How Islamic Perceptions Of Hell Differ From Christianity And Judaism
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Islamic perceptions of Heaven and Hell differ from those of Christianity and Judaism through their beliefs, their visions of what the two are like, and how one gets there.
In the Islamic religion, people believe they will go to an afterlife known as Jannah. They believe there is no "God," but Allah rules and his messenger holds the highest place in heaven. They believe that you have to earn your place in Jannah and that Allah judges a person's good deeds against their bad ones on a scale. Islam hell is known as Jahannam. In order to be placed in Jahannam a persons bad deeds must outweigh their good deeds and they must reject Allah. Islamic people believe they will come back to Earth through the process of reincarnation. The Judaism and Christianity religion are more alike in their beliefs. They believe in God and when they die they will go to heaven, or as Jews call it Gan Eden, which means garden of Eden. In theses two religions anyone who believes in God will go to heaven. Going to heaven is also based on ones faith and good works. When a person dies, before they are allowed to cross through the gates they will be reminded of every thought they had and every thing they did, it will be shown without embellishments. They also believe that God is full of mercy and love, so punishment is not eternal. God also rewards people for the good they have done. Hell is known by the Jews as gehinnom. It is the post place for unrighteous Jews and Gentiles to go to when they die. People who go to hell are those who do not believe in God. Jews and Christians believe heaven and hell are everlasting places and once there always there.
The second way in which Islam differs from Judaism and Christianity is by the way they view heaven and hell. Islamic people believe that when you enter Jannah there will be eight gates which is an eternal place for sensual and spiritual pleasures. Jannah is considered a mystifying place and an unimaginable delight. Inside the gardens, Islamic men are rewarded in heaven by sexual pleasures. Men will have the opportunity to have sex with perfect women (Ankerberg 59). Women are not as fortunate, they may not even get one man. Other rewards in Jannah are often whatever the believers heart desires, such as silk garments, fruit within reach, crystal cups, and vessels of silver. Hell is a dark place of grief and sorrow where people experience unimaginable suffering. Here boiling water melts the skin of people, and the scorched skin is replaced with new skin so the process can begin again (Rhodes). In Judaism and Christianity religions they believe
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