177. To whom are the gates of heaven not open?      

In this verse (7:40) of the Quran we find it saying the gates of heaven are not open to some.

There are many explanations offered to this verse .Some scholars explain it by saying ‘since paradise is in the heavens, evil would not be allowed there’.This interpretation is wrong.

.As per the argument of such people, even the pious cannot reach paradise because heaven and hell are adjacent to each other with an intervening wall. The name of the surah ‘Al Araaf’ is derived from it.”The intervening wall”’

Prophet Muhammad has explained the reason for the gates of heaven not open to some.

The angels immediately carry the souls of the dead, up to the heavens. The souls of the pious and the good have a good fragrance on them. The guardians at every gate of the heavens welcome them and the Almighty would say “ Register the name of this servant of Mine in the ‘Illiiene’ and take him back to earth where I created him. That soul will be inserted to the body that was bearing it all the while and taken down to earth where questioning begins in the grave.The souls of the evil will stink with bad odour and when taken to the gates of the heavens, the gates will not be opened for them said Prophet Muhammad and recited the verse 7:40 of the Quran.The Almighty would say ‘Register his name in the ‘Sijjin ’down in the depths of the earth’ -and the questioning of him starts there in the grave.

(Hadith Book Bukhari: 336, 3094)

For more details please refer to point No;434.