It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Those people of Hell who are to remain in Hell, they will neither die there nor live. And Allah Almighty, for those among the people of Hell whom He wishes to have mercy upon, will cause them to die in Hell. Then the intercessors will come to them, and their helpers will take them and cast them into the River of Life, or the River of Living, or the River of Life, or the River of Paradise, and in it they will grow just as a seed grows in the scum of a flood. Have you not seen that trees are green and then turn yellow, or they are yellow and then turn green? Upon hearing this, the companions said to one another: It seems as if the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to live in the countryside.
Hadith Referenceالفتح الربانی / كتاب النار والجنة / 13190
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:صحیح
Hadith Takhrij«أخرجه مسلم: 185 ، (انظر مسند أحمد ترقيم الرسالة: 11016 ترقیم بيت الأفكار الدولية: 11029»
Brief Explanation
Benefits: … (1) In this section, some of the characteristics of the people of Paradise and the people of Hell have been described. Thus, according to the statement of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), those people who are weak in the world, whom people consider weak, insignificant, or lowly, and who have locks of hair on their heads that become disheveled despite their care—these people are, in reality, religious and will enter Paradise. In contrast, those who are harsh-tempered, ill-mannered, greedy for wealth, miserly, and who, due to their arrogant nature, like to walk ahead of others—their end is Hell.
(2) It is also understood that those who drink the cup of martyrdom in the path of Allah, and those slaves who fulfill the rights of Allah and their masters properly, and those poor who, despite their need, refrain from expressing their poverty before others and from extending their hands in begging—these three types of people will be the first to enter Paradise.
(3) And those who forcibly become rulers over people, and those who, despite being poor, possess an arrogant nature—these people will be the first to enter Hell.
(4) From this section, it is also understood that the state of the people of Hell will be neither like that of the living nor like that of the dead. Their life will be worse than death, and their death will be worse than life.
(5) And Allah, for whomever among the people of Hell He wishes to show mercy, will cause them to die, then those who intercede will go and bring them out of Hell.
(6) Also, from the last hadith of the section, it is understood that one can use examples to help people understand a point.