My atheist friends think God is not fair and just. The biggest reason they think so is because God will punish criminals in hell FOREVER. God says- "Is not The God the most just of judges?" (The Glorious Qur'an 95:8). God also says-"O you who believe! Stand out firmly for justice...and if you distort justice or decline to do justice, verily God is well-acquainted with all that you do." (The Glorious Qur'an 4:135) HOW CAN A GOD THAT PUT SO MUCH EMPHASIS ON JUSTICE BE UNJUST???
First of all, punishing criminals for their crimes does not make a judge unfair and unjust. I think all atheists would agree on that. But to what extent should criminals be punished? Is it fair to punish criminals FOREVER? Well, it might seem unfair to give a criminal infinite punishment for his/her finite crime. According to the science, a finite number that is too large is considered as infinite. Therefore it could mean both finite and infinite punishment when God says the punishment for serious crimes is infinite.
Let me ask you something. What is wrong with punishing criminals FOREVER? You might think I am crazy for asking you this question if you haven't carefully looked around yourself yet. There are so many examples of FOREVER punishments. For instance, follow the conversation below between a student and an atheist teacher:
Teacher: I am kicking you out of the school for plagiarism.
Student: How long are you kicking me out for?
Teacher: It's FOREVER.
Student: Are you kidding me? You can't punish me FOREVER for plagiarism! I thought you would kick me out just for one semester!
Teacher: Don't argue with me, kid. This is our school's policy on plagiarism. Get in another school.
Student: But I love this school! I want to stay here! Can I return to this school hereafter?
Teacher: I am an atheist. I don't believe in afterlife.
Student: But what if there is an afterlife? Would you allow me to return to this school afterlife?
Teacher: NO! I don't want dishonest students even in afterlife, if there is one.
The other examples of FOREVER punishments include, firing an employee from work because of his/her dishonesty, giving a criminal life sentence, and so on. Giving FOREVER punishments to criminals does not make God unfair and unjust.
Some atheists may argue that staying in prison FOREVER (life sentence) hurts way less than staying in hell FOREVER. What my atheist friends fail to do is to look at the prerequisites of the punishments. If you make "a single mistake" (e.g. murder someone) in your entire life, your fellow human beings will put you in prison FOREVER. Please make a note that your fellow human beings will show no mercy upon you. You know why? Because they are not merciful like God.
You do not go to hell for making "a single mistake". You know why? Because God is merciful. God says-"Know that God is severe in punishment and that God is Forgiving and Merciful. (The Glorious Qur'an 5:98). God will accept your repentance even if you make infinite mistakes. Since God's forgiveness is infinite, his punishment is infinite too. In addition, as long as your good deeds exceed your bad deeds even by an inch, God will put you into the heaven. Isn't it awesome? If it is hard to fail a math test in school (if the question is very easy), the teacher will not mark easy. This is not because the teacher is cruel. This is because he doesn't want bad students to get good grades. To meet the prerequisites to go to hell is very difficult for a sincere person. God will not count your bad deeds (no matter how large they are) as long as your good deeds exceed them.
To sum up, it is easy to meet the prerequisite to go to jail, so the punishment in jail is easy too. By contrast, it is hard to meet the prerequisite to go to hell, so the punishment in hell is hard too.
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