Allah (swt) paints a picture for us in the Qur’an of one of the greatest losers:

“But as for he who is given his record in his left hand, he will say, “Oh, I wish I had not been given my record and had not known what is my account! My wealth has not availed me! Gone from me is my authority!” (Qur’an, 69:25-29)

In the hereafter, our aspirations, intentions and beliefs will be put on display. This person thought that their wealth and power would save them but realized this was false hope after facing the reality. He says in his utter despair and regret that the two avenues of salvation he was relying on amounted to absolutely nothing. That is the definition of a loser.

What happens next to this person? Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala (exalted is He) will announce to the keepers of Hell:

“Seize him and shackle him! Then into Hellfire drive him! Then fasten him with a chain whereof the length is seventy cubits!” (Qur’an, 69:30-32)

The English translation does not capture the terror of these verses. When Allah (swt) gives these orders, He (swt) is not speaking to one Angel, rather He (swt) is addressing a group of Angels to take hold of this person, tie him up with chains, then throw him into Hell-Fire. No one will enter the Fire willingly, so it takes a group of strong and stern Angels to take people to the Hell-Fire.

Chains

Even though these Angels are strong enough to restrain the sinners and disbelievers who will enter the Fire, Allah (swt) will order the Angels to secure them with chains and fetters – another level of punishment and humiliation for them. Allah (swt) says, “Those who deny the Book and that with which We sent Our messengers – they are going to know, When the shackles are around their necks and the chains.” (Qur’an, 40:70-71)

After they are chained individually, they will then be chained together: “And when they are thrown into a narrow place therein bound in chains, they will cry out thereupon for destruction.” (Qur’an, 25:13) We know that Hell-Fire is huge, but it will feel as if it is a tight and cramped place. Their state is described as muqaraneen, which means they will all be tied together. One of the biggest fears people have today is claustrophobia, the fear of narrow spaces. Those destined for the Fire will experience the fear of claustrophobia on a much greater level. This punishment shows that the torments of the Fire will not only be physical but also psychological.

Different ways of Entering the Fire

After being seized, shackled and chained together, they will then enter the Fire. Some will enter differently than others, and Allah (swt) shows this in the Qur’an.

Some will be thrown into the Fire:

“The criminals will be known by their marks, and they will be seized by the forelocks and the feet.” (Qur’an, 55:41) The Angels will grab these people by their foreheads and feet and throw them in the Fire. We can only imagine how humiliating it is to be detained in such a position.

Others will be pushed into the Fire:

“The Day they are thrust toward the fire of Hell with a [violent] thrust.” (Qur’an, 52:13) Some of us who have experienced being pushed somewhere or having to do something against our will can attest to how powerless it makes one feel and how terrifying it can be. These people will be pushed into Hell-Fire against their will because no one will enter the Fire willingly.

Some will be dragged into the Fire:

“The Day they are dragged into the Fire on their faces.” (Qur’an, 54:48) Our face is the most honorable part of our bodies, revealing how degrading it will be for the disbelievers and sinners to be dragged on it.

Finally, some people will enter the Fire unexpectedly:

“And those who disbelieved will be driven to Hell in groups until, when they reach it, its gates are opened.” (Qur’an, 39:71) This verse is one of the many miracles of Qur’anic composition, showing how every addition and subtraction of a word has an impact on the meaning. When Allah (swt) says that the disbelievers will be taken to Hell-Fire in groups, He (swt) does not include a conjunction between that statement and the statement that the gates will be opened. Meaning, Allah (swt) does not say, “then the gates will be opened” but simply, “its gates are opened”. The English translation does not capture the profound meaning of this verse. The scholars say that the omission of the Arabic letter waw (which can mean “and” as well as “then”) shows that the gates will open all of a sudden, without warning, on the disbelievers. Being thrown and pushed into the Fire are terrifying, but this entrance into the Fire is unquestionably the scariest.

Greetings

Just as we are greeted by the inhabitants when we enter a new location, the companions of the Fire will also be greeted – but their greeting will not be one of welcome and pleasure. Instead, Allah (swt) says, “The day they see the angels – no good tidings will there be that day for the criminals, and [the angels] will say, “Prevented and inaccessible.” (Qur’an, 25:22) They will be prevented from Paradise, and unable to access anything that will bring relief, happiness or comfort.

Allah (swt) says in another ayah (verse): “No welcome for them!” (Qur’an, 38:59) Rather, the Angels will greet them with mocking questions:

“Did there not come to you messengers from yourselves, reciting to you the verses of your Lord and warning you of the meeting of this Day of yours?” (Qur’an, 39:71)

The Angels will repeat this question over and over, “Every time a company is thrown into it, its keepers ask them, “Did there not come to you a warner?” (Qur’an, 67:8)

It is as if the Angels are saying, “How could you have known about this Fire yet you still entered it?! Were you not warned of it?!” This is adding insult to injury, showing yet another aspect of the psychological trauma of those in Hell-Fire.

We seek Allah’s refuge from the Fire!

The major negative effects of 9/11 were:

1. The murder of 3,000-plus innocent people, whose “crime” was going to work to support their families.
2. Demonstrating our 800-billion-dollar a year defense budget (which is six times more than China, who is next on the list of defense spending) has major holes in it. Of course, there are the hundreds of previous government officials, military officers, scientists and scholars of the highest institutions that have brought forth testimonies and evidence that there are major issues in the official story of 9/11, which questions the ease by which Bin Laden and his crew orchestrated these horrendous attacks from the mountains of Afghanistan.
3. A million innocent Afghani and Iraqi people have been murdered, whose only “crime” was having a corrupt government.
4. The destruction of those two innocent countries, causing chaos, division and strife.
5. The placement and support of a highly corrupt regime in Afghanistan.
6. The two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq fueling a fringe element of extremist ideology amongst Muslims.
7. Mainstream mass media blaming 1.5 billion Muslims for this and spreading fear against Islam and Muslims the world over.  Whether fueled by strategic anti-Islam agenda or just trying to create an attractive story, images like that of the World Trade Center burning, and then fading into a photo of Muslims engaged in prayer, have played a major role in the formation of hate groups, which produce the likes of the recent Norwegian terrorist  Anders Breivik.
8. Giving credence and purpose to the anti-Islam movement that has existed since the time of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
9. The rapid downfall of the U.S. and thus the world economy.

Major positive effects:

1. The millions of curious objective people who didn’t accept the anti-Islam rhetoric and researched the faith and interacted with Muslims, causing most of them to have a favorable view of Islam and Muslims, as well as multitudes embracing Islam.
2. It woke up many Muslims and their Islamic centers to fulfill their responsibility in presenting the message of Islam to their neighbors.
3. The removal of Saddam Hussein and the Taliban from power.

When comparing these two sets of facts, it becomes obvious that this tragedy was ugly and highly negative. It produced anger, hatred, bias, fear, chaos, bloodshed and poverty. I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday who is a Methodist minister and I mentioned to him that, although Muslims mourned the loss of 9/11 and condemned the evil that caused it, we feel uncomfortable with these anniversaries. We feel that the anniversary says “Don’t forget when those “Muslim” terrorists attacked our country, so let’s join in solidarity against them.” The minister agreed that an anniversary should be a remembrance of a positive joyous occasion.

Islam is about beauty, mercy and God-consciousness and it should be remembered and understood as such. There is a famous hadith which says, “Indeed God is beautiful and He loves beauty…” (Muslim). God is defined primarily at the beginning of each chapter of the Quran as the loving, merciful, gracious, compassionate, forgiving, beneficent, etc. Muslim theologians have agreed from the time of the Prophet until this very day that the most comprehensive verse of the Qur’an about the message of Islam is:

“Indeed God calls for justice, a high standard of virtuous interaction, and preserving the rights of kinship. He forbids ugly immorality, sin and aggression. He reminds you so that perhaps you will be mindful.”(Qur’an, 16:90)

The acts of 9/11 were completely in contrast to this authoritative definitive verse of the Qur’an, so we will not accept the horror of 9/11 as being related to Islam. The burden now rests on the shoulders of every Muslim to understand their faith correctly and how to properly relate it to our neighbors. In doing this, we can promote the truth of Islam and dispel the lies and anti-Islam rhetoric.

This requires us to achieve balance in our approach to the world, as it relates to spiritual tolerance and intellectualism, while remaining proud of the divine message that we are calling to.

“Thus, We have chosen you to be an ideal moderate balanced nation so that you may be witnesses upon mankind and that Messenger can be a witness for you.”(Qur’an, 2:143)

We must step out of our enclaves and interact with society according to the values of this verse and the rest of the Qur’an and the Sunnah. This is first done by building relationships with neighbors, co-workers, classmates, the interfaith community, etc. The method is simple: be a Muslim, understand Islam and its priorities without coming off as preaching, and let it be known you are Muslim. The Qur’an says,

“Who is better in speech than He who calls to the path of God and works righteousness saying, ‘Indeed I am a Muslim.’”(Qur’an, 41:33).

Presenting Islam is based upon wisdom and gentle preaching, as mentioned in the Qur’an:

“Call to the path of your Lord with wisdom and gentle preaching…” (16:125)

This verse, in conjunction with the previously-mentioned verse, dictates that we first act like Muslims, and if the chance arises we present our message. First of all, this means it is NOT correct to get into theological debates with people as an act of da`wah. Very rarely will you change someone’s mind about religion by proving something to them in a debate. In many cases ,you will alienate them with your dogmatic religiosity. If discussion naturally goes somewhere, or you are asked a specific question, then you can mention a point about Islam. In other cases, once you’ve built a good relationship, you might have an open religious discussion. In any case, you must present Islam with wisdom and understanding, which is a big gift from God that we must strive and pray for:

“…Whoever has been given wisdom has been given a lot of good…” (2:269)

Finally, one of the most important parts of our mission as Muslims, that we are very weak in, is community service. Every single Mosque should have an active role in soup kitchens, clothing the homeless, keeping the city clean, etc. In my opinion, this weakness in our community is a result of our lack of seeing this land as ours and the inhabitants as our people, our brothers in humanity and nationality. Don’t forget how the Qur’an refers to the Prophets and their people:

“We sent to the city of Ad their brother Hud. He said, “O my people, worship God as there is no god other than Him” (11:50)

We will conclude with a verse which sums up our responsibility,

“You are the greatest nation brought forth for the benefit of mankind. You enjoin all good; you forbid all evil and believe in God…” (3:110)