How will those who entered Hell then were brought forth from it enjoy Paradise?

Question

Praise be to Allah.

Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah believe that some of the Muslims
will enter Paradise without being brought to account or being punished, and
some of them will enter Paradise after being brought to account, and some
will enter Paradise after being punished in Hell as Allaah wills, then He
will bring them forth from it.

The fact that these people are brought forth from Hell then
admitted to Paradise will not cause them any sorrow or distress in Paradise,
because Paradise is the abode of delight, and they will have whatever the
other people of Paradise will have, as mentioned in the Qur’aan and Sunnah.

There is nothing in the evidence to suggest that these people
will feel any kind of regret after entering Paradise due to the punishment
that they experienced in Hell.

But the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) has told us about how these people will be after they are brought forth
from Hell. That includes the following:

1 – They will be thrown into the River of Life, and will grow
anew.

It was narrated from Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be
pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: “When the people of Paradise enter Paradise and the people
of Hell enter Hell, Allaah will say: ‘Whoever had a mustard-seed’s weight of
faith in his heart, bring him out.’ So they will bring him out, and they
will come out like burned skeletons, and they will turn into charcoal. They
will be thrown into the River of Life, then they will grow like seeds
growing in the silt left by a flood.”

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: “Do you not see how they emerge yellow and curved?”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari (6192) and Muslim (184).

2 – The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) stated that they will change after they are brought forth from the
Fire.

It was narrated from Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him)
that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said of the Jahannamiyyoon (those who had been in Hell) that they
“would be brought forth from the Fire after having been in it. They will
come out as if they are branches of sesame. Then they will go into one of
the rivers of Paradise, where they will wash themselves, then they will
emerge like sheets of paper.”

Narrated by Muslim (191).

Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The word
sesame refers to the well-known sesame from which sesame oil is extracted.
Imam Abu’l-Sa’aadaat al-Mubaarak ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Kareem al-Jazari,
who is known as Ibn al-Atheer (may Allaah have mercy on him), said: What it
means – and Allaah knows best – is that if the branches of sesame are
gathered and left in the sun so that their seeds may be collected, they turn
thin and black as if they have been burned, so these people are likened to
them.

“then they will emerge like sheets of paper” They are likened
to sheets of paper because they will be so white after they wash themselves
and all the blackness that was on them is removed.

Sharh Muslim (3/52).

According to a report narrated by al-Bukhaari (6190):

It was narrated from Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him)
that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“They will emerge from the Fire through intercession as if they are small
cucumbers.”

Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

With regard to small cucumbers … What is meant is something
that is white and small.

Note:

This likeness refers to how they will be after they grow. But
when they first emerge from Hell they will be like charcoal as we shall see
in the hadeeth below.

Fath al-Baari (11/429).

3 – They will become like pearls, and Allaah will bestow His
good pleasure upon them, and He will never be angry with them.

It was narrated from Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri that the Messenger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah
will say: ‘The angels have interceded, the Prophets have interceded and
there is no one left but the Most Merciful of those who show mercy.’ Then He
will take a handful from Hell, and will bring out people who never did any
good and who will have turned into charcoal. He will throw them into a river
on the outskirts of Paradise that is called the River of Life, and they will
emerge like seeds in the silt carried by a flood. … They will emerge like
pearls with jewels around their necks, and the people of Paradise will
recognize them. These are the ones ransomed by Allaah, whom Allaah admitted
to Paradise with no good deed that they did or sent on ahead. Then He will
say: ‘Enter Paradise, and whatever you see is yours.’ They will say: ‘Our
Lord, You have given us what You have never given to anyone else in
creation.’ He will say: ‘You will have something better than that with Me.’
They will say, ‘O Lord, what could be better than this?’ He will say, ‘My
good pleasure, for I will never be angry with you again.’”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari (7002) and Muslim (183).

This is an important hadeeth in which the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) points out the great status of those
who are brought forth from Hell, and the honours that their Lord will bestow
upon them by His grace and bounty, which include:

(a)Being thrown in the River of
Life, and growing anew.

(b)Emerging from the river like
pearls with jewels around their necks

(c)Being given everything that
they see in Paradise.

(d)Their thinking, because of the
blessings and the ultimate joy they experience, that Allaah has honoured
them with something that He has not bestowed upon anyone else.

(e)He will bestow His pleasure
upon them and never be angry with them again.

