and a greater disgrace for them, as He says: “so that they may taste the punishment” (Qur’an 4:56). Allah, exalted is He, knows best.

It is related that the sea will be set ablaze on the Day of Resurrection and will become part of Hell.

Imām Aḥmad said: Abū ʿĀṣim narrated to us; ʿAbd Allāh ibn Umayyah narrated to us; Muḥammad ibn Ḥuyayy narrated to us; Ṣafwān ibn Yaʿlā ibn Umayyah narrated to us, from his father, from the Prophet ﷺ, who said:

“The sea is Hell.”

They asked Yaʿlā about this. He replied, “Do you not see that Allah—Mighty and Majestic—is He—says: ‘A fire whose walls shall enclose them’ (Qur’an 18:29)? By Him in whose hand is Yaʿlā’s soul, I will never enter it until I am presented before Allah—Mighty and Majestic—and not a single drop of it will touch me until I meet Allah—Mighty and Majestic.”

Al-Bayhaqī also reported it, through the route of Yaʿqūb ibn Sufyān: “Abū ʿĀṣim narrated to us; Muḥammad ibn Ḥuyayy narrated to me; from Ṣafwān ibn Yaʿlā; from Yaʿlā, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ declared, ‘The sea is Hell,’ then he recited: ‘A fire whose walls shall enclose them’ (Qur’an 18:29).”

I likewise found it in the handwriting of the ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAsākir: “Abū ʿĀṣim narrated to us; Muḥammad ibn Ḥuyayy narrated to me….” In the Musnad, as noted earlier, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Umayyah is mentioned between them. Abū Muslim al-Kajjī likewise transmitted it from Abū ʿĀṣim, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Umayyah ⦗1⦘: “A man narrated to me, from Ṣafwān ibn Yaʿlā, from Yaʿlā, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ stated, ‘The sea is Hell.’” ⦗2⦘

Abū Dāwūd said: Saʿīd ibn Manṣūr narrated to us; Ismāʿīl ibn Zakariyyā narrated to us; from Muṭarrif; from Bishr [Abū ʿAbd Allāh, and he is Bashīr] ibn Muslim; from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ declared:

“No one should sail the sea except a pilgrim, someone performing ʿumrah, or a warrior in the path of Allah, for beneath the sea there is a fire, and beneath that fire there is another sea.” ⦗3⦘

[Mention of the gates of Hell, its keepers, and its fierce wardens—may Allah protect us from all of that as He wills]

Allah the Exalted says:

“And those who disbelieved will be driven to Hell in crowds. When they reach it, its gates will be opened and its keepers will say to them, ‘Did messengers from among yourselves not come to you, reciting to you the revelations of your Lord and warning you about the meeting of this Day of yours?’ They will reply, ‘Indeed they did; but the decree of punishment has become binding upon the disbelievers.’ (71) It will be said, ‘Enter the gates of Hell to abide therein forever; how wretched is the abode of the arrogant!’” (Qur’an 39:71–72)