using the interrogative form, so that the audience would pay attention and grasp his words. Thus he said: “Shall I not inform you…?” Everyone would reply, “Yes, do inform us, O Messenger of Allah.” He then said: “Every ʿutul jawwāẓ mustakbir” – that is, every harsh, coarse, arrogant person.

The term ʿutul denotes someone who is tough and rough-hewn; it is derived from the iron crowbar used for digging the earth, a tool known for its hardness and thickness. A jawwāẓ is one characterised by an excess of bad manners, while the arrogant one – and this is the key point – is a person swollen with pride and haughtiness, proud before the truth and overbearing toward people. Such a person never yields to the truth and shows no mercy to others.

These, then, are the inhabitants of Hell. As for the people of Paradise, they are the weak and needy who possess nothing that could breed arrogance in them; they are ever humble, free of pride or harshness. Wealth, after all, can corrupt its owner and drive him to lord it over others and reject the truth, as the Exalted says: “No indeed! Man surely transgresses when he thinks himself self-sufficient” (al-ʿAlaq 6–7).

The author also cited the hadith about Paradise and Hell presenting their arguments. Hell said, “My residents are the tyrants and the arrogant,” while Paradise said, “My residents are the weak and the poor.” Each presented its case against the other.

Allah, exalted is He, then judged between them, saying to Paradise, “You are My mercy; through you I show mercy to whom I will,” and to Hell, “You are My punishment; through you I punish whom I will.” Thus Hell became the abode