If you wish for further explanation and clarification, reflect on the report Muslim narrated in his Sahīh from Jābir ibn ‘Abd Allāh, may Allah be pleased with them both. When asked about coming to Hell, he said:

“We will come on the Day of Resurrection upon a hill above the people. Then the nations will be summoned with their idols and whatever they used to worship, one after another. After that, our Lord, Blessed and Exalted, will come to us and say, ‘Whom are you waiting for?’ They will reply, ‘We are waiting for our Lord.’ He will say, ‘I am your Lord.’ They will say, ‘Until we see You.’ Then He will reveal Himself and laugh. He will set off with them, and they will follow Him. He will give each of them—hypocrite or believer—a light, and then they will follow Him. On the bridge over Hell there will be hooks and thorns, seizing whomever Allah Most High wills. Then the hypocrites’ light will be extinguished, while the believers will escape safely. The first group to escape will have faces like the full moon: seventy thousand who will not be called to account. Those who follow them will be like the brightest star in the sky, and so on. Then intercession will be permitted, and they will intercede until those who said, ‘There is no god but Allah,’ and had goodness in their hearts weighing as much as a grain of barley are brought out of the Fire. They will be placed in the forecourt of Paradise, and the people of Paradise will begin sprinkling water over them. He then related the remainder of the hadith.”

Reflect on his words: “He will set off, and they will follow Him. Each of them will be given a light, hypocrite and believer alike.”

Then reflect on the words of Allah Most High:

“Allah took away their light and left them in darkness, unable to see.”

Consider their condition when their lights have been extinguished and they remain in darkness, while the believers have gone on in the light of their faith, following their Lord, Almighty and Majestic.

Reflect, too, on the Prophet’s words, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in the hadith of intercession: “Let every nation follow what it used to worship.” Every polytheist will therefore follow the god he used to worship. One who worships Allah alone is indeed entitled to follow the true God, besides whom every object of worship is false.

Reflect on the words of Allah Most High, 68:42:

“On the Day when the Shin will be laid bare, and they will be called to prostrate but will be unable to do so.”

Consider the mention of this verse at this point in the hadith of intercession, together with the words in the hadith: “Then He will uncover His Shin.” This possessive construction clarifies what is meant by the shin mentioned in the verse.