Hellfire in Islam: 6 Authentic Hadith About Jahannam

Table of Contents

1. Hell will be brought forward on the Day of Judgment
2. Our fire is one part of seventy
3. A stone falling for seventy years
4. It roars and almost bursts with rage
5. The Fire reaches each person differently
6. The size of the disbeliever in the Fire
Bringing it together: protect yourselves and your families
Between fear and hope
Questions people ask
Key lessons

The fire we cook with every day is only one part out of seventy of the heat of Jahannam. That is how the Prophet ﷺ described it, and his Companions found it hard to imagine. What is Hellfire in Islam really like? This article gathers six authentic hadith from Sahih Muslim, with verses of the Quran, as a stern reminder for ourselves first, and it ends where the Prophet ﷺ ended: with hope in Allah’s mercy.

In this article

How the Prophet ﷺ described the heat, the depth and the size of Hell
Why the Fire does not reach every person in the same way
The balance of fear and hope that the hadith leave us with

At a glance

Hadith: 6 hadith cards, plus 4 verses of the Quran
Collections: Sahih Muslim, with a parallel in Sahih al-Bukhari
Grade: Sahih (all six are in Sahih Muslim)
Topic: Hellfire (Jahannam) as described by the Prophet ﷺ
Put it into practice: Ask Allah to protect you from the Fire in every salah

1. Hell will be brought forward on the Day of Judgment

‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

يُؤْتَى بِجَهَنَّمَ يَوْمَئِذٍ لَهَا سَبْعُونَ أَلْفَ زِمَامٍ مَعَ كُلِّ زِمَامٍ سَبْعُونَ أَلْفَ مَلَكٍ يَجُرُّونَهَا

“Hell would be brought on that day (the Day of Judgment) with seventy thousand bridles, and seventy thousand angels dragging each bridle.”

Sahih Muslim 2842 · Narrated by Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud · Translation from Sunnah.com

HadeethEnc explains that Hell will be pulled forward on the Day of Resurrection by a vast number of ropes, each one dragged by seventy thousand angels. The number of angels alone tells us how immense it is.

The Quran describes the same Hell as never full, however many enter it:

يَوْمَ نَقُولُ لِجَهَنَّمَ هَلِ ٱمْتَلَأْتِ وَتَقُولُ هَلْ مِن مَّزِيدٍ

“On the Day We will say to Hell, “Have you been filled?” and it will say, “Are there some more,””

Surah Qaf 50:30 · Translation: Saheeh International, from Quran.com

Take heed: Hell will be brought forward on that Day whether we are ready or not. The deeds that save us from it must be done now, while we still have time.

2. Our fire is one part of seventy

Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said:

نَارُكُمْ هَذِهِ الَّتِي يُوقِدُ ابْنُ آدَمَ جُزْءٌ مِنْ سَبْعِينَ جُزْءًا مِنْ حَرِّ جَهَنَّمَ . قَالُوا وَاللَّهِ إِنْ كَانَتْ لَكَافِيَةً يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ . قَالَ فَإِنَّهَا فُضِّلَتْ عَلَيْهَا بِتِسْعَةٍ وَسِتِّينَ جُزْءًا كُلُّهَا مِثْلُ حَرِّهَا

“The fire which sons of Adam burn is only one-seventieth part of the Fire of Hell.” His Companions said: “By Allah, even ordinary fire would have been enough (to burn people).” Thereupon he said: “It is sixty-nine parts in excess of (the heat of) fire in this world, each of them being equivalent to their heat.”

Sahih Muslim 2843a · Narrated by Abu Hurairah · Translation adapted from Sunnah.com

Imam al-Bukhari records the same hadith (Sahih al-Bukhari 3265). HadeethEnc explains that the fire of this world is only a small part of Hell’s fire, which exceeds it by sixty-nine parts, each as hot as the fire we know. It adds that the purpose of the hadith is to warn us away from the deeds that lead to it.

Think of the hottest fire you have stood near, or the pain of a small burn on a finger. The Companions felt that this alone would be punishment enough, and the Prophet ﷺ told them it is far more.

Take heed: If we cannot bear the heat of a stove or the midday sun for a few minutes, how will anyone bear a fire sixty-nine times hotter? Leave the sin you know is wrong today, not tomorrow.

3. A stone falling for seventy years

Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that they were sitting with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ when they heard a heavy, falling sound. The Prophet ﷺ asked them:

تَدْرُونَ مَا هَذَا . قَالَ قُلْنَا اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَعْلَمُ . قَالَ هَذَا حَجَرٌ رُمِيَ بِهِ فِي النَّارِ مُنْذُ سَبْعِينَ خَرِيفًا فَهُوَ يَهْوِي فِي النَّارِ الآنَ حَتَّى انْتَهَى إِلَى قَعْرِهَا

“Do you know what (sound) is this?” We said: “Allah and His Messenger know best.” Thereupon he said: “That is a stone which was thrown seventy years before in Hell and it has been constantly slipping down and now it has reached its base.”

Sahih Muslim 2844a · Narrated by Abu Hurairah · Translation adapted from Sunnah.com

HadeethEnc explains that the stone had been falling for seventy years before it reached the bottom, which shows how deep Hell is. It also draws two lessons from the way the hadith was taught: the Companions left what they did not know to Allah and His Messenger, and a teacher may begin with a question to catch the listeners’ attention.

Take heed: That stone fell for seventy years before it reached the bottom. Do not assume your end is far away: death comes without warning, and the chance to repent ends with it.

4. It roars and almost bursts with rage

The Quran describes what those who disbelieved will hear and see when they are thrown into it:

إِذَآ أُلْقُوا۟ فِيهَا سَمِعُوا۟ لَهَا شَهِيقًا وَهِىَ تَفُورُ

“When they are thrown into it, they hear from it a [dreadful] inhaling while it boils up.”

Surah Al-Mulk 67:7 · Translation: Saheeh International, from Quran.com

تَكَادُ تَمَيَّزُ مِنَ ٱلْغَيْظِ ۖ كُلَّمَآ أُلْقِىَ فِيهَا فَوْجٌ سَأَلَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَآ أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ نَذِيرٌ

“It almost bursts with rage. Every time a company is thrown into it, its keepers ask them, “Did there not come to you a warner?””

Surah Al-Mulk 67:8 · Translation: Saheeh International, from Quran.com

Every group thrown in is asked the same question: did a warner not come to you? The verses that follow give their answer: a warner did come, and they denied him. The warning has already reached us through the Quran and the Sunnah.

Take heed: On that Day no one will be able to say that no warner came. These verses are the warning, and you have now read them.

5. The Fire reaches each person differently

Samurah ibn Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said:

مِنْهُمْ مَنْ تَأْخُذُهُ النَّارُ إِلَى كَعْبَيْهِ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ تَأْخُذُهُ النَّارُ إِلَى رُكْبَتَيْهِ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ تَأْخُذُهُ النَّارُ إِلَى حُجْزَتِهِ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ تَأْخُذُهُ النَّارُ إِلَى تَرْقُوَتِهِ

“There would be among them those to whom the fire will reach up to their ankles and to some of them the fire would reach their knees and to some it would reach their waists and to some it would reach up to their collar-bones.”

Sahih Muslim 2845b · Narrated by Samurah ibn Jundub · Translation adapted from Sunnah.com

HadeethEnc explains that punishment in the Hereafter differs from one person to another, and that how far the Fire reaches each person depends on their deeds in this life. Allah is perfectly just: no one is wronged, and no deed is forgotten.

A note on the narrations: in the narration just before this one in Sahih Muslim (2845a), the Arabic mentions the ankles, the waist and the neck. We quote 2845b because its Arabic and English both give the four places.

Take heed: No deed is forgotten and no sin is too small to be weighed. Stop taking small sins lightly, and make sincere tawbah today.

6. The size of the disbeliever in the Fire

Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

ضِرْسُ الْكَافِرِ أَوْ نَابُ الْكَافِرِ مِثْلُ أُحُدٍ وَغِلَظُ جِلْدِهِ مَسِيرَةُ ثَلاَثٍ

“The molar tooth of an unbeliever or the canine teeth of an unbeliever will be like Uhud and the thickness of his skin a three night’s journey.”

Sahih Muslim 2851 · Narrated by Abu Hurairah · Translation from Sunnah.com

Uhud is the mountain just north of Madinah. The hadith tells us that the bodies of the disbelievers will be made immense in the Fire. It does not explain more than this, so we stop where the Prophet ﷺ stopped and leave the rest to Allah.

Take heed: Faith is what stands between a person and the Fire. Do not take it for granted: guard your salah and ask Allah to keep you firm on it until your last breath.

Bringing it together: protect yourselves and your families

Allah addresses the believers directly and tells us what to do with this knowledge:

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ قُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُمْ وَأَهْلِيكُمْ نَارًا وَقُودُهَا ٱلنَّاسُ وَٱلْحِجَارَةُ عَلَيْهَا مَلَـٰٓئِكَةٌ غِلَاظٌ شِدَادٌ لَّا يَعْصُونَ ٱللَّهَ مَآ أَمَرَهُمْ وَيَفْعَلُونَ مَا يُؤْمَرُونَ

“O you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones, over which are [appointed] angels, harsh and severe; they do not disobey Allāh in what He commands them but do what they are commanded.”

Surah At-Tahrim 66:6 · Translation: Saheeh International, from Quran.com

Reflection: These hadith were not told to frighten the Companions for no reason. They were told so that hearts would wake up, and the Companions changed how they lived. The same words reach us today. If we feel our hearts soften while reading them, that is a sign of life in the heart, and a reason to act before it fades.

In every salah, before the salam, the Prophet ﷺ taught us to seek Allah’s refuge from the punishment of Hell. You can learn the words in our article on the dua to recite after the tashahhud.

Between fear and hope

The Prophet ﷺ did not leave us with fear alone. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that he said:

لَوْ يَعْلَمُ الْمُؤْمِنُ مَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ مِنَ الْعُقُوبَةِ مَا طَمِعَ بِجَنَّتِهِ أَحَدٌ وَلَوْ يَعْلَمُ الْكَافِرُ مَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ مِنَ الرَّحْمَةِ مَا قَنِطَ مِنْ جَنَّتِهِ أَحَدٌ

“If a believer were to know the punishment (in Hell) none would have the audacity to aspire for Paradise (but he would earnestly desire to be rescued from Hell), and if a non-believer were to know what is there with Allah as a mercy, none would have been disappointed in regard to Paradise.”

Sahih Muslim 2755 · Narrated by Abu Hurairah · Translation adapted from Sunnah.com

HadeethEnc explains that this hadith joins fear and hope together: a believer should never feel safe from Allah’s punishment, and no one should ever despair of His mercy. Fear keeps us away from sin; hope keeps us turning back to Allah after we fall.

Questions people ask

How hot is Hellfire in Islam?

The Prophet ﷺ said the fire of this world is one part out of seventy of the heat of Hell, which exceeds it by sixty-nine parts, each as hot as our fire (Sahih Muslim 2843a).

How deep is Hell according to hadith?

The Prophet ﷺ said a sound the Companions heard was a stone thrown into Hell seventy years earlier, which had only then reached its bottom (Sahih Muslim 2844a).

Are there levels of punishment in Hell?

Yes. The Prophet ﷺ said the Fire will reach some people up to their ankles, others to their knees, waists or collarbones (Sahih Muslim 2845b). HadeethEnc explains that this differs according to each person’s deeds.

Key lessons

The fire of this world is only one part out of seventy of the heat of Hell.
Hell is so deep that a stone took seventy years to reach its bottom.
The Fire reaches each person according to their deeds, and Allah wrongs no one.
Allah commands the believers to protect themselves and their families from it.
A believer holds fear and hope together, and never despairs of Allah’s mercy.

O Allah, protect us, our families and every reader of these words from the Fire, and admit us to Jannah by Your mercy.

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