Question 1: Is it true that all people after the last prophet who do not convert or are muslims will go to hell no matter what? Does that mean that each muslim(because he/she was born in a muslim family and recited the kalma) will go to heaven after his/her sentence in hell? What about the concept of jaza and saza for other people. Saying just the kalma doesn't make us entitled to heaven in the hereafter i think. Each person will be punished and rewarded according to heir deeds. What do you say?

Answered by Hafiz Dr. Ahsan Zafrullah

It is not one question but a series of questions. I am very glad to take your questions, now and in future. These questions have been asked before and sure many are boggled by these questions. Let me explain to you a few basic things in stepwise fashion.

#1. It is not possible to recognize Allah as He is , and His attributes without a prophet. Neither it is possible to worship Him according to His desire.

#2. When Adam was sent down to the earth, he was told that the guidance will come times and again and who so ever follows the guidance ( brought by the prophets) will go back to the paradise.

#3. Each prophet testified about the previous prophets and gave the prophecy about the prophets who are going to come.

#4. Since the recorded history (starts from Ibrahim's (AS) time) each prophet has given the prophecy about Muhammed sallalahu alaihi wasallam

#5. Prophet Muhammed SAW was the last prophet because the human evolution had reached to the stage where his message could be preserved and passed to the whole world.

#6. He claimed that all the previous prophets mentioned in the holy books were true and there would not be any more prophet after him. Even if Moses and Jesus come back, they will have to follow his leadership.

#7. Since in today's world there is only one prophet to be followed, so if somebody does not believe in him, he does not only; not believe in Muhammed SAW but also denies the prophecies of the prevoius prophets about him, and so practically denies their rophethood. He thus does not recognize Allah and has no mean to obey His orders and would never be able to worship Him according to His wish.

#8 So if a person doesn't belive in the prophet of his time and thus doesn't recognize Allah and doesn't worship Him and lead his life according to what the prophet had brought, he is doomed. ( i.e going to hell, what else).

The second part of the assumption is based on certain misunderstanding, let me clarify a few points.

#9 For going to paradise a person needs faith and deeds (iman and aamal-e-saleh).

#10 If a person has got the right iman he has got a chance.

#11 If a person's iman is not accepted on the day of judgement, then his deeds are not accepted as well, generally speaking.

#12 If a person believes in any other god or gods other than Allah, he is a mushrik and he will be asked to seek the reward of his good deeds from the gods that he believed in. Since there aren't any gods so he won't get any rewards and he WILL get the punishment from Allah for not believing in him and disobeying HIm in his entire life.

#13 Being born in a muslim's family does not automatically entitle a person to paradise, again I have to state that it is the faith & deeds that will be counted & rewarded . One does not only become Muslim if one is born in a Muslim family, rather the door of Islam is open for one & all. If one sticks to the religion of his forefathers & does not give a thought to what is right &what is wrong ,it is his reponsibility.

#14 Dont take it forgranted that every Muslim will go to the paradise. On the cost of repetition, I say that it is the faith that will be judged first. If it is accepted then there is a chance ,if not then they will be treated like others. All those in todays world, who are counted as muslim , will not neccessarily be accepted as muslims in the court of Allah on the day of judgment.

#15 I agree with you that if a muslim's faith is accepted by ALLAH , then he will be rewarded in the paradise, eventually, according to his deeds. Coming to the final part of your Question regarding the concept of "Jaza & saza" for the non believers

# 16 Kufr & Shirk are such great sins that lifelong good deeds are not sufficient enough to wipe it off .The punishment for kufr & shirk prescribed by Allah is ever lasting residence in the hell fire. This is the sameor similar as prescribed in Bible and Torah and by all the previous prophets, no difference at all.

#17 The deeds can generally be divided in to two subgroups

#18. You can very well understand that acts of worship done by a kafir and
mushrik, to his god(s) according to his religion are not good deeds at all, rather
the biggest acts of shirk and kufr. Obviously he wouldn't be rewarded for that, rather would be punished.

#19. For the other kinds of good deeds HE WILL BE REWARDED by the
reduction of his punishment. so a kafir who killed people and made others life
miserable will not be in the same class as a kafir who had helped others. Abou Jahl
and Abou Talib both will go to the hell, but Abou Talib will be the least punished person in the hell. Whereas Pharoun, Nimrod, Abou Lahab, abdullah bin Obai will

be the most punished.

#20. In today's world where christianity, and other religions are retreating they have started the media hype that a person should do as much good deeds as practically possible and should be allowed to have whatever faith he likes to believe in. Beliefs are dogmas and the rest of life should be led rationally, meaning thereby that all the religious beliefs (doesn't matter which religion you believe in) are totally inconcievable and the way of life has to be decided by human beings collectively, rather than seeking guidance from a devine source, and if there is life after death a person will be rewarded for what he thinks are the good deeds and will be either forgiven or punished for what he thinks is a bad deed and won't matter to which religion you belong to and what are your dogmas and faith are.

