The fate of a person in the Hereafter, in particular the nature of his drink, is determined by his fear of God in this world, his obedience, and his moral integrity.
The text is an Islamic sermon that takes the summer as an occasion to speak about the drinks in the Hereafter. The preacher compares the pure, sweet, and healing drinks of the inhabitants of Paradise with the burning, pus-filled, and harmful drink of the inhabitants of Hell. He uses extensive Quranic citations and hadiths to describe the nature of these liquids. The sermon warns emphatically of the consequences of sins and godlessness, which lead to the drink of Hell. At the same time, it encourages the fear of God, obedience, and repentance in order to attain Paradise. The text links the physical suffering of heat in the present with the spiritual suffering of the Hereafter. It calls upon the listeners to seek the grace of God through pious conduct and mercy towards the weak.
Koran 2:281 · Koran 21:30 · Koran 47:15 · Koran 56:17-18 · Koran 76:6 · Koran 37:46-47 · Koran 76:15-18 · Koran 7:50
Analysed with qwen/qwen3.8-27b, version v3.
The same standards apply to every tradition, see Values.
Full text in English
The First Sermon: The Food of the People of Paradise and the Food of the People of Hell
All praise is due to Allah, abundant, good, and blessed praise, by which we hope for His mercy and fear His punishment. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, without partner, who has made for us in the night and the day, and in the seasons of the year, a lesson and a sign. And I bear witness that our Prophet, our role model, and our beloved, Muhammad, upon whom be the best of prayers and the purest of salutations, was sent by Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, as a bringer of good news and a warner, and as a caller to Allah by His permission, and as a manifest lamp. May Allah send prayers and peace upon him, upon his family, and upon all his companions.
As for what follows:
Fear Allah with true fear, O servants of Allah. Fear the punishment of Allah by doing what brings about His mercy, and fear what angers Him by avoiding His sins. [And fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah, then every soul will be paid in full for what it has earned, and they will not be wronged] [Al-Baqarah: 281].
O believers: We are living in these days in the season of summer, when its heat intensifies, causing man to become thirsty and in need of sweet water to quench his thirst. And its day becomes long, so he needs food to strengthen his body. And he needs shade so that he is not exposed to sunstroke due to the scorching high temperatures.
O believers: And we in this worldly life flee to safety from the intensity of the heat by means of air conditioning, sweet beverages, and delicious foods – we ask Allah to make them a continuing blessing upon us –
Let us compare for you, O believers, the drink of the people of Paradise and the drink of the people of Hell. And our chosen Messenger, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him, said, as narrated in al-Bukhari from Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him: “Paradise is closer to one of you than the strap of his sandal, and Hell is the same.” And it is nothing but our worldly life that ends, and the outcome will be either to a Paradise, which we ask Allah to grant us by His grace, His kindness, and His mercy, or to a blazing Hell, which we ask Allah to forbid for our bodies by His gentleness, His pardon, and His forgiveness.
Clear, sweet, pure water is the foundation of life and a source of comfort, tranquility, and refuge. And Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, said: [And We made from water every living thing] [Al-Anbiya: 30]. Water helps regulate body temperature, and contributes to the elimination of toxins and harmful substances in the body. And drinking water in appropriate quantities helps improve kidney efficiency and protect it from diseases. And it helps in the formation of saliva, which contains the enzymes and substances necessary for digesting food and protecting the mouth, and for protecting the joints and the spinal cord. Water helps in the absorption of minerals, vitamins, and nutrients from food, and in transporting them to all the organs of the body to obtain the maximum benefit from different foods. Water improves mental performance and brain functions, including improving mood, concentration, and memory.
Water helps in transporting oxygen to all parts of the body through the circulatory system, and maintains blood pressure within its normal levels. This is something of what we know about the benefits of water.
What, then, did Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, say about what the believer drinks in the Gardens of Delight? He, the Most High, said: “The likeness of the Garden which the righteous are promised is that therein are rivers of water, uncorrupted” [Muhammad: 15] – pure, without any turbidity, and unchanged – “and rivers of milk, whose taste has not altered” [Muhammad: 15] – but rather at the utmost whiteness, sweetness, and richness – “and rivers of wine, delightful to those who drink it” – pleasing in appearance, taste, and scent – “and rivers of honey, clarified; and for them therein are all kinds of fruits and forgiveness from their Lord.” And if you long for the wine of Paradise, O believers, Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, describes it and says: “Youth who will not age will circulate among them, with cups, pitchers, and a cup from a flowing spring” [Al-Waqi’ah: 17-18] – a flowing spring and springs that flow ceaselessly. “A spring whose drink is for the servants of Allah; they will cause it to gush forth” [Al-Insan: 6] wherever they wish and however they desire, to the blooming gardens or to the lush meadows, or between the sides of the decorated palaces and dwellings. Its nature is not like the wine of this world, but rather: “They will not be made dizzy thereby, nor will they be made to vomit” – their heads will not ache, nor will their minds be impaired. “They will exchange among themselves a cup wherein there is no idle talk, nor any sin. It is white, delightful to those who drink it. Therein is no intoxication, nor will they be made to vomit” [As-Saffat: 46-47]. Thus, they will not suffer from drinking wine what befalls the people of this world, such as delirium, stomach pain, and indecent speech. Rather, “Indeed, the righteous will drink from a cup whose mixture is camphor” – the wine is mixed with camphor to increase its coolness and break its sharpness. And sometimes the wine is mixed with ginger, which is hot, so that their drink varies between cold and hot. “And they will be served with vessels of silver and cups that are crystal. Crystal of silver, which they will measure with a precise measure. And they will be given a cup whose mixture is ginger. A spring therein is called Salsabil” [Al-Insan: 15-18]. And the description of the drink that the people of Paradise consume was given when He, the Most High, said: “And their Lord will give them to drink a pure drink” [Al-Insan: 21]. Thus, He purified their inner selves from envy, hatred, resentment, harm, and other bad morals. The drink of Paradise increases the believer’s radiance. And their drinking of wine is sealed with the scent of musk, as Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, said: “They will be given to drink from a pure nectar, sealed. Its seal is musk” [Al-Mutaffifin: 25-26]. Thus, the drink of Paradise is mixed and blended with musk in taste and scent. “And its mixture is from Tasnim” [Al-Mutaffifin: 27]. Thus, the nearest ones, who are in the highest stations of Paradise, drink from the spring of Tasnim, which is the most noble pure drink for the people of Paradise and the highest.
