Can a Rejector of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam Enter Paradise?

وَمَن يَبْتَغِ غَيْرَ الْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا فَلَن يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ

He who is desirous of a religion other than Islām will never have it accepted from him, and he will be amongst the losers in the Hereafter.

ʾĀl ʿImrān: 85

A brother has written to me expressing his concern for disbelievers being denied Paradise and condemned to Hell. While the brother comes across as understandably compassionate, the question overlaps with a related phenomenon. I therefore decided to share my response on my platform.

Certain Muslims are so enamoured with their non-Muslim idols, be they politicians, activists, sportsmen, singers or actors, that they arrogate unto themselves the right to overturn the theology of Islām. They dictate unto Allāh and His Messenger (صلى الله عليه و سلم) what they believe should happen in the Hereafter and deny explicit texts of the Qurʾān and Ḥadīth.

Allāh and His Messenger (صلى الله عليه و سلم) have clearly stated the fate of those who disbelieve, for example

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ وَالْمُشْرِكِينَ فِي نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ هُمْ شَرُّ الْبَرِيَّةِ

Indeed, they who disbelieve among the People of the Book and the polytheists will be in the fire of Hell, abiding eternally therein. Those are the worst of creatures.

ʾal-Bayyinah: 6

It is therefore most unsettling that there are those who call themselves Muslims but express greater love for their idols and tell us who are we to judge what the fate of their idols will be. We do not judge, Allāh has given His judgement in His Book and we hear and obey.

May Allāh save us from every whisper and deception of Satan, and protect our faith

Herewith my reply to the brother:

السلام عليكم

Your compassion for fellow children of ʾĀdam (عليه السلام) is commendable. Our Mother, ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها)  expressed a similar concern, specifically in regards the good deeds of the deceased idolater, ʾIbn Judʿān.

However, you, me and our Mother combined cannot have greater concern and purer compassion than Rasūlullāh (صلى الله عليه و سلم). He desired that every human be saved from entering Hell. As in every matter, we defer to his guidance. How did he express this concern? By ceaselessly calling every possible person to the worship of Allāh. Once a person has heard the call, and still rejects, he will not enter Paradise as per the Ḥadīth which I sent in reply to your tweet query

مَنْ سَمِعَ بِي مِنْ أُمَّتِي أَوْ يَهُودِيٌّ أَوْ نَصْرَانِيٌّ فَلَمْ يُؤْمِنْ بِي لَمْ يَدْخُلْ الْجَنَّةَ

Ahmad, from ʾAbū Mūsā ʾal-ʾAshʿarī (رضي الله عنه)

وَالَّذِي نَفْسُ مُحَمَّدٍ بِيَدِهِ لاَ يَسْمَعُ بِي أَحَدٌ مِنْ هَذِهِ الأُمَّةِ يَهُودِيٌّ وَلاَ نَصْرَانِيٌّ ثُمَّ يَمُوتُ وَلَمْ يُؤْمِنْ بِالَّذِي أُرْسِلْتُ بِهِ إِلاَّ كَانَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ النَّارِ

Muslim from ʾAbū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه)

This is general, and Rasūlullāh (صلى الله عليه و سلم) did not distinguish between the various academic categories you mentioned, whether doubters, rejectionists or the obstinate. They have all willingly denied his call.  

In regards ʾIbn Judʿān, Rasūlullāh (صلى الله عليه و سلم) replied to our Mother, “That will not benefit him, for there was not a single day that he ever uttered, ‘O my Lord, forgive me my sin on the Day of Accounting.’” i.e. he never brought faith.

عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، قَالَتْ قُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ابْنُ جُدْعَانَ كَانَ فِي الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ يَصِلُ الرَّحِمَ وَيُطْعِمُ الْمِسْكِينَ فَهَلْ ذَاكَ نَافِعُهُ قَالَ ‏ “‏ لاَ يَنْفَعُهُ إِنَّهُ لَمْ يَقُلْ يَوْمًا رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي خَطِيئَتِي يَوْمَ الدِّينِ ‏”‏

(Muslim:214)

Allāh is our Creator, Master and King. He owns every atom, and we are His to command as He sees fit, and to do with us as He wills. The least obedience the King of kings demands is that we submit and recognise him. Do we submit to the “sovereignty” of the land we live in and deny His ultimate sovereignty? Why do we regard punishments including the death penalty for treason and rebellion against secular authorities as reasonable, but regard divine punishment for rebelling against divine authority as unjust?

I advise that we submit not only bodily, but mentally to Allāh. Our minds are imperfect and make a toy of morality. Humans married young adults throughout history. For less than two centuries young adults have become “teenagers” and it is reprehensible for them to marry. In the last few decades homosexuality has not only been legalised, but it actively being promoted as a fashionable lifestyle. What then is right and wrong, moral and immoral when subject to human whims and fancies?  

We are living in the midst of a war, a rebellion against the King. Satan seeks to enlist us in his army of rebels through doubts and giving our thoughts precedence over divine guidance. I can only appeal to you not to tread a path, the end of which is loss.

Your sincere concern for humanity must be expressed according to the teachings of Rasūlullāh (صلى الله عليه و سلم).

1. Submit to divine will.
2. Work on improving our spirituality (Qurʾān recitation, company of the pious, etc)
3. Gain knowledge from authentic sources.
4. Convey the Message to disbelievers, and be a tool of their salvation.

More than this I cannot say. Guidance is only from Allāh, whether for me, you or all mankind.

سليمان الكندي

Twitter: @Sulayman_Kindi