PICKTHAL: There is not one of you but shall approach it. That is a fixed ordinance of thy Lord. [The Noble Qur'an 19:71].
"Every single one of you is 'Waredha'; this is an irrevocable decision of your Lord." 19:71
The meaning of the verse rests on the Arabic word 'Waredha'.
This verse was wrongly interpreted to mean 'entering it' with the word 'it' referring to hell.
Thus they interpret the verse to mean:
"Every single one of you is entering it (hell); this is an irrevocable decision of your Lord."
The reference to hell is correct, but does the word 'wared' really means 'entering'?
As ususl, the best method of determining the correct meaning of any Quranic word is to examine other verses where the same word is employed and attempt to arrive at a common meaning that satisfies all verses.
Let us read the following verse:
"When he 'warada' Midyan's water, he found a crowd of people watering, and noticed two women waiting on the side." 28:23
It is obvious that this verse, which speaks about Moses, does not say 'when he entered the water of Midyan! Moses was not a deep sea diver! However, if we interpret the word 'warada' as (passed by or approached) then it will make more sense. We can now substitute the word 'warada' with the words passed by:
"When he passed by/approached Midyan's water, he found a crowd of people watering, and noticed two women waiting on the side." 28:23 .
Once again this conforms with the use of the word 'waraduha' in 21:99:
"If those were gods, they would not have passed by/approached (hell)." 21:99
Now let us return to the verse under study and confirm the correct meaning of the word 'waredha':
"Every single one of you will pass by/approach (hell); this is an irrevocable decision of your Lord." 19:71
Thus all believers must pass by, approach and see hell. This is different from physically entering hell. The word 'waredha' is different from the Arabic word 'dakhel' which means ENTERING and which is consistently used to link the disbelievers with hell ….. like:
"Your Lord says, "Implore Me, and I will respond to you. Surely, those who are too arrogant to worship Me 'Sa Yadkholoon' (will enter) hell forcibly." 40:60
The deliberate choice of words by Almighty God so as to ascribe the word 'dakheloon' (which means entering) when the subject is the disbelievers, and the word 'waredha' (pass by it) when the subject is the believers is obvious and indeed significant.
Now we must inquire why is it decreed by God that all believers must pass by hell and see it.
We read in Sura 39 how the believers will testify on Judgement Day that God's promise was truthful:
"They will say, "Praise be to GOD, who fulfilled His promise to us, and made us inherit the earth, enjoying Paradise as we please." What a beautiful recompense for the workers!" 39:74
God's promise is two folded, that the believers who lead a rigtheous life would go to heaven and ALSO that the disbelievers will end up in hell. On Judgement Day all humans (believers and disbelievers) will see hell to know that God's promise is truth.
Therefore the believers will see both hell and heaven to know that God's promise was fulfilled. The disbelievers will end up in hell and also know that God's promise was true. We may ask, will they also be allowed to pass by and see heaven? The Quran tells us that they will not be able to pass by or see heaven (they do not deserve to) as a barrier will separate them from the believers:
"A barrier separates them ......." 7:46
By passing by hell and seeing its disasters, the believers are also able to truly appreciate and enjoy the rewards of heaven.
Finally, it is indeed easy to realise that the hadith that claims that Muhammad stated that all believers are to enter hell till he is to save them through his intercession, is totally false and against the truth of the Quran.
First, the concept of intercession is totally in violation of the Quran. The Quran states categorically that there will be no intercession on Judgement Day.
Alexei