These are the drinks of the people of Paradise, O believers. As for the people of Hell, they call out to the people of Paradise and say to them: “And the companions of the Fire will call out to the companions of the Garden, saying, ‘Pour over us from water or from what Allah has provided you.’ They will say, ‘Indeed, Allah has forbidden both to the disbelievers’” [Al-A’raf: 50]. “And if they seek help, they will be helped with water like molten metal that scorches the faces” [Al-Kahf: 29] – like molten lead or like turbid oil due to its intense heat. For lead melts at a temperature of three hundred and twenty-seven degrees Celsius. “Evil drink, and evil place of rest” [Al-Kahf: 29].
“They will not taste therein any coolness or any drink, except scalding water and dark, murky water.” Indeed, Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, has excluded from coolness the scalding water, which is hot whose heat and burning have reached their peak. And Ghassaq is what gathers from the pus, sweat, tears, and wounds of the people of Hell, and what flows from between their skin and flesh. It is cold, so cold that one cannot bear its coldness, nor face its stench. Imam Ahmad narrated in his Musnad from Abu Sa’id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “If a bucket of Ghassaq were poured into this world, the people of this world would be stank by it.” And Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, spoke the truth when He said: “Then they will drink from the scalding water. Then they will drink the drink of the thirsty. This is their provision on the Day of Judgment” [Al-Waqi’ah: 54-56]. They will drink water that is intensely hot, drinking as the thirsty drink, as one who is never satisfied no matter how much he drinks. And what satisfaction is there when the water is hot? And the result is: “And they will be given to drink scalding water, which will cut their intestines” [Muhammad: 15].
May Allah protect us and you from the punishment of Hell and its scalding water and its flames. And we seek forgiveness from Allah and repent to Him for every sin we have committed and dared to commit while we did not care. Seek His forgiveness, O believers, and repent to Him, for indeed He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.
Second Sermon: The Drinks of the People of Paradise and Hell
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Praise be to Allah, the praise of the grateful. And may blessings and perfect peace be upon our Prophet and our role model, Muhammad ibn Abdullah, and upon his family and his companions, and those who follow them. As for what follows:
O believers: Whoever desires to be quenched with the drink of the people of Paradise and its sweet water, let him fear Allah, the Majestic, the Almighty, with true piety. And whoever desires to avoid the drink of the people of Hellfire, its scalding heat, and its Ghasaq, let him be among the righteous servants of Allah who have been righteous towards Allah, the Most High, through their obedience to Him and their service to His religion, until they have pleased Him, and He has been pleased with them. They are the sincere believers in their faith who obey their Lord. So, whoever desires to be given a drink that is a delight for those who drink it, let him be among the people of faith and righteous deeds. And whoever desires that his intestines not be cut by the hot water, let him not wrong himself through sins and disobedience, nor transgress, be tyrannical, and be arrogant towards others. And our Lord has said in His Noble Book: “Indeed, they were before that indulging in luxury.” Their worldly life distracted them, they worked for it, and they enjoyed and took pleasure in it, so hope distracted them from doing good deeds. “And they were persistent in the great sin” [Al-Waqi’ah: 46]. They committed major sins and did not repent from them nor feel remorse for them; rather, they persisted in what angered their Master, so they came before Him with many unforgiven burdens. “Those who took their religion as amusement and play, and the life of this world deluded them. So today We will forget them as they forgot the meeting of this Day of theirs, and they used to deny Our signs.” “They fulfill their vows and fear a Day whose evil will be widespread. And they feed, out of love for Him, the poor, the orphan, and the captive. ‘We feed you only for the Face of Allah; we do not desire from you any reward or gratitude. Indeed, we fear from our Lord a Day of gloom and distress. So Allah will protect them from the evil of that Day and will grant them beauty and joy. And He will reward them for their patience with a Garden and silk. Reclining therein on couches, they will not see therein any sun or bitter cold. And its fruits will be near to them, and its fruits will be made easy to pick.” [Al-Insan: 7-14]. We ask Allah, the Generous, the Bestower, to help us in His remembrance, gratitude, and good worship of Him. We ask Him, the Exalted, the Most High, and He is the Provider, to grant us guidance, piety, chastity, and self-sufficiency. And we ask Him, Glorious is His Majesty, to grant us His love, the love of what He loves, and the love of the deeds that bring us closer to His love.
May the Divine send blessings upon the guiding Prophet.