Now that we’re at ‘Eid ul Adha, I was just thinking about when I was at Hajj on Yawm ul ‘Arafah. It was very, very hot that day and the sun was fierce. I spent all day on Jabal ur-Rahma, finding a morsel of shade underneath a large rock. I had a water bottle with me and I went to take a drink, but the day was so hot that the water had pretty much evaporated/steamed and then condensed on the neck of the bottle in little droplets. So when I went to take a sip of water, instead of cool relief, I felt like crying out of frustration at how horribly warm the water was. It was barely any relief at all. It was the first time I could deeply reflect on the aayah in the Quran which says that in the Hellfire, the Kaafiroon and the Faasiqoon will be given boiling water to drink. Often when we read the Quran, we just pass over these aayaat with a cursory thought, not truly stopping to reflect on what is being said. It is only when life throws an experience at you that you can fully say, “Subhaanallaah, this is like what is mentioned!” I of course, did not experience Hell yet, and the example of the warm water I had is almost a laughable example. Yet, it brought me a little closer to the reality of That Day. May Allaah save us from the tortures of the Hellfire.

Truly, Hell is a place of ambush.
A dwelling place for the Transgressors.
They shall abide therein for ages.
Not a thing cool shall they taste therein, nor any drink.
Save boiling water and pus.
A fitting recompense.
For verily, they expected not a reckoning.

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