Is There a Place Between Heaven and Hell?

Answered by Shaykh Riad Saloojee

Question: Assalamu alaykum

Is there a place between heaven and hell?

Answer: Assalaamu’alaykum wa rahmatullah,

I pray that you are well.

There is no ultimate abode besides Paradise and Hellfire. Allah states: A party will be in Paradise; and a party will be in the Hellfire (al-Shura: 7).

The Qur’an mentions a temporary place called al-A‘raf which many commentators say is a temporary residence of those whose good and bad deeds are equal, before Allah’s final decree to enter the inhabitants of al-A’raf into Paradise.

There is also the temporary space of the barzakh, which is a transitional realm after death and before the Day of Judgement, and which, depending on the person, will be a reflection of either Paradise or Hellfire.

And Allah knows best.

[Shaykh] Riad Saloojee

Shaykh Riad Saloojee graduated and taught in an Islamic seminary in Cape Town, South Africa.  He is a lawyer by training and worked in the field of civil rights advocacy. Currently, he teaches and translates.