Struggling with Deep Anxiety About Hell
As-salamu alaykum, I wanted to share something personal. I’m a Muslim who’s been practicing my faith all my life, raised in a religious family and community. I’m currently studying medicine at a university in the West, where there’s no pressure against religion. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of hell, and it’s caused me a lot of distress. The anxiety isn’t mainly about my own fate-though I know I’m not perfect and Allah forbid, I might end up there. What really troubles me is the thought that many people around me, who seem like good people, might be destined for eternal punishment. It’s a terrifying idea that’s been weighing so heavily on me. This worry has made me pull away from social interactions because it’s too painful to build relationships when I feel this way about people’s fate. I know ultimately guidance is from Allah alone, but it’s hard to face others knowing what I believe about the afterlife. Then there’s the fear for myself. How can I live a normal life knowing that falling into disbelief is so easy and the consequences so severe? Sometimes I find myself hoping Allah takes my soul before anything like that could happen. I trust in Allah’s justice, but the fear is paralyzing. It’s not just me-my family and loved ones too. How do you live with that? I’m aware some might say this is religious OCD or anxiety, but honestly, I think this fear makes sense given what’s at stake. It’s like if you were told there’s a huge chance something terrible could happen to someone you love-it would be hard not to worry endlessly. Right now, this anxiety is overwhelming. I can’t focus, and sometimes I feel like giving up. I know we’re taught to pray for a good death at the right time, not to wish for death itself, but the thought lingers. How do others cope with this? Saying "Allah is the Most Just" is true, but it doesn’t stop the fear that many people I meet might be facing eternal punishment, maybe even myself. I’m trying to hold on, but it’s tough.