What Will Be the Fate of the Sinners in Hell? The Categories of the Damned in Some Muslim Popular Literature

Eschatology, the End of the World and the fate of man after death have always been central questions in almost every culture and religion. Islam is no exception to this, as is demonstrated in the Qur’an, where the question of the final Hour, the Day of Doom, constitutes the major topic of the early revelations. Because there are so many Muslim traditions on this topic, the scope of this treatment shall be limited to a restricted number of examples. We shall try to follow the path of traditions through works and ages, starting with the most recent, the literary elaboration of a presumed author of the late Medieval period, his description of the punishment of the damned, the relationship of his description with the numerous others included in the same body of literature and the sources on the topic in classical literature starting from the Qur’an. In doing so, we not only aim to deal with the topic itself but will also attempt to discuss the question of the author in late medieval popular literature and, to a certain extent, to show how this literature is not a mere reworking of old themes, but a dynamic reshaping of the classical heritage including literary elaboration and original elements.