Will you explain verse 2 of the chapter of al-Hajj? Will nine hundred and ninety-nine out of every thousand people go to hell?

- When the Prophet (pbuh) was asked, “What day is the day mentioned in the verse?” He said, “It is the day when Allah says, ‘Send the descendants of Adam who will go to Hell’.”

Then, Adam will ask, “How many will go to Hell?” and Allah will say, “Nine hundred and ninety-nine out of every thousand.”

- Does this mean that the calculation of this number will show how many people will go to Hell?

Dear Brother / Sister,

The translation of the verse in question is as follows:

“O mankind! fear your Lord! For the convulsion of the Hour (of Judgment) will be a thing terrible! The Day ye shall see it, every mother giving suck shall forget her suckling- babe, and every pregnant female shall drop her load (unformed): thou shalt see mankind as in a drunken riot, yet not drunk: but dreadful will be the Wrath of Allah.”(al-Hajj, 22/1-2).

In fact, this verse speaks of the terror of the earthquake at the time of Doomsday. The earthquake of Doomsday will come upon the unbelievers. There will be an earthquake as a powerful manifestation of Allah’s wrath because there will no longer be any believers who will worship Allah in the world. The phrase “but dreadful will be the Wrath of Allah” in the verse, points to it.

The following is stated in a hadith:

“Because of this earthquake, the earth begins to shake and churn like a ship caught in the storm of the sea, tossing to the right and left and heading toward capsizing. In the face of this terror, the mother breastfeeding her child forgets her child out of terror. Every pregnant woman will miscarry her child. People will flee to the left and right as if they were drunk.” (Tabari, Ibn Kathir, the interpretation of the verse in question)

Scholars have different views on the timing of this earthquake based on different evidence. According to some of them, this earthquake will occur at the time of Doomsday while people are still in the world. Our explanations above are in accordance with this view.

According to some other scholars, the earthquake in the chapter of az-Zilzal occurs on earth at the time of Doomsday. The earthquake mentioned in the chapter of al-Hajj, on the other hand, occurs after the strike of Doomsday. The evidence for this view is the following hadith narrated by Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal from Imran b. Husayn: According to the narration, during an expedition, some of the Companions were walking normally while others were walking slowly due to exhaustion. At that time, the Prophet recited the first two verses of the chapter of al-Hajj aloud. Hearing the Messenger of Allah reciting these verses aloud, all the Companions rushed to him, thinking that there must be some wisdom behind it. When they gathered around him with great curiosity, he asked, “Do you know what day is this day (mentioned in these verses)?” and continued: “It is the day when Adam is called and Allah says, ‘O Adam! Allocate the share of the fire!” Adam asks, “O Lord, what is the share of the Fire? Allah says: “out of every thousand people, nine hundred and ninety-nine will enter the fire/ell and one person will enter Paradise”.

Hearing this, the faces of the Companions changed and there was no trace of a smile on their faces due to sadness. When the Messenger of Allah saw the despair and sadness of the Companions, he said:

“Glad tidings, be hopeful and continue to do righteous deeds! I swear by Allah, in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, that on that day you will be between two groups of creatures, whoever they are compared to and whatever they are compared to, they will be more than them. They are Yajuj (Gog) and Majuj (Magog), and those who perished from the descendants of Adam and Iblis (the father of the jinn).”

Hearing this, the Companions began to smile. Then, the Messenger of Allah said:

“Do your deeds and be hopeful; I swear by Allah, in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, that on that day you will be like a mole on the side of a camel (right or left) or a strip on the arm of an animal (in a narration: a white scale on the side of a black ox or a black scale on the side of a white ox).” (This hadith was also narrated by Tirmidhi along with Nasai and said it was hasan-sahih). (Tabari, Ibn Kathir, the interpretation of the verse in question).

In order to unify those two different views, it can be said that this earthquake starts on the last day of the world, when Doomsday strikes, and its terrifying effects will continue until the Day of Resurrection. That the Prophet foretold the events of the Day of Resurrection does not prevent this earthquake from happening beforehand. It is especially understood to be true if we take into account that breastfeeding and abortion are events that happen in the world in general, even if there is a possibility of being a metaphor.

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