the two verses (no. 106, 107) of Soorat Hood, you stated that the
people of Hell will abide therein forever and ever and will never come
out of it. However, I read inSaheehal-Bukhaari(Book 2, 12, 72) that
Allah will show mercy to some of the people of Hell and will admit
them to Paradise because of what there is in their hearts of faith in
Him. Which of the two is more correct? If both are correct, how can we
reconcile between them? Based on that, do the verses in Soorat Hood
indicate that some of those who do good deeds will remain for a
similar period in Paradise but in the end they will enter Hell? If
that is not the case, then how will these disbelievers who spend their
lives in the service of humanity then die in non-Muslim countries –
like Mother Teresa – be rewarded?
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
We appreciate the questioner's interest in the answers that we publish
on our website and his following up on them. We also appreciate
hisquestion about the apparent contradiction, which is indicative of
his love of learning and his efforts to benefit from what he reads,
insha Allah.
Secondly:
There is no contradiction between what is mentioned in the answer to
the question referred to, and the hadeeths referred to in the
question. To explain further, the people of Hell are of two types:
1.
The first type are monotheists (people who affirmed the Oneness of
Allah) who mixed good deeds with bad deeds. Allah will admit them to
Hell for their sins, and He has willed that they should be punished
there.
This category will be punished in Hell for a while, and Allah, may He
be exalted, is the One Who will determine the length thereof. Then He
will bring them out of the Fire and will decree that they will abide
for eternity in Paradise after that.
These are the ones referred to in the hadeeths mentioned in the
question, in which it is stated that some of those who are in the Fire
will be brought out because of what they believe in of Tawheed (the
Oneness of Allah). They are the people of Hell among the Muslims.
2.
The second type are the disbelievers and hypocrites who do nothave any
belief in Tawheed and who die in a state of disbelief, shirk
(polytheism), atheism or hypocrisy.
This category will be punished in Hell for eternity. Their Lord warned
them that they would abide in Hell for eternity if theydid not do what
Allah, may He be exalted, commanded them to do of affirming His
Oneness (Tawheed) and devoting all their acts of worship to Him
alone. They chose for themselves kufr (disbelief) and they chose to
abide for eternity in the Fire.
These are the ones who are referred to in the verses of Soorat Hood
referred to at the beginning of your question.
Thirdly:
From what we have mentioned above, youwill realise that being admitted
to Hell is not just for one group; rather it is for two groups, one of
which will be brought out of it. They are the monotheists (believers
in Tawheed,the Oneness of Allah) who committed sins that meant that
they deserved to enter Hell.The other group will not be brought out of
it; those are the ones who disbelieved and died in a state of
disbelief.
With regard to Paradise, none will enter it except one group, namely
the monotheists (believers in Tawheed). When a person enters it, he
will never exit from it;rather he will enjoy what it contains, and he
will never feel sorrow or despair, he will never die or fall sick, he
will never grow old or be deprived of that delight after he has tasted
it.
Once you understand that there are two categories of people, those who
believe andthose who disbelieve, those who are blessed(destined for
Paradise) and those who are doomed (destined for Hell), then you will
be able to understand what is mentioned in the Book of Allah, may He
be exalted, of the decree that there will be no exit from Hell, and
that those who are referred to in this case are the disbelievers who
will abide in Hell forever, as Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"Thus Allah will show them their deeds as regrets for them. And they
will never get outof the Fire"
[al-Baqarah 2:167]
"They will long to get out of the Fire, but never will they get
outtherefrom, and theirs will be a lasting torment"
[al-Maa'idah 5:37].
With regard to those who are blessed (destined for Paradise) and the
people of faith, Allah, may He be exalted, has decreed that they will
not exit from Paradise, as He, may He be exalted, says (interpretation
of the meaning):
"No sense of fatigue shall touch them, nor shall they (ever) be asked
to leave it"
[al-Hijr 15:48].
For more information,please see the answers to questions no. 31174,
26792and 45804
Fourthly:
Once this is understood clearly, it should be noted that ifthe
disbeliever does something that is deserving of reward, he will be
rewarded for it in this world, notin the Hereafter. His disbelief
prevents his deed being accepted in such a way that he may benefit
from it in the Hereafter, becauseone of the conditions of good deeds
being accepted is that one should be Muslim.
At-Tabari (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
If a person does a righteous deed without fearing Allah – i.e., he is
a mushrik or polytheist – he will be given a reward for that in this
world, such as if he upholds ties of kinship, gives to one who is in
need out of compassion, and other such righteous deeds. Allahwill give
him the reward of his good deed in this world, such as increasing his
livelihood and provision, giving him joy in what He blesses himwith,
warding off from him the harms ofthis world, and so on. But he will
not have any share (of reward) in the Hereafter.
