It is said that this kind of punishment will continue on forever and that the unbelievers will be speechless with despair.

Claimed to be one of the greatest figures in history, Muhammad was born to Abdallahibn Abd al-Muttalib and his wife Amina; both of the Hashim clan of the dominant kuraish (Quraysh) tribal federation. Later on in life, Muhammed claimed the Koran was the will of Muslims.

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The Qur'an, the Islamic holy book, says that salvation depends on a man's actions and attitudes. However, repentance can turn an evil man toward the virtue that will save him. The final day of reckoning is described in mind-blowing terms. On that last day, every man will account for what he has done, and his eternal existence will be determined on that basis.

Muslims recognize that different individuals have been given different abilities and various degrees of insight into the truth. Each man will be judged according to his situation, and every man who lives according to the truth to the best of his abilities will achieve heaven. However, individuals who are presented with the truth of Islam and reject it will be given no mercy. God judges all men, and the infidels will fall off the bridge al-Aaraf into hell while the good men continue onto heaven.

It is also believed that the dead will be questioned by two horrible angels. This is said to be the reason for the profession of faith that is recited to the dying. Only the souls of the martyrs go directly to heaven. The end of the world will be announced by the coming of the 'mahdi', meaning the directed or guided one. This is a messianic figure who will appear in the last days. This figure isn't found in the Qur'an but developed out of Shi'ah speculation and is sometimes identified with Jesus Christ.

The mahdi will slay the Dajjal (a one-eyed evil spirit) and combat dangerous enemies, Yajuj and Majuj, who will come from the north of the Earth. The trumpet of Israfil, an archangel, will awaken the dead for the day of resurrection. Resurrection is thousands of years long and the world will be in chaos.

The Islamic faith adopted the scales on which deeds are weighed from the Egyptians, has the book in which two angels record man's deeds, and a narrow bridge that is thinner than a hair and sharper than a sword. The bridge crosses over hell.

The Qur'an has vivid descriptions of heaven and hell. Heaven is depicted in terms of worldly delights, and the torments of hell are shown in lurid detail. Muslims disagree as to whether those descriptions are to be taken literally or not.




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