#21. Finally I pray for you that may Allah give you the knowledge, show you
the path of guidance, help you in your life to become and remain a good muslim and accept your faith on the day of judgement and rewards you for all the good deeds you have done or may do in your life & forgive all your mistakes, ommisions, commisions & sins. I request you to pray for me as well.

Don't hesitate to write back if any of the above points are not clear to you. I have not quote references but if you need it can be easily provided.

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Question 2:First of all I would like to mention here that my own convictions and beliefs about religion are firm. The query was put forward to me by a friend of mine. I have tried to convince and explain to her in accordance with my own limited knowledge but I happen to be a novice in the subject myself and I am still going through the phase of learning. She forbade me to disclose this to anyone but as I am not a scholar or qualified to express myself in an effective manner I can't seem to explain, hence I referred to you to help me.
This is what she wrote after the last reply a large part of which I had extracted from your answer:
"My heart is as pure as can be, I try to help the poor, refrain from the wrong etc. But I still don't pray five times a day, where does that leave me?"
So I don't have to believe in the rituals of a religion (be it Islam or Christianity) and can go to heaven with just being 'a good' human being?
Another case she puts forward is about a family she knew, each member of which was God fearing and decent. "Last year they were travelling by car and one of their son was driving, they had an accident in the middle of no where and the son that who driving was killed and the father tried different ways of making him breathe but his face was all shattered up and he choked by the bleeding and died. His daughter on the other hand lost a few of her fingers and the mother herself got a few broken bones." She says it wasn't fair for it to happen this way. I had told her that all that happens has some hidden good, which we cannot perceive. She wants to know what was the good in all this stated above. This was in response to my quoting the following ayat:
"But it may happen that you hate a thing which is good for you, and it may be that you love a thing which is bad for you, Allah knoweth all, you know not"
I hope I am not bothering you with all these things. I would really appreciate your help as I don't think it is wrong for someone to think and ask and have the desire to be satisfied. It's a lot better than all those people who call themselves Muslims and do not give a second thought and spend their lives in direct opposition to all that has been given in the Quran ?

Answer: Before I reply to your further queries, since you have told me that the questions are asked by somebody else, let me explain to you a basic fact of life. When a mind-boggling question (vas'vasa) comes to a person, he/she goes through 4 phases, (if one goes in the right direction.) 1.knowledge (ilm), 2. Understanding (fahm) 3.Acceptance (Tasleem) 4. Belief (insherah). You must understand that a person (including your friend) has to go through all these stages. It will take me a little time & effort ,but let me explain this to you in a little bit of detail. It will help you, (not necessarily your friend) in the work of Dawah, Insha Allah.

There are a lot of factors in the initiation of the vas'vasa, e.g. lack of knowledge, misunderstanding, confusion, disinformation, living with wrong kind of people, evil effects of bad practices of the society (an unending list perhaps), & last but not the least influence of satan. So, what that person can do? Go & ask somebody who knows, or read a book, or float your question on the net. Eventually some one will give you the knowledge (ilm/taleem). This is my job that's all that I can do. Nothing more. If the person does not understand the knowledge given to him, he/she will ask supplementary questions on the same subject (which does not seem to be the case here), otherwise there will be a new volley of question, & another one & another & so on. Keep on doing the taleem (imparting the knowledge) & keep on praying. Eventually the person does understand, but it may take time, but it does not necessarily mean she believes in it, or does not have other queries. That's the best we, as human beings can do. Acceptance (tasleem) comes from ALLAH subhanahu wa taala. He is the one who changes the heart, shows the right path, & guides us in our lives. We can only pray & seek His guidance for our selves & others. In this work of Dawah, Dua (supplication) is the most important aspect. In the life of our Rasoolulah sallallhu alaihe wasallam, this aspect was very much boldly manifested, but unfortunately, in our life, it is mostly missing. Insherah, is the stage of a very firm belief. You believe that fire burns. you will never put your finger in fire, because you know that fire burns, & when it burns it hurts, even if the whole world tells you that nothing is going to happen to you, but after insherah you would not listen to any one. Very few among us are blessed with that. You have to have the right knowledge, understand it properly, accept it, practice it in all your life, live with the people who have achieved the stage of insherah, & keep praying to Allah. This is putting it in as short as possible. Coming to your friend, keep on explaining to her all what she wants to know, gently persuade her to do the basic duties of Islam (she is a muslima, isn't she?), take her to a meeting (if it is there in your locality) where she can listen to a few things about Islam, introduce her to your good Muslim friends, & if you know anybody around you who has the insherah (among the ladies, not necessarily an Aalim), take her there, & spend sometime with such a person. It is the company, which is important, not necessarily talking. Finally, just to remind you, keep on praying for her...most important of all.

