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:

Assalamu Alaikum,

I would like to know the punishment after death is too severe in Islam compared to other religions. Quran itself mentions "no tribe or nation had gone without having sent a warner or messenger". So we have to understand other religions are also rooted from messengers eventhough they had gone wrong path later. But their scriptures do not speak these much of severe punishment. Say for Example: If a muslim does not pray Fajr on time (one day), years of punishment after death. Can you please explain? 

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Answer:

The mercy of Allah

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.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verse 12:

12 …….He (Allah Subhanah) has inscribed (or made incumbent) for Himself (the rule of) Mercy!

Sahih Muslim Hadith 6631 Narrated by Abu Hurayrah

Allah's Messenger (saws) said: ‘There are one hundred (parts of the) Mercy of Allah and He has sent down out of this (hundred), only one part of Mercy upon all the Jinn, and human beings, and the creatures…. and it is because of this (one part of the Mercy of the Lord) that they love one another, show kindness to one another and even the beast treats its young one with affection! ….and Allah has reserved ninety-nine parts of Mercy with which He would treat His servants on the Day of Resurrection.

Our Lord Most Exalted is indeed the All-Just and He could very well, if He had so Willed and Decreed, applied the Rule of Justice for Himself to deal and Judge His creation on the Day of Resurrection! Allah is our witness brother, if the Lord had chosen to apply the Rule of Justice to treat and account for the deeds of His creation, not even one amongst mankind and the jinns would have been able to ever attain salvation on that Tumultuous Day of Judgment!

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 7.577 Narrated by Abu Huraira

I heard Allah's Messenger (saws) saying, "The good deeds of any person will not (or cannot) make him enter Paradise!" They (the Prophet's (saws) companions (r.a.)) asked: "Not even you, O Messenger of Allah (saws)?” The Prophet (saws) replied, "Not even myself, unless Allah bestows His Favor and Mercy on me!"

But it is indeed nothing but His Infinite Grace and Favor that The Lord Most Gracious Most Benevolent has inscribed and made it incumbent upon Himself to apply the Rule of Mercy towards His believing slaves…..for He, without an iota of a doubt, is indeed the Most Merciful of all those that show mercy!

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verse 160:

160 He that doeth good shall have ten times as much to his credit: he that doeth evil shall only be recompensed according to his evil. No wrong shall be done unto (any of) them.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 8.498 Narrated by Ibn Abbas

The Prophet narrated about his Lord Most Exalted and then said, "Allah ordered (the appointed Angels over you) that the good and the bad deeds be written, and He then showed them (the way) how (to write). If somebody intends to do a good deed and he does not do it, then Allah will write for him a full good deed (in his account with Him); and if he intends to do a good deed and actually did it, then Allah will write for him (in his account) with Him (its reward equal) from ten to seven hundred times to many more times! And if somebody intended to do a bad deed and he does not do it, then Allah will write a full good deed (in his account) with Him, and if he intended to do it (a bad deed) and actually did it, then Allah will write one bad deed (in his account)."

After bestowing His innumerable Favors and Grace upon mankind, and inscribing His undisputable and innumerable Signs in everything in creation….and bestowing man with intelligence and a free will, the Lord put man (and Jinn) through a simple test of one life…..to recognize their Supreme Lord and Creator and submit their will unto Him!

The period of this simple but decreed test and trial is one full life-time….and if perchance one fails in their duty and obligation of the test for a prolonged period of time and wishes to atone for his extreme negligence before one has met with their appointment of death, the Lord Most Gracious has left open the doors of repentance or ‘taubah’! All one has to do is turn unto their Lord in ‘taubah’ and seek sincere repentance before one has met with their appointment of death….and their Lord Most Merciful will wipe out every single evil they had ever committed in their past!

Is there any in the whole of the universe who is or can ever even claim to be as Compassionate, or as Benevolent, or as Merciful as the One Who is the Most Merciful????

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah Zumur verses 53-54:

(O Prophet) say: “O My servants who have wronged their own souls….Do not despair of Allah’s Mercy! Surely, Allah forgives all sins. He indeed is the All Forgiving, All Merciful. Return to your Lord and submit to Him before the scourge overtakes you; for then you may get no help from anywhere.”

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imraan verse 135-136:

Allah likes such good people very much, who, if ever they commit a base deed or wrong their own soul by the commission of a sin, remember Allah instantly, and ask for forgiveness from Him for their shortcomings. For who, but Allah, can forgive sins? (And Allah loves those) who do not knowingly persist in the wrongs they did. These will be rewarded with forgiveness from Allah, and with Gardens beneath which canals flow, and they will reside therein forever! How excellent is the reward of those who do good deeds!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verse 54:

When those come to you who believe in Our Signs, say: "Peace be on you! Your Lord had inscribed for Himself (the rule of) Mercy. Verily if any of you did evil in ignorance, and thereafter repented and amended (his conduct), Lo! He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2339 Narrated by Abu Sa'id

Allah's Messenger (saws) said that the Shaytaan said, "By Thy Might, my Lord, I shall continue to lead Thy servants astray as long as their spirits are in their bodies!" The Lord, Who is Great and Glorious, replied, "By My Might, Glory and Exalted Station, I shall continue to pardon them as long as they ask My forgiveness!"

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2357 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Mas'ud

Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "He who repents of a sin is like him who has committed no sin."

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2338 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar

Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "Allah accepts a servant's repentance (taubah) till he gives up his spirit in death."

If one is still not satisfied with such sublime Mercy and Grace of the Lord Most Gracious….the Lord absolutely overwhelms in His Rule of Mercy and Declares and Decrees that one who commits evil and seeks sincere repentance….He will not only wipe out every single evil deed the person committed, He will change their evil deeds into good deeds in His Book of Records!!!!!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 25 Surah Furqaan verses 63-71:

The (true) servants of the Merciful are those who walk humbly on the earth. When the ignorant people behave insolently towards them, they say, “Peace to you”; (And those) who pass their nights in prostrating themselves and standing before their Lord and pray, “O our Lord, save us from the torment of Hell, for its torment is killing! It is an evil abode, and an evil resting place”. (And those) who, when they spend are neither extravagant, nor miserly, but keep the golden mean between the two extremes. (And those) who do not invoke any god but Allah Alone, nor kill a soul unjustly, which Allah has forbidden, nor commit adultery… He who does this shall be punished for his sin, and his torment shall be doubled on the Day of Resurrection, and he shall abide in a state of ignominy; EXCEPT THE ONE WHO MAY HAVE REPENTED (AFTER THOSE SINS), AND HAVE BELIEVED AND DONE RIGHTEOUS DEEDS. For then, Allah will change his evil deeds into good deeds, and He is very Forgiving and Merciful. In fact, one who repents and does righteous deeds, returns to Allah as one rightly should!

Is there any in the whole of the universe who is or can ever even claim to be as Compassionate, or as Benevolent, or as Merciful as the One Who is the Most Merciful????

But what happens to those who die in a state where they did not seek repentance for their transgressions???

There are only a few numbered sins which the Lord Most Majestic has singled out as absolutely unforgivable in the Hereafter.....:

1. Shirk…or associating other deities with Allah Subhanah
2. Kufr….disbelief in Allah Subhanah, His appointed Messengers, His Revealed Books, etc.
3. Nifaaq….hypocrisy

Absolutely regardless of what good one might have supposedly done in their lives, if one commits ‘shirk’, or ‘kufr’, or ‘nifaaq’ in their lives and does not turn in repentance unto their Lord before they meet with their appointment of death…..their crime of treason against the Lord Most Majestic, Most Supreme is so heinous and so grave, that the Lord Most Supreme has Decreed that He Will never never ever forgive them these abominations in the Hereafter!

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 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.

If one has saved oneself and abstained from the absolute abominations and unforgivable crimes of ‘shirk’, ‘kufr’, and ‘nifaaq’, and dies in a state whereby he did not seek forgiveness for all his other evil deeds….his case rests in the Hands of Allah Subhanah…..if Allah so Wills and Pleases, He may forgive him those sins; and if He so Wills and Pleases, he may take account!

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 442 Narrated by Anas ibn Malik

Anas heard the Prophet (saws) say: ‘Allah, the Exalted, has Said: "O son of Adam! Certainly I shall continue to pardon thee so long as thou supplicate Me and hope (for My forgiveness), whatever may be thy faults and sins, I don't care. O son of Adam, even if thy sins pile up as high as the sky, and thou ask for My forgiveness, I will forgive thee. O son of Adam, if thou comes to Me with an earthful of defaults and meet Me, not associating anything with Me, I will come to thee, with an earthful of forgiveness!"

Sahih Muslim Hadith 6499 Narrated by Abu Dharr

Allah's Messenger (saws) said: ‘that Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, stated: 'He who comes with goodness, there are in store for him ten like those and even more than those….And he who comes with vice, it is only for that that he is called to account. I even forgive him (as I like); and he who draws close to Me by the span of a palm I draw close to him by the cubit, and he who draws close to Me by the cubit I draw close to him by the space (covered) by two hands, and he who walks towards Me I rush towards him, and he who meets Me in the state that his sins fill the earth, but not associating anything with Me, I would meet Him with the same (vastness) of pardon (on My behalf)."

Your Question: …..Say for Example: If a muslim does not pray Fajr on time (one day), years of punishment after death. Can you please explain? 

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisaa verse 103:

Indeed the Salaat is a prescribed duty that should be performed by the believers at (their) appointed times.

Anas related that the Prophet (saws) said, "Whoever forgets a prayer should pray it when he remembers it, and there is no expiation for it save that."

Related by al-Bukhari and Muslim.

As important and as significant is the institution of offering one’s obligatory prayers on time in Islam, if perchance one who sincerely strives to guard his prayers happens to forget, or sleep through one of his prayers….he is to offer it as soon as he remembers it and that will suffice for its atonement…..

Abu Hurairah reports that the Prophet (saws) said: "The first thing that the people will be called to account for on the Day of Resurrection will be the prayers. Our Lord will say to the Angels although He knows better: 'Look into the ‘Salah’ of My servant to see if he observed it perfectly or been negligent in it.’ So if he observed it perfectly it will be recorded to his credit, but if he had been negligent in it in any way, Allah would say: ‘See if My servant has any supererogatory (nafl) prayers.’ Then if he has any supererogatory prayers, Allah would say: ‘Make up the deficiency in My servant's obligatory prayer with his supererogatory prayers.' Thereafter all his actions will be examined in like manner"

Related by Abu Dawud.

Dear and beloved brother in Islam, it is nothing but absolute ignorance and to despair of the Infinite Mercy of the Lord to assume or believe that if a believing slave of the Lord does not or is unable to offer one Fajr prayer on time for one day will be tormented for years after his death!!!! Allah is our witness brother, those who have self-invented without any right such judgments for Allah Subhanah are criminals, whose striving is but to make the people despair of the Grace and the Mercy of the Lord Most Gracious, Most Merciful!!!

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