religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

and

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

, hell is a location or state in the

afterlife The afterlife or life after death is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's Stream of consciousness (psychology), stream of consciousness or Personal identity, identity continues to exist after the death of their ...

in which

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

s are subjected to

punishment Punishment, commonly, is the imposition of an undesirable or unpleasant outcome upon an individual or group, meted out by an authority—in contexts ranging from child discipline to criminal law—as a deterrent to a particular action or beh ...

after death. Religions with a

linear In mathematics, the term ''linear'' is used in two distinct senses for two different properties: * linearity of a '' function'' (or '' mapping''); * linearity of a '' polynomial''. An example of a linear function is the function defined by f(x) ...

divine Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a singl ...

history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

and

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, whereas religions with

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the Philosophy, philosophical or Religion, religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new lifespan (disambiguation), lifespan in a different physical ...

usually depict a hell as an intermediary period between

incarnation Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It is the Conception (biology), conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic form of a god. It is used t ...

s, as is the case in the

Indian religions Indian religions, sometimes also termed Dharmic religions or Indic religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions, which include Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism,Adams, C. J."Classification o ...

. Religions typically locate hell in another

dimension In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a mathematical space (or object) is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus, a line has a dimension of one (1D) because only one coo ...

or under

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

's surface. Other afterlife destinations include

heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...

purgatory In Christianity, Purgatory (, borrowed into English language, English via Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman and Old French) is a passing Intermediate state (Christianity), intermediate state after physical death for purifying or purging a soul ...

limbo The unofficial term Limbo (, or , referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition in medieval Catholic theology, of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. However, it has become the gene ...

, and the

underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

. Other religions, which do not conceive of the afterlife as a place of punishment or reward, merely describe an abode of the dead, the

grave A grave is a location where a cadaver, dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is burial, buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of buria ...

, a neutral place that is located under the surface of Earth (for example, see

Kur The ancient Mesopotamian underworld (known in Sumerian language, Sumerian as ''Kur'', ''Irkalla'', ''Kukku'', ''Arali'', or ''Kigal'', and in Akkadian language, Akkadian as ''Erṣetu''), was the lowermost part of the Ancient near eastern cosmol ...

Hades Hades (; , , later ), in the ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, is the god of the dead and the king of the Greek underworld, underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea ...

, and

Sheol Sheol ( ; ''Šəʾōl'', Tiberian: ''Šŏʾōl'') in the Hebrew Bible is the underworld place of stillness and darkness which is death. Within the Hebrew Bible, there are few—often brief and nondescript—mentions of Sheol, seemingly descri ...

). Such places are sometimes equated with the English word ''hell'', though a more correct translation would be "underworld" or "world of the dead". The ancient

Mesopotamian Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary o ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

, and Finnic religions include entrances to the underworld from the land of the living.

Overview

Etymology

The modern English word ''hell'' is derived from Old English ''hel'', ''helle'' (first attested around 725 AD to refer to a nether world of the dead) reaching into the Anglo-Saxon pagan period. Barnhart, Robert K. (1995) ''The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology'', page 348.

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

The word has

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical effects on both the s ...

s in all branches of the

Germanic languages The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in Europe, North America, Oceania, and Southern Africa. The most widely spoke ...

, including Old Norse ''hel'' (which refers to both a

location In geography, location or place is used to denote a region (point, line, or area) on Earth's surface. The term ''location'' generally implies a higher degree of certainty than ''place'', the latter often indicating an entity with an ambiguous bou ...

and goddess-like being in

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...

Old Frisian Old Frisian was a West Germanic language spoken between the late 13th century and the end of 16th century. It is the common ancestor of all the modern Frisian languages except for the North Frisian language#Insular North Frisian, Insular North ...

''helle'',

Old Saxon Old Saxon (), also known as Old Low German (), was a Germanic language and the earliest recorded form of Low German (spoken nowadays in Northern Germany, the northeastern Netherlands, southern Denmark, the Americas and parts of Eastern Eur ...

''hellia'',

Old High German Old High German (OHG; ) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally identified as the period from around 500/750 to 1050. Rather than representing a single supra-regional form of German, Old High German encompasses the numerous ...

''hella'', and Gothic ''halja''. All forms ultimately derive from the reconstructed

Proto-Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic languages, Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from ...

feminine noun *''xaljō'' or *''haljō'' ('concealed place, the underworld'). In turn, the Proto-Germanic form derives from the o-grade form of the

Proto-Indo-European root The roots of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) are basic parts of words to carry a lexical meaning, so-called morphemes. PIE roots usually have verbal meaning like "to eat" or "to run". Roots never occurred alone in the langu ...

*''kel-'', *''kol''-: 'to cover, conceal, save'.For discussion and analysis, see Orel (2003:156) and Watkins (2000:38). Indo-European cognates include Latin ''cēlāre'' ("to hide", related to the English word ''cellar'') and early Irish ''ceilid'' ("hides"). Upon the

Christianisation of the Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples underwent gradual Christianization in the course of late antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. By CE 700, England and Francia were officially Christian, and by 1100 Germanic paganism had also ceased to have political influence ...

, extensions of the Proto-Germanic *''xaljō'' were reinterpreted to denote the underworld in

Christian mythology Christian mythology is the body of myths associated with Christianity. The term encompasses a broad variety of legends and narratives, especially those considered sacred narratives. Mythological themes and elements occur throughout Christian l ...

(see

Gehenna Gehenna ( ; ) or Gehinnom ( or ) is a Biblical toponym that has acquired various theological connotations, including as a place of divine punishment, in Jewish eschatology. The place is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as part of the border ...

). Related early Germanic terms and concepts include Proto-Germanic *''xalja-rūnō(n)'', a feminine compound noun, and *''xalja-wītjan'', a neutral compound noun. This form is reconstructed from the Latinized Gothic plural noun *''haliurunnae'' (attested by

Jordanes Jordanes (; Greek language, Greek: Ιορδάνης), also written as Jordanis or Jornandes, was a 6th-century Eastern Roman bureaucrat, claimed to be of Goths, Gothic descent, who became a historian later in life. He wrote two works, one on R ...

; according to philologist

Vladimir Orel Vladimir Emmanuilovich Oryol (; 9 February 1952 – 5 August 2007) was a Russian linguistics, linguist, professor, and etymology, etymologist. Biography At the Moscow State University he studied theoretical linguistics (1971) and structural li ...

, meaning '

witches Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...

'), Old English ''helle-rúne'' ('sorceress,

necromancer Necromancy () is the practice of magic involving communication with the dead by summoning their spirits as apparitions or visions for the purpose of divination; imparting the means to foretell future events and discover hidden knowledge. ...

', according to Orel), and Old High German ''helli-rūna'' 'magic'. The compound is composed of two elements: *''xaljō'' (*''haljō'') and *''rūnō'', the Proto-Germanic precursor to Modern English ''

rune Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets, known as runic rows, runic alphabets or futharks (also, see '' futhark'' vs ''runic alphabet''), native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were primarily used to represent a sound value (a ...

''.See discussion at Orel (2003:155–156 & 310). The second element in the Gothic ''haliurunnae'' may however instead be an agent noun from the verb ''rinnan'' ("to run, go"), which would make its literal meaning "one who travels to the netherworld". Proto–Germanic *''xalja-wītjan'' (or *''halja-wītjan'') is reconstructed from Old Norse ''hel-víti'' 'hell', Old English ''helle-wíte'' 'hell-torment, hell', Old Saxon ''helli-wīti'' 'hell', and the Middle High German feminine noun ''helle-wīze''. The compound is a compound of *''xaljō'' (discussed above) and *''wītjan'' (reconstructed from forms such as Old English ''witt'' 'right mind, wits', Old Saxon ''gewit'' 'understanding', and Gothic ''un-witi'' 'foolishness, understanding').Orel (2003:156 & 464).

Religion, mythology, and folklore

Hell appears in several

mythologies Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

and

s. It is commonly inhabited by

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...

s and the

s of dead people. A fable about hell which recurs in

across several cultures is the allegory of the long spoons.

Punishment

Punishment in hell typically corresponds to

sin In religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law or a law of the deities. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered ...

s committed during life. Sometimes these distinctions are specific, with damned souls suffering for each sin committed, such as in Plato's Myth of Er or Dante's ''

The Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest wor ...

'', but sometimes they are general, with condemned sinners relegated to one or more chamber of hell or to a level of suffering. In many religious cultures, including Christianity and Islam, hell is often depicted as fiery, painful, and harsh, inflicting suffering on the guilty. Despite these common depictions of hell as a place of fire, some other traditions portray hell as cold. Buddhistand particularly Tibetan Buddhistdescriptions of hell feature an equal number of hot and cold hells. Among Christian descriptions

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

's '' Inferno'' portrays the innermost (9th) circle of hell as a frozen lake of blood and guilt. But cold also played a part in earlier Christian depictions of hell or purgatory, beginning with the Apocalypse of Paul, originally from the early third century; the " Vision of Dryhthelm" by the Venerable

Bede Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...

from the seventh century; " St Patrick's Purgatory", "The Vision of Tundale" or " Visio Tnugdali", and the "Vision of the Monk of Eynsham", all from the twelfth century; and the "Vision of Thurkill" from the early thirteenth century.

Examples in different religions

Ancient Egypt

With the rise of the cult of

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wikt:wsjr, wsjr'') was the ancient Egyptian deities, god of fertility, agriculture, the Ancient Egyptian religion#Afterlife, afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...

during the Middle Kingdom, the "democratization of religion" offered to even his humblest followers the prospect of eternal life, with moral fitness becoming the dominant factor in determining a person's suitability. At death a person faced judgment by a tribunal of forty-two divine judges. If they had led a life in conformance with the precepts of the goddess Maat, who represented truth and right living, the person was welcomed into the heavenly reed fields. If found guilty the person was thrown to

Ammit Ammit (; , "Devourer of the Dead"; also rendered Ammut or Ahemait) was an ancient Egyptian goddess with the forequarters of a lion, the hindquarters of a hippopotamus, and the head of a crocodile—the three largest "man-eating" animals known ...

, the "devourer of the dead" and would be condemned to the

lake of fire The lake of fire is a concept that appears in both the ancient Egyptian religion, ancient Egyptian and Christianity, Christian religions. In ancient Egypt, it appears as an obstacle on the journey through the underworld which can destroy or refres ...

. The person taken by the devourer is subject first to terrifying punishment and then annihilated. These depictions of punishment may have influenced medieval perceptions of the inferno in hell via early

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

and Coptic texts. Purification for those considered justified appears in the descriptions of "Flame Island", where humans experience the triumph over evil and rebirth. For the damned complete destruction into a state of non-being awaits but there is no suggestion of eternal torture; the weighing of the heart in

Egyptian mythology Egyptian mythology is the collection of myths from ancient Egypt, which describe the actions of the Egyptian pantheon, Egyptian gods as a means of understanding the world around them. The beliefs that these myths express are an important part ...

can lead to annihilation. The Tale of Khaemwese describes the torment of a rich man, who lacked charity, when he dies and compares it to the blessed state of a poor man who has also died. Divine pardon at judgment always remained a central concern for the ancient Egyptians. Modern understanding of Egyptian notions of hell relies on six ancient texts: #''The Book of Two Ways'' (''Book of the Ways of Rosetau'') # ''The Book of Amduat'' (''Book of the Hidden Room'', ''Book of That Which Is in the Underworld'') # ''The Book of Gates'' # ''The Book of the Dead'' (''Book of Going Forth by Day'') # ''The Book of the Earth'' # ''The Book of Caverns''

Ancient Mesopotamia

The

Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization, located in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (now south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. ...

ian afterlife was a dark, dreary cavern located deep below the ground, where inhabitants were believed to continue "a shadowy version of life on earth". This bleak domain was known as

, and was believed to be ruled by the goddess

Ereshkigal In Mesopotamian mythology, Ereshkigal (Sumerian language, Sumerian: 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒆠𒃲 REŠ.KI.GAL, lit. "Queen of the Great Earth") was the goddess of Kur, the land of the dead or underworld in Sumerian religion, Sumerian mythology. In la ...

. All souls went to the same afterlife, and a person's actions during life had no effect on how the person would be treated in the world to come. The souls in Kur were believed to eat nothing but dry

dust Dust is made of particle size, fine particles of solid matter. On Earth, it generally consists of particles in the atmosphere that come from various sources such as soil lifted by wind (an aeolian processes, aeolian process), Types of volcan ...

and family members of the deceased would ritually pour

libation A libation is a ritual pouring of a liquid as an Sacrifice, offering to a deity or spirit, or in Veneration of the dead, memory of the dead. It was common in many religions of Ancient history, antiquity and continues to be offered in cultures t ...

s into the dead person's grave through a clay pipe, thereby allowing the dead to drink. Nonetheless, funerary evidence indicates that some people believed that the goddess

Inanna Inanna is the List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of war, love, and fertility. She is also associated with political power, divine law, sensuality, and procreation. Originally worshipped in Sumer, she was known by the Akk ...

, Ereshkigal's younger sister, had the power to award her devotees with special favors in the afterlife. During the

Third Dynasty of Ur The Third Dynasty of Ur or Ur III was a Sumerian dynasty based in the city of Ur in the 22nd and 21st centuries BC ( middle chronology). For a short period they were the preeminent power in Mesopotamia and their realm is sometimes referred to by ...

, it was believed that a person's treatment in the afterlife depended on how he or she was buried; those that had been given sumptuous burials would be treated well, but those who had been given poor burials would fare poorly. The entrance to Kur was believed to be located in the

Zagros mountains The Zagros Mountains are a mountain range in Iran, northern Iraq, and southeastern Turkey. The mountain range has a total length of . The Zagros range begins in northwestern Iran and roughly follows Iran's western border while covering much of s ...

in the far east. It had seven gates, through which a soul needed to pass. The god Neti was the gatekeeper. Ereshkigal's ''sukkal'', or messenger, was the god Namtar. '' Galla'' were a class of demons that were believed to reside in the underworld; their primary purpose appears to have been to drag unfortunate mortals back to Kur. They are frequently referenced in magical texts, and some texts describe them as being seven in number. Several extant poems describe the ''galla'' dragging the god

Dumuzid Dumuzid or Dumuzi or Tammuz (; ; ), known to the Sumerians as Dumuzid the Shepherd () and to the Canaanites as Adon (; Proto-Hebrew: 𐤀𐤃𐤍), is an List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian and :Levantine mythology, Levantine de ...

into the underworld. The later Mesopotamians knew this underworld by its

East Semitic The East Semitic languages are one of three divisions of the Semitic languages. The East Semitic group is attested by three distinct languages, Akkadian, Eblaite and possibly Kishite, all of which have been long extinct. They were influenced ...

name:

Irkalla The ancient Mesopotamian underworld (known in Sumerian as ''Kur'', ''Irkalla'', ''Kukku'', ''Arali'', or ''Kigal'', and in Akkadian as ''Erṣetu''), was the lowermost part of the ancient near eastern cosmos, roughly parallel to the region kn ...

. During the Akkadian Period, Ereshkigal's role as the ruler of the underworld was assigned to

Nergal Nergal ( Sumerian: d''KIŠ.UNU'' or ; ; Aramaic: ܢܸܪܓܲܠ; ) was a Mesopotamian god worshiped through all periods of Mesopotamian history, from Early Dynastic to Neo-Babylonian times, with a few attestations indicating that his cult surv ...

, the god of death. The Akkadians attempted to harmonize this dual rulership of the underworld by making Nergal Ereshkigal's husband.

Ancient Northern Europe

The hells of Europe include Breton mythology's "Anaon",

Celtic mythology Celtic mythology is the body of myths belonging to the Celtic peoples.Cunliffe, Barry, (1997) ''The Ancient Celts''. Oxford, Oxford University Press , pp. 183 (religion), 202, 204–8. Like other Iron Age Europeans, Celtic peoples followed ...

's "Uffern",

Slavic mythology Slavic paganism, Slavic mythology, or Slavic religion refer to the Religion, religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation of the Slavs, Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and ...

's "Peklo",

's Náströnd, the hell of Sami mythology and Finnish " Tuonela" ("manala").

Ancient Greece and Rome

In classic

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, below heaven, Earth, and Pontus is

Tartarus In Greek mythology, Tartarus (; ) is the deep abyss that is used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked and as the prison for the Titans. Tartarus is the place where, according to Plato's '' Gorgias'' (), souls are judged after ...

, or ''Tartaros'' (). It is either a deep, gloomy place, a pit or abyss used as a dungeon of torment and suffering that resides within Hades (the entire

) with Tartarus being the hellish component. In the ''

Gorgias Gorgias ( ; ; – ) was an ancient Greek sophist, pre-Socratic philosopher, and rhetorician who was a native of Leontinoi in Sicily. Several doxographers report that he was a pupil of Empedocles, although he would only have been a few years ...

'',

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

(c. 400 BC) wrote that souls of the deceased were judged after they paid for crossing the river of the dead and those who received punishment were sent to Tartarus.Plato, ''Gorgias'', 523a-527e. As a place of punishment, it can be considered a hell. The classic

, on the other hand, is more similar to Old Testament Sheol. The Romans later adopted these views.

East Africa

The hell of Swahili mythology is called ''kuzimu'', and belief in it developed in the 7th and 8th century under the influence of Muslim merchants at the

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

n coast. It is imagined as a very cold place.

West Africa

Serer religion The Serer religion or Serer spirituality (''Serer language, Serer:'' A ƭat Roog, meaning "the way of the Divine", "path of God", or "religious life"Kalis, Simone, ''Médecine traditionnelle, religion et divination chez les Seereer Siin du Sén� ...

rejects the general notion of

and hell. Thiaw, Issa Laye, "La religiosité des Seereer, avant et pendant leur islamisation", n''Éthiopiques'', no. 54, volume 7, 2e semestre 1991 In Serer religion, acceptance by the ancestors who have long departed is as close to any heaven as one can get. Rejection and becoming a wandering soul is a sort of hell for one passing over. The souls of the dead must make their way to ''Jaaniw'' (the sacred dwelling place of the soul). Only those who have lived their lives on earth in accordance with Serer doctrines will be able to make this necessary journey and thus be accepted by the ancestors. Those who cannot make the journey become lost and wandering souls, but they do not burn in "hell fire". In Yoruba mythology, wicked people (guilty of e.g. theft, witchcraft, murder, or cruelty) are confined to ''Orun Apaadi'' (''heaven'' of potsherds), while the good people continue to live in the ancestral realm, ''Orun Baba Eni'' (''heaven'' of our fathers).

Polynesia

The Bagobo of the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

have the otherworld "Gimokodan", where the Red Region is reserved who those who died in battle, while ordinary people go to the White Region.

East Asia

According to a few sources, hell is below ground, and described as an uninviting wet or fiery place reserved for sinful people in the Ainu religion, as stated by missionary John Batchelor. However, belief in hell does not appear in

oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication in which knowledge, art, ideas and culture are received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another.Jan Vansina, Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (19 ...

of the Ainu.Takako Yamada: ''The Worldview of the Ainu. Nature and Cosmos Reading from Language'', p. 25–37, p. 123. Instead, there is belief within the Ainu religion that the soul of the deceased (ramat) would become a kamuy after death. There is also belief that the soul of someone who has been wicked during lifetime, committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

, got murdered or died in great agony would become a

ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

(tukap) who would haunt the living, to come to fulfillment from which it was excluded during life.Norbert Richard Adami: ''Religion und Schaminismus der Ainu auf Sachalin (Karafuto)'', Bonn 1989, p. 45.

Judaism

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

does not have a specific doctrine about the afterlife, but it does have a mystical/Orthodox tradition of describing Gehinnom. Gehinnom is originally a grave and in later times a sort of Purgatory where one is judged based on one's life's deeds, or rather, where one becomes fully aware of one's own shortcomings and negative actions during one's life. The

Kabbalah Kabbalah or Qabalah ( ; , ; ) is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It forms the foundation of Mysticism, mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ...

explains it as a "waiting room" (commonly translated as an "entry way") for all souls (not just the wicked). The overwhelming majority of rabbinic thought maintains that people are not in Gehinnom forever; the longest that one can be there is said to be 12 months, however, there has been the occasional noted exception. Some consider it a spiritual forge where the soul is purified for its eventual ascent to Olam Habah (''heb.'' עולם הבא; ''lit.'' "The world to come", often viewed as analogous to heaven). This is also mentioned in the Kabbalah, where the soul is described as breaking, like the flame of a candle lighting another: the part of the soul that ascends being pure and the "unfinished" piece being reborn. According to Jewish teachings, hell is not entirely physical; rather, it can be compared to a very intense feeling of shame. People are ashamed of their misdeeds and this constitutes suffering which makes up for the bad deeds. When one has so deviated from the will of

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

, one is said to be in Gehinnom. This is not meant to refer to some point in the future, but to the very present moment. The gates of

teshuva Repentance ( /tʃuvɑː/; "return") is one element of atoning for sin in Judaism. Judaism recognizes that everybody sins on occasion, but that people can stop or minimize those occasions in the future by repenting for past transgressions. Thus ...

(return) are said to be always open, and so one can align his will with that of God at any moment. Being out of alignment with God's will is itself a punishment according to the

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

. Many scholars of Jewish mysticism, particularly of the

, describe seven "compartments" or "habitations" of hell, just as they describe seven divisions of heaven. These divisions go by many different names, and the most frequently mentioned are as follows: *

(

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

: שְׁאוֹל – "

", "

"; "grave") *

Abaddon The Hebrew term Abaddon ( , meaning "destruction", "doom") and its Greek equivalent Apollyon (, ''Apollúōn'' meaning "Destroyer") appear in the Bible as both a place of destruction and an angel of the abyss. In the Hebrew Bible, ''abaddon'' ...

(

: אֲבַדּוֹן – "doom", "perdition") *Be'er Shachat (

: בְּאֵר שַׁחַת, ''Be'er Shachath'' – "pit of corruption") *Tit ha-Yaven (

: טִיט הַיָוֵן – "clinging mud") *Sha'are Mavet (

: שַׁעֲרֵי מָוֶת, ''Sha'arei Maveth'' – "gates of death") * Tzalmavet (

: צַלמָוֶת, ''Tsalmaveth'' – "shadow of death") * Gehinnom (

: גֵיהִנוֹם, ''Gehinnom'' – "valley of Hinnom"; "

", "

Purgatory In Christianity, Purgatory (, borrowed into English language, English via Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman and Old French) is a passing Intermediate state (Christianity), intermediate state after physical death for purifying or purging a soul ...

") Besides those mentioned above, there also exist additional terms that have been often used to either refer to hell in general or to some region of the underworld: *

Azazel In the Hebrew Bible, the name Azazel (; ''ʿĂzāʾzēl'') represents a desolate place where a scapegoat bearing the Jewish views on sin, sins of the Jews was sent during Yom Kippur. During the late Second Temple period (after the Development ...

(

: עֲזָאזֵל, compd. of ''ez'' עֵז: "goat" + ''azal'' אָזַל: "to go away" – "goat of departure", "scapegoat"; "entire removal", "damnation") * Dudael (

: דּוּדָאֵל – lit. "cauldron of God") * Tehom (

: תְהוֹם – "

abyss Abyss may refer to: Religion * Abyss (religion), a bottomless pit, or a passage to the underworld * Abyss (Thelema), a spiritual principle within the system of Thelema Film and television * ''The Abyss'' (1910 film), a Danish silent film s ...

"; "sea", "deep ocean") *

Tophet In the Hebrew Bible, Tophet or Topheth (; ; ) is a location in Jerusalem in the Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna), where worshipers engaged in a ritual involving "passing a child through the fire", most likely child sacrifice. Traditionally, the sacrifice ...

(

: תֹּפֶת or תוֹפֶת, ''Topheth'' – "fire-place", "place of burning", "place to be spit upon"; "inferno") * Tzoah Rotachat (

: צוֹאָה רוֹתֵחַת, ''Tsoah Rothachath'' – "boiling excrement") * Mashchit (

: מַשְׁחִית, ''Mashchith'' – "destruction", "ruin") * Dumah (

: דוּמָה – "silence") *Neshiyyah (

: נְשִׁיָּה – "oblivion", "

Limbo The unofficial term Limbo (, or , referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition in medieval Catholic theology, of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. However, it has become the gene ...

") *Bor Shaon (

: בּוֹר שָׁאוֹן – "cistern of sound") *Eretz Tachtit (

: אֶרֶץ תַּחְתִּית, ''Erets Tachtith'' – "lowest earth"). *Masak Mavdil (

: מָסָך מַבְדִּ֔יל, ''Masak Mabdil'' – "dividing curtain") *Haguel ( Ethiopic: ሀጉለ – "(place of) destruction", "loss", "waste") * Ikisat ( Ethiopic: አክይስት – "serpents", "

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

s"; "place of future punishment")

Maimonides Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...

declares in his 13 principles of faith that the hells of the rabbinic literature were pedagogically motivated inventions to encourage respect of the

commandments by mankind, which had been regarded as immature.Maimonides' Introduction to Perek Helek, ed. and transl. by Maimonides Heritage Center, p. 3–4. Instead of being sent to hell, the souls of the wicked would actually get annihilated.Maimonides' Introduction to Perek Helek, ed. and transl. by Maimonides Heritage Center, p. 22-23.

Christianity

The Christian doctrine of hell derives from passages in the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

. The English word ''hell'' does not appear in the Greek New Testament; instead one of three words is used: the Greek words ''Tartarus'' or ''Hades'', or the Hebrew word ''Gehinnom''. In the

Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...

and New Testament, the authors used the Greek term Hades for the Hebrew Sheol, but often with Jewish rather than Greek concepts in mind. In the Jewish concept of Sheol, such as expressed in Ecclesiastes, Sheol or Hades is a place where there is no activity. However, since

Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

, some Christians have believed that the souls of those who die either rest peacefully, in the case of Christians, or are afflicted, in the case of the damned, after death until the

resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions involving the same person or deity returning to another body. The disappearance of a body is anothe ...

. While these three terms are translated in the KJV as "hell", they have three very different meanings. * Hades has similarities to the Old Testament term,

as "the place of the dead" or "grave". Thus, it is used in reference to both the righteous and the wicked, since both wind up there eventually. *

refers to the "Valley of Hinnom", which was a garbage dump outside of Jerusalem. It was a place that contained a dump where people burned their garbage. Bodies of those deemed to have died in sin without hope of salvation (such as people who committed suicide) were thrown there to be destroyed. Gehenna is used in the New Testament as a metaphor for the final place of punishment for the wicked after the resurrection. * ''Tartaróō'' (the verb "throw to

", used of the fall of the Titans in a

scholium Scholia (: scholium or scholion, from , "comment", "interpretation") are grammar, grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of the manuscript of a ...

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

14.296) occurs only once in the New Testament in II Peter 2:4, where it is parallel to the use of the noun form in

1 Enoch The Book of Enoch (also 1 Enoch; Hebrew: סֵפֶר חֲנוֹךְ, ''Sēfer Ḥănōḵ''; , ) is an ancient Jewish apocalyptic religious text, ascribed by tradition to the patriarch Enoch who was the father of Methuselah and the great-gran ...

as the place of incarceration of the fallen angels. It mentions nothing about human souls being sent there in the afterlife. According to the Roman Catholic Church, the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent (), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most ...

taught, in the 5th canon of its 14th session, that damnation is eternal: "...the loss of eternal blessedness, and the eternal damnation which he has incurred..." The

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

defines hell as "a state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed". One finds oneself in hell as the result of dying in

mortal sin A mortal sin (), in Christian theology, is a gravely sinful act which can lead to damnation if a person does not repent of the sin before death. It is alternatively called deadly, grave, and serious; the concept of mortal sin is found in both ...

without repenting and accepting God's merciful love, becoming eternally separated from him by one's own free choice immediately after death. In the Roman Catholic Church, many other Christian churches, such as the Methodists,

Baptists Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

and Episcopalians, and some

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

churches, hell is taught as the final destiny of those who have not been found worthy after the general resurrection and

last judgment The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the '' Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism. Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, res ...

, where they will permanently separated from God. The nature of this judgment is inconsistent with many

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

churches teaching the saving comes from accepting Jesus Christ as their savior, while the Greek Orthodox and Catholic Churches teach that the judgment hinges on both faith and works. However, many

Liberal Christian Liberal Christianity, also known as liberal theology and historically as Christian modernism (see Catholic modernism and fundamentalist–modernist controversy), is a movement that interprets Christian teaching by prioritizing modern knowledg ...

s throughout

Mainline Protestant The mainline Protestants (sometimes also known as oldline Protestants) are a group of Protestantism in the United States, Protestant denominations in the United States and Protestantism in Canada, Canada largely of the Liberal Christianity, theolo ...

churches believe in

universal reconciliation Christian universalism is a school of Christian theology focused around the doctrine of universal reconciliation – the view that all human beings will ultimately be saved and restored to a right relationship with God. "Christian universalism" ...

(see below), even though it contradicts the traditional doctrines that are usually held by the evangelicals within their denominations. Regarding the belief in hell, the interpretation of

Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus The Latin phrase (meaning 'outside the Church here isno salvation' or 'no salvation outside the Church')conditional immortality. Conditional immortality is the belief that the soul dies with the body and does not live again until the resurrection. As with other Jewish writings of the

Second Temple The Second Temple () was the Temple in Jerusalem that replaced Solomon's Temple, which was destroyed during the Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC), Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. It was constructed around 516 BCE and later enhanced by Herod ...

period, the New Testament text distinguishes two words, both translated "hell" in older English Bibles: ''Hades'', "the grave", and ''Gehenna'' where God "can destroy both body and soul". Some Christians read this to mean that neither Hades nor Gehenna are eternal but refer to the ultimate destruction of the wicked in the lake of fire after resurrection. However, because of the Greek words used in translating from the Hebrew text, the Hebrew ideas have become confused with Greek myths and ideas. In the Hebrew text when people died they went to

, the grave and the wicked ultimately went to Gehenna and were consumed by fire. The Hebrew words for "the grave" or "death" or "eventual destruction of the wicked", were translated using Greek words and later texts became a mix of mistranslation, pagan influence, and Greek myth.

Christian mortalism Christian mortalism is the Christian belief that the human soul is not naturally immortal and may include the belief that the soul is "sleeping" after death until the Resurrection of the Dead and the Last Judgment, a time known as the interme ...

is the doctrine that all men and women, including Christians, must die, and do not continue and are not conscious after death. Therefore, annihilationism includes the doctrine that "the wicked" are also destroyed rather than tormented

forever Forever or 4ever may refer to: Film and television Films * ''Forever'' (1921 film), an American silent film by George Fitzmaurice * ''Forever'' (1978 film), an American made-for-television romantic drama, based on the novel by Judy Blume * '' ...

in hell. Christian mortalism and annihilationism are directly related to the doctrine of conditional immortality, the idea that a human

is not immortal unless it is given eternal life at the

second coming of Christ The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is the Christian and Islamic belief that Jesus Christ will return to Earth after his ascension to Heaven (which is said to have occurred about two thousand years ago). The ...

and

resurrection of the dead General resurrection or universal resurrection is the belief in a resurrection of the dead, or resurrection from the dead ( Koine: , ''anastasis onnekron''; literally: "standing up again of the dead") by which most or all people who have died ...

. Biblical scholars looking at the issue through the Hebrew text have denied the teaching of innate immortality. Rejection of the

immortality of the soul Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some species possess " biological immortality" due to an apparent lack of the Hayflick limit. From at least the time of the ancient Mesopotamians, there has been a conviction that gods may be phy ...

, and advocacy of Christian mortalism, was a feature of Protestantism since the early days of the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

with

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

himself rejecting the traditional idea, though his mortalism did not carry into orthodox

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

. One of the most notable English opponents of the immortality of the soul was

Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5 April 1588 – 4 December 1679) was an English philosopher, best known for his 1651 book ''Leviathan (Hobbes book), Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influential formulation of social contract theory. He is considered t ...

who describes the idea as a Greek "contagion" in Christian doctrine. Modern proponents of conditional immortality include some in the

Anglican church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

such as N. T. Wright and as denominations the

Seventh-day Adventists The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabba ...

, Bible Student movement, Bible Students, Jehovah's Witnesses, Christadelphians, Living Church of God, Church of God International (United States), Church of God International, and some other

Christians. The Catholic Catechism states "The souls of sinners descend into hell, where they suffer 'eternal fire. However, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the most senior Catholic in England and Wales, said "there's nowhere in Catholic teaching that actually says any one person is in hell". The 1993 ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' states: "This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called 'hell and "they suffer the punishments of hell, 'eternal fire. The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God" (CCC 1035). During an Audience in 1999, Pope John Paul II commented: "images of hell that Sacred Scripture presents to us must be correctly interpreted. They show the complete frustration and emptiness of life without God. Rather than a place, hell indicates the state of those who freely and definitively separate themselves from God, the source of all life and joy."

Other denominations

The Seventh-day Adventist Church's 28 Fundamental Beliefs, official beliefs support annihilationism. They deny the Catholic purgatory and teach that the dead lie in the grave until they are Last judgment, raised for a last judgment, both the righteous and wicked await the resurrection at the Second Coming. Seventh-day Adventists believe that death is a state of Soul sleep, unconscious sleep until the resurrection. They base this belief on biblical texts such as which states "the dead know nothing", and which contains a description of the dead being raised from the Grave (burial), grave at the second coming. These verses, it is argued, indicate that death is only a period or form of slumber. Adventists teach that the resurrection of the righteous will take place shortly after the second coming of Jesus, as described in Revelation 20:4–6 that follows Revelation 19:11–16, whereas the resurrection of the wicked will occur after the millennialism, millennium, as described in Revelation 20:5 and 20:12–13 that follow Revelation 20:4 and 6–7, though Revelation 20:12–13 and 15 actually describe a ''mixture'' of saved and condemned people being raised from the dead and judged. Adventists reject the traditional doctrine of hell as a state of everlasting conscious torment, believing instead that the wicked will be permanently destroyed after the millennium by the

, which is called 'the second death' in Revelation 20:14. Those Adventist doctrines about death and hell reflect an underlying belief in: (a) conditional immortality (or conditionalism), as opposed to the immortality of the

; and (b) the Christian anthropology, monistic nature of human beings, in which the soul is not separable from the body, as opposed to bipartite (theology), bipartite or tripartite (theology), tripartite conceptions, in which the soul is separable. Jehovah's Witnesses hold that the soul ceases to exist when the person dies"What Does the Bible Really Teach?", 2005, Published by Jehovah's Witnesses and therefore that hell (Sheol or Hades) is a state of non-existence. In their theology, Gehenna differs from Sheol or Hades in that it holds no hope of a resurrection. Tartarus is held to be the metaphorical state of debasement of the fallen angels between the time of their moral fall (Genesis chapter 6) until their post-millennial destruction along with Satan (Revelation chapter 20). Bible Student movement, Bible Students and Christadelphians also believe in annihilationism. Christian Universalism, Christian Universalists believe in

, the belief that all human souls will be eventually reconciled with God and admitted to heaven. This belief is held by some Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian-Universalists. According to Emanuel Swedenborg's Second Coming

revelation, hell exists because evil people want it. They, not God, introduced evil to the human race. In The New Church (Swedenborgian), Swedenborgianism, every soul joins the like-minded group after death in which it feels the most comfortable. Hell is therefore believed to be a place of happiness for the souls which delight in evilness. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) teach that hell is a state between death and resurrection, in which those spirits who did not repent while on earth must suffer for their own sins (Doctrine and Covenants 19:15–17). After that, only the Son of perdition (Mormonism), Sons of perdition, who committed the Eternal sin, would be cast into Outer darkness. However, according to Mormon faith, committing the Eternal sin requires so much knowledge that most persons cannot do this. Satan and Cain are counted as examples of Sons of perdition.

Islam

In Islam, ''Jahannam'' (in Arabic Language, Arabic: جهنم) (related to the Hebrew word ''gehinnom'') is the counterpart to heaven and likewise divided into seven layers, both co-existing with the temporal world, filled with blazing fire, boiling water, and a variety of other torments for those who have been condemned to it in the hereafter. In the Quran, God declares that the fire of Jahannam is prepared for both mankind and jinn. After the Day of Judgment, it is to be occupied by those who do not believe in God, those who have disobeyed Sharia, his laws, or rejected his Prophets in Islam#Prophets and messengers in Islam, messengers. "Enemies of Islam" are sent to hell immediately upon their deaths. Islamic Modernism, Muslim modernists downplay the vivid descriptions of hell common during Classical period, on one hand reaffirming that the afterlife must not be denied, but simultaneously asserting its exact nature remains unknown. Other modern Muslims continue the line of Sufism as an interiorized hell, combining the eschatological thoughts of Ibn Arabi and Rumi with Western philosophy. Although disputed by some scholars, most scholars consider jahannam to be eternal. There is belief that the fire which represents the own bad deeds can already be seen during the Punishment of the Grave, and that the spiritual pain caused by this can lead to purification of the soul. Not all Muslims and scholars agree whether hell is an eternal destination or whether some or all of the condemned will eventually be forgiven and allowed to enter paradise. Over hell, a narrow bridge called As-Sirāt is spanned. On Judgment Day one must pass over it to reach paradise, but those destined for hell will find too narrow and fall into their new abode. Iblis, the temporary ruler of hell, is thought of residing in the bottom of hell, from where he commands his hosts of infernal demons. But contrary to Christian traditions, Iblis and his infernal hosts do not wage war against God, his enmity applies against humanity only. Further, his dominion in hell is also his punishment. Executioners of punishment are the 19 zabaniyya, who have been created from the fires of hell. Muhammad said that the fire of Jahannam is 70 times hotter than ordinary fire, and is much more painful than ordinary fire.

Seven stages of punishment

The seven gates of ''jahannam'', mentioned in the Quran, inspired Tafsir, Muslim exegetes (''tafsir'') to develop a system of seven stages of hell, analogue to the seven doors of paradise. The stages of hell get their names by seven different terms used for hell throughout the Quran. Each is assigned for a different type of sinners. The concept later accepted by Sunni authorities list the levels of hell as follows, although some stages may vary: #Jahannam (جهنم Gehenna) #Laza (لظى fierce blaze) #Hutama (حُطَمَة crushing fire) #Sa'ir (سعير raging fire) #Saqar (سقر scorching fire) #Jahim (جحيم furnace) #Hawiya (هاوية infernal abyss) The highest level (''jahannam'') is traditionally thought of as a type of

reserved for Muslims. Polytheism (shirk (Islam), ''shirk'') is regarded as a particularly grievous sin; therefore entering Paradise is forbidden to a polytheist ''(Shirk (Islam), mushrik)'' because his place is hell; and the second lowest level (''jahim'') only after the bottomless pit for the hypocrites (''hawiyah''), who claimed aloud to believe in God in Islam, God and his messenger but in their Qalb, hearts did not.

=Gatekeepers

= *Sukha'il (صوخائيل) of Jahannam *Tufa'il (طوفائيل) of Laza *Tafta'il (طفطائيل) of Sa'ir *Susbabil (صوصَابيل) of Saqar *Tarfatil (طرفاطيل) of Jahim *Istafatabil (اصطافاطابيل) of Hawiya

In the heavens

Although the earliest reports about Muhammad's Isra and Mi'raj, journey through the heavens, do not locate hell in the heavens, only brief references about visiting hell during the journey appears. But extensive accounts about Muhammad's night journey, in the non-canonical but popular Miraj-Literature, tell about encountering the angels of hell. Malik, the keeper to the gates of hell, namely appears in Ibn Abbas, Ibn Abbas' Isra and Mi'raj. The doors to hell are either in the third or fifth heaven, or (although only implicitly) in a heaven close Throne of God, God's throne, or directly after entering heaven, whereupon Muhammad requests a glaze at hell. Ibn Hisham gives extensive details about Muhammad visiting hell and its inhabitants punished wherein, but can only endure watching the punishments of the first layer of hell. Muhammad meeting Malik, the Dajjal and hell, was used as a proof for Muhammad's Night Journey.

Beneath the earth

Medieval sources often identified hell with the seven earths mentioned in Quran 65:12, inhabited by Shaitan, devils, Zabaniyya, harsh angels, scorpions and serpents, who torment the sinners. They described thorny shrubs, seas filled with blood and fire and darkness only illuminated by the flames of hell. One popular concept arrange the earths as follows: #Adim or Ramaka (رمکا) - the surface, on which humans, animals and jinn live on. #Basit or Khawfa (خوفا) #Thaqil or 'Arafa (عرفه) - antechamber #Batih or Hadna (حدنه) - a valley with stream of boiling sulphur. #Hayn or Dama (دمَا) #Sijjin, (سجىن dungeon or prison) or Masika (sometimes, Sijjin is at the bottom) - Quran 83:7 #Nar as-samum, Nar as-Samum, Zamhareer or As-Saqar / Athara, or Hanina (حنينا) - venomous wind of fire and a cold wind of ice.

Baháʼí Faith

In the Baháʼí Faith, the conventional descriptions of hell and heaven are considered to be symbolic representations of spiritual conditions. The Baháʼí literature, Baháʼí writings describe closeness to God to be heaven, and conversely, remoteness from God as hell. The Baháʼí writings state that the soul is immortal and after death it will continue to progress until it finally attains God in the Baháʼí Faith, God's presence.

Buddhism

In "Devaduta Sutta", the 130th discourse of the Majjhima Nikaya, Buddha teaches about hell in vivid detail. Buddhism teaches that there are five or six realms of Reincarnation, rebirth, which can then be further subdivided into degrees of agony or pleasure.) Of these realms, the hell realms, or ''Naraka'', is the lowest realm of rebirth. Of the hell realms, the worst is ''Avici, Avīci'' (Sanskrit and Pali for "without waves"). The Buddha's disciple, Devadatta, who tried to kill the Buddha on three occasions, as well as create a schism in the monastic order, is said to have been reborn in the Avici hell. Like all realms of rebirth in Buddhism, rebirth in the hell realms is not permanent, though suffering can persist for eons before being reborn again. In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha teaches that eventually even Devadatta will become a Pratyekabuddha himself, emphasizing the temporary nature of the hell realms. Thus, Buddhism teaches to escape the endless migration of rebirths (both positive and negative) through the attainment of Nirvana. The Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, according to the Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva Pūrvapraṇidhāna Sūtra, Ksitigarbha Sutra, made a great vow as a young girl to not reach Nirvana until all beings were liberated from the hell realms or other unwholesome rebirths. In popular literature, Ksitigarbha travels to the hell realms to teach and relieve beings of their suffering.

Hinduism

Early Historical Vedic religion, Vedic religion does not have a concept of hell. The ''Rigveda'' mentions three realms, ''bhūr'' (the earth), ''svar'' (the sky) and ''Loka, bhuvas'' or ''antarikṣa'' (the middle area, i.e. air or atmosphere). In later Hindu literature, especially the law books and the ''Puranas'', more realms are mentioned, including a realm similar to hell, called ''Naraka''. Yama as the first born human (together with his twin sister Yamuna in Hinduism, Yamī), by virtue of precedence, becomes ruler of men and a judge on their departure. In the law-books (the ''Smriti''s and the Dharmaśāstra, ''Dharmashashtra''s), ''Naraka'' is a place of punishment for misdeeds. It is a lower spiritual plane (called ''naraka-loka'') where the spirit is judged and the partial fruits of karma affect the next life. In the ''Mahabharata'', there is a mention of the Pandavas and the Kauravas both going to Svarga, heaven. At first Yudhishthira goes to heaven, where he sees Duryodhana enjoying the realm; Indra tells him that Duryodhana is in heaven as he had adequately performed his Kshatriya duties. Then he shows Yudhishthira hell, where it appears his brothers are. Later it is revealed that this was a test for Yudhishthira and that his brothers and the Kauravas are all in heaven, and live happily in the divine abode of the Deva (Hinduism), devas. Various hells are also described in various ''Puranas'' and other scriptures. The ''Garuda Purana'' gives a detailed account of each hell and its features; it lists the amount of punishment for most crimes, much like a modern-day penal code. It is believed that people who commit misdeeds go to hell and have to go through punishments in accordance with the misdeeds they committed. The god Yama (Hinduism), Yama, who is also the god of death, presides over hell. Detailed accounts of all the misdeeds committed by an individual are kept by Chitragupta, who is the record keeper in Yama's court. Chitragupta reads out the misdeeds committed and Yama orders appropriate punishments to be given to individuals. These punishments include dipping in boiling oil, burning in fire, torture using various weapons, etc. in various hells. Individuals who finish their quota of the punishments are reborn in accordance with their balance of karma. All created beings are imperfect and thus have at least one misdeed to their record; but if one has generally led a meritorious life, one ascends to Svarga, a temporary realm of enjoyment similar to Paradise, after a brief period of expiation in hell and before the next reincarnation, according to the law of karma. With the exception of Hindu philosopher Madhva, time in hell is not regarded as eternal damnation within Hinduism.Helmuth von Glasenapp: Der Hinduismus. Religion und Gesellschaft im heutigen Indien, Hildesheim 1978, p. 248. According to Brahma Kumaris, the Iron Age (''Kali Yuga'') is regarded as hell.

Jainism

In Jain cosmology, ''Naraka'' (translated as hell) is the name given to realm of existence having great suffering. However, a Naraka differs from the hells of Abrahamic religions as souls are not sent to Naraka as the result of a divine judgment and punishment. Furthermore, length of a being's stay in a Naraka is not eternal, though it is usually very long and measured in billions of years. A soul is born into a Naraka as a direct result of his or her previous Karma in Jainism, karma (actions of body, speech and mind), and resides there for a finite length of time until his karma has achieved its full result. After his karma is used up, he may be reborn in one of the higher worlds as the result of an earlier karma that had not yet ripened. The hells are situated in the seven grounds at the lower part of the universe. The seven grounds are: # Ratna prabha # Sharkara prabha # Valuka prabha # Panka prabha # Dhuma prabha # Tamaha prabha # Mahatamaha prabha The hellish beings are a type of souls which are residing in these various hells. They are born in hells by sudden manifestation. The hellish beings possess ''vaikriya'' body (protean body which can transform itself and take various forms). They have a fixed life span (ranging from ten thousand to billions of years) in the respective hells where they reside. According to Jain scripture, Tattvarthasutra, following are the causes for birth in hell: # Killing or causing pain with intense passion # Excessive attachment to things and worldly pleasure with constantly indulging in cruel and violent acts # Vowless and unrestrained life

Meivazhi

According to Meivazhi, the purpose of all religions is to guide people to heaven. However, those who do not approach God and are not blessed by Him are believed to be condemned to hell.

Sikhism

In Sikh thought, heaven and hell are not places for living hereafter, they are part of spiritual topography of man and do not exist otherwise. They refer to good and evil stages of life respectively and can be lived now and here during our earthly existence. For example, Guru Arjan explains that people who are entangled in emotional attachment and doubt are living in hell on this Earth i.e. their life is hellish.

Taoism

Ancient Taoism had no concept of hell, as morality was seen to be a man-made distinction and there was no concept of an immaterial soul. In its home country China, where Taoism adopted tenets of other religions, popular belief endows Taoist hell with many deities and spirits who punish sin in a variety of horrible ways. Buddhist hells became "so much a part of [many Daoist sects] that during Funeral, funeral services[,] the priests hang up scrolls depicting" similar scenes. Typically, Daoist hells are "said to be ten in number" and "are sometimes said to be situated under a high mountain in Sichuan". "Each is ruled by a king serving as judge, surrounded by ministers and attendants who carry out his decisions." Punishment is usually "inflicted with the use of torture instruments", although there are some non-physical and more metaphysical punishments. However, this type of Daoist hell is usually not final and a soul will make a journey of refining by going through at least several hells and their punishments until it is reincarnated into another body in the human world.

Chinese traditional and syncretic religion

''Diyu'' is the realm of the dead in Chinese mythology. It is very loosely based upon the Buddhism, Buddhist concept of Naraka (Buddhism), Naraka combined with traditional Chinese afterlife beliefs and a variety of popular expansions and re-interpretations of these two traditions. Ruled by Yama (East Asia), Yanluo Wang, the King of hell, Diyu is a maze of underground levels and chambers where souls are taken to atone for their earthly sins. Incorporating ideas from Taoism and Buddhism as well as traditional Chinese folk religion, Diyu is a kind of purgatory place which serves not only to punish but also to renew spirits ready for their next incarnation. There are many deities associated with the place, whose names and purposes are the subject of much conflicting information. The exact number of levels in Chinese hell – and their associated deities – differs according to the Buddhist or Taoist perception. Some speak of three to four 'Courts', other as many as ten. The ten judges are also known as the 10 Kings of Yama (Buddhism and Chinese mythology), Yama. Each Court deals with a different aspect of atonement. For example, murder is punished in one Court, adultery in another. According to some Chinese legends, there are eighteen levels in hell. Punishment also varies according to belief, but most legends speak of highly imaginative chambers where wrong-doers are sawn in half, beheaded, thrown into pits of filth or forced to climb trees adorned with sharp blades. However, most legends agree that once a soul (usually referred to as a 'ghost') has atoned for their deeds and repented, he or she is given the Drink of Forgetfulness by Meng Po and sent back into the world to be reborn, possibly as an animal or a poor or sick person, for further punishment.

Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism has historically suggested several possible fates for the wicked, including annihilation, purgation in molten metal, and eternal punishment, all of which have standing in Zoroaster's writings. Zoroastrian eschatology includes the belief that wicked souls will remain in Duzakh until, following the arrival of three saviors at thousand-year intervals, Ahura Mazda reconciles the world, destroying evil and resurrecting tormented souls to perfection. The sacred Gathas mention a "House of the Lie″ for those "that are of an evil dominion, of evil deeds, evil words, evil Self, and evil thought, Liars". However, the best-known Zoroastrian text to describe hell in detail is the Book of Arda Viraf. It depicts particular punishments for particular sins—for instance, being trampled by cattle as punishment for neglecting the needs of work animals. Other descriptions can be found in the ''Book of Scriptures (Hadhokht Nask), Religious Judgments (Dadestan-i Denig)'' and the ''Spirit of Wisdom (Menog-i Khrad)''.

Mandaeism

The Mandaeism, Mandaeans believe in purification of souls inside of Leviathan,Mandaean Book of John, Das Johannesbuch der Mandäer, ed. and transl. by Mark Lidzbarski, part 2, Gießen 1915, p. 98–99. whom they also call Ur (Mandaeism), Ur.Hans Jonas: The Gnostic Religion, 3. ed., Boston 2001, p. 117. Within detention houses, so called Matartas,Ginza Rba, Ginza. Der Schatz oder das große Buch der Mandäer, ed. and transl. by Mark Lidzbarski, Quellen der Religionsgeschichte vol. 13, Göttingen 1925, p. 183. the detained souls would receive so much punishment that they would wish to die a Second death, which would, however, not (yet) befall their spirit.Ginza, ed. and transl. by Lidzbarski, p. 185–186. At the Eschatology, end of days, the souls of the Mandaeans which could be purified, would be liberated out of Ur's mouth.Kurt Rudolph: Theogonie. Kosmonogie und Anthropogonie in den mandäischen Schriften. Eine literarkritische und traditionsgeschichtliche Untersuchung, Göttingen 1965, p. 241. After this, Ur would get destroyed along with the souls remaining inside him,Ginza, ed. and transl. by Lidzbarski, p. 203. so they die the second death.Ginza, ed. and transl. by Lidzbarski, p. 321.

Wicca

The Gardnerian Wicca and Alexandrian Wicca sects of Wicca include "wiccan laws" that Gerald Gardner wrote, which state that wiccan souls are privileged with reincarnation, but that the souls of wiccans who break the wiccan laws, "even under torture", would be cursed by the goddess, never be reborn on earth, and "remain where they belong, in the Hell of the Christians". Other recognized wiccan sects do not include Gerald Gardner's "wiccan laws". The influential wiccan author Raymond Buckland wrote that the wiccan laws are unimportant. Solitary wiccans, not involved in organized sects, do not include the wiccan laws in their doctrine.

In literature

In his ''Divine Comedy, Divina commedia'' (''Divine Comedy''), set in the year 1300, Dante, Dante Alighieri employed the concept of taking Virgil as his guide through Inferno (and then, in the second canticle, up the mountain of Purgatory, Purgatorio). Virgil himself is not condemned to hell proper in Dante's poem but is rather, as a virtuous pagan, confined to

just at the edge of hell. The geography of hell is very elaborately laid out in this work, with nine concentric rings leading deeper into Earth, and deeper into the various punishments of hell, until, at the center of the world, Dante finds Satan himself trapped in the frozen lake of Cocytus. A small tunnel leads past Satan and out to the other side of the world, at the base of the Mount of Purgatory. John Milton's ''Paradise Lost'' (1667) opens with the fallen angels, including their leader Satan, waking up in hell after having been defeated in the war in heaven and the action returns there at several points throughout the poem. Milton portrays hell as the abode of the demons, and the passive prison from which they plot their revenge upon heaven through the corruption of the human race. 19th-century French poet Arthur Rimbaud alluded to the concept as well in the title and themes of one of his major works, ''Une Saison en Enfer, A Season in Hell'' (1873). Rimbaud's poetry portrays his own suffering in a poetic form as well as other themes. Many of the great epics of European literature include episodes that occur in hell. In the Roman poet Virgil's Latin epic, the ''Aeneid'', Aeneas descends into Hades, Dis (the underworld) to visit his father's spirit. The underworld is only vaguely described, with one unexplored path leading to the punishments of Tartarus, while the other leads through Erebus and the Elysium, Elysian Fields. William Bouguereau - Dante and Virgile - Google Art Project 2

William Bouguereau - Dante and Virgile - Google Art Project 2

The idea of hell was highly influential to writers such as Jean-Paul Sartre who authored the 1944 play ''No Exit'' about the idea that "Hell is other people". Although not a religious man, Sartre was fascinated by his interpretation of a hellish state of suffering. C.S. Lewis's ''The Great Divorce'' (1945) borrows its title from William Blake's ''Marriage of Heaven and Hell'' (1793) and its inspiration from the ''Divine Comedy'' as the narrator is likewise guided through hell and heaven. Hell is portrayed here as an endless, desolate twilight city upon which night is imperceptibly sinking. The night is actually the Apocalypse, and it heralds the arrival of the demons after their judgment. Before the night comes, anyone can escape hell if they leave behind their former selves and accept Heaven's offer, and a journey to heaven reveals that hell is infinitely small; it is nothing more or less than what happens to a soul that turns away from God and into itself.

In popular culture

Piers Anthony in his series ''Incarnations of Immortality'' portrays examples of heaven and hell via Death, Fate, Underworld, Nature, War, Time, Good-God, and Evil-Devil. Robert A. Heinlein offers a yin-yang version of hell where there is still some good within; most evident in his 1984 book ''Job: A Comedy of Justice''. Lois McMaster Bujold uses her five Gods 'Father, Mother, Son, Daughter and Bastard' in ''The Curse of Chalion'' with an example of hell as formless chaos. Michael Moorcock is one of many who offer Chaos-Evil-(Hell) and Uniformity-Good-(Heaven) as equally unacceptable extremes which must be held in balance; in particular in the ''Elric'' and ''The Eternal Champion (novel), Eternal Champion'' series. Fredric Brown wrote a number of fantasy short stories about Satan's activities in hell. Cartoonist Jimmy Hatlo created a series of cartoons about life in hell called ''The Hatlo Inferno'', which ran from 1953 to 1958.Sample ''Hatlo Inferno'' comic: