TOPThe Shaykhs' account of hell to which the evildoers would be condemned is full of horrible scenes of punishment and torture.
When the curtain would be lifted from hell, squalls would burst and smoke would spread everywhere and the sinners would painfully smell its offensive fetor. Nineteen angels would be wardens of hell and every angel would be assisted by seventy thousand assistants.... Every one would be with a cane in hand. When the angel would order, hell would start breathing like the braying of horses. It would emit fire and its flames would rise and spread as if they would swallow all.... The sparks coming out would be as numerous as the stars on the sky. Every spark would be like a cloud rising from the west.... There would be seven sectors of hell.... The seventh one would have pits, fire, smoke, snakes, scorpions in it. Its trees would have fruits, each having seventy thousand insects in it.... Hell has seven gates--every gate has seventy jungles, each jungle is spread over a distance of seventy years; the pits have seventy chasms--each full of snakes, scorpions, dragons, etc.... The wardens of hell would be armed with terrible weapons, iron rods, whips and chains. The scenes of torture would make the eyes of people turn stone blind. Their flesh would burn and fall down from their bodies; the brain would melt; puss would gush out of their bodies. (Ghunyat, 307-20) 23
After describing the horrors of hell in several pages, the Shaykh refers to sins that would be punished in hell and particularly refers in this connection to adultery, theft, false evidence, polytheism, and tyrannical behavior toward human beings.
The Shaykh's account of heaven is as luring and enchanting as his account of hell is horrible and awe-inspiring. He says that in heaven there would be beautiful gardens laid out all around with trees laden with fruits. The roots of trees would be of gold and their branches would be silvery. The fruits would be softer than butter, sweeter than honey, and better in smell than kastūrī (a fruit). The palaces in heaven would be made of pearls, diamonds, and precious stones. Thousands of servants and a houri would be in attendance in each palace. In the mirror-like skin of houris one would be able to see one's own face. "The greatest pleasure for people in heaven," remarks the Shaykh, "would be the vision of God" (Ghunyat, 321-39). The descriptions of hell and heaven given by the Shaykh in his discourses and sermons reveal his tremendous power of exposition and his capacity to move the people.