Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Dear Burhan,

ASAK. Unfortunately we have people who find it difficult to accept the fact. Could you kindly elaborate that only Moslems will go to heaven not non Moslems. People here believe that good non Moslems whatever faith they practice will also go to heaven irrespective of their faith, whether they are hindu, Christian, Sikh, jew, Shia, Vohra, Aghakhani etc. Please elaborate.

Thank you so much for your wonderful advice.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Only beleivers in paradise

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

There are two types of rights due in Islam:

1. Rights that are due to the Creator
2. Rights that are due to His creation

Although both rights are due and very important, and each will have its due accounting on an Inevitable Day; the Creator has Decreed that the Rights that are due to Him will always supercede the rights that are due to His creation!

The Biggest Right due to the Creator is that He is worshipped Alone, and none is associated as a partner with Him. The one who does worship or invoke others with Allah Subhanah has compromised on giving the One All-Important Right to the One and Only Creator, and is thus guilty of the heinous abomination of ‘shirk’ in the sight of the All Mighty.

The All Knowing, All Wise Lord has declared the abomination of ‘shirk’ as the single biggest sin in the annuls of sins; and has declared that the one who dies in the state of ‘shirk’ will never ever be forgiven in His Court of Supreme Justice!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verse 72:

Whoever commits ‘shirk’ (invoking anything with Allah), Allah shall forbid for him Paradise, and Hell shall be his abode. And for such wrong doers there will be no one to help.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah Zumar verse 65-66:

If you commit ‘shirk’ all your works will be rendered vain and you will be among the losers. Therefore, you should worship Allah Alone, and be among His grateful servants.

Only after the Rights due to Allah Subhanah, although very important in the sight of the Creator but a distant second, comes the ‘huqooq ul-ibaad’ or rights due to His slaves or His creation! Every person will be questioned regarding his deeds and his due rights on the Day of Judgment; and if one has unlawfully usurped the rights of another in creation, he will have to balance the usurped rights with his/her good deeds!

Sahih Muslim Hadith 6251 Narrated by Abu Hurayrah

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: ‘Do you know who is a ‘mufliss’ (an absolute pauper)?’ They (the Companions of the Prophet) said: ‘A ‘mufliss’ amongst us is one who has neither dirham with him, nor wealth.’ The Prophet (saws) said: ‘The ‘mufliss’ of my Ummah would be he who would come on the Day of Resurrection with prayers, and fasts, and Zakat, but (he would find himself bankrupt on that day as he would have exhausted his funds of virtues) since he hurled abuses upon others, brought calumny against others, unlawfully consumed the wealth of others, shed the blood of others, and beat others, and his virtues would be credited to the account of one (who suffered at his hand). And if his good deeds fall short to clear the account, then their sins would be entered in (his account) and he would be thrown in the Hell-Fire.’

Also, it is wishful thinking and falsely assuming the wrong meaning of Allah’s Attribute of The Most Merciful for one to believe that if one does not commit ‘shirk’, he may do as he pleases amongst His creation, for Allah will forgive all sins other than ‘shirk’!!!

Allah says in the Quran: Chapter 4 Surah An-Nisa Verse 48
Shirk (associating other deities with Allah) is the only sin that Allah does not forgive, and He forgives, whomsoever He Pleases, sins other than this. For whosoever associates any other partner with Allah, does indeed forge a big lie and commits the most heinous sin

Thus, it is not as if, Allah has guaranteed to forgive everything one has done; but the above verse of the Glorious Quran clearly states that the Merciful may forgive ‘whomever He Pleases’ if one is guilty of sins other than the heinous and unforgivable sin of ‘shirk’!

Thus, we must learn to prioritize and place in the correct perspective and hierarchy the rights that are due from us as human beings; the first and foremost amongst them being Rights that are due to our Creator, then the rights that are due to Allah’s Messenger (saws), then the rights that are due to one’s parents, then to family, then to close relatives, then to neighbors, then to other human beings, then to animals, etc. It would obviously not be right if one changes the priorities of these rights; for example, it would be considered a grave sin if one gives more importance to the rights due to animals and places them above the rights due to one’s parents!

If one who has declared himself to be a believer, and has not committed ‘shirk’; but has committed any of the grave sins like murder, or ‘zina’, or rape, or disobedience to parents, etc.; and died in a state where he did not seek the repentance from the Merciful Lord for his evil deeds; he will have to give a full accounting of his evil deeds in the Just Court and Presence of Allah Subhanah!

In light of the authentic hadith quoted above, he will either have to recompense the people whose rights and honor he unlawfully usurped by giving away his good deeds to them on the Day of Retribution, or the Merciful Lord may, if He So Wills and Pleases, forgive the person his evil deeds, and from His Supreme Grace and Bounty, recompense the victim of this man in full!

But if one has died in a state of ‘shirk’, no matter how perfectly he gave all the rights due to the creations of Allah, but neglected or dared to deny to give the Creator His due Rights; all his deeds will be worthless in the sight of the Creator, and Hell Fire will be his permanent abode! That is the Decree and Decision of the Lord All Mighty for those who deny the Creator His All-Important Right.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah Zumar verse 65-66:

If you commit ‘shirk’ all your works will be rendered vain and you will be among the losers. Therefore, you should worship Allah Alone, and be among His grateful servants.

Thus, as believers, we must learn to recognize and appreciate each of Allah Subhanah’s exclusive and noble Attributes. He is indeed the Most Merciful to His believing slaves, but at the same time His Punishment is indeed very severe to those who dare to deny Him! He is indeed the Most Forgiving to those who commit mistakes in their ignorance, but at the same time He is the All-Just and His Justice is absolutely Supreme! No doer of evil will be able to hide his evil; and no oppressed victim will be left without due and full compensation in the Kingdom of the Hereafter!

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 15 Surah Hijr verses 49-50:

49 (O Prophet) Tell My servants, that I am indeed the Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful;

50 And that My Penalty, will be indeed the Most Grievous Penalty.

In conclusion, one can only imagine the sense of Justice of the Lord Who has prescribed such severe punishment in the world for those who abuse others rights and commit grave sins like murder, ‘zina’, burglary, rape, etc.; Will not the same Lord take full retribution from such evil-doers in the Hereafter?

It is indeed unfortunate that this ‘myth’ has been propagated amongst some of the misguided ‘muslims’, who think that just because they have declared the ‘shahaadah’, they are immune from the Hell Fire!!! It is nothing but their ignorance, or rather arrogance, that has allowed the Shaitaan, the avowed enemy of man, to sow this evil seed in their hearts! Those misguided ‘muslims’ who believe or propagate this ‘myth’ have indeed prescribed a heinous lie on the Lord of the Worlds and fallen into the same trap of Shaitaan that befell on the people who received the Scriptures before! Just see how the Just Lord dispels these self-conceived ‘myths’ in the Glorious Quran:

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verses 111-112:

111 And they (the People of the Book) say: "None shall enter paradise unless he be a Jew or a Christian." Those are their (vain) desires. Say: "Produce your proof if ye are truthful."

112 Nay! Whoever submits his whole self to Allah, and is a doer of good; he will get his reward with his Lord; on such shall be no fear nor shall they grieve.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verse 18:

18 (Both) the Jews and the Christians say: "We are sons of Allah and His beloved." Say: "Why then doth He punish you for your sins? Nay! Ye are but men of the men He hath created: He forgiveth whom He Pleaseth, and He punisheth whom He Pleaseth: and to Allah belongeth the Dominion of the heavens and the earth and all that is in between: and unto Him is the final goal (of all)."

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verses 79-82:

79 Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands and then say: "This is from Allah" to traffic with it for a miserable price! Woe to them for what their hands do write, and for the gain they make thereby.

80 And they (the People of the Book) say: "The fire shall not touch us but for a few numbered days"; Say: "Have ye taken a promise from Allah for He never breaks His promise? Or is it that ye say of Allah what ye do not know?"

81 Nay! Those who seek gain in Evil and are girt round by their sins, they are Companions of the Fire; therein shall they abide (for ever).

82 But those who have faith and work righteousness, they are Companions of the Garden therein shall they abide (for ever).

Your Question: Could you kindly elaborate that only Moslems will go to heaven not non Moslems. People here believe that good non Moslems whatever faith they practice will also go to heaven irrespective of their faith, whether they are hindu, Christian, Sikh, jew, Shia, Vohra, Aghakhani etc.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 22 Surah Hajj verses 56-57:

56 On that Day the Dominion will be that of Allah: He will Judge between them: so those who have ‘emaan’ (faith) and work righteous deeds will be in Gardens of Delight.

57 And for those who reject faith and deny Our Signs there will be a humiliating Punishment.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 47 Surah Muhammad verse 12:

12 Verily Allah will admit those who have ‘emaan’ (faith) and do righteous deeds to Gardens beneath which rivers flow; while those who reject Allah will enjoy and eat as cattle eat (in this life); and the Fire will be their abode (in the Hereafter).

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 42 Surah Shura verse 22:

22 Thou wilt see the wrongdoers in fear on account of what they have earned and (the burden of) that must (necessarily) fall on them. But those who have ‘emaan’ (faith) and work righteous deeds will be in the luxuriant meads of the Gardens: they shall have before their Lord all that they wish for: that will indeed be the magnificent Bounty (of Allah).

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verse 72:

Whoever commits ‘shirk’ (invoking anything with Allah), Allah shall forbid for him Paradise, and Hell shall be his abode. And for such wrong doers there will be no one to help.

Dear and beloved brother, The Lord Most Majestic Most Supreme has declared in Truth the absolute minimum criteria for one to enter Paradise:

1. ‘Emaan’ or faith: in the Absolute Oneness of Allah, in the appointment of all His Messengers, in all the Revelations of Allah, in the Angels, in the concept of Hereafter, and in the ‘Qadr’ or Divine Decrees of the Lord.
2. Good righteous deeds in accordance with the Revealed Guidance of Allah Subhanah.

Regardless of what one wishes to assume based on one’s whims, and fancies, and conjectures……if one does not have ‘emaan’, or one disbelieves in any of the six articles of ‘emaan’ or faith listed above, or one dies in the state of ‘shirk’ or associating other deities with Allah Subhanah……The Lord Most Majestic Most Supreme has categorically Declared in His Glorious Quran that Paradise shall be forbidden for them and the Fire of Hell shall be their eternal and everlasting abode.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chatper 22 Surah Hajj verse 17:

17 Those who believe (in the Qur'an), those who follow the Jewish (Scriptures), the Sabians, the Christians, the Magians, and the polytheists…. Allah will Judge between them on the Day of Judgment: for Allah is witness of all things.

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led astray.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan