already created to create something “new”, but He is the One who created everything in existence and everything belongs to him.
When you possess an object, does it truly belong to you? In the Islamic sense, it belongs to God, as does your life and wealth, and everything that Allah gave you truly belongs to Him, but He has allowed you to govern over it temporarily.
Despite allowing you to govern over what he has given you, He has also drawn guidelines.
Can a Muslim own a bottle of wine? No, because wine is prohibited and God does not give you governance over the prohibited.
Can a Muslim give blood? Yes, as that is something not prohibited.
God sends Messengers and Prophets to speak to humanity and communicate His law. Satan tries to cut them off the road and lead them astray. When I say satan, I mean devils from among the jinn and humans. People like tyrants and oppressors and those who encourage others to also rebel against God.
This might seem unrelated to the question, but I believe that there are so many factors to take into account, and the fact that God is the Creator and Owner of all His Creations, gives Him the right to do as He pleases, and He cannot be judged, nor can we come to a conclusion about His actions, if we cannot even understand Him.
This is my opinion, and I am not imposing it on anybody. I respect the right for people to believe as they please, and all of us have to account for whatever we believe. No human can account us for it.
You could have said this in the very first post. Should have saved us so much time