I do realize this question has been asked before here: Why does Allah create someone whose fate is hell?

Yet I feel I should ask again and maybe in a bit of a different manner as I don't believe the answers on that post were adequate.

I'm wondering from an Islamic perspective, if Allah knew that some people will end up in hell, why go through with the creation anyway? What purpose does that serve for Allah?

Note: Some people seem to be confused and don't understand my question and they think I'm not understanding the purpose of hellfire and that it is to punish people who do wrong, when in fact all I'm asking is about the creation of those who will end up in hellfire. Please don't resort to explanations for why hell was created or why people go to hell, etc. This doesn't answer the question being asked.

  • Is your question similar to islam.stackexchange.com/questions/28133/…? – Armaan May 25 at 1:56
  • No it is not. That question seems to relate to the concept of free will. This question pertains to choices Allah had given the fact that he knows the future. – John Doe May 25 at 2:25

There are a lot of assumptions you're making there, no offence meant.

Now, Allah is indeed omniscient. As for benevolence, we say He is the Most Merciful (not All Merciful). This means, more or less, Most Merciful out of all who show Mercy. No man should presume to restrict Him to complete and full ercy, and complete and full forgiveness all the time for everything. Allah has within His attributes the attribute of Most Just as well. How can it be justice to those who did serve Him to put those who did not serve Him at an equal level to them? All of His attributes are in harmony with each other and none of them conflict. Perhaps some take precedence over others, Allah knows best.

Allah created Mankind for the purpose of recognising Him, and then submitting to Him, more or less. That is by taking the Kalimah as one's creed and having at least some conviction in it. To that end and purpose, everything has been designed. All men will submit to Him eventually. Either they will submit in this world and attain Paradise within which to continue to be in reverence of Him while having attained His Pleasure, or to refuse to submit in which case He may prescribe for them Hell. In Hell, its dwellers will also be in submission.

Anas ibn Malik reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “It will be said to a man among the people of Hellfire on the Day of Resurrection: If you owned all that is on the earth, would you pay it as ransom for yourself? He will say yes. It will be said: I wanted from you something easier than that, for when you were still in the loins of Adam you were told not to associate anything with Me and yet you insisted upon an associate with Me.”

– Musnad Ahmad 11880 (Source: abuaminaelias.com)

Another version:

“Would you give as ransom the world and everything in it if you owned them in order to be saved from this torture?” He says, "Yes, I would." Thereupon, Allah will say, “When you were among the descendants of Adam, I had asked you something much easier than this sacrifice: not to associate any partners with Me. However, you kept on associating partners with Me.”

– Bukhari, Muslim (Source: questionsonislam.com)

It can be posited from this following Hadith, perhaps, that the existence of people of Hell may also have the function of being one of the factors that help create people of Heaven:

Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Verily, no one will enter Paradise but a soul submissive to Allah, yet Allah may support this religion by the hands of a wicked man.”

– Bukhari 2897, Muslim 111 (Source: abuaminaelias.com)

Note: I am relying on third parties to translate these Ahadith, and cannot vouch for the complete reliability of the translations.

I testify that if this response has any truth to it, then it is by the permission of Allah. Whereas if it has any falsehood to it, it is my shortcoming, and fault, entirely, and alone.

  • I'm not sure what you mean by "There are a lot of assumptions you're making there" as I don't believe I have made any. Also, your answer doesn't seem to actually answer the question of why would Allah create the people who he knows will end up in hellfire. – John Doe May 24 at 21:21
  • @JohnDoe The assumptions made were: That Allah is omnibenevolent, and that it's not in Him to create people who He knew would go into Hell. In Hell, they would be in submission to Him as well. – Mu'in al-Deen May 25 at 4:57
  • Every single person will end up in submission to Allah. That is my point. There's no actual evil end, since submission to Allah is the ultimate purpose and goal, and that is held to be an Objective Good, regardless of whether one likes it or not. Now some souls may require the taste of Fire in order to submit. Others may not, and are absolutely happy with submitting in Paradise. Furthermore, some may need to atone in the Fire before they are in a state to enter Paradise. – Mu'in al-Deen May 25 at 5:04
  • <comments deleted> Comments are intended for constructive criticism and seeking clarification for the purposes of improving the post they're on, not for argument and debate or extended discussion of tangential points. If the relevant posts are unclear to the point that you need extensive discussion to explain how it answers the question, chances are the post needs to be edited. If the conversation has veered off of how to answer the original question, take it to Islam Chat. – goldPseudo May 25 at 18:01
  • Just to reiterate, my question is about why Allah would choose to create those who he knew were to burn in hellfire eternally. It is not about whether or not it is fair to punish those who deserve it for eternity. We are talking about before any creation. What is the point of creating people who will end up being doomed? – John Doe May 25 at 23:33

(See also Qur'an 2:214, 29:2, 67:2, and 76:2, and probably other verses I haven't listed.)

Suffering is also sometimes brought on by sin, and this is mentioned in the Qur'an, e.g.:

And whatever strikes you of disaster - it is for what your hands have earned; but He pardons much. Quran 42:30

(See also Qur'an 30:41.)

Why mankind was created is explained directly in the Qur'an:

And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me. Qur'an 51:56

Unlike humans and jinn, angels cannot choose to disobey Allah (Qur'an 66:6, 21:27, and 21:20). So indeed Allah created a being incapable of evil. However, this implies that angels don't have free will, or at least have their freedom limited (Are angels free-willed, perfectly ethical beings?).

The question Why is there hell? has been asked before: Is there clear answer to the Problem of Hell? and Why did Allah create hell?, and the short answer is "punishment and justice"

  • This also doesn't seem to answer my question. Again, this has nothing to do with punishment and justice, I know what hell is for, that is not my question. My question is about the creation of those who will ultimately end up in hell. – John Doe May 26 at 14:49

Hope you well. This lecture might help to answer your question Why will non-Muslims go to hell if Allah made them non-Muslims

  • I think you misinterpreted my question. This is not about free will. I'm fine with Allah knowing the future and yet we still make our own choices. This is about Allah's choice to create those who will ultimately make the wrong choice and end up in hell. – John Doe May 26 at 5:59
  • quran.com/2/155-157 – Rifche May 26 at 7:39
  • I don't see how this verse helps to answer my question. – John Doe May 26 at 14:48

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