Editing Islamic eschatology (section)

=== "Limbo" or ''al-aʿrāf'' in Islam ===
{{See also|Araf (Islam)}}
In terms of classical Islam, "the only options" afforded by the Qur'an for the resurrected are an eternity of horrible punishments of The Fire or the delightful rewards of The Garden.  Islamic tradition has raised the question of whether or not consignment to the Fire is eternal, or eternal for all, but "has found no reason to amend" the limit of two options in the afterlife.<ref name=JISYYHIU1981:90>[[#JISYYHIU1981|Smith & Haddad, ''Islamic Understanding'',  1981]]: p.90</ref> But one verse in the Quran has "led to a great deal of speculation concerning the possibility of a third place".<ref name=JISYYHIU1981:90/>
*There will be a barrier [''ḥijāb''] between paradise and hell. And on the heights [''al-aʿrāf''] of that barrier˺  will be people who will recognize ˹the residents of˺ both by their appearance. They will call out to the residents of paradise, "Peace be upon you!" They will have not yet entered paradise, but eagerly hope to (Q.{{qref|7|46}}).<ref name=JISYYHIU1981:90/>  
"What some have called" the "Limbo" Theory of Islam, as described by Jane Smith and Yvonne Haddad, implies that some individuals are not immediately sent to The Fire or The Garden, but are held in a state of limbo.<ref name=JISYYHIU1981:90/>  Smith and Haddad believe it is "very doubtful" that the Qur'anic meant for ''al-aʿrāf'' to be understood as "an abode for those ... in an intermediate category, but this has come to be the most commonly held interpretation".<ref name=JISYYHIU1981:90-91>[[#JISYYHIU1981|Smith & Haddad, ''Islamic Understanding'',  1981]]: p.90-91</ref><ref>For Western analyses of this question see Richard Bell, "The Men on the A'raf," ''Muslim World'', 22 (1932), 43-48; Louis Gardet, ''Dieu'', pp. 330-34; Tor Andrae, ''Les Origins'', p. 85; Rudi Paret, "Al-A'raf," ''EI'' (New Ed.), I, pt. 1-10, pp, 603-04; Asin Palacios, ''Islam and the Divine Comedy'', pp. 81 ff.</ref>

As for who the inhabitants of the   inhabits ''al-aʿrāf'' are, the "majority of exegetes" support the theory that they are persons whose actions balance in terms of merit and demerit –  whose good deeds keep them from the Fire and whose evil deeds keep them from the Garden. They will be the last to enter the Garden, at the mercy of their Lord.<ref name=JISYYHIU1981:91>[[#JISYYHIU1981|Smith & Haddad, ''Islamic Understanding'',  1981]]: p.91</ref>