Paradise and Hell: Their Permanence, and the Decree of Good and Evil

1. The existence of Paradise and Hell

وَالْجَنَّةُ وَالنَّارُ مَخْلُوقَتَانِ لَا تَفْنَيَانِ أَبَدًا وَلَا تَبِيدَانِ
Paradise and Hell have both been created. They will never perish or cease to exist.

Makhlūqatān affirms that both have been created, while lā tafnayān abadan wa-lā tabīdān affirms that they will not come to an end. Their existence is not merely a promise that they will be created in the future.

2. Their creation and their inhabitants

فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى خَلَقَ الْجَنَّةَ وَالنَّارَ قَبْلَ الْخَلْقِ وَخَلَقَ لَهُمَا أَهْلًا
Allah Most High created Paradise and Hell before creating His creatures, and He created inhabitants for both.

The two abodes are already created, and the people destined for them are within Allah's knowledge and decree. These are related aspects of belief about the Hereafter.

3. Paradise by grace and Hell by justice

فَمَنْ شَاءَ مِنْهُمْ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ أَدْخَلَهُ فَضْلًا مِنْهُ وَمَنْ شَاءَ مِنْهُمْ إِلَى النَّارِ أَدْخَلَهُ عَدْلًا مِنْهُ
Whomever Allah wills, He admits to Paradise through His grace; and whomever He wills, He admits to Hell according to His justice.

Grace (faḍl) expresses generous favor, while justice (ʿadl) expresses a just decision. Entrance to Paradise is connected with grace and punishment with justice; both remain subject to Allah's will.

4. Deeds and the final destination

وَكُلٌّ يَعْمَلُ لِمَا قَدْ فُرِغَ لَهُ وَصَائِرٌ إِلَى مَا خُلِقَ لَهُ
Each person acts according to what has already been determined for them and moves toward the destination for which they were created.

Deeds and the final outcome are mentioned together. The pre-existing decree does not make the deeds performed during one's life meaningless or unrelated to the ultimate outcome.

5. An objection concerning their permanence

كُلُّ مَنْ عَلَيْهَا فَانٍ ۝ وَيَبْقَىٰ وَجْهُ رَبِّكَ ذُو الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَامِ
Everyone upon the earth will perish, while the majestic and honored presence of your Lord will remain. (al-Raḥmān 55:26–27)

How can Paradise and Hell remain if created things perish? The distinction between actually perishing and being capable of perishing is essential to this question.

6. Everything perishes except Him

كُلُّ شَيْءٍ هَالِكٌ إِلَّا وَجْهَهُ لَهُ الْحُكْمُ وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ
Everything is perishing except His presence. Judgment belongs to Him, and to Him you will be returned. (al-Qaṣaṣ 28:88)

The verse places the perishability of created things beside the permanence of Allah. Allah's own imperishability and the continued existence He grants Paradise and Hell are not the same kind of permanence.

7. Actual versus possible extinction

Actual extinction is a thing's ceasing to exist in fact.
Possible extinction means a thing could cease to exist by its created nature, even if it is never actually brought to an end.

Paradise and Hell will not actually perish, although, as created things, they are capable of perishing if Allah so willed. Their unending continuance is by Allah's will.

8. The unique permanence of Allah

Allah neither actually perishes nor is it possible for Him to perish.
Allah has never ceased and can never cease to exist. Paradise and Hell, in contrast, are created; Allah preserves them, so they will not actually perish.

This preserves the distinction between the Creator's necessary, intrinsic permanence and the permanence granted to creatures.

9. Six other things that will not perish

In addition to Paradise and Hell, six things will not perish:
The Throne (ʿArsh)
The Footstool (Kursī)
ʿAjb al-dhanab — the final part of the backbone.
Souls (arwāḥ)
The Tablet (lawḥ)
The Pen (qalam)

With Paradise and Hell, these form eight things. Their continuance is a gift from Allah; it does not make them uncreated or intrinsically eternal like the Creator.

10. Good and evil are decreed

وَالْخَيْرُ وَالشَّرُّ مُقَدَّرَانِ عَلَى الْعِبَادِ
Both good and evil have been decreed for Allah's servants.

Good and evil are not outside Allah's decree. This does not mean that human choice disappears. The relationship between a servant's deeds, Allah's knowledge and His decree must be properly understood.

11. Divine knowledge and human choice

Allah already knew what each servant would freely choose if granted choice. Allah wrote in accordance with that knowledge, and the servant performs the action.

The servant's act is performed through their choice. Allah's foreknowledge does not negate the fact of that choice, for His knowledge encompasses the action before it occurs.

12. Allah’s knowledge cannot prove false

If a servant acted contrary to what Allah knew, that would imply divine knowledge becoming false, which is impossible.

It still does not follow that the servant acts without choice. The infallibility of Allah's knowledge and the servant's own chosen action are both affirmed.

13. Decree is not knowledge alone

Decree (taqdīr) cannot be reduced solely to Allah's prior knowledge. It relates to both divine knowledge and divine command/decree.

The actions Allah knows, His decree concerning them, and their determination are connected. The servant acts by choice, but that action does not fall outside Allah's decree.

14. Everything created in due measure

وَخَلَقَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ فَقَدَّرَهُ تَقْدِيرًا
He created everything and determined it in due measure. (al-Furqān 25:2)

Khalaqa affirms creation, while qaddara affirms determination and due measure. The verse thus joins Allah's creation with His decree; nothing lies outside His appointed measure.

15. Allah’s command is firmly decreed

وَكَانَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ قَدَرًا مَقْدُورًا
Allah's command is a firmly determined decree. (al-Aḥzāb 33:38)

Qadaran maqdūrā emphasizes that the divine decision is established. Good and evil, human circumstances and human acts remain within Allah's knowledge and His determined decree.

16. Good and evil relative to the servant

When a divine decision agrees with a servant's inclinations or desires, the servant calls it a good decree. When it conflicts with their desires or disposition, they call it an evil decree.

This naming is relative to the servant's own perspective. What a person likes or dislikes should not be confused with the inherent character of Allah's decisions.

17. All divine decisions are good in relation to Allah

All Allah's decisions are good when considered in relation to Allah Himself.

A servant may call a decision good or bad because of personal circumstances and desires, whereas the reality of Allah's decisions relates to His own knowledge, wisdom and authority.

Thus good and evil relative to the servant differ from the goodness of Allah's decrees considered in relation to Him.

18. Permanence, decree and choice distinguished

Paradise and Hell — created already, and they will not perish because Allah preserves them.
Allah Himself — neither actually perishes nor could possibly perish.
The decree of good and evil — related to divine knowledge and divine command.
Human action — chosen by the servant and included within Allah's knowledge and decree.

Keeping these truths distinct prevents confusion between a creature's continued existence, the Creator's necessary permanence, and human choice.