Hell is a purifying place:
Hell is a place that will cleanse us from our sins. It is a place to purify us:
"And certainly We know best those who are most worthy of being burned therein. Not one of you but will pass over it (Hell): this is, with thy Lord, a decree which must be accomplished. (The Noble Quran, 19:70-71)"
Narrated Anas: "The Prophet said, 'Some people who will be scorched by Hell (Fire) as a punishment for sins they have committed, and then Allah will admit them into Paradise by the grant of His Mercy. These people will be called, 'Al-Jahannamiyyiin' (the people of Hell).' (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, ONENESS, UNIQUENESS OF ALLAH (TAWHEED), Volume 9, Book 93, Number 542)"
So if Hell is a purifying place for our sins, and all of us must pass over it, then it is highly possible that Allah Almighty will use it to purify the sins for even those who are the worst of the creation and then admit them to Heaven.
The following Noble Verse and quote are from brother Cyber Janissary; may Allah Almighty
always be pleased with him:
"[28:84] If any does good, the reward to him is
better than his deed; but if any does evil, the doers of evil are only punished (to the
extent of) their deeds.
(Yusuf Ali's translation)
If the evildoers are only to be punished to the extent of their deeds, they can't get an infinite punishment in Hell for finite sins."
Let's look at what Allah Almighty said in the Noble Quran:
"God forgiveth not that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgiveth anything else, to whom He pleaseth; to set up partners with God is to devise a sin Most heinous indeed. (The Noble Quran, 4:48)"
In this Noble Verse, when Allah Almighty Says that He won't forgive shirk (associating partners with Him), He is saying that who ever does shirk will end up in Hell. This Noble Verse certainly shows that any sin or crime that you might commit in life can be forgiven by Allah Almighty. Allah Almighty may not in other words punish you in Hell for it. He might erase it from your bad record. The only sin that is guaranteed that will not be erased from the bad record is shirk.
Doing shirk will end the person in punishment, but not necessarily a never ending one. So when Allah Almighty Says that He won't forgive shirk, He is not saying that it will never get cleansed away from the mushrik (the person who does shirk). Hell is a purifying place and Allah Almighty is the LORD of all Mercy. Shirk does get cleansed away in Hell. A person does get purified in Hell. That's what Hell is for. That's why Muslims will serve some time in Hell before they get admitted to Heaven as clearly shown in Noble Verses 19:70-71 above.
Please visit Will Martyrs ever serve time in Hell?
Back to 'Hell will eventually be empty according to Islam' section.