Tafseer at-Tabari, 15/265
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercyon him) said:
Al-Qaadi 'Iyaad said: There is scholarly consensus that the deeds of
the disbelievers will not benefit them [in the Hereafter]; they will
not be rewarded for them with joy and no punishment will be reduced
for them, even though some of them will be more severely punished than
others.
Al-Fath, 9/48
It should be understood that Allah,may He be exalted, will not cause
the reward for their deedsthat benefit people to be lost; but their
reward will come in this world and not in the Hereafter. As for the
believer, the reward for his good deeds will be in this world and in
the Hereafter.
It was narrated that Anas ibn Maalik said: The Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be uponhim) said:"If the kaafir does a
good deed, he is fed because of it in this world. As for the believer,
Allah stores up his good deeds for him in the Hereafter and grants him
provision in accordance with his obedience in this world.
Narrated by Muslim (2808).
According to another report:: "Allaah does not treat the believer
unjustly with regard to his good deeds. He blesses him because of them
in this world and He will reward him for them in the Hereafter. As for
the kaafir, he is fed because of the good deeds that he does for the
sake of Allaah in this world, then when he passes on into the
Hereafter, he will haveno good deeds left for which to be rewarded."
You should understand that this reward in this world is not definite;
rather it is subject to the will of Allah. Allah, may He be glorified
and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):"Whoever wishes for
the quick-passing (transitory enjoyment of this world), We readily
grant him what We will for whom We like" [al-Isra' 18:18].
Ash-Shanqeeti (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
It should be understood that this matter, for which we have quoted
evidence from the Qur'an and Sunnah, that the disbeliever may benefit
from his righteous deeds in this world, such as honouring his parents,
upholding ties of kinship, honouring guests and neighbours, relieving
people of distress and so on – all of that is subject to the will of
Allah, may He be exalted, as He has stated in the verse
(interpretation of the meaning):"Whoever wishes for the quick-passing
(transitory enjoyment of this world), We readily grant him what We
will for whom We like" [al-Isra' 18:18].
This verse is specific and specifies what is mentioned in general
terms in other verses and hadeeths.
Adwa' al-Bayaan, 3/450
What we have mentioned about Allah, may He be exalted, rewarding
whomever He wills among the disbelievers does not apply to Mother
Teresa, whose original name was Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu. She originally
came from Macedonia and died in1997 CE. She was a missionary nun
whosework focused on helping the poor, destitute and sick, andshe used
her work to try to convert them to Christianity. The deedsof a person
like this cannot be called "good" and whatever provision he or she
gets in this world is not the reward of good deeds; rather it is
provision that is granted by Allah, for which those who disbelieve in
Him will be punished, as Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation ofthe meaning):
"And (remember) when Ibrahim (Abraham) said, 'My Lord, make this city
(Makkah) a place of security and provide its people with fruits, such
of them as believe in Allah and the Last Day.' He (Allah) answered:
'As for him who disbelieves, I shall leave him in contentment for a
while, then I shall compel him to the torment of the Fire, and worst
indeed is that destination!'"
[al-Baqarah 2:126].
To sum up, the deeds of the disbelievers in this world are of two types:
1.
Those that are worldlydeeds such as acts of kindness, in which it is
not stipulated that one should have the intention of drawing close to
Allah, such as upholding ties of kinship, honouring guests, and so on.
Thisis what is referred to in the hadeeth, for which the disbeliever
will be rewarded in this world if Allah wants to reward him.
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
It is clearly stated in this hadeeth that (the disbeliever) is fed in
this world because of what he does of good deeds, i.e., what he does
seeking thereby to draw closer to Allahof actions in which their
validity does not depend on the intention, such as upholding ties of
kinship, giving charity, manumitting slaves, hosting guests,and other
good deeds.
Sharh Muslim(17/150)
2.
Those that are worldlydeeds, in which the doer's intention is to
spread his religion and mislead Muslims away from their religion.
These are notincluded in the hadeeth; rather the sternest warnings is
given to the one who does them, because heis turning people away from
the religion of Allah and exploiting people's needs, poverty and
sickness for this evil purpose. That includeswhat Mother Teresa and
other missionaries and promoters of falsehood are doing.
With regard to religious actions in which it is stipulated that one
should have the intention of drawing close to Allah, such as Hajj,
'Umrah and du'aa' (supplication), the disbeliever will not berewarded
for these either in this world or in the Hereafter, because it is
invalid, as some of the conditions of its beingaccepted are not
present, i.e., being Muslim, being sincere towards Allah alone, and
following (the Sunnah). Moreover, disbelief (kufr) renders good deeds
invalid, so the one who does them will not benefit from them at all on
the Day of Resurrection.
And Allah knows best.
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