Al-Muhajabah's Islamic Blogs: will all non-Muslims end up in hell?

will all non-Muslims end up in hell?

Date: March 22, 2003 | 17 Muharram 1424 Hijriah

Most non-Muslims would say that according to Islam the answer is yes. Many Muslims would say so as well. But the correct answer is not necessarily.

According to actual Islamic teachings, a person who has been given a true and complete understanding of the basics of Islam and knowingly rejects it, then dies without repenting, is destined for hell.

But a person who has not received a true and complete understanding of the basics of Islam will be tested on Judgment Day. If they disobey God and fail the test, then they will go on to hell. On the other hand, if they obey God and pass the test, they will enter Paradise.

Notice the phrase "true and complete understanding of the basics". This applies not only to people who lived before the coming of Islam and people who have never heard of it at all, but also to people who may have heard about it but what they learned was not correct or was not enough information for them to understand the basis of the religion or to make a proper judgment of it.

Those who have faith in God will be rewarded, even if they didn't convert to Islam, as long the reason they didn't convert is that they never received a true and complete understanding of the basics of Islam, and as long as they obeyed what did come to them from God.

This is the meaning of the following passage from the Quran:

Surely those who have faith and the Jews and the Christians and the Sabaeans - whoever has faith in God and the Last Day and does good deeds - indeed their reward is with their Lord and they will neither fear nor grieve

This is Surah al-Baqarat verse 62, and Surah al-Ma'ida verse 69 is nearly identical in wording.

Here is conservative Saudi scholar Shaykh Muhammad al-Munajjid saying the same thing.

~ Posted by Al-Muhajabah, a member of the reality-based community, at 04:36 AM

Comments

Kaitlin said:

Total comments: 1

I found this post very illuminating. (I have not had the opportunity to look at your other posts yet.) I have not experienced this kind of open-heartedness with other religions. Outright condemnation tends to drive people away, I think.

~ Posted at March 22, 2003 06:02 AM | Comment Permalink

Cindy said:

Total comments: 63 gold star

I always hope that Allah really is the Most Merciful, but the problem is is that the image that a lot of Muslims give of Allah and Islam, it makes me worry.

~ Posted at March 22, 2003 09:27 AM | Comment Permalink

Elham said:

Total comments: 11 gold star

Jazakallah sister!

I'm learning so much by just reading this blog.

~ Posted at March 22, 2003 10:38 AM | Comment Permalink

umair said:

Total comments: 51 gold star

mashaAllah, what a clear and concise explanation of such a fundamental issue! this is a very commonly discussed topic among muslims...i am so proud of you for your seeking out the Quraanic point of view!
i have a lot of interesting items surrounding this issue that i'll post on my blog one of these days, when i can clearly write them out, inshaAllah wink

~ Posted at March 22, 2003 01:43 PM | Comment Permalink

David said:

Total comments: 4

Of course, there is always the possibility that Muslims and Non Muslims both will just end up as food for the worms.

~ Posted at March 22, 2003 02:17 PM | Comment Permalink

nnydd said:

Total comments: 4

Assalamualaikum and peace to all,
This is indeed the position of many ulama' and has been the consensus among them since Imam al-Ghazali promoted the idea through his great writing, Faysal al-Tafriqah. [If I am not mistaken the same position is also held by Ibn Taimiyyah, but I have to recheck.] If possible try to get a copy of this kitab/book.
Wassalamualaikum, and peace again to all.

~ Posted at March 22, 2003 03:09 PM | Comment Permalink

one of the top five commentors on this blog!

Zack Ajmal said:

Total comments: 112 gold star

An excellent post which removes a lot of the misunderstanding not only of non-Muslims but of Muslims as well.

I have a minor quibble though.

"true and complete understanding"

My own views are very unorthodox about this issue, so I'll refrain from those here until I can articulate them properly. My understanding of the orthodox position is somewhat similar to your post. However I am not sure that position would use the phrase "true and complete"; Undistorted, true etc. are ok, but your phrase might be going a little farther.

I might be wrong and will appreciate pointers which correct my understanding.

~ Posted at March 22, 2003 05:11 PM | Comment Permalink

Al-Munaqabah said:

Total comments: 996 gold star

Thanks for your reply, Zack. The word "complete" may not be the best choice, but I couldn't think of a better word. If you know only one fact about Islam and know it correctly, then you have a true knowledge about Islam, but I'm not sure that the scholars meant to say that a person who has true knowledge of a single fact is obligated to accept Islam. I tried to qualify the statement in my blog entry by saying that people need to have enough knowledge on which to form a fair basis of judgment of the religion. That's what I mean by "complete". If you can think of a better word, I'd appreciate it. Do you think that "sufficient" would be a better choice? Or maybe I should say "complete understading of the basics" or something like that.

~ Posted at March 23, 2003 03:12 AM | Comment Permalink

Lilli said:

Total comments: 1

What I think of is: Who on earth can say something like this from oneself? When do you know something full and complete? I'm a christ by birth and one point our priests often point out is the one of being not perfect and nothing being perfect of God / Allaah. So what does your Qu'ran say about it? (sorry for my silly english, it's not my mothertongue).

~ Posted at March 23, 2003 12:04 PM | Comment Permalink

Al-Munaqabah said:

Total comments: 996 gold star

Thanks for visiting, Lilli. I'm not sure exactly what you're asking? I mentioned in response to Zack's question that what I meant by "complete" is "complete enough to make a judgment on the basis of". I agree that the way I phrased it isn't ideal.

Obviously, only God has complete knowledge of anything. Among the many names given to God in the Quran is al-Alim, the All-Knowing. If you're interested, I invite you to check out my article An Introduction to Islamic Monotheism, which discusses how Muslims think about God.

~ Posted at March 23, 2003 12:26 PM | Comment Permalink

Zack Ajmal said:

Total comments: 112 gold star

"a good understanding of the basics" might be a better phrase IMO.

~ Posted at March 24, 2003 09:17 PM | Comment Permalink

Al-Munaqabah said:

Total comments: 996 gold star

Thanks, Zack. I've modified the blog entry. You may still not be perfectly satisfied with the phrasing but it best reflects my understanding at the current time smile

~ Posted at March 25, 2003 05:54 AM | Comment Permalink

Jordan said:

Total comments: 1

I think that quote from the Qu'ran means that if you were an overall good person, God/Allah is so omniscient that he can judge more wisely than we ever could, so just be a good Muslim/Christian/Buddhist/Hindu/whatever, and things will turn out the way they should.

Thanks.

~ Posted at April 2, 2003 11:13 PM | Comment Permalink

Zack Ajmal said:

Total comments: 112 gold star

Originally posted by Al-Munaqabah -
Thanks, Zack. I've modified the blog entry. You may still not be perfectly satisfied with the phrasing but it best reflects my understanding at the current time
Definitely better phrasing than before. Like I said, I have a somewhat unorthodox position on this, so I won't quibble with yours. I believe yours is the orthodox viewpoint.

veiled4allah: will all non-Muslims end up in hell?

will all non-Muslims end up in hell?

Comments

Trackbacks

Further reading

Recent entries

Related entries

Results of Semantic Search

Elsewhere

External resources

Other views

Search options