Reconciling between hadith: Whoever says No deity worthy of worship except Allah will enter Paradise and the Mushrikin=Polytheists will abide in Hell forever
Mohamad Mostafa Nassar
Twitter:@NassarMohamadMR
Question
How can we reconcile between the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), âThere is no slave who says Laa ilaaha ill-Allah=No deity worthy of worship except Allah then dies believing in that but he will enter
Paradise,â and the idea that the Mushrikin and hypocrites will abide in Hell forever even though they said Laa ilaaha ill-Allah=No deity worthy of worship except Allah?
Answer
Praise be to Allah.
First: Definition Mushrikin=Polytheists who associating anything in worship with Allah
Shaykh Muhammad ibn âUthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The hadeeth indicates that the one who says Laa ilaaha ill-Allah=No deity worthy of worship except Allah is a true believer, but he is tempted by his whims and desires, so he does some acts of disobedience or major sins such as stealing etc.
The belief of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah= are the keenest in following the Prophet. is that the destiny of the believer, even if he commits a major sin, is Paradise. Whatever punishment may come before Paradise is up to Allah: if He wills, He will punish him, and if He wills, He will forgive him.
The evidence for that is the verse in which Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
âVerily, Allah forgives not that partner should be set up with Him (in worship), but He forgives except that (anything else) to whom He willsâ
[Quran al-Nisaâ 4:48]
So, all those who committed sins â even if they were major sins â if the sins were less than kufr, they will not be prevented from entering Paradise. For the destiny of the one who did them is Paradise, but he may be punished for the sins that he committed, or Allah may forgive him.
The matter rests with Allah. As for the hypocrites and followers of bidâahs=wrong innovations in Islam which put a person beyond the pale of Islam, they did not really say Laa ilaaha ill-Allah=No deity worthy of worship except Allah meaning it from the heart.
Because this hypocrisy which led to kufr is the opposite of sincerity, and sincerity is essential to saying Laa ilaaha ill-Allah=No deity worthy of worship except Allah.
If a person says Laa ilaaha ill-Allah=No deity worthy of worship except Allah, but he believes that there is no God, or he believes that there is another god alongside Allah who controls the universe, or he believes that all the companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) apostatized after his death.
Or other bidâahs=wrong innovations in Islam that put a person beyond the pale of Islam, then such people are not sincere in their saying Laa ilaaha ill-Allah=No deity worthy of worship except Allah, because their bidâah goes against the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him):
âWhoever bears witness that there is no god except Allah or says Laa ilaaha ill-Allah=No deity worthy of worship except Allah, will enter Paradise.â
The Shahaadatayn=Testimony of Islamic Faith must be spoken with sincerity.
Listen to what Allah says concerning the munafiqeen=hypocrites (interpretation of the meaning):
âAnd when they [the hypocrites] stand up for As-Salaah (the prayer), they stand with laziness and to be seen of men, and they do not remember Allah but littleâ
[Quran al-Nisaâ 4:142]
In the same passage, Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
âVerily, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depth (grade) of the Fire; no helper will you find for themâ
[Quran al-Nisaâ 4:145]
And Allah says of them (interpretation of the meaning):
âWhen the hypocrites come to you (O Muhammad), they say: âWe bear witness that you are indeed the Messenger of Allahââ
[Quran al-Munaafiqoon 63:1]
This is merely verbal testimony, but:
âAllah knows that you are indeed His Messenger, and Allah bears witness that the hypocrites are liars indeedâ
[Quran al-Munaafiqoon 63:1 â interpretation of the meaning]
i.e., that they are lying when they say, âWe bear witness that you are indeed the Messenger of Allahâ. For they mention Allah and bear witness to His Messenger, but their hearts are devoid of that which is uttered by their lips.
Allah knows Best.
Almighty Allah is the highest and most knowledgeable, and the attribution of knowledge to him is the safest.
Right from Almighty Allah and wrong from me and Satan
Prepared by Mohamad Mostafa Nassar
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Arrogance is not only a sign of insecurity, but also a sign of immaturity. Mature and fully realised persons can get their points across, even emphatically without demeaning or intimidating others.