life? Will Allaah forgive him or will he be punished? What is the
extent of his punishment?
Praise be to Allaah.
If believers die believing in Allaah but having committed sins less
than major shirk that puts a person beyond the pale of Islam, one of
two scenarios may apply:
1 – they repented from those sins during their lives. If they repented
sincerely, Allaah will accept that from them, and they will once again
become like those who did not commit any sin, and they will not be
punished for their sins in the Hereafter. Indeed, their Lord may
honour them and turn their bad deeds (sayi'aat) into good deeds
(hasanaat).
2 – those who die without having repented from their sins, or whose
repentance was imperfect and did not meet the required conditions, or
their repentance was not accepted. What is proven in the verses of the
Qur'aan and the Sunnah of the Prophet, and on which the righteous
salaf was agreed is that these – the sinners among those who believe
in Tawheed (the oneness of Allaah) – fall into three categories:
The first category:People who have many hasanaat (good deeds) to their
credit, which outweigh these sayi'aat (bad deeds). Allaah will forgive
them for their bad deeds and admit them to Paradise. The Fire will
never touch them, as a kindness and blessing from Allaah. According to
a hadeeth narrated by Ibn 'Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him), the
Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Allaah will
bring the believer close and will shelter him with His screen, then He
will say, 'Do you remember such and such a sin? Do you remember such
and such a sin?' and he will say, 'Yes, O Lord,' until He makes him
confess his sins and he thinks that he is doomed. Then [Allaah] will
say, 'I concealed it for you in the world and I forgive you for it
today.' Then he will be given the book of his good deeds (hasanaat).
But as for the kaafir and the hypocrite, the witnesses will say,
'These are the ones who lied against their Lord!' No doubt! the curse
of Allaah is upon the zaalimoon (wrongdoers) [cf. Hood 11:18].'"
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2441; Muslim, 2768).
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"So as for those whose Scale (of good deeds) will be heavy, they will
be the successful (by entering Paradise)"[al-A'raaf 7:8]
"Then as for him whose Balance (of good deeds) will be heavy,
He will live a pleasant life (in Paradise)"[al-Qaari'ah 101:6-7]
The second category:people whose hasanaat and sayi'aat are equal, so
their sayi'aat are enough to keep them away from Paradise, but their
hasanaat are enough to save them from Hell. These are the people of
al-A'raaf (a wall with elevated places) whom Allaah says will stand
between Paradise and Hell as long as Allaah wills, then they will be
granted permission to enter Paradise, as Allaah says after telling us
of the entrance of the people of Paradise to Paradise and the people
of Hell to Hell. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And between them will be a (barrier) screen and on Al-A'raaf (a wall
with elevated places) will be men (whose good and evil deeds would be
equal in Scale), who would recognise all (of the Paradise and Hell
people), by their marks (the dwellers of Paradise by their white faces
and the dwellers of Hell by their black faces). And they will call out
to the dwellers of Paradise, 'Salaamun 'Alaykum' (peace be on you),
and at that time they (men on Al-A'raaf) will not yet have entered it
(Paradise), but they will hope to enter (it) with certainty.
And when their eyes will be turned towards the dwellers of the Fire,
they will say: 'Our Lord! Place us not with the people who are
Zaalimoon (polytheists and wrongdoers).'
And the men on Al-A'raaf (the wall) will call unto the men whom they
would recognise by their marks, saying: 'Of what benefit to you were
your great numbers (and hoards of wealth), and your arrogance (against
Faith)?'
Are they those, of whom you swore that Allaah would never show them
mercy. (Behold! It has been said to them): 'Enter Paradise, no fear
shall be on you, nor shall you grieve'"[al-A'raaf 7:46-39]
The third category:People who will meet Allaah persisting in
committing major sins and acts of immorality, so their sayi'aat will
outweigh their hasanaat. These are the ones who will deserve to enter
Hell in a manner commensurate with their sins. Some of them will be
seized by the Fire as far as their ankles, some up to mid-calf, some
up to their knees, and for some only the mark of sujood will be
spared. These are the ones whom Allaah will permit to be brought forth
from the Fire because of the intercession of the Prophet(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him). He, all the Prophets, the angels,
the believers and whoever else Allaah wishes to honour will intercede
for them. Whoever among these sinners has more faith and committed
less sins will have a lighter punishment and remain in Hell for a
shorter period and will be brought forth sooner. Those whose sins were
greater and whose faith was weaker, will have a greater punishment and
will remain for longer. We ask Allaah to keep us safe and sound from
all evils.
This is the situation of the sinful believers in the Hereafter.
With regard to this world, so long as they do not do anything that
would put them beyond the pale of Islam, then they are believers whose
faith is lacking, as the righteous salaf agreed, basing that on the
verses of the Qur'aan and the ahaadeeth of the Prophet. These aayahs
include:
"But if the killer is forgiven by the brother (or the relatives) of
the killed against blood money, then adhering to it with fairness and
payment of the blood money to the heir should be made in fairness"
[al-Baqarah 2:178 – interpretation of the meaning]
So Allaah describes the killer as the brother of the heirs of the
victim. This brotherhood is the brotherhood of faith, which indicates
that the killer is not regarded as a kaafir, even though killing a
believer is one of the most serious of major sins.
And Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And if two parties (or groups) among the believers fall to fighting,
then make peace between them both. But if one of them outrages against
the other, then fight you (all) against the one that which outrages
till it complies with the Command of Allaah. Then if it complies, then
make reconciliation between them justly, and be equitable. Verily,
Allaah loves those who are the equitable.
The believers are nothing else than brothers (in Islamic religion). So
make reconciliation between your brothers, and fear Allaah, that you
may receive mercy"[al-Hujuraat 49:9-10]
So Allaah described each of the fighting parties as believers, even
though fighting is a major sin. Indeed, He described the ones who
reconcile between them as being their brothers, which indicates that
the one who commits a major sin which does not reach the degree of
shirk and kufr is still regarded as a believer and comes under the
rulings on believers, but he is lacking in faith. In this way the
shar'i texts may be reconciled and support one another. And Allaah
knows best.
SeeA'laam al-Sunnah al-Manshoorah, 212;Sharh al-'Aqeedah
al-Waasitiyyahby Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen, 2/238.
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