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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Faith and Reason Question 20: Heaven and Hell Question: Do heaven and hell exist at present or will they be created later? Brief Answer According to the Qur`an and ahadith, heaven and hell exist at present. However, they will become fully apparent and represented only in the Hereafter at which time each person, according to his actions, beliefs, and ethical behaviour, will be led to his eternal abode.

Nevertheless, prior to the Hereafter, both heaven and hell can reveal themselves either as visions in this temporal world or as manifestations in purgatory (barzakh) , serving in both cases as reward or punishment for the one who sees them. There is little difference of opinion among the scholars up to this point. However, there are other aspects of heaven and hell that require more explanation.

In particular: What is the relationship between a person’s beliefs, actions, and thoughts and his station in the Hereafter? What justification is there for the existence of heaven and hell? What different types of heaven and hell exist?

In brief, the paradise in which Adam and Eve (ع) resided and from which they were sent down to Earth; the heaven or hell of one’s actions which envelops a person; and the heaven and hell of purgatory are all simply manifestations of the ultimate, eternal heaven and hell. Additionally, whether a person’s eternal abode is heaven or hell depends on his own choices and actions in this world.

Detailed Answer Belief in heaven and hell as the eternal abode in which a person will remain after the Day of Judgment, and belief in the details of how heaven and hell are created and then perfected, comprise a part of what is known as “belief in the unseen” ( al-iman bil ghayb ). As such, the only means for attaining knowledge of these things is revelation. At the same time, until heaven and hell are witnessed first hand in the Hereafter, they do not cease to be part of the unseen world.

Therefore all the doubts and questions associated with the unseen apply to the details of heaven and hell as well. However, these doubts and questions are not such that they prevent one from attaining surety of the basic existence of such things. Among these questions is the question at hand about whether or not heaven and hell exist at present. If they do exist, where are they located? In what state are they? Is heaven simply fallow land that man must cultivate?