This has been narrated that coinciding with our material world is the world of Hells. According to my investigation there are 72 zones in this world of which a few zones in the beginning are deserts without vegetation and wilderness and burnt out and dry mountains, dreadful forest, fountains and lakes of boiling water, volcanic fountains and valleys full of fire.
There is no trace of drinking water and whenever available it is hot and bitter. Among the tree except for prickly plants having very bitter taste and thorny bushes nothing meets the eye. After this, in a few zones some quantity of cold water, vegetation and better type of jungle and habitations are seen.
After this every zone becomes better than the preceding zone till the 72nd zone which is superior in terms of greenery and vegetation to other zones and is slightly less than the paradise of the first zone of Alam-i-Malakoot. This zone is at the dead –end of Zones of Naasoot. There is a wall in its front as has been narrated in Chapter Al-Hadid verse 13 and Chapter Araaf verse 45. After this wall begins the worlds of heavens of which the first is Malakoot.
The difference between Araaf and first zone of paradise is that in the paradise there is better provision of food and drink and luxury than Araaf and are available without any efforts and labor. In Araaf all these things are inferior quality and are available with labor and efforts. The other difference is that the people of Araaf are jealous to see other in happy position. The intensity of this feeling is in itself punishment of hell for them. As opposed to this everybody is happy and content in his own place in paradise rather feels more delighted when he sees them in better position.
In this way there is ever happiness in the paradise and no trace of unhappiness. If we follow this precept in this world, it can also become just like paradise. After giving through this narration many may say that if this is the fact then what is the difference between material world and spiritual world? The answer is that surely Barzakh is through and through spiritual and not at all material. But there our body will also be spiritual and the spiritual body will have all the quality and quantity such as comfort, suffering, cold, heat and softness and hardness etc, will be felt exactly as is experienced by our material bodies in the material world.
If this was not to be then the narrative in the Qur’an and traditions about the punishment in hell and privations of that place, for example, fire, boiling water, bitter food to eat and thorny plants, hot water to drink, blood and pus etc., etc, would all be meaningless, likewise in the narration of heavens, HURS and Places, gardens and eatable and drinkable things and different delicacies and pleasures which have been descried would have been meaningless. In truth whatever has been narrated by Allah in the Holy Qur’an is word by word correct and it should be believed by a Muslim in the same spirit. It has no other explanation.
(for detail read the book)