Let me reply to your letter now. There is a misunderstanding. Read item # 20 (Question No 1) in my previous letter again. What I said (or at least meant to say, forgive me if I gave you wrong ideas. I know that my English is not up to the mark) was that all this is the western media hype, & it has got nothing to do with Islam. I hope this will do away with your confusion. Now a few comments. "My heart is as pure as can be". Subhanallah!! even the prophets did not dare to claim that. It is one of the traps of satan. Ibraheem alaihissalam is quoted in Quran that (the successful on the Day of Judgment) will be only the one who will come with a pure heart. What is a pure heart (qalbe saleem)? A heart which believes in its creator, has totally submitted to his commands, its wishes & desires, liking & disliking are in accordance with his orders, it is totally & completely sincere to him in all its deeds & actions, it is filled with the love of Allah, thankful to Him for everything, & in all states, satisfied with whatever has been given to him, happy with whatever state he is kept in, devoid of any feeling of self pride, jealousy, show off & so many other things. In my opinion, this can only be said by a person who does not know the extent of the implication. It will take a life long effort to achieve that. Just pray for it & keep your effort.

"But I still don't pray five times a day, where does that leave me." In very short, I will quote the Hadeeth in which it has been said that the first thing a slave (abd= slave, i.e.muslim) will be accounted for will be salah (prayers), if the salah comes all right, then everything else will be alright as well, if the salah is ruined then all other deeds will be ruined as well. So other deeds like helping the poor will not be of much help. "refrain from doing wrong" Surprises me!!! Is omission of salah from the entire life is not wrong? So, what is wrong & what is right? Who decides it? In the religion that I belong to, it is only decided by Allah & his prophet. If I don't obey any of His orders I will be doing wrong.

"So I don't have to believe in the rituals of a religion........" As I mentioned earlier this is today's western media hype, not Islam. Read point # 20 (Question 1) again as the media misinformation.

"Another case........." Let us make a new law for this universe (since Allah is not doing His job properly, as suggested by your friend) So, We (the humble human beings) decide that there will be no traffic accident deaths. How about that? MVA (motorized vehicle accident is number 3 killer in the western world after malignancies & heart diseases.) How do you suggest we change the nature of the things, so that people can get hurt in all other types of accident but not in MVA? If we make the law that young people should not die in MVAs, only old ones should be allowed to die, it would not be possible. The statistics show that MVA is the #1 killer in young age. So, let us enact that only bad people (not bad drivers) should die, & the good ones should survive, whatever be the extent of the accident. Happy with that? The good ones should not die from anything. They should live here forever (& never go to paradise!)

Keep on thinking on this line. If you or your friend can suggest something concrete I will pass it on. The nature of the things as created by Allah SWT, is that every thing eventually comes to a dead end. Fana (finite or perishable) is the fate of all creations. Baqua (infinity) is only for the creator. When, how, where, this eventuality will come, is decided by the one who has created & He is Arhamur Rahemeen (the most merciful). The good thing is that we are not told before & luckily not given choice. I will tell you about something that happened to me personally. I used to work with an old christian lady, who was my consultant in the hospital. She used to like me as her son. I learned a lot from her. One day, she was operated for cancer. I went to see her with other colleagues, & started crying as I entered the door. She asked me, "Do you know that every one has to die?" I said, "yes". She then asked,"Given choice, at what age & what disease should I die?" "Never & no way " was my reply. Since then in the last 20 years I have asked the same question to thousands of people. At what age & from what disease would you like to die (my daughter's comment was ' a good clean heart attack at 85'!). Generally, the western christians with whom I live & work give a simple answer, "Before I get crippled, & in my bed, during sleep, of MI or CVA." Think about it for yourself. (& write to me if you bother to). In my opinion if this life is a continuation of the life in the hereafter, what difference does it make when we cross the border, perhaps earlier the better. How one should die? Which ever way pleases Him. Death is the last act or deed of this life. We need to get His Reza (pleasure) in this last act. Shahadah (martyrdom) that was given to that young man mentioned by you, is a long life wish of many, including myself. The philosophy in Islam is Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihe raajeoon, We belong to Allah & we're going to go back to him. This life & this body are given by Him. He is the master & whether we like it or not he controls the major events of our life, & eventually we have to go back to Him. "It wasn't fair to happen this way" Death does not seem to be fair, on the first look, especially if comes at young age, whichever way it comes. If he would have died in cancer, it might have been more prolonged & painful. Death, I have lived with & worked with, is not a very pleasant experience for those who are not looking forward to it, & is the most beloved thing for the one who has got the love of Allah in his heart, & literally dying to meet Him. When such a person dies, to the onlookers it may seem to be very painful, but to the person who is dying, it is the greatest pleasure that he ever had in this life. I would suggest that you read Suraatu Al-Kahf where a young child is killed by Khidr, & the reason that is given in a good tafseer or tafaseer.