Journey of the Unseen World

Chapter 10 – a Visit To Hell

I said "I'm prepared to leave, but Haadi theres one thing which saddens me.He said. "Sadness and in the Valley of Peace! I cannot believe it." "You are right, but didn't you notice that Hazrat Abbas (A.S.) and Hazrat Ali Akbar (A.S.) are still in their battle-dress and blood stains still visible on Hazrat Ali Asghar's (A.S.) neck. I wish to avenge their deaths."

He replied, "But their enemies, the accursed beings, are in the Valley of Barhoot and it is the duly of the Twelfth Imam. the Imam Mehdi (A.S.) to avenge, which he shall, whenever he appears. I said, "True, but I wish to go to the Valley of Barhoot and punish them with my own two hands."

"God has ordained two harsh and severe angels for this task. Do you consider yourself more capable than God and his angels?" "No, no, of course not! Of course nobody is more severe than God and his angels because he is the Ultimate Justice. No doubt he is Benevolent and Merciful, but he is also the Forceful and all-powerful. However, it was my desire to punish them personally."

"No doubt God will reward you for your feelings. But you should realise that the Faithful's illuminance can cool down the fire of Hell. Are you willing that the heat should decrease for the period that you are there?" He was right and so I said, "All right, but at least take me to some place from where I may be able to see them being punished."

When Haadi saw that I lust would not be satisfied he left to present my request to the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him), Hazrat Ali (A.S.) and Hazrat Fatima (A.S.). When they learnt about this. they prayed for my welfare and the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him) said, "O Lord! We Ahlebait are always content and satisfied with whatever your will is. because you only wish the best. We cannot dare object. However today one of your servants has come to your guest house where sorrow and sadness cannot enter, but he loves us so much that he wishes to see our enemies being punished and he will not be content until his desire is fulfilled. If you please, in order to satisfy him, allow him to see the Valley of Barhoot."

The Holy Prophet's (Peace be upon him) wish was granted and it was ordered that I should be allowed to see the enemies of the Ahlebait (A.S.) being punished but that angels should accompany me so that I would not be troubled at all in this journey and the hot air would not harm me.

When I received this news, I was overjoyed and I started preparing for my journey along with a few of my friends. We were accompanied with angels on all sides to protect us. Soon we approached a hill. When it was about a hundred steps ahead we saw that the eastern horizon was overcast with dark clouds and sparks of different shapes were emitting from them, as if they were made of tire and were bursting. We could hear the thunder from afar. As soon as the angels saw this, they involuntarily said, "There is no course of circumstances and no power except God's."

I asked, "What is the matter?" The angels replied, "This is the Valley of Barhoot and these sparks, resembling arrows. spears, swords and cudgels are in fact the curses which the faithfuls send upon the enemies of the Ahlebait and these are hitting their targets. But this is not the real punishment. The real punishment and wrath of God is being meted out in the plains of Barhoot. The plain is even warmer than the iron-monger's kiln. Snakes, scorpions and beasts made of fire are present there to continuously torture those accursed beings."

We climbed the hill from here we could see that the fiery arrows would pass clean through the bodies which they entered. Each of the arrows, swords etc. passed through numerous people and if by chance any of the darts fell down it would get up again to continue hitting its targets. If the people tried to escape, the arms would follow them until they would manage to strike. It seemed as if these arms and darts were conscious beings and also as if somebody was picking up the enemies bodily and throwing them down onto the ground here and there. It reminded me of the sight of mustard seeds popping about while being roasted. The enemies of the Ahlebait (A.S.) were wailing away and their voices sounded like the whining and yelping of dogs. The sight gave me great pleasure and satisfaction. I sat down on the hill to enjoy the scennary and since I had been informed that these arms were in infect the faithiuls curses, I repeated the curse which I used to read in Ziarate-Ashura.

"O God! Send down your curse on the first oppressor who did injustice to Mohammed (Peace be upon him) and his Progeny and to the last, who followed in his footsteps. O God, send down your curse on the wretched people who fought with Hussein (A.S.) and those who were with them and obeyed them and followed them in killing Hussein (A.S.). O God, send down your curse on all of them."

Then I said, ""O god especially curse on my behalf the first oppressor, then the second, the third, and the fourth0 always and forever." "O God, curse Yazid son of Muawiyah, the fifth and curse Obaidullah son Ziyad and Omar son of Saad and Shimr and the families of Abu Sufyan, Ziyad and Marwan upto the Day of Judgement."

(The above are responsible for the murder of the grandson of the Holy Prophet)

All the angels and friends accompanying me joined me in repeating these two curses again and again. The fiery arms increased ten fold in number and the atmosphere became dense and dark with dust. The punishment became much more severe. A spark would strike an enemy causing him to jump up in the air, where he would be struck by more darts from all directions. They were being tossed around like footballs, managing to land only alter a length of time. On seeing this we continued cursing until our voices became hoarse and throats dry. By now the accursed people had been roasted alive their skins were peeling. and their bodies had become pierced like sieves.

They were wishing that they would die but here even death could not rescue them because here there was no death: only eternal wrath and punishment. On earth they had oppressed until death had freed the oppressed from their tyranny. but in the Hereafter since death does not exist, the oppressors could not escape their eternal harsh fate.

The Quran says: "The Hereafter is in, fact life" and "Whenever their skin will burn away. we will replace it with another.'

Here we also observed two strange sights. One that amongst these people there were two men whom fire could not reach. Flames would leap towards them, but would be turned away by large fans thus keeping the two men safe. When I inquired, I was informed that one was Haatim of Taai, the other Nausherwan the Just. Being infidels, they had been sent to Hell but the generosity of one and the justice of the other kept its flames away from them, as generosity and justice both were God's favourite qualities and he does not let anybody's labour go waste or unrewarded.

Secondly, I saw some people who though also present in Hell, were out of reach of its flames and were also not troubled by its fiery darts. However though they were not being punished themselves, they were losing their wits just seeing others being punished. Their faces had gone white and they were completely bewildered and terrified. I was informed that these were friends of Ahlebait and they used to hate the enemies of Ahlebail but they had been neglectful of their prayers and fasts and other obligations and had also not avoided the forbidden deeds. They were also answerable to of hers. The Just could forgive disobedience and sins but could not overlook the rights due to other men. So they were sent to hell but their love of Ahlebait.

became a shield, saving them from its fire. At the termination of their sentence, since they had been correct in their faith and beliefs, if God so willed, they would be freed from Hell and would enjoy God's blessings.

Seeing the fate of the enemies of Ahlebait really gratified me and we resumed our journey saying, -O God, give them such a punishment from which even the dwellers of Hell would wish that they were freed."