Advice of Scholars - POINT OF TORMENT AND REWARD

Imâm-i Ghazâlî says in his book Kimyâ-i Sa’âdat:

Torment is not someone’s hurting you in revenge for your having committed an evil deed. Nor is thawâb (reward) his rewarding you because he likes your deed. That day there will be nobody besides Allâhu ta’âlâ to revenge. As we call it illness when there is a change in man’s body because there is something wrong with his bile or because other harmful substances in his body have increased, and as we call it health when medicine has cured him, so a sort of fire falls into the soul when anger and lust increase in man. It is this fire that brings man to ruin. It is for this reason that a hadîth declares, “Wrath is a part of the fire of Hell. ” 

As the light of mind extinguishes the fire of lust and anger when it gets strong, so the nûr of îmân extinguishes the fire of Hell. As a matter of fact, Hell will say to Believers, “O Believer! Pass quickly, or else your nûr will extinguish my fire” This statement will not be through sounds, but as water extinguishes fire so Hell, not standing against the Believer’s nûr, will go out. And the fire of lust will be extinguished with the light of mind.

In the next world they will not bring your torment from some other place. As a matter of fact, it is declared, “Hell is nothing but the evil deeds you have done in the world. They are returned to you. ” Then, the seed of Hell’s fire is man’s lust and wrath. They are inside man. He who knows through ’ilm-yaqîn can see this. As a matter of fact, it is purported in the sûra of Takâsur, “If you knew through ’ilm-i yaqîn you would certainly see Hell. ”

Poison makes man sick. And sickness puts him into the grave. But it cannot be said that poison and sickness become angry with man and revenge themselves on him. Likewise, sinning and lust make the heart sick. This sickness becomes the heart’s fire. This fire is of a kind of Hell-fire and is unlike worldly fire. As a magnet attracts pieces of iron, so Hell-fire attracts those who bear this fire. [It is not the anger or the revenge of Hell or of the Zabânîs of Hell, that is, the angels of torment. ] So is the case with those who do (actions causing) thawâb. It would take a long time to explain.