Panel: TRANSFORMATIONS OF HELL(S): CULTURAL AND DOCTRINAL DYNAMICS OF A CONTESTED IDEA



96.2 - ESCHATOLOGICAL PUNISHMENT AND THE INHABITANTS OF HELL IN IBN AL-'ARABĪ'S PERSPECTIVE

AUTHORS:
Emirahmetoglu E. (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin ~ Berlin ~ Germany)
Text:
This paper will explore Ibn al-'Arabī's eschatology by focusing on three aspects of his understanding of hell. Ibn al-'Arabī's writings offer a unique interpretation of divine mercy that diverges from the traditional views of reward and punishment in Islamic theology. His perspective on God's mercy as the foundation of all existence - emphasizing its precedence over God's wrath - raises important questions about the nature of suffering and punishment in hell. To address these questions, the paper will first present the different categories of the "people of the fire" (al-mujrimūn), including the proud (al-mutakabbirūn), the associators (al-mushrikūn), the atheists (al-mu'aṭṭila), and the hypocrites (al-munāfiqūn). The exploration of who qualifies for hell will be connected to Ibn al-'Arabī's view on infidelity and humankind's knowledge of God, which is, for him, intrinsic to every single being, influenced by individual perspectives, constantly evolving, and often expressed in contradictory forms, including aspects of association.