God will blacken the faces of the people of hell:
“In that day (some) faces will turn white and (some) faces will turn black. As for those whose faces turn black, you have rejected it.” (Quran 3:106)
Their faces will be as if night has covered them:
“But those who have earned (guilt) evil deeds – the recompense of an evil deed is its equivalent, and humiliation will cover them. They will have no protector from God. It will be as if their faces are covered with pieces of the night - so dark (they are). These are the companions of fire; they will abide therein forever.” (Quran 10:27)
The fire will surround the unbeliever on all sides, just as sins have surrounded him like a sheet wrapped around his body:
"They shall be a bed of fire, and over it shall be sheaths (of fire)..." (Quran 7:41)
"On the day when the torment (of hell) will cover them from above and from below." (Quran 29:55)
"...and the disbelievers will be surrounded by Hell..." (Quran 9:49)
The fire of hell will spring up to hearts. The fires will penetrate their oversized bodies and reach the innermost depths:
"No! He will surely be thrown into the crusher. And what can let you know what the crusher is? (Quran 104:4-7)
The fire will cleave the bowels as mentioned by the Prophet:
“A man will be brought on the Day of Resurrection and thrown into the fire. Then his entrails will be thrown into the fire and he will be forced to run like a donkey on a treadmill. The people of hell will gather around him and say, "Oh so-and-so, what's the matter with you? Didn't you command us to do good and forbid us to do wrong?" He will say: "I commanded you to do good, but I didn't do it and I used to forbid you to do evil, but I did it myself.” Then he will run around like a donkey on a treadmill.”[1]
God has described the chains, yokes, and bonds of hell. They are bound with chains and drawn around their necks with yokes:
"For those who refuse We have prepared iron chains, yokes and blazing fire." (Quran 76:4)
"With Us are chains (to bind them) and a fire (to burn them) and food that chokes and a severe punishment." (Quran 73:12-13)
"We will put yokes on the necks of the unbelievers. It would only be retribution for their evil deeds." (Quran 34:33)
"When yokes and chains are put around their necks, they are dragged along." (Quran 40:71)
"(The severe command will say): Seize him and bind him and burn him in the blazing fire, and also make him march in a chain the length of which is seventy cubits." (Quran 69:30-32)
The pagan gods and all other deities worshiped besides God, who people thought would be their intercessors with God and bring them closer to Him, are thrown into hell with them. This is to humiliate and demonstrate that these false gods have no power,
"Verily, you (the disbelievers) and whatever you worship besides God,[2]are just fuel for hell. Verily you will enter it. Had these (false deities) been (real) gods, they would not have entered there, but all will dwell therein forever." (Quran 21:98-99)
When the unbeliever sees hell, he will be filled with remorse, but it will not benefit him:
"And they will feel remorse when they see the punishment, and they will be judged in justice, and they will not be wronged." (Quran 10:54)
The unbeliever will pray for his death when he feels heat,
“And when they are thrown into a narrow place in it, bound in chains, they will then cry out for destruction. 14)
Their cries will get louder and they will call out to God in the hope that he will take them out of hell:
“And they will cry out in it: 'Our Lord, remove us; we will do righteousness - unlike what we have done!'" (Quran 35:37)
They will recognize their sins and the error of stubborn unbelief:
"And they will say, 'If only we had listened or thought, we would not be among the companions of the Flame.' And they will admit their sin, so (it is) alienation for the companions of the Flame."(Quran 67:10- 11)
Your prayers are rejected:
"They will say: 'Our Lord, our misery has overcome us, and we were a people who have strayed. Our Lord, remove us from it, and if we were to return (to evil) we would indeed be wrongdoers.' He will say: 'Remain despised in it and do not speak to me.'" (Quran 23:106-108)
After that they will call on the keepers of hell and ask them to intercede with God on their behalf for a reduction in torment:
"And those in the fire will say to the keepers of hell, 'Ask your Lord to relieve us one day before punishment.' They will say, 'Have your messengers not come to you with clear proofs?' They will say, ' Yes.' They will reply: 'Then ask (yourself), but the supplication of the disbelievers is only in error.'" (Quran 40:49-50)
Her will even pleads for her own destruction to rid herself of the pain:
"And they will shout: 'O Malik, let your Lord put an end to us!' He will say: 'Verily you will stay.'" (Quran 43:77)
They are told that the penalty is never reduced, it is eternal:
"Then be patient or impatient - you don't care. You will only be rewarded for what you have done in the past.” (Quran 52:16)
You will cry for a long time:
"So let them laugh a little and then cry a lot as compensation for what they used to earn." (Quran 9:82)
They will weep until there are no more tears, then they will weep blood that will leave its mark, as described by the Prophet:
"The people of Hell will be made to weep, and they will weep until they have no more tears. Then they will weep blood until they have channels in their faces, so to speak, if ships were put in them they would swim."[3]
As you have seen, the descriptions of hell in the Islamic scriptures are clear and descriptive, as are the descriptions of the people who deserve their fate there. Such is the clarity that any person who believes in Judgment Day and the eternal destinies of the afterlife must be motivated to at least try not to be among the people thrown into it. The best and really only way to avoid this fate is to get serious about the true religion that God has given to mankind. A person should never follow a religion simply because they were "born" into it, nor should they consider religion to be a New Age fad. Rather, they should deal with the truth about this world and the life to come, and be assured that they have prepared for this judgment from which there is no return by living a life and belief system that is inspired by the One Above revealed and unchanged.
Footnotes:
[1]Sahih Al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim
[2]Ibn Kather, in hisTafsir, explains that pious men and prophets of yore, mistaken for gods by later generations without their consent, are not included as "fuel for the fire." Only the people who'like to be worshiped' thrown in by their worshipers, along with 'with those who worship him’ and other inanimate idols. The Koran says of people like Jesus:"Those whom good has preceded Us will be far from..." (Quran 21:101)
[3]Ibn Majah