We shall call the Zabāniya. This means the keepers of Hell whose feet are on earth and heads in the heaven of this world. They are called Zabāniya from the word zabn, meaning the act of pushing away, for they push the people of Hell back on their tracks, using their arms and feet.When Abū Jahl heard the mention of the Zabāniya he fled to his people, upon which they asked him, ‘Have you become afraid of him [the Prophet]?’ He replied, ‘No, but I fear the Zabāniya for I don’t know who they are.’His words, Exalted is He: