(78) Punishment for the Monotheists
The Fire catches the bodies of the monotheists and consumes them according to their sins , errors, and blunders they commit in the worldly life. This chapter also contains narratives which refute the view of those who, lacking firm knowledge and understanding of the Prophetic aḥādīth, say that the Fire cannot touch the monotheists. It only afflicts them with its heat and pain, the grief it causes, and the hardship it brings. It also includes proof that they will be put in Hell if Allah will not show mercy to them and does not remove their sins even though they will have done good deeds in their worldly life including fasting, giving alms, performing pilgrimage, and fighting in the way of Allāh. O men of understanding, how can the one who has mere faith in Allah and fails to do any good deed be saved?
493. (1) Mu’ammal b. Hishām al-Yashkurī → Ismāᶜīl b. Ibrāhīm al-Asadī → Muhammad b. Isḥāq → ᶜUbayd Allāh b. al-Mughīrah b. MuᶜAyqīb → Sulaymān b. ᶜAmr b. ᶜUbayd al-‘Itwārī (one of the tribe of Banū Layth, while he was at the house of Abū Saᶜīd → Abū Saᶜīd al-Khudrī:
I heard the Prophet saying:
The Bridge will be set over Hell. On it there would be thorns of saᶜdān. The believers will then ask permission to pass over it. Some will escape unharmed or after being harmed. Some will escape lacerated while others will fall on their head into the Fire. When Allāh will have concluded the judgment of His servants, the believers will miss some people who would have been offering prayers, doing alms, fasting, offering pilgrimage and fighting the battles with them in the world. They (the believers) will say, “O Lord, some of Your servants have been with us in the world, offering Prayer, giving alms, keeping fasts, performing pilgrimage, and fighting battles like us. We do not see them?” He said that it would be said, “Go to the Fire and whoever you see of them, get him out of it.” They will find them caught in it in proportion to their sins. Some of them will be caught in the Fire up to their feet, some up to their shins, some up to their knees, some up to their breasts, some up to their necks. It will, however, spare their faces. They will then bring these out of the Fire and put them in the water of life. It was asked, “What is the water of life, O Prophet?” He said, “It is the bath of the dwellers of Paradise. They will sprout from it as seed does in the silt carried by flood.”
Then the prophets will intercede for those who sincerely witnessed that there is no god but Allāh. They will get them out of it. Then Allāh will show His mercy to such of those in it whomever He wills. He will not leave anyone in it who has faith in his heart equal to an atom, but will bring him out.
494. (2) Muhammad b. Yaḥyā → ᶜAbd al-Razzāq → Maᶜmar → Zayd b. Aslam → ᶜAṭāᵓ b. Yasār → Abū Saᶜīd al-Khudrī → the Prophet:
The complete narrative that I have included in Kitāb al-Ahwāl. This narrative says:
They will recognize them from their countenance. The Fire will not harm their faces. Some of them will be caught in it up to their feet, some up to their ankles. They will get them out of it.
Abū Bakr said: Hishām b. Saᶜd reported this narrative from Zayd b. Aslam through this isnād, in which he said:
They will find a person caught to his feet in the Fire, a man up to the middle of his shins, another up to his knees and another up to his loins. They will get a lot of people out of it. I have included this report too in Kitāb al-Ahwāl. The report of Abū Muslimah from Abū Naḍrah from Abū Saᶜīd from the Prophet says:
But some people will be caught in the Fire for their sins and errors. I have mentioned it earlier.
…… (3) Bishr b. Muᶜādh al-ᶜAqadī → Yazīd b. Zarī‘ → Saᶜīd:
495. (4) Abū Mūsā → Rawḥ b. ‘Ibādah → Saᶜīd → Qatādah → Abū Naḍrah → Samurah b. Jundub → the Prophet:
Some of them will be caught in the Fire up to their ankles, some up to their knees and some up to their waist, and the others to their collarbone.
This is the report of Yazīd b. Zarī‘. Abū Mūsā did not mention the ankles. In one of the versions he said, “up to his loins.” While in the other version he said, “up to his waist.”
Abū Bakr said: We have (previously) reported some aḥādīth of the Prophet which most of the ignorant people believe to be against these narratives concerning intercession and release of some of the dwellers of Hell who are monotheist after they will be put in the Fire because of their sins and errors which we have just mentioned, even though these reports are numerous and have sound isnāds consisting of narrators of sound character.
However, the two groups of reports do not mutually contradict in our view. This I will explain with the help of Allah and under His blessings. The ignorant folk I have referred to are of two kinds: The first group consists of al-Khawārij and al-Muᶜtazilah. They negate the fact that the people of Hell will ever be released from it after being cast in it. Thus they reject the narratives which we have mentioned regarding intercession.
The second group of the ignorant folk consists of the extremist Murjites who say that the Fire is forbidden to touch those who witnessed there is no god but Allāh. This group reinterprets these narratives reported from the Prophet wrongly, violating the obvious meaning of their texts.
Therefore, I will, first of all, mention the narratives, along with their isnāds and texts. Then I will explain their meanings, by the help of Allah and His decree. I will interpret them and explain that they do not contradict the narratives mentioned in the discussion on intercession and the ones which say that some monotheists will be brought out of the Fire after being put in it.
One of these narratives, directly traced back to the Prophet, says:
He who has in his heart the weight of a mustard seed of faith shall not enter Hell.
496. (5) Abū Kurayb Muhammad b. al-ᶜAlāᵓ b. Kurayb → Abū Bakr b. ᶜAyyāsh → al-Aᶜmash → Ibrāhīm → ᶜAlqamah → ᶜAbd Allāh → the Prophet:
He who has in his heart the weight of a mustard seed of pride shall not enter Paradise. (Once he said: shirk (associating partners with Allah). And he who has in his heart the weight of a mustard seed of faith shall not enter Hell.
497. (6) Muhammad b. Bashshār → Abū Dāwūd → Shuᶜbah → Abān b. Taghlib → Fuḍayl → Ibrāhīm → ᶜAlqamah → ᶜAbd Allāh b. Masᶜūd → the Prophet:
He who has in his heart the weight of a mustard seed of pride shall not enter Paradise.
…… (7) Aḥmad b. ᶜAbd Allāh b. ᶜAlī b. Suwayd b. Manjūf → Rawḥ → Shuᶜbah
The same ḥadīth through this isnād.
498. (8) Muhammad b. Bashshār → Yaḥyā b. Ḥammād → Shuᶜbah → Abān b. Taghlib → Fuḍayl b. ᶜAmr → Ibrāhīm → ᶜAlqamah → ᶜAbd Allāh → the Prophet:
He who has in his heart the weight of a mustard seed of pride shall not enter Paradise. And he who has in his heart the weight of a mustard seed of faith shall not enter Hell.
499. (9) Muhammad b. Yaḥyā → Ḥaramī b. Ḥafṣ b. ᶜUmārah al-ᶜAtakī → ᶜAbd al-ᶜAzīz b. Muslim → Sulaymān al-Aᶜmash:
He reported a narrative similar to the report of Abū Bakr b. ᶜAyyāsh through his own isnād. He used the words: mithqāl ḥabbah min kibar (the weight of a mustard seed of faith). He did not express doubt.
…… (10) Abū Mūsā → ᶜĪsā b. Ibrāhīm → ᶜAbd al-ᶜAzīz b. Muslim → al-Aᶜmash:
Narrated this report tracing it back directly to the Prophet.
500. (11) ᶜAlī b. ᶜĪsā al-Bazzāz al-Baghdādī → ᶜAbd al-Wahhāb b. ᶜAṭāᵓ → Saᶜīd → Qatādah → Muslim b. Yasār → Ḥumrān b. Abān → ᶜUthmān b. ᶜAffān → ᶜUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb :
I heard the Prophet saying:
I know a statement which, when a man utters with a true heart and then dies holding to what [it says] Allah forbids him to the Fire. [It is]: There is no god but Allāh.
501. (12) Muhammad b. Abān → ᶜAbd al-Razzāq → Maᶜmar → al-Zuhrī → Maḥmūd b. Al-Rabīᶜ → ‘Itbān b. Mālik → the Prophet:
If anybody comes on the Day of Resurrection having said, “There is no god but Allāh,” sincerely, with the intention to win Allāh’s pleasure, Allāh will make Hell Fire forbidden for him.
Al-Zuhrī said:
Later on, other obligations and duties were revealed. Now we believe that the issue rests upon those too. Therefore, if you can avoid relaxing you should not relax.
Abū Bakr said: Consider the clear proof that the Prophet, by his statement in this narrative, “forbade him to the Fire” means to say that He forbade to the Fire to eat him. He does not mean that Allah has forbidden the Fire to afflict him, to burn him and touch him. When fire eats up something which is cast into it, the eaten up thing turns into flames and then ashes. As for the monotheists, when they will enter the Fire, on account of their sins and errors, they will not be eaten up by it to become coal and ashes. They, on the contrary, will become like charcoal as explained in the previous reports regarding intercessions. When something is burnt completely, it becomes coal after being burnt completely. And then it turns into ashes. It does not become like charcoal as it does when burnt completely. Therefore, try to understand this issue and do not fall into error and stray from the right path. All the narratives that deal with this issue are to be interpreted this way, so grasp this fact.
502. (13) Muhammad b. Yaḥyā → Sulaymān b. Dāwūd al-Hāshimī → Ibrāhīm b. Saᶜd → Ibn Shihāb → Maḥmūd b. Al-Rabīᶜ al-Anṣārī:
He remembered the Prophet of Allah and he also remembered a mouthful of water which he had thrown on his face, after taking it from a well that was in their house. Maḥmūd thought that he heard from ‘Itbān b. Mālik al-Anṣārī, who was one of those who participated in the Battle of Badr with the Prophet.
Muhammad b. Yaḥyā narrated the complete ḥadīth in which he reported the Prophet say:
Indeed, Allah has forbidden to the Fire the one who says, “None has the right to be worshipped but Allāh,” seeking the pleasure of Allah.
503. (14) Muhammad b. Abī Ṣafwān al-Thaqafī → Bahz b. Asad → Ḥammād b. Salamah → Thābit → Anas → ‘Itbān b. Mālik:
I am blind. Therefore, I requested the Prophet to come to my house….
He related the complete narrative in which he reported that he said [to the Prophet]:
[Please come to my place and] make for me a place to offer the Prayer. Or he said: To determine for me a place to offer the Prayer.
The Prophet came, and his people also came. A person among them was missing. His name was Mālik al-Dukhshumī (or Mālik b. al-Dukhshum).
They said, “O Messenger of Allah, they (people) doubt him (i.e. his faith).” He said that the Prophet replied, “Does he not witness that there is no god except Allāh and that I am the Messenger of Allāh?” He said, “He says so only to escape [the punishment]. The Prophet said, “By the one in whose hand is my life, the Fire is forbidden to afflict him who declares that fact sincerely.”
…… (15) ᶜAbd al-Wārith b. ᶜAbd al-Ṣamad → his father → Ḥammād:
504. (16) Muhammad b. Yaḥyā → Muhammad b. Kathīr → Ḥammād b. Salamah → Thābit → Anas:
‘Itbān b. Mālik lost his eyesight. He requested the Prophet to come to his home and mark a place for him to offer his Prayer. The Prophet came. The tribe of ‘Itbān too came. However, a person named Mālik b. al-Dukhshum did not show up. They mentioned him and doubted him. They said, “O Prophet of Allah, he is a hypocrite.” The Prophet said, “Does he not witness that there is no god save Allāh and that I am His messenger?” They said, “Yes he does so but only to save himself.” He said, “By the one in whose hand is my life, the one who says so sincerely, necessarily gets to Paradise and the Fire is forbidden to touch him.”
This is the wording of the narrative of Muhammad b. Yaḥyā.
…… (17) Muhammad b. Yaḥyā → Muhammad b. ᶜAbd Allāh al-Khuzāᶜī → Ḥammād → Thābit → Anas:
‘Itbān b. Mālik lost his eyesight. He requested the Prophet to come to his home and offer Prayer there so that he may make this place a mosque for him.
He related a similar narrative.
506. (18) Muhammad → Ḥajjāj → Ḥammād → Thābit → Anas:
‘Itbān b. Mālik al-Anṣārī was blind. He said, “O Prophet of Allah, come and offer Prayer in my home so that I make this place a mosque for me.”
He reported a similar narrative except that he said, “The Fire will be forbidden to afflict him.” He did not say, “He will definitely enter Paradise.”
507. (19) ᶜAbd Allāh b. Hāshim → Bahz b. Asad → Sulaymān b. al-Mughīrah → Thābit → Anas:
The eyes of ‘Itbān b. Mālik were affected. He sent for the Prophet and told him what had happened to him. He said, “O Messenger of Allah, come and offer Prayer in my house, so that I select the place for my Prayer.” The Prophet came and so did whichever of his Companions Allah willed to come. The Prophet stood up while his Companions were talking and discussing what they were facing from the hypocrites. They discussed the case of Mālik b. Dukhshum most of all. The Prophet concluded his Prayer. He said, “Does he not witness that there is no god save Allāh and that I am the Messenger of Allāh?” Some of the audience said, “He says so but not from his heart.” The Messenger of Allah said, “Whoever said that there is no god except Allāh and that I am the Messenger of Allāh, the Fire will not devour him.” Or perhaps he said, “He will not enter the Fire.”
508. (20) Zayd b. Akhzam → ᶜAbd al-Ṣamad → Sulaymān b. al-Mughīrah → Thābit → Anas b. Mālik → ‘Itbān b. Mālik → the Prophet:
Whoever died witnessing that there is no god except Allāh and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allāh, the Fire will be prevented from consuming him.
Abū Bakr said: It seems Anas b. Mālik heard this ḥadīth from Maḥmūd b. Al-Rabīᶜ who reported from ‘Itbān b. Mālik. Later on, he heard it from ‘Itbān. He ordered his son to write it down. This is how ᶜUtbah b. ᶜAbd Allāh narrated to me through the following isnād: ᶜAbd Allāh b. al-Mubārak → Sulaymān b. al-Mughīrah → Thābit → Anas → Maḥmūd b. Al-Rabīᶜ → ‘Itbān b. Mālik.
He narrated ‘Itbān’s ḥadīth regarding Ibn al-Dukhshum. Anas said, “I came to Madinah and met ‘Itbān.” Anas said, “This narrative fascinated me and I asked my son to write it and he wrote it.”
509. (21) Muhammad b. Yaḥyā → ᶜAbd al-Razzāq → Maᶜmar → al-Zuhrī → Maḥmūd b. Al-Rabīᶜ → ‘Itbān b. Mālik:
I came to the Prophet and said, “I have lost my eyesight, and a flood cuts off my home from the mosque of my tribe. I wish you would please come and offer Prayer in my house. I will make that place my mosque.” The Prophet said, “I will do it if Allah willed so.” He said that the Prophet came across Abū Bakr. He joined him and walked with him. He sought permission to enter. He entered upon me and while standing, he said, “Where do you want me to offer Prayer?”
He said:
I pointed towards the place I had intended. Then I requested him to stay for a meal called “khazīrah” which we had prepared for him. The news reached the people of the valley, that is, members of the family and they came over to him and the house was filled. Someone said, “Where is Mālik b. al-Dukhshum?” A man said, “He is a hypocrite. He does not like Allāh nor His Messenger.” The Prophet said, “Do not say so if he witnesses that there is no god except Allāh, seeking the pleasure of Allāh.” He said, “O Messenger of Allah, as for us, we recognize his face and find him counselling the hypocrites.” The Prophet said, “Even then you do not say so while he witnesses that there is no god but Allāh.” He said, “Indeed, O Messenger of Allah.” The Prophet said, “Nobody who says that there is no god but Allāh will meet Allāh on the Day of Resurrection, seeking the pleasure of Allāh, but Allāh will forbid him to the Fire.”
Maḥmūd said:
I related this ḥadīth to a group of people among them was Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī. He said, “I do not think the Prophet said what you say.”
He said:
Then I vowed to return to ‘Itbān b. Mālik to ask him about the ḥadīth. I returned to him. I found him very old. He was leading his tribe in Prayer. He had lost his eyesight. I sat beside him and asked about the ḥadīth. He related it to me the way he had related it earlier.
Maᶜmar said:
Whenever al-Zuhrī narrated this ḥadīth, he explained, “Then other obligations and injunctions were revealed. We believe now the matter depends on them. Whoever has the power [to do good deeds and fulfil the directives] must not relax, [depending on this glad tiding].”
510. (22) Muhammad b. Yaḥyā → Isḥāq b. ᶜĪsā b. al-Ṭabbā‘ → Mālik →al-Zuhrī → Maḥmūd b. Al-Rabīᶜ al-Anṣārī:
‘Itbān b. Mālik would lead his tribe in the Prayer. He was blind. He said, “O Messenger of Allah, sometimes there is rain, darkness, and flooding. I am a blind man. Please come and offer Prayer at some place in my house so that I could make that place a mosque for me.” The Prophet came and asked, “Where do you want me to offer Prayer?” He pointed to a place. The Prophet offered his Prayer at that place.
Abū Bakr said: Mālik reported it briefly and did not add anything to it.
511. (23) Muhammad b. Yaḥyā → Sulaymān b. Dāwūd al-Hāshimī → Ibrāhīm b. Saᶜd → Ibn Shihāb → Maḥmūd b. Rabī‘ al-Anṣārī:
He (Maḥmūd) remembered the Prophet of Allah and he also remembered a mouthful of water which he had thrown on his face, after taking it from a well that was in their house.
Maḥmūd thought that he heard ‘Itbān b. Mālik al-Anṣārī who took part in the Battle of Badr with the Prophet. He said:
I would lead in the Prayer my tribe, Banū Sālim, and there was a valley between me and them. He said, “Whenever it rained, it became hard for me to reach their mosque.” I came to the Prophet and said to him, “I have lost my eyesight and the valley between my house and the mosque floods when it rains. It becomes hard for me to reach there. I wish you would come to my house and offer Prayer.” The people gathered so that the house was filled up. One of them said, “Where is Mālik b. al-Dukhshun or al-Dukhshum? I do not see him.” Another person spoke up, “He is a hypocrite. He does not love Allāh and His Prophet.” The Prophet said, “Do not say such words. Do you not see him saying: There is no god except Allāh, seeking the pleasure of Allah?” He said, “Allāh and His Messenger know the best. But as far as we know, by Allah, we do not find him loving and talking to other than the hypocrites.” The Prophet said, “Allāh has forbidden the Fire to touch the one who says that there is no god except Allāh and seeks His pleasure through it.”
Maḥmūd b. Rabī‘ stated:
I related it to some people, among them was Abū Ayyūb Anṣārī, the Companion of the Prophet in the battle in which he died. Yazīd b. Muᶜāwiyah was their leader in this battle fought in Rome. Abū Ayyūb rejected it and said, “By Allah, I do not think that the Prophet ever said what you are telling us.” It fell hard upon me. I swore if Allah spared me and I returned from fighting in the battle I would go to ‘Itbān b. Mālik if I found him alive in the mosque of his tribe. I was later free from the battle. I wore iḥrām from īliyā intending to offer ‘umrah. Then I proceeded and reached Madinah. I went to the tribe Banū Sālim. I found ‘Itbān b. Mālik a blind man. He was leading his people in the Prayer. When he concluded his Prayer I greeted him. I introduced myself to him. Then I asked about the ḥadīth. He related it to me as he had done the first time.”
Muhammad al-Zuhrī said:
However, we have learnt from the fuqahā. They hold that this saying of the Prophet dated back to the time before the obligatory injunctions were revealed in the holy Qurᵓān. Allah has enjoined upon the believers in this statement stated by the Prophet some obligations in the book of Allah. We believe that the matter now depends on them. Whoever finds power to fulfil them and not solely depend on this statement must not rely on it alone.
512. (24) Muhammad b. Yaḥyā → Abū Ṣāliḥ → al-Layth → ᶜAqīl → Ibn Shihāb → Maḥmūd b. Al-Rabīᶜ al-Anṣārī:
Muhammad b. Yaḥyā reported this very story with the changes in the following:
Where is Mālik b. al-Dukhshun?
He added that Ibn Shihāb said, “Then I asked al-Ḥaṣīn b. Muhammad al-Anṣārī, who belonged to Banū Sālim and was one of their leaders about this ḥadīth and he confirmed it.”
513. (25) Muhammad b. Bashshār → Ibn Abī ᶜAdī → Shuᶜbah → Khālid al-Ḥadhdhāᵓ → al-Walīd Abū Bishr → Ḥumrān b. Abān → ᶜUthmān → the Prophet:
Whoever died having witnessed that there is no god save Allāh will enter Paradise.
…… (26). Muhammad b. ‘Ibād al-Wāsiṭī → Mūsā b. Dāwūd → Shuᶜbah:
The same narrative through this isnād [but in the following wording]: …. “while he witnessed that there is no god except Allāh will enter Paradise.”
514. (27) Muhammad b. Bashshār → Muhammad b. Jaᶜfar → Shuᶜbah → Qatādah → Anas b. Mālik → Muᶜādh b. Jabal → the Prophet:
Whoever witnesses that there is no god except Allāh and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allāh, from his true heart, and dies in this state will go to Paradise.
Shuᶜbah said, “I did not ask Qatādah whether he had heard it from Anas.”
515. (28) Muhammad b. ᶜAbd al-Aᶜlā al-Ṣanᶜānī → al-Muᶜtamir → his father → Anas:
The Prophet said to Muᶜādh, “Whoever meets Allah without making partners with Him will enter Paradise.” He said, “O Prophet of Allāh, should not I pass this good news to all the people?” He said, “Do not do that. I am afraid that people will rely on this alone. (yattakilū).”
516. (29) Abū al-Ashᶜath → al-Muᶜtamir → his father → Anas b. Mālik:
The Prophet said to Muᶜādh b. Jabal, “Whoever met Allāh while not making partners with Him will enter Paradise.” He said, “O Prophet, May I pass this news to all the people?” He said, “Do not do so. I am afraid the people will rely on this alone.”
…… (30) Muhammad b. ᶜAbd al-Aᶜlā al-Ṣanᶜānī → Yazīd b. Zarī‘ → Sulaymān al-Taymī:
Anas told me that the Prophet said to Muᶜādh [………….]
I did not hear this from him.
…… (31) Muhammad b. ᶜAbd al-Aᶜlā al-Ṣanᶜānī → Bishr b. Mufaḍḍal → al-Taymī:
Anas told me that the Prophet said to Muᶜādh: Whoever met Allāh […..]
He narrated the same report.
…… (32) Abū Mūsā → Muhammad b. Jaᶜfar → Shuᶜbah → Abū Ḥamzah → the Prophet:
The Prophet said to Muᶜādh b. Jabal, “Know that whoever dies while declaring that there is no god except Allāh he will enter Paradise.”
Abū Bakr said: I narrated to Bundār the ḥadīth: Ibn Abī ᶜAdī → Shuᶜbah → Ṣadaqah → Anas b. Mālik → Muᶜādh b. Jabal → the Prophet: “Whoever dies while witnessing that there is no god save Allāh enters Paradise.”
Abū Bakr said: Ṣadaqah belongs to the children of Abū al-Aḥwaṣ as I know from the book. Salamah b. Wardān reported, “I do not guarantee the validity of the version of this ḥadīth ascribed to Anas from the Prophet.”
He thought that Anas heard this from Muᶜādh b. Jabal first. Later on, he heard it from the Prophet himself.
…… (33) Yūnus b. ᶜAbd al-Aᶜlā → Ibn Wahb → Salamah b. Wardān:
I was sitting with Anas b. Mālik al-Anṣārī. Anas said:
Then Muᶜādh b. Jabal al-Anṣārī came from the Prophet and I said, “Where are you coming from?” He said, “From the Prophet.” I said, “What did he say to you?” He said that the Prophet said, “Whoever witnessed sincerely that there is no god except Allāh will enter Paradise.” I said, “Did you hear him?” He said, “Yes.” Anas said that he said, “I am going to the Prophet and ask him about it.” He said, “Yes.”
He (Anas) came to the Prophet and asked him. The Prophet said that Muᶜādh had told the truth. He repeated it three times.
517. (34) Bishr b. Khālid al-ᶜAskarī → Saᶜīd b. Muslimah → Salamah b. Wardān, the freed slave of KhuzāᶜAh → Anas b. Mālik:
Muᶜādh b. Jabal came to me from the Prophet and I said, “O Muᶜādh, where are you coming from?” He said, “I am coming from the Prophet.” I said, “What did he say?” He told me that the Prophet said, “Whoever said that there is no god except Allāh will enter Paradise.” I said, “Did you hear it from him?” He said, “Go and ask him.” I came to the Prophet and said, “O Messenger of Allah, Muᶜādh b. Jabal told me that you state that whoever sincerely witnesses that there is no god save Allāh will enter Paradise.” He said, “Yes, Muᶜādh told the truth. Muᶜādh told the truth. Muᶜādh told the truth.”
518. (35) Mu’ammal b. Hishām al-Yashkurī → Ismāᶜīl → Yūnus → Ḥumayd b. Hilāl → Hiṣṣān b. al-Kāhin:
I entered the Mosque of al-Baṣrah during the reign of ᶜUthmān b. ᶜAffān. I saw a grey-haired man wearing a grey beard. He was narrating on the authority of Muᶜādh b. Jabal that the Prophet said, “Any soul which dies while declaring that there is no god but Allāh and that I am His messenger, and with a truly believing heart, is forgiven by Allah.” I said, “Did you hear it from Muᶜādh b. Jabal?” At this the people sounded chiding me. He, however, said to them not to chide and upbraid me. He asked them to call me near him. He said, “Yes, I heard this from Muᶜādh b. Jabal who reported from the Prophet.” Mu’ammal repeated it thrice. I asked a man sitting beside me, “Who is he?” He said, “He is ᶜAbd al-Raḥmān b. Samurah.”
(….) Muhammad b. Bashshār → Abū Zayd the companion of (ṣāḥib) al-Harawī.
519. (36) Abū Mūsā → Saᶜīd b. Al-Rabīᶜ Abū Zayd → Shuᶜbah → Ismāᶜīl → al-Shaᶜbī → a person → Suᶜdā, the wife of Ṭalḥah b. ᶜUbayd Allāh:
ᶜUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb came across Ṭalḥah b. ᶜUbayd Allāh during the days when Abū Bakr took over the caliphate. ᶜUmar said, “What happened?” You look grieved. Perhaps you dislike the rule of your cousin.” He (Ṭalḥah) said, “No, it is not the case. But I have heard the Prophet saying something that I could not ask him about till his death.” He (the Prophet) said, “I know a statement. If a man utters it before his death, the pages containing record of his deeds become lighted, his soul and body find peace and comfort when he dies.” [ᶜUmar said], “I know what that is. It is, “There is no god except Allāh.” This is what the Prophet intended his uncle Abū Ṭālib to say before his death.” He said, “I do not think it should be something else.”
These are the words of the ḥadīth of Bundār. Abū Mūsā said, “….It comforts him at his death.” ᶜUmar said, “I know what this statement is. It is, “There is no god except Allāh.” This is what he intended that his uncle should say before his death. I think [what you wish to learn is] nothing other than this statement.”
Abū Bakr said: What I declared as improbable with ḥadīth of Salamah b. Wardān is that he claimed that Anas b. Mālik told him the ḥadīth on the authority of Muᶜādh b. Jabal from the Prophet and that he went and asked the Prophet about it. And the Prophet said that Muᶜādh told the truth.
…… (37) This report has also been mentioned to us by Muhammad b. Yaḥyā → Abū NuᶜAym → Salamah → Anas.
…… (38) Similarly it has been reported to me by Muhammad → Jaᶜfar b. ᶜAwn → Salamah b. Wardān.
The whole narrative.
Abū Bakr said: I do not negate that Anas b. Mālik heard the Prophet saying, “Whoever says that there is no god except Allāh enters Paradise.” He heard it at an occasion other than the occasion Salamah b. Wardān narrated. The latter said that he went to the Prophet and asked him about what Muᶜādh b. Jabal had related to him. The following facts prove my claim.
520. (39) Ibn ᶜAzīz → Sulāmah → Aqīl → Ibn Shihāb → Anas b. Mālik al-Anṣārī:
We were with the Prophet who entered a mountainous passage [on his way]. When the path widened he smiled and said takbīr (kabbara, to say Allah is great) and we did the same. He took a step forward and smiled and said takbīr again. We followed him in saying the takbīr. Then we reached him. The people said, “We have said takbīr because you did so. But we do not know why you laughed.” He said, “I have received a glad tiding. I have been told to tell my ummah that whoever says that there is no god except Allāh Who has no partner will go to Paradise. So I smiled and glorified my Allah.” He took a step forward, turned back and said, “I have been given the glad tiding to inform my ummah that whoever said there is no god except Allāh who has no partner, he will go to Paradise. Allāh has forbidden him to the Fire. So I smiled and glorified Allah and felt proud for my ummah for it.”
Abū Bakr said: This is a gharīb ḥadīth (a narrative reported by a single narrator in each layer of the chain of transmission). I have doubted the report of Salamah b. Wardān in which he says that Anas heard this from Muᶜādh b. Jabal. This I do because Sulaymān al-Taymī is better memorizer than a number of the like of Salamah. He is more knowledgeable in the Prophetic Ḥadīth than a group of people. Salamah has narrated it making it clear that it has been reported to him by Muᶜādh b. Jabal. However, those who used the words: “from (ᶜAn) Anas from (ᶜAn) Muᶜādh” can be excused for they did not clearly claim to have heard him directly.
….. (40) The same narrative has been reported to me by ᶜAbd al-ᶜAzīz b. Ṣuhayb → Anas → Muᶜādh:
In this narrative, the narrator has not clearly claimed direct receipt using the words: I heard him or he mentioned it to me.
521. Aḥmad b. ᶜAbdah → Ḥammād b. Zayd → ᶜAbd al-ᶜAzīz b. Ṣuhayb → Anas b. Mālik → Muᶜādh b. Jabal:
The Prophet said to me, “O Muᶜādh.” I replied, “At your beck and call, and at your pleasure, Messenger of Allah!” He said, “Give good news to the people,” or maybe he said, “warn the people that whoever says there is no god but Allāh will go to Paradise.”
522. (41) Al-Rabīᶜ b. Sulaymān → Shuᶜayb b. al-Layth → al-Layth → Muhammad b.al-ᶜAjlān → al-Ṣunābiḥī:
I went to ‘Ubādah b. Ṣāmit when he was about to die. I burst into tears. He said to me, “Take it easy. Why do you weep? By Allah, if I am asked to bear witness, I would certainly testify for you (that you are a believer). Should I be asked to intercede, I would certainly intercede for you, and if I have the power, I would certainly do good to you.” Then he observed, “By Allah, never did I hear anything from the Messenger of Allah which could have been a source of benefit to you and then not conveyed it to you except this single ḥadīth that I intend to narrate to you today, since I am going to breathe my last. I heard the Messenger of Allah say, “He who testifies that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, Allah would prohibit the fire of Hell for him.””
523. (42) Aḥmad b. ᶜAbd Allāh b. ᶜAbd al-Raḥīm al-Barqī → Saᶜīd b. al-Ḥakam b. Abī Maryam → Yaḥyā b. Ayyūb → Muhammad b. ᶜAjlān → Muhammad b. Yaḥyā b. Ḥabbān → ᶜAbd Allāh b. Muḥayrīz → al-Ṣunābiḥī:
The same narrative except that he said, “Whoever meets Allah while testifying that there is no god except Allāh and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allāh, he will go to Paradise.”
524. (43) Abū Mūsā → Muhammad b. Jahḍam → Ismāᶜīl b. Jaᶜfar → Muhammad b. ᶜAjlān → Muhammad b. Yaḥyā, b. Ḥabbān → Ibn Muḥayrīz → al-Ṣunābiḥī:
He heard ‘Ubādah b. al-Ṣāmit, when he was nearing his death. He said, “By Allah, I have never concealed anything I received from the Prophet that could benefit you except only one report. I heard the Prophet saying, “Whoever met Allāh testifying that there is no god except Allāh and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah will go to Paradise.””
525. (44) Ibrāhīm b. al-Mustamir Baṣrī → Badal b. al-Muḥabbar Abū al-Munīr al-Tamīmī al-Yarbūᶜī → al-Muḥriz b. Kaᶜb al-Bāhilī → Riyāḥ b. ᶜUbaydah → Dhakwān al-Sammān → Jābir b. ᶜAbd Allāh:
The Prophet called me and said, “Go and announce to all the people that whoever testified that there is no god except Allāh with assuredness and sincerely, he has Paradise for him.”
He related the complete narrative in which he recounted his meeting with ᶜUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb, and his return to the Prophet and telling him: inna al-nāsa qad ḥassū aw ṭamiᶜū. The Prophet said, “Sit down.”
Abū Bakr said: Regarding this ḥadīth, Muhammad b. Yaḥyā told us that he said: inna al-nāsa qad ḥassū aw ṭamiᶜū. The Prophet said, “Sit.”
……. (45) Muhammad b. Yaḥyā → Ḥafṣ b. ᶜUmar → al-Muḥriz b. Kaᶜb:
I have mentioned this narrative in Kitāb al-Īmān.
526. (46) Mustawrid b. ‘Ibād al-Hunāᵓī → Thābit al-Bunānī → Anas b. Mālik:
A man said, “O messenger of Allāh, I have not left any of my desires unfulfilled legally or illegally [before coming to you].” He said, “Do not you witness that there is no god but Allāh and that Muhammad is His Messenger?” He said, “Yes, I do.” He said, “That cancels all that you have done.”
(….) Zayd b. Akhzam and Ibrāhīm b. al-Mustamir → Abū ᶜĀṣim → Mustawrid b. ‘Ibād → Zayd:
This latter [act of yours i.e. declaration of faith] removes that [you did earlier].
527. (47) Isḥāq b. Ibrāhīm al-Ṣawwāf → Badal b. al-Muḥabbir → Zāᵓidah → ᶜAbd Allāh b. Muhammad b. ᶜAqīl → Ibn ᶜUmar → ᶜUmar:
The Prophet ordered me to announce to all the people that whoever sincerely declared that there is no god but Allāh and He has no partner, he has Paradise for him.
ᶜUmar said, “O Messenger of Allāh they would depend on it alone?” He said, “[Then] leave them.”
…… (48) Muhammad b. Yaḥyā → Badal b. al-Muḥabbir:
I believe I have mentioned this ḥadīth in Kitāb al-Īmān.
528. (49) ᶜAlī b. Sahl al-Ramlī → al-Walīd b. Muslim → Abū ᶜAmr al-Awzāᶜī → al-Muṭṭalib b. ᶜAbd Allāh b. Ḥanṭab al-Makhzūmī → ᶜAbd al-Raḥmān b. Abī ᶜAmrah al-Anṣārī → his father:
We set out with the Prophet for one of the battles he fought….
He related a lengthy narrative. In the end he said, “I witness that there is no god but Allāh and that I am His Messenger and I witness that no believer will meet Allāh on the Day of Judgment with that two testimonies but they will secure him from the Fire.”
…… (50) Muhammad b. Yaḥyā → Ibrāhīm b. ᶜAbd Allāh b. al-ᶜAlāᵓ, b. Zabr al-Ribᶜī → ᶜAbd al-Raḥmān b. Abī ᶜAmrah → his father:
We were with the Prophet …..
He related a lengthy ḥadīth similar to that of al-Walīd.
…… (51) The same narrative has been narrated by: Ibn ᶜAjlān → ᶜĀṣim b. ᶜUbayd Allāh a. ‘Ᾱsim → al-Muṭṭalib b. ᶜAbd Allāh b. Ḥanṭab → Abū ᶜAmrah al-Anṣārī → the Prophet:
Same as the report of al-Awzāᶜī → Al-Rabīᶜ b. Sulaymān → Shuᶜayb → al-Layth → Muhammad b. ᶜAjlān.
Abū Bakr said: I do not take any responsibility regarding the reliability of ᶜĀṣim b. ᶜUbayd Allāh. He has also dropped the name of ᶜAbd al-Raḥmān b. Abī ᶜAmrah from the isnād.
529. (52) Muhammad b. Yaḥyā → Ibrāhīm b. al-Ḥakam b. Abān → his father:
ᶜIkramah, Yazdād and I [were together] He (ᶜIkramah] said:
Son of Muhammad or ᶜAbd al-Raḥmān b. Abī Bakr would drink. When he was about to die, ‘Āishah said, “I hope the Fire does not consume the son of my brother. For the Prophet said to his uncle [Abū Ṭālib]:
Say there is no god but Allāh, I will bear witness for you on the Day of Judgment.”
My father [Ibrāhīm b. al-Ḥakam] said:
ᶜIkramah responded to him saying:
Abū Hurayrah said, “Pray for him. For forgiveness is besought for this kind of erring people.”
539. (63) Muhammad b. Bashshār → Yaḥyā b. Saᶜīd → Yazīd b. Kaysān → Abū Ḥāzim → Abū Hurayrah:
The Prophet said to his uncle, “Say that there is no god save Allāh and I will testify for you on the Judgment Day that you did say so.” He said, “Had I not feared the chiding of the Quraysh, I would have made your eyes cold i.e. made you happy by saying that. They would say that I have been led to believe out of fear and weakness.”
This occasioned the revelation of the following verse: “It is true you will not be able to guide every one, whom thou love; but Allah guides those whom He will.” (Q 28:56)
531. (54) ᶜUmar b. Ḥafṣ al-Shaybānī → ᶜAbd Allāh b. Wahb → ᶜAmr b. al-Ḥārith → Saᶜīd b. Abī Hilāl → ᶜAwn b. ᶜAbd Allāh → Yūsuf b. ᶜAbd Allāh → his father:
I heard the Prophet saying, “Whoever witnessed that there is no god but Allāh and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allāh, sincerely, will definitely enter Paradise.”
532. (55) Muhammad b. Bashshār and Abū Mūsā → Ibn Abī ᶜAdī → Shuᶜbah → Ḥabīb b. Abī Thābit → Zayd b. Wahb → Abū Dharr → the Prophet:
Gabriel said to me, “Whoever died from your ummah without making partners with Allāh will enter Paradise and will not go to Hell.” I said, “What if he commits fornication or theft?” He said, “Even if he commits fornication or theft.”
Bundār said: Or [perhaps the Prophet said] “he will not enter the Fire.” He [the Prophet] said: “Whether he committed theft or fornication?” He [Gabriel] said. “Whether he stole or fornicated.”
533. (56) Mu’ammal b. Hishām → Ismāᶜīl → al-Jurayrī → Mūsā → Muhammad b. Saᶜd b. Abī Waqās → Abū al-Dardāᵓ:
The Prophet recited the verse: But for such as fear the time when they will stand before (the Judgment Seat of) their Lord, there will be two Gardens.” (Q 55:46). I said, “Even if he committed fornication and thefts, O Prophet? It is not recited this way.” Or he said, “Do you not find us doing this?” He said that the Prophet recited, “But for such as fear the time when they will stand before (the Judgment Seat of) their Lord, there will be two Gardens.” (Q 55:46). I said, “Even if he fornicated or stole o Prophet?” He said, “But for such as fear the time when they will stand before (the Judgment Seat of) their Lord, there will be two Gardens. (Q 55:46). Even if he fornicated or committed thefts, in spite of Abū al-Dardāᵓ.”
[The Companion said]: I will keep on reciting the verse that way till I meet Him.
534. (57) Abū Ṭālib Zayd b. Akhzam → Abū Dāwūd → Shuᶜbah → Ḥabīb b. Abī Thābit, ᶜAbd al-ᶜAzīz b. Rufay‘ and al-Aᶜmash → Zayd b. Wahb → Abū Dharr → the Prophet:
Gabriel came to me and gave me a glad tiding saying that whoever among my ummah died without ascribing partners to Allāh, he goes to Paradise.
I said, “Even if he committed fornication or thefts?” He said, “Yes.”
At one occasion, he did not mention the name of al-Aᶜmash in the isnād.
535. (58) ᶜAbd al-Wārith b. ᶜAbd al-Ṣamad → his father → Mahdī → Wāṣil → al-Maᶜrūr b. Suwayd → Abū Dharr:
I heard the Prophet saying that one who comes [from Lord] came to me and he gave me glad tiding. Or (perhaps he said), “He informed me that whoever dies while not ascribing any partners to Allah, he will enter Paradise.
I (Abū Dharr) asked, “Even if he committed adultery or theft?” He said, “Of course even if he committed adultery or theft.”
536. (59) ᶜAbd Allāh b. Isḥāq al-Jawharī → Ḥafṣ b. ᶜUmar al-Ḥawḍī → Murajjā b. Rajāᵓ → Muhammad b. al-Zubayr → Rajāᵓ b. Ḥaywah → Umm al-Dardāᵓ → Abū al-Dardāᵓ → the Prophet:
The one who says there is no god except Allāh, he will go to Paradise.
I said, “Even if he commits adultery or theft?” He said, “Yes. Even he committed fornication or theft.”
537. (60) Abū Mūsā → Ibn Abī ᶜAdī → Shuᶜbah → Sulaymān → Abū Wāᵓil → ᶜAbd Allāh:
The Prophet said one thing and I say another [corresponding one, in addition to it]. He said, “Whoever dies while setting rivals with Allāh enters Hell.”
I say: … “while not setting rivals to Allah, enters Paradise.”
Abū Bakr said: I have mentioned most of the aḥādīth on this topic in Kitāb al-Īmān. I have explained the meaning of these aḥādīth there. The meaning of these aḥādīth is not what the Murjites assumed. Every knowledgeable person of the Muslim community knows with certainty that the Prophet did not mean to say that whoever witnesses that there is no god but Allāh or added that the Prophet Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah without believing in any of the rest of the Prophets, without affirming faith in the book of Allah, Paradise, Hell and the Last Judgment, will surely enter Paradise and will not be punished. If it were permissible for the Murjites to adduce this narrative as evidence—even though the plain meaning of these aḥādīth contradict their foundational principles, just as they go against the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Prophet — it would be equally permissible for the Jahmīs to adduce the aḥādīth ascribed to the Prophet—when interpreted to give the plain meaning—to establish that the one who knows that Allah is his Lord and Muhammad is His Messenger, even without declaring that openly will go to Paradise. We see that the ignorant folk harboring enmity continue adducing the abbreviated aḥādīth ignoring their detailed versions, pleading to mujmal aḥādīth and setting aside the explicating ones, to support their views. They do not grasp the foundations of knowledge. There are sound versions of aḥādīth which if taken in their plain meanings, the way the Murjites interpret the narrations which we have mentioned concerning declaring belief in monotheism, that would mean that the one who merely knows in his heart and mind that there is no god but Allāh will definitely enter Paradise even if he does not express this belief and does not declare his belief in what Allah has demanded the believers to affirm. He may even not believe in these things in his heart and may not make his body express his faith in and follow the injunctions of Allah. He may not stop from doing things which Allah has forbidden including killing the believers, enslaving their children, devouring their assets, taking their women lawful for them. Consider the following report which, as I have stated, should not be taken on its obvious meaning the way the Murjites have interpreted the aḥādīth just mentioned in their apparent meanings.
538. (61) Aḥmad b.al-Miqdām al-ᶜAjalī → Bishr b. Mufaḍḍal → Khālid al-Ḥadhdhāᵓ → al-Walīd, Abū Bishr → Ḥumrān b. Abān → ᶜUthmān b. ᶜAffān → the Prophet:
He who dies knowing that there is no god but Allah enters Paradise.
539. (62) Abū al-Khaṭṭāb Ziyād b. Yaḥyā → Bishr b. Mufaḍḍal → Khālid → al-Walīd → Abū Bishr → Ḥumrān → ᶜUthmān → the Prophet:
He who dies knowing that there is no god but Allah will enter Paradise.
…… (63) Aḥmad b. al-Miqdām → Ismāᶜīl b. ᶜUlayyah → Khālid → al-Walīd b. Muslim Abū Bishr → Ḥumrān b. Abān → ᶜUthmān b. ᶜAffān:
I heard the Prophet saying the same.
…… (64) Bishr b. Muᶜādh → Bishr b. al-Mufaḍḍal:
A narrative similar to the report of Abū al-Khaṭṭāb.
…… (65) Naṣr b. al-Jahḍamī → Bishr b. al-Mufaḍ̣al:
A narrative similar to that of Abū al-Khaṭṭāb.
…… (66) Yaᶜqūb b. Ibrāhīm → Ibn ᶜUlayyah → Khālid al-Ḥadhdhāᵓ:
The same narrative through the same isnād.
…… (67) Muhammad b. al-Walīd → Muhammad b. Jaᶜfar → Shuᶜbah → Khālid al-Ḥadhdhāᵓ → Abū Bishr al-ᶜAnbarī → Ḥumrān b. Abān → ᶜUthmān b. ᶜAffān:
The same narrative ascribed to the Prophet.
Shuᶜbah said, “This is the ḥadīth of ᶜAbd al-Ḥamīd b. Lāḥiq” while referring to the ḥadīth of Abū Bishr al-ᶜAnbarī.
Likewise did Muhammad b. al-Walīd narrated to us from Muhammad who narrated from Shuᶜbah.
540. (68) ᶜAbdah b. ᶜAbd Allāh al-Khuzāᶜī → ᶜAbd Allāh b. Ḥumrān → Shuᶜbah → Bayān → Ḥumrān → ᶜUthmān b. ᶜAffān → the Prophet:
He who knows that there is no god but Allah will surely enter Paradise.
541. (69) Zayd b. Akhzam → ᶜAbd al-Ṣamad → Shuᶜbah → Khālid b. al-Ḥadhdhāᵓ → al-Walīd → Abū Bishr → Ḥumrān b. Abān → ᶜUthmān b. ᶜAffān → the Prophet:
He who dies knowing that there is no god but Allah will surely enter Paradise.
542. (70) Muhammad b. Yaḥyā → Ayyūb b. Sulaymān b. Bilāl:
…… (71) al-ᶜAbbās b. ᶜAbd al-ᶜAẓīm → Ayyūb b. Sulaymān b. Bilāl al-Kurdī.
….. (72) Muhammad b. Sufyān al-Ubullī → Ayyūb b. Sulaymān al-Ḥārith → ᶜUmar b. Muhammad b. ᶜUmar Maᶜdān al-Ḥārisī → ᶜImrān al-Qaṣīr → ᶜAbd Allāh b. Abī al-Qalūṣ → Muṭarrif → ᶜImrān b. Ḥuṣayn:
Should not I tell you something that I have not told you since I have heard it from the Prophet, fearing that people may lose interest (in doing good deeds). [The Prophet said], “He who knows that Allah is his Lord and I am His Messenger with true heart is prohibited for Hell by Allah.”
He (the Prophet) pointed towards his chest.
ᶜAbbās b. ᶜAbd al-ᶜAẓīm al-ᶜAnbarī says:
ᶜImrān b. Huṣayn said to us: I am intent upon narrating to you a ḥadīth.
Muhammad b. Sufyān added, at the end:
ᶜAbd Allāh said, “I related it to one of the sons of ᶜAbd al-Malik and he forced me to swear thrice upon Allah that I had heard it from Muṭarrif.
He said:
I swore upon Allah. Later on I narrated the same ḥadīth to another son of ᶜAbd al-Malik. He too pressed me to swear thrice upon Allah on that I had heard it from Muṭarrif. It seemed to me that he (the latter son of ᶜAbd al-Malik) was present at the earlier occasion. I swore upon Allah before him too. He said to his scribe: Write it with you.
Al-ᶜAbbās reported it once to me. He said:
Abū Yaḥyā Ayyūb b. Sulaymān b. Yasār, ṣāḥib (the companion of) al-Kurdī.
543. (73) Muhammad b. Yaḥyā al-Quṭ‘ī → Ziyād b. Al-Rabīᶜ → Hishām b. Hassān → Muhammad b. Sīrīn → Abū al-Daylam:
I was one of the three who served Muᶜādh b. Jabal. When he neared his death, we said to him, “May Allah bless you! We enjoyed your company and parted from others for you and remained with you to this day. Please tell us the ḥadīth you heard from the Prophet so that we may benefit from it.” He said, “Alright. This is not the time to tell a lie. I heard the Prophet saying:
He who died while believing from his sincere heart in that Allah is truth, that the Last Judgment is truth, and that Allah will resurrect those lying in graves entered Paradise or escaped Hell. Ibn Sīrīn was not sure [whether he said “entered Paradise” or “escaped Hell”].””
One may admit that the Jahmīs rightfully adduce these aḥādīth to support the view that a man deserves Paradise by merely confirming in his heart that there is no god except Allāh, that Allāh is the truth, the Day of Judgment is sure to come, and that Allāh will resurrect all from their graves. One may also stop adducing the narratives, through which we will explain these narratives shortly. However, then we will not be able to stop an ignorant man, who does not understand the religion of Allah nor the Islamic injunctions, to adduce the following ḥadīth reported on the authority of Uthmān b. ᶜAffān. He reported that the Prophet said, “He who knows that the Prayer is an obligation upon him shall enter Paradise.”
In this case he (i.e. the ignorant) would be claiming that complete faith (īmān) consists of: knowing that Prayer is an obligation. One does not need, after having known this, to declare belief in what Allah requires the believers to bear witness to or to confirm in his heart that Allah has directed us to confirm in our hearts or to follow Allah’s injunctions, or to stop from what Allah stopped us to do. For, this man holds, the Prophet has stated, “Whoever knows that the Prayer is an obligation upon him shall enter Paradise.” This, he would be assuming, corresponds to the other Prophetic saying in which he says, “He who witnesses that there is no god but Allāh shall surely enter Paradise.”
544. (74) Muhammad b. ᶜAbd al-Aᶜlā al-Ṣanᶜānī → Khālid → ᶜImrān b. Ḥudayr → ᶜAbd al-Malik b. ᶜUbayd → Ḥumrān b. Abān → ᶜUthmān b. ᶜAffān (who reported very few narratives) → the Prophet:
He who knows that the Prayer is an obligatory right to be fulfilled by him shall enter Paradise.
545. (75) Muhammad b. Bashshār → ᶜUthmān b. ᶜUmar → ᶜImrān b. Ḥudayr → ᶜAbd al-Malik b. ᶜUbayd → Ḥumrān b. Abān → ᶜUthmān → the Prophet:
He who knows that the Prayer is an obligation upon him (ḥaq wājib or ḥaq maktūb) shall enter Paradise.
546. (76) Yaᶜqūb b. Ibrāhīm al-Dawraqī → Rawḥ b. ‘Ubādah → ᶜImrān b. Ḥudayr → ᶜAbd al-Malik b. ᶜUbayd → Ḥumrān b. ᶜAbān → ᶜUthmān b. ᶜAffān → the Prophet:
He who knows that the Prayer is an obligation upon him shall enter Paradise.
Abū Bakr said: If we consider it permissible to adduce the like of these abbreviated versions of the aḥādīth in issues like imān, to say that one will enter Paradise because of this kind of imān and to set aside the explicating and exhaustive versions of the same aḥādīth, then it would be possible for an ignorant contestant to say that īmān is nothing but establishing the morning Prayer and the ᶜAsr Prayer, for the one who offers them definitely enters Paradise. He is saved from Hell, even if he does not affirm in his heart and declare with his tongue what he is directed to affirm and declare. He may even not fulfill any of the obligations Allah has imposed upon the mankind. He may also not stop from the sins Allah has forbidden. He would also rightfully adduce the following narrative of ᶜUmārah b. Ruwaybah:
547. (77) Muhammad b. Bashshār → Yaḥyā and Yazīd b. Hārūn → Ismāᶜīl b. Abī Khālid → Abū Bakr b. ᶜUmārah, b. Ruwaybah → the Prophet:
He who offers the Prayer before the sunrise and after the sunset is forbidden to the Fire.
A man from Baṣrah said, “I too have heard it from the Prophet.”
Abū Bakr said: I have included this narrative in a short chapter in Kitāb al-Ṣalāh along with the Prophetic statement which says that he who offered the Morning Prayer is in Allāh’s protection. Every such scholar who knows the Divine religion and its teachings understands that offering these two Prayers does not guarantee Paradise for a man who commits all types of sins. These good deeds have been mentioned in a discussion on the excellence of these actions as I have explained in the Kitāb al-Īmān. Similarly, the narrative which says, “He who stated that there is no god but Allāh entered Paradise,” too has been mentioned in order to highlight the excellence of the declaration. It has not been mentioned to make it clear that it constitutes the complete faith. If it were possible for an ignorant man to state that the one who states this is definitely admitted into Paradise and saved from the Fire then another ignorant man could claim that merely fighting in the way of Allah for a short time is all what imān is. He would then adduce the following Prophetic statement:
He who fought in the way of Allāh for a short time entered Paradise.
The Murjites take this line of argumentation. They adduce the following Prophetic statement:
He who stated that there is no god except Allāh entered Paradise.
Yet another ignorant person will say: īmān in its complete form is merely walking for the cause of Allāh till the time the feet of the man gather dust. This man will then be rightfully adducing the following Prophetic statement:
The dust of path rising from walking in the way of Allah and the smoke of Hell Fire will never meet in the nostrils of a believer. (i.e. if one afflicts it the other will not)
Yet another ignorant and obdurate man will claim that freeing a believing slave girl is the complete imān. Such a one will adduce the following saying of the Prophet:
If somebody manumits a Muslim slave, Allah will save from the Fire every part of his body for freeing the corresponding parts of the slave’s body.
Another ignorant man can claim that weeping in the fear of Allāh is the complete faith, adducing the following saying of the Prophet:
He who weeps fearing Allāh will never enter the Fire.
Another ignorant man could claim that fasting a day for the sake of Allāh is the complete faith. He may present the following statement of the Prophet as evidence:
Indeed, anyone who fasts for one day in the way of Allah, Allah will keep his face away from the (Hell) fire for (a distance covered by a journey of) seventy years.
Another ignorant man will then be able to claim that killing an unbeliever is the complete īmān. He may base himself on the following saying of the Prophet in his support:
An unbeliever and his killer will never be gathered in the Fire.
548. (78) ᶜAlī b. Ḥijr → Ismāᶜīl b. Jaᶜfar → al-ᶜAlāᵓ → his father → Abū Hurayrah → the Prophet:
A disbeliever and a believer who killed him will never be gathered together in Hell.
Abū Bakr said: These narratives fall in the category of excellence of good deeds. We cannot exhaustively mention them for fear of lengthiness. Whatever of these we have mentioned suffice to make it clear that the Prophet intended to teach excellence of these deeds we have just mentioned and others like these. He did not mean to state that these constitute the entire īmān and that the doer of any of these things will definitely enter Paradise and will be saved from the Fire.
Similarly, by his saying, “He who says that there is no god but Allah enters Paradise or is forbidden for the Fire”, the Prophet means to highlight the excellence of the declaration of faith. He does not mean to say that the complete īmān is only uttering that as has been claimed by those who do not have firm knowledge, who harbor enmity and who do not learn this discipline from the experts.
The Prophetic saying, “An unbeliever and his killer will never gather in the fire”, is an abbreviated narrative and the following aḥādīth detail and explicate it.
…… (79) Al-Rabīᶜ b. Sulaymān → Shuᶜayb b. al-Layth → al-Layth → Muhammad b. al-ᶜAjlān → Suhayl b. Abī Ṣāliḥ → his father → Abū Hurayrah → the Prophet:
Two will never gather together in Hell: a Muslim who killed an unbeliever and later corrected himself and remained righteous.
Abū Bakr said: Similarly, regarding the excellence of other good deeds mentioned earlier, we believe that a believer who performs them and then adopts guided and righteous path is admitted into Paradise. He will not be put in Hell in a way the disbelievers are put. If for example the killer of a disbeliever commits sins even then he is not put in the same place in Hell where the disbeliever he kills will be placed. The ḥadīth does not say that he will not enter the Fire in any of its corners even if he commits grave sins except for ascribing partners to Allah, if Allah does not forgive his crimes. For Allah has told us that the Fire has seven gates. Allah said to Iblīs:
For over My servants no authority shall thou have, except such as put themselves in the wrong and follow thee. (Q 15:42) […]
To it are seven gates: for each of those gates is a (special) class (of sinners) assigned. (Q 15:44).
So our Lord has told that He has forewarned Iblīs that his followers will be destroyed and will be divided in seven different groups to be placed at corresponding seven gates of Hell. So He has determined seven gates of Hell and specified seven groups of the disbelievers to be put there with an obvious exception of the true believers. They will be separate from these groups of disbelievers.
Every such person who commits a thing, prohibited by Allah, is a victim of Iblīs’s temptation. Allah has, however, willed to forgive every sin committed by a Muslim except polytheism even if he does not repent. For Allāh has told us in His book:
But He forgives anything else, to whom He pleases. (Q 4:48)
Our Lord Almighty has told us that He created Adam with His hand, settled him in His Paradise, and commanded the angels to prostrate before him. Adam disobeyed Him and strayed. Then Allah chose him out of His mercy and kindness. He accepted his repentance and guided him. Allah did not deprive him [of mercy] after he committed this sin. He whose sin Allah does not forgive and who He termed a transgressor He will be put in a part of any of the seven parts of Hell.
The verse: “Thus did Adam disobey his Lord, and allow himself to be seduced” (Q 20:121), clearly mentions that the noun ghāwā (transgressed) can be applied to a committer of a sin which has been forbidden by Allah even if that prohibited act is short of disbelief and polytheism by degrees and is not approximate to these two. It is impossible that a believer in the unicity of Allah is put in the category of disbelievers who reject Allah and ascribe partners to Him, while the tongue and heart of the believer submit to most of Allah’s injunctions and he does good deeds liked by Allah even though they are not made obligatory and refrains from most of the sins, even though he commits some sins and mistakes. Such a believer cannot be counted among the disbelievers who declare that Allah has a wife or sons, Allah is above that such things are attributed to Him, does not believe in any of the things Allah directed man to believe in, does not obey any of Allah’s commands, failing to fulfill the obligations and recommended acts and does not stop from doing what Allah has prohibited. This is not possible that a believer and such a disbeliever are put in the same place in Hell.
Human reason warrants that the one who commits numerous graver sins is given stricter punishment in Hell than that meted out to all such persons who obey Allah and seek His nearness through good action and avoid evil deeds. The latter would be put in higher stations in Paradise. He will be better rewarded and will enjoy more blessings. How can we possibly hold that a Muslim, believing in unicity of Allah, will join the disbelievers in the Fire who transgress against Allah, ascribe partner or partners to Him, state that He has a spouse or a son, disbelieve Him, commit polytheism, reject all the commands of Allah, including belief in Him, rejects all the Messengers, ignore all the injunctions and commit all the sins. Such disbelievers worship fire and prostrate before idols and crosses.
Those who cannot understand this knowledge will easily reject sound and concurrent reports which we have related about releasing the monotheists from Hell.
It is improbable to state, “Get those out of the Fire who are not therein.” Still more improbable is the statement, “Those who are not in the Fire will be taken out of it.” Rejection of the Prophetic traditions means extinction of the religion of Allah and negation of Islam. Allah has not decided to gather together all the disbelievers in the same place in Hell. Not all of them will receive the same punishment. Allāh says:
The Hypocrites will be in the lowest depths of the Fire. (Q 4:145).
And He said:
Cast ye the People of Pharaoh into the severest Penalty! (Q 40:46).
Abū Bakr said: Shortly I will explain the decree of our Creator Allah expressed in the narratives which say that he who does so and so will not enter Fire. I will also explain the meaning of the narratives which state: such and such will be brought out of the Fire.
I will also show compatibility between these two groups of narratives after a mention of the fact that if taken in their apparent meanings these narratives would negate the purport of the reports which we have mentioned regarding the excellence of certain good deeds. In the last mentioned narratives the Prophet gave the news that doer of such and such act will be granted Paradise and saved from Hell.
The above passage is translated from Kitāb al-Tawḥīd by Imām Abū Bakr Ibn Khuzaymah (d. 311 AH). English translation by Dr Tariq Mahmood Hashmi.
Comments
Post a Comment