The honour that Allaah will bestow upon these people who
enter Paradise is confirmed in the following hadeeth:

It was narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “I know the last of
the people of Hell to be brought forth, and the last of the people of
Paradise to enter therein. It will be a man who will emerge crawling from
Hell, and Allaah, may He be blessed and exalted, will say to him: ‘Go and
enter Paradise.’ He will come to it and it will appear to him to be full. He
will go back and say, ‘O Lord, I found it full.’ Allaah, may He be blessed
and exalted, will say to him: ‘Go and enter Paradise.’ He will go to it and
it will appear to him to be full. He will go back and say, ‘O Lord, I found
it full.’ Allaah, may He be blessed and exalted, will say to him: ‘Go and
enter Paradise, and you will have the equivalent of the whole world and ten
times as much.’ He will say, ‘Are You mocking me – or laughing at me – when
You are the Sovereign?’” He said: And I saw the Messenger of Allaah (S)
smile so broadly that his molars appeared. And he said: “That will be the
lowest of the people of Paradise in status.”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari (6202) and Muslim (186).

4 – They will be known as al-Jahannamiyyoon (the hellish
ones) or “ ‘utaqa’ al-Jabbaar” (those ransomed by the Compeller, i.e.,
Allaah), then this name will be lifted from them.

The name al-Jahannamiyyoon is the plural of jahannami, i.e.,
hellish (of or pertaining to Hell), What is meant is that Allaah has
ransomed them from Hell.

It was narrated from Anas ibn Maalik that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Some people will be
brought forth from the Fire after its flames touch them (and change their
colour), then they will be admitted to Paradise, and the people of Paradise
will call them al-Jahannamiyyoon.”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari (6191).

Ahmad (12060) narrated from Anas: “… they will enter Paradise
and the people of Paradise will say: These are al-Jahannamiyyoon.” But
al-Jabbaar (the Compeller – Allaah) will say: ‘No, rather they are the ones
ransomed by al-Jabbaar, may He be glorified and exalted.’”

Classed as saheeh by Ibn Mandah in al-Eemaan (2/847);
Ibn Khuzaymah (2/710) and al-Albaani in Hukm Taarik al-Salaah (p.
33).

Ibn Hibbaan narrated from Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri: “… In
Paradise they will be called al-Jahannamiyyoon, because of the blackness on
their faces, and they will say: ‘Our Lord, take this name away from us.’ So
He will command them to wash themselves in a river in Paradise and will take
that away from them.”

Narrated and classed as saheeh by Ibn Hibbaan (16/457). It
was also classed as saheeh by Shu’ayb al-Arna’oot.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
has told us that one dip in Paradise will cause the Muslim to forget all
hardship that he faced in this world, so how about if Paradise is to be his
eternal abode? It is not farfetched to assume that this also includes the
hardship that the Muslim faced when he was in Hell.

It was narrated that Anas ibn Maalik said: The Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The most
affluent of the people in this world, of those who will go to Hell, will be
brought on the Day of Resurrection and dipped once in the Fire. Then it will
be said: O son of Adam, did you ever see anything good? Did you ever have
any pleasure? He will say: No, by Allaah, O Lord. Then the most destitute of
the people in this world, of those who will enter Paradise, will be brought
and dipped once in Paradise, and it will be said to him: O son of Adam, did
you ever see anything bad? Did you ever experience any hardship? He will
say: No, by Allaah, O Lord. I never saw anything bad and I never experienced
any hardship.”

Narrated by Muslim (2807)

Another indication that one dip in the bliss of Paradise will
take away all hardship that came before it, even the hardship of being
punished in Hell, in addition to what we have mentioned of their forms being
changed after they are thrown into the River of Life, is the report narrated
by Muslim (2836) from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) from the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) who said: “Whoever
enters Paradise will enjoy bliss and will not be miserable, his clothes will
not wear out and his youth will not fade.”

This blessing confirms that misery will be erased for the one
who enters Paradise, and it is general in meaning and includes everyone who
enters it, whether they entered Hell beforehand or not.

Al-Qaadi said: What this means is that Paradise is the abode
of stability and blessing which will not change or be disturbed by any
hardship or corruption. Quoted in Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi (7/194).

For all of these reasons, Allaah tells us about the condition
of the people of Paradise when they enter it:

“And they will say: ‘All the praises and thanks be to
Allaah Who has removed from us (all) grief. Verily, our Lord is indeed
Oft‑Forgiving, Most Ready to appreciate (good deeds and to recompense).

35. Who, out of His Grace, has lodged us in a home that
will last forever, where toil will touch us not nor weariness will touch
us’”

[Faatir 35:34-35]

Shaykh al-Sa’di (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: i.e.,
the home of eternal abode, the home where one will want to stay forever,
because of the many good things therein, and because of the ongoing delight
and because there is nothing to disturb this pleasure.

That is “out of His Grace” towards us and His Bounty,
not because of our deeds. Were it not for His Grace, we would not have
reached the point we have reached.

“where toil will touch us not nor weariness will touch us”
i.e., there will be no tiredness in body, heart or strength, or because of
an abundance of pleasures. This indicates that Allaah will make their bodies
physically perfect and will create all means of making their abode there one
of continuous delight and pleasure, so that they will not be touched by toil
or weariness, or by worry or sorrow.

Tafseer al-Sa’di (689).

And Allaah knows best.