A Definition of Hell-Shackles
Waseema H. Qureshi
Describing persecution of sinners in Hell the Quran in 69:25-35 says: “As for him whose record is given in his left hand, he will say: ‘Would that I had not been given my record nor known what my account was. Would that (my) death be final…’ (It will be ordered:) ‘Seize him and chain him by the neck, then cast him into Hell, then fasten him in a chain seventy cubits long.’” Here, the measure of ‘seventy’ signifies a certain divine count of quantity in size, weight or rate, such as: “...Even if you (Mohammad) ask forgiveness for them seventy times, Allah will not forgive them (hypocrites)…” (9:80)
“On that Day you will see the criminals with their hands and feet in shackles. They shall be in garments of tar and the flames of fire shall be covering their faces.” (14:49-50) Strangely, some interpreters say that the language of these descriptions is symbolic; whereas there is ample evidence to prove the letter for letter reality of the narrations. The Earth itself is a testimony to the truthfully graphic descriptions. For instance, the transgressors being covered in yellow sulfur of the (حُطمَه) ‘Hatamah’ is certainly not figurative, when we can witness that the earthly dust, likewise unavoidably, does powder everything brown!
The Saqar (سَقَر) resembles - although much higher in intensity - with any volatile volcanic scenario on Earth: complete with billowing columns of dark ash, electrically charged voluminous gases that bear glass particles. The wrongdoers ‘ll be ordered to: “Proceed to a shadow (of smoke) having three columns, no cool shade and availing not against the flame. Indeed, it throws sparks (as huge) as a fortress, as if they were yellow camels (marching swiftly);” (Quran 77:30-33) whereby they: “...Will have the home in a (bottomless) pit. And what will explain to you what this is? A Fire blazing fiercely.” (Quran 101:8-11)
The shackles of Hell, mentioned in the scriptures, define the gravitational field of the deadly environment. On Earth, gravitational pull allows us to push laterally against the ground when we press feet on the ground. A repetitive cycle develops when one foot gets extended so far behind the body that it can't usefully push laterally anymore and is therefore, lifted, moved forward and pressed against the ground again, attaining the continuous walking movement. Hence, without the correct measure of gravity, terrestrial locomotion is impossible for the human body.
Without our usual gravitational resistance, pushing down feet accelerates the body upwards - like astronauts in the space capsules push off the walls to reach a destination. With gravity below that of Earth, we bounce upwards, in the fashion of moon-walkers. However, in case of a high gravitational field, on the other hand, blood gets pulled down into the legs and the compressive strength of the skeletal bones is stressed to the point of cracking. We can be pinned to the ground or in other words become fettered in a sheer state of weightiness!
Any celestial object having mass, possesses gravitational potential and the mass of rocky planets is mostly composed of iron-nickel alloy in the core - 95% in case of Earth. Studies show that overall, the maximum gravitational field humans could survive long-term is 4 ½ times Earth’s gravity! With increasing gravitational resistance, feet would become glued to the ground like a heavy magnet sticks to an iron surface. “Those who deny, for them will be cut out a garment of Fire. Over their heads will be poured out boiling water... In addition there will be maces of iron for them…” (22:19-22).
On a planet with high g-value, such as around 4.6 times Earth, a person - only after rigorous muscle training - can be able to take a few exhaustive steps, as the load on legs and core muscles feels like carrying enormous weight on the shoulders. Hence: “...And for the one who denies the coming of the Hour, We have prepared a blazing Fire...And when they are chained together and flung into a narrow space therein, they will begin to call for death. (Then it will be said to them:) "Do not call for one death today, but call for many deaths." (25:11-14) Because of restricted movement, they ‘ll thus remain confined to a small space, regardless of the vastness of Hades accommodating multitudes.
As we know, volume increases as a cube and surface area as a square, therefore, the bigger rocky planets have much stronger gravity. Determined with radius and mass values, many confirmed exoplanets are known to have a gravitational field, equal or nearly 3.5 times that of Earth’s. So even a slightly bigger planet would have much stronger gravity to shackle an earthling body - as promised to be recreated from the old as-it-is recognisable version, on resurrection.