Why Are the Majority of Those in Hell the Poor and Oppressed Masses?
-
(Surah Az-Zukhruf, 43:54): "Thus he (Pharaoh) belittled his people, and they obeyed him. Indeed, they were a people defiantly disobedient."
Certain verses in the Quran state that in Hell, the "oppressed" (mustad'afun) will curse the "arrogant" (mustakbirun) who oppressed them in the world. This reveals a striking truth: In Hell, there are more poor and oppressed masses who obeyed without questioning than there are others. This is because these people, using their powerlessness merely as an excuse, bowed down to wrong and betrayed their own free will. Furthermore, evil people begin to suffer in this world as well; for this reason, the majority of hell-bound people live in poverty and oppression in this universe too...
(Surah An-Nisa, 4:97): When the angels take the lives of those who have wronged their own selves/nafs, they ask, "In what state were you?" They reply, "We were weak and oppressed (mustad'af) on earth." The angels say, "Was not Allah’s earth spacious enough for you to emigrate therein?" Their refuge is Hell; and what an evil destination.
(Surah Ibrahim, 14:21): They will all appear before Allah/God. The weak (the oppressed) will say to those who were arrogant, "Indeed, we were your followers; so can you avail us against anything of God's punishment?" They will say, "Had God guided us, we would have guided you. It is all the same for us whether we panic or are patient; there is no place of refuge for us."
Emre Karaköse (Emre_1974tr)
-
According to the Qur’an, this world and the Hereafter form an indivisible whole
The Qur’an states that rewards and punishments begin to be experienced already in this world:
“Who is more unjust than those who prevent the name of Allah from being mentioned in His mosques and strive for their destruction? Such people can only enter them in fear. For them there is humiliation in this world, and in the Hereafter there is a great punishment.” (Al-Baqarah 2:114)
“I will punish those who disbelieve with a severe punishment in this world and in the Hereafter, and they will have no helpers.” (Aal-Imran 3:56)
“So Allah gave them the reward of this world and the good reward of the Hereafter. And Allah loves those who do good.” (Aal-Imran 3:148) (This verse speaks of people who attain a life of paradise, beauty, and blessings both in this world and in the Hereafter.)
“Guide us to the straight path, the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor.” (Al-Fatiha 1:6–7)
“And among them are those who say: ‘Our Lord, give us the best in this world and the best in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.’ Those will have a share of what they have earned.” (Al-Baqarah 2:201–202) (Here it is stated that those who ask for goodness both in this world and in the Hereafter are on the right path.)
“Satan threatens you with poverty and commands you to immorality, whereas Allah promises you forgiveness and bounty from Him. And Allah is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing.” (Al-Baqarah 2:268)
“Say: Who has forbidden the adornment of Allah which He has produced for His servants, and the good provisions? Say: These are for those who believe in the worldly life, and exclusively for them on the Day of Resurrection.” Thus We explain the verses for people who know. (Al-A‘raf 7:32) (This verse indicates that worldly beauties are actually prepared for believers. Although disbelievers also benefit from them in this world, in the Hereafter they will belong exclusively to believers.)
“O you who believe! The polytheists are impure, so let them not approach al-Masjid al-Haram after this year. And if you fear poverty, Allah will enrich you from His bounty if He wills. Surely Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.” (At-Tawbah 9:28)
“He it is Who created for you all that is on the earth.” (Al-Baqarah 2:29)
“O mankind! Eat of what is lawful and good on the earth.” (Al-Baqarah 2:168)
“Did He not find you an orphan and give you shelter? And find you lost and guide you? And find you poor and make you rich?” (Ad-Duha 93:6–8) (Here we see an order: an undesirable state is mentioned first, then a desirable one—advancement from orphanhood to shelter, from confusion to guidance, and finally from poverty to wealth.)
“[Solomon] said: ‘My Lord, forgive me and grant me a kingdom such as will not belong to anyone after me. Indeed, You are the Bestower.’” (Sad 38:35) (Other verses explain that Prophet Solomon asked for wealth and power to remember Allah, and that he was granted a unique dominion.)
“Allah gives the example of a slave owned by another, who has no power over anything, and one whom We have provided with good provision from Us, and he spends from it secretly and openly. Are they equal?” (An-Nahl 16:75) (Here a poor, unfree person who benefits no one is compared with a free, wealthy person who does good and gives charity; wealth is presented as superior.)
“Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship.” (Al-Baqarah 2:185) (According to this and many similar verses, Allah desires for His servants a life filled—as much as possible—with ease, goodness, and beauty.)
“But whoever turns away from My remembrance (My Qur’an) will indeed have a constrained, difficult life, and We will raise him blind on the Day of Resurrection.” (Ta-Ha 20:124) (This verse states that sinners will live a life of hardship in this world and will be among the losers in the Hereafter.)
One of Allah’s ways of punishment on earth is poverty and deprivation of blessings:
“And to those who were Jews We forbade every animal with claws, and of the cattle and the sheep We forbade them their fat, except what adheres to their backs or the entrails or what is joined to the bone. Thus We recompensed them for their rebellion. Indeed, We are truthful.” (Al-An‘am 6:146) (Here, things not normally forbidden are prohibited as a punishment.)
“And humiliation and poverty were stamped upon them, and they incurred the wrath of Allah.” (Al-Baqarah 2:61) (Again, impoverishment is shown as a form of worldly punishment.)
“So for the wrongdoing of the Jews, We made unlawful for them many good things that had been lawful to them.” (An-Nisa 4:160) (Again, deprivation of worldly beauties is shown as a result of sin.)
The reason for worldly hardships is people’s own wrongdoing
“That is because Allah would not change a favor He had bestowed upon a people until they change what is within themselves. And Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.” (Al-Anfal 8:53) (If disasters continuously befall a person or a people, it means something is wrong and they are being warned.)In contrast, those who do good begin to experience blessings already in this world; they are often tested through goodness:
“You did not kill them, but Allah killed them; and you did not throw when you threw, but Allah threw, so that He might test the believers with a good test from Him.” (Al-Anfal 8:17)
“If they had remained steadfast on the right way, We would have given them abundant water, so that We might test them thereby. And whoever turns away from the remembrance (the Qur’an) of his Lord, He will cause him to enter an ever-increasing punishment.” (Al-Jinn 72:16–17)
The Qur’an also commands material, technological, and military strength:
“And prepare against them whatever force you can and war-horses, by which you may terrify the enemy of Allah and your enemy, and others besides them whom you do not know but Allah knows. And whatever you spend in the way of Allah will be repaid to you in full, and you will not be wronged.” (Al-Anfal 8:60) (This requires material and economic power; especially today, this command cannot be fulfilled without technological and financial strength.)
“Those who killed their children foolishly without knowledge and forbade what Allah had provided for them as provision, inventing lies against Allah, have indeed lost. They went astray and were not guided.” (Al-An‘am 6:140) (Viewing worldly beauties as sinful and turning away from them is presented as deviation.)
Verses emphasizing the unity of this world and the Hereafter
“They swear by Allah that they did not say it, yet they did utter the word of disbelief and disbelieved after their Islam… They had no reason for resentment except that Allah and His Messenger enriched them from His bounty. If they repent, it will be better for them; but if they turn away, Allah will punish them with a painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter.” (At-Tawbah 9:74)“Had Allah not decreed exile for them, He would surely have punished them in this world; and in the Hereafter they will have the punishment of the Fire.” (Al-Hashr 59:3)
“Indeed, those who took the calf as a god will be afflicted with wrath from their Lord and humiliation in the worldly life.” (Al-A‘raf 7:152)
“So We sent upon them a furious wind on days of misfortune to make them taste the punishment of humiliation in the worldly life; but the punishment of the Hereafter is more severe.” (Fussilat 41:16)
“So Allah made them taste humiliation in the life of this world; and the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if only they knew.” (Az-Zumar 39:26)
Sinners begin to taste the consequences of their deeds already in this world; worldly hardships also serve as warnings:
“And We will surely make them taste the nearer punishment before the greater punishment, that perhaps they will return.” (As-Sajdah 32:21)
Hardships are the responsibility of humans; Allah never wrongs His servants—people wrong themselves:
“Whatever good befalls you is from Allah, and whatever evil befalls you is from yourself.” (An-Nisa 4:79)
“And when We let people taste mercy, they rejoice in it; but if evil befalls them because of what their hands have sent forth, they immediately despair.” (Ar-Rum 30:36)
“Corruption has appeared on land and sea because of what people’s hands have earned, so that He may let them taste some of what they have done, that perhaps they may return.” (Ar-Rum 30:41)
“Whatever calamity befalls you is because of what your hands have earned, yet He pardons much.” (Ash-Shura 42:30)
Those on the right path are rewarded already in this world
“And We granted him Isaac and Jacob and placed prophethood and the Book among his descendants, and We gave him his reward in this world; and indeed, in the Hereafter he is among the righteous.” (Al-Ankabut 29:27)“Indeed, We will support Our messengers and those who believe in the life of this world and on the Day when the witnesses stand.” (Ghafir 40:51)
“Say: O My believing servants, fear your Lord. For those who do good in this world there is good. And Allah’s earth is spacious. Indeed, the patient will be given their reward without measure.” (Az-Zumar 39:10)
“And We gave him good in this world, and indeed, in the Hereafter he will surely be among the righteous.” (An-Nahl 16:122)
“And those who emigrated for Allah after being wronged—We will surely settle them in this world in a good place; but the reward of the Hereafter is greater, if they only knew.” (An-Nahl 16:41)
“Allah keeps firm those who believe with the firm word in worldly life and in the Hereafter; and Allah leads astray the wrongdoers.” (Ibrahim 14:27)
“For them are glad tidings in the worldly life and in the Hereafter. There is no change in the words of Allah. That is the great success.” (Yunus 10:64)
“The example of those who spend their wealth seeking Allah’s pleasure and to strengthen themselves is like a garden on a hill which is struck by a heavy rain, so it yields double its produce; and even if a heavy rain does not fall, a drizzle suffices. And Allah sees what you do.” (Al-Baqarah 2:265)
Emre
-
Emre this is a very strong and thought provoking post and which is your trademark and we get a lot of benefit from reading.
I am not going into what I agree with as that is not the point of discussion and I appreciate the effort and depth you put into it.
I always only want to raise one area that may need further clarification in all its honesty.While the Quran clearly rejects blind obedience and excuses based purely on weakness, I am not fully convinced that worldly hardship or poverty can usually be read as a direct sign of moral failure or divine punishment. The Quran also speaks of sincere people being tested through loss, fear, hunger, and injustice (we all know those verses even prophets were tested), sometimes for reasons beyond their immediate control. In some situations, alternatives exist and responsibility applies but in other situations capacity is genuinely limited and judgment may differ.
So perhaps the key issue is not poverty or suffering itself, but how much real agency and choice existed, and how people responded within their actual limits. That distinction seems important if we want to avoid oversimplifying very complex human and social realities.
Take any place on this earth where ordinary people have lived for years under leadership that repeatedly chose confrontation, ideology, or power struggles over the safety and long term wellbeing of civilians. Many people followed, tolerated, or stayed silent toward these choices, sometimes out of fear, sometimes out of loyalty, and sometimes out of habit. When destruction eventually arrived, it did not distinguish between leaders and ordinary people. In that sense, this reflects the Quranic pattern being discussed: blind obedience and normalization of wrong leadership can lead to consequences that affect an entire society, not just those at the top.
Where this concurs with your post is clear. The Quran does not accept weakness as a blanket excuse, and followers are not automatically innocent simply because they were oppressed. Responsibility exists where awareness and choice existed.
At the same time, the people who suffer in such situations cannot be generalized as a single moral category. There will always be a smaller group who neither supported wrong leadership nor had any realistic ability to resist, leave, or influence events. Their suffering does not fit neatly into a framework of shared responsibility, and the Quran itself seems to distinguish accountability based on real capacity, not collective outcome alone.
In the end, this principle you mentioned also applies at a personal level, not only to societies or nations. In our daily lives, at work, at home, and in our own choices, repeatedly following what we know is wrong, staying silent for comfort, or avoiding responsibility also carries consequences. That is why the closing verses of Surah Al Baqarah resonate so strongly with me, where believers ask Allah not to burden them beyond their capacity. It acknowledges responsibility, but also recognizes human limits and the need for mercy rather than constant testing.
2:286
O Allah! do not call us to account if we have forgotten what we ought to do or have fallen into error. May we not be buried under the weight of man-made Laws as were our predecessors. Give us the strength to bear the responsibilities vested in us. If we falter, give us the ability to undo the harm caused by means of good actions. This is how we will be able to secure protection as well as means of development.
