Is Hell Eternal?

During the early period of Islam, scholars differed about the duration of Hell. The majority of them argued that it was eternal and they have strong evidence to support their claim. However, there were a few notable scholars - like Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Qayyim al Jawziyyah - who believed that it was temporary and they cite verses which hint at the possibility of Hell coming to an end (e.g. Q. 11:106-7). They argued that this view was more consistent with the Divine nature. God says in a Hadith Qudsi, "My Mercy prevails over My Wrath".

 

Imam al-Ghazali appears to hold a similar position when he suggests that the overwhelming majority of Hell's denizens are ultimately released (see faysal al-tafriqa). Even people who did not do any good or only had an atoms weight of faith in their heart are released from the fire. This is mentioned in authentic ahadith relating to the intercession.

Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنه records the Prophet ﷺ as saying, "Surely a day will come over Hell when it will be like a field of corn that has dried up after flourishing for a while". Similarly Ibn Mas‘ud  رضي الله عنه says, "Surely a time will come over Hell when its gates shall be blown by wind, there shall be none in it, and this shall be after they have remained there for ages." ‘Umar رضي الله عنه, the second Caliph, is recorded as follows: "Even if the dwellers in Hell may be countless like the sands of the desert, a day will come when they will be taken out of it".  

We should reiterate that Hell being a temporary state is a minority opinion and we only highlight it for those who struggle to believe that a Merciful God would punish people forever.  In Christianity and Judaism, Hell is also understood to be eternal yet there is a concept of purgatory which considers Hell to be a place of purification rather than eternal damnation. 

Notes

* A common misconception among Muslims is that the majority of the inhabitants of Hell are women. This arises from an often quoted hadith, "I looked into Hell and saw that the majority of its inhabitants were women." Another hadith, almost universally ignored,  states, "I entered Paradise and found that the majority of its inhabitants were women." Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Sakhawi (d. 1497) says, "No contradiction exists". For instance, we could consider the former to refer to its initial inhabitants and the latter to Paradise once people have been purified and prepared for it. It should also be noted that historically women have comprised the majority of the world's population. 

References

1. This work was taken and edited from Hamza Yusuf's essay titled "Death, Dying and the Afterlife"