Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The fire that people kindle is one part out of seventy parts of the fire of Hell.” They said: O Messenger of Allah! This alone would be sufficient. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “It has been increased by sixty-nine degrees.”
Hadith Referenceمسند اسحاق بن راهويه / كتاب الجنة و النار و صفتهما / 964
Hadith Takhrij«بخاري ، كتاب بدء الخلق ، باب صفة النار وانها مخلوقة ، رقم : 3265 . مسلم ، كتاب الجنة وصفة ، باب فى شدة حرنار جهنم الخ ، رقم : 2843 . سنن ترمذي ، رقم : 2589 . مسند احمد : 313/2 .»
Explanation & Benefits
Hafiz Abdush Shakoor Tirmidhi
Benefits: From the mentioned hadith, it is understood that the intensity of the Fire of Hell is seventy times greater than the fire of this world. Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah says: In the narration of Musnad Ahmad, the words (مِنْمِّاءَةِجُزْءٍ) are present, meaning the fire of this world is one part out of a hundred parts of the Fire of Hell. Apparently, there seems to be a contradiction between these two narrations, because in one narration the word seventy is mentioned, while in the other, one hundred. The reconciliation between these ahadith and other similar ahadith in which different numbers are transmitted is that here the purpose is to describe the extreme intensity of the heat of the Fire of Hell, not to specify a particular number. (Fath al-Bari: 6/334)
Because in the Arabic language, the number seventy is used to indicate abundance. As is mentioned in the Noble Qur’an: ﴿اِسْتَغْفِرْلَهُمْاَوْلَاتَسْتَغْفِرْلَهُمْاِنْتَسْتَغْفِرْلَهُمْسَبْعِیْنَمَرَّةًفَلَنْیَّغْفِرَاللّٰهُلَهُمْ﴾ () Allah Ta’ala informed the Noble Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam that the hypocrites are not worthy of Allah’s forgiveness, therefore, whether you seek forgiveness for them or do not seek forgiveness for them, it is the same. And the intent behind the number seventy is exaggeration. It does not mean that if the Noble Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam seeks forgiveness more than seventy times, Allah will forgive the hypocrites. Similarly, in the mentioned hadith here, the purpose is also to describe the intensity, heat, and severity of the Fire of Hell. The statement of Allah Ta’ala is: ﴿قُلْنَارُجَهَنَّمَاَشَدُّحَرًّالَوْکَانُوْایَفْقَهُوْنَ﴾ () ... “Say: The Fire of Hell is much more intense in heat, if only they understood.”