1-They said: Allah Exalted is He said: “Say, ‘O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful …’” [al Zumar] And He Exalted is He said: “And indeed, your Lord is full of forgiveness for the people despite their wrongdoing …” [al Raʿd: 6] And He Exalted is He said: “Indeed, Allah does not forgive that partners be associated with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills.” [al Nisāʾ: 48]
We say: These verses and others like them are unrestricted and are qualified by other verses, such as His saying Exalted is He: “And indeed, I am surely Most Forgiving to whoever repents, believes, and does righteous deeds, then remains rightly guided.” [Taha]This is the required approach with verses of this kind; thus, forgiveness is specific to those who repent.
What confirms the correctness of what we have said is His saying Exalted is He: “Inform My servants that I am indeed the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful, and that My punishment is the painful punishment.” [al Ḥijr]
2-If it is said: If Allah, Blessed and Exalted, does not forgive sins except through repentance, then what is the meaning of His distinguishing between associating partners with Him and what is less than that in His saying: “Indeed, Allah does not forgive that partners be associated with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills.” [al Nisāʾ: 48]
We say: Associating partners with Allah is an immense sin distinguished from all other major sins in that Allah Exalted is He does not forgive it when it occurs by way of error or ignorance except through pure repentance and returning to Allah.
This is unlike other major sins that are not shirk or disbelief; Allah Exalted is He may forgive them if they occur from the legally responsible person by way of mistake, forgetfulness, or ignorance, due to His saying Exalted is He: “And there is no blame upon you for what you err in, but only for what your hearts intend.” [al Aḥzāb: 5]
And in the h adī th: “My community has been relieved of error, forgetfulness, and what they are compelled to do.”
For further clarification, we say: Allah Exalted is He commanded the killing and fighting of the polytheists altogether; accordingly, the Prophet (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace) and the Muslims fought and killed them without distinguishing between one who was deliberate, forgetful, mistaken, or ignorant. It is known from the biography and Sunnah of the Prophet (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace) that when an adulterer or a thief was brought to him, he would question him repeatedly and press him: “Do you know what adultery and continue asking about the circumstances under which the adultery or theft occurred. This indicates the clear distinction between shirk and other major sins.
3-They said: The Qur’an is filled with statements such as His saying Exalted is He: “And He is the Most Merciful of the merciful,” and “Indeed, your Lord is vast in forgiveness.”
We say: These must be understood in light of the qualifying verses, such as His saying Exalted is He: “And My mercy encompasses all things, but I will decree it for those who are mindful [of Me] …” [al Aʿrāf: 156]
And His saying Exalted is He: “And indeed, I am surely Most Forgiving to whoever repents, believes, and does righteous deeds, then remains rightly guided.” [Ṭā Hā]
Furthermore, the promise of bliss and beautiful reward in the Gardens of Eternity mentioned by Allah Exalted is He in His Book is for the God
fearing who obey Allah Exalted is He, repent to Him, and are not persistent in sin.
Among that is His saying Exalted is He in Su rat al Furqa n: “And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth humbly, and when the ignorant address them, they say ‘Peace’…” until His saying Exalted is He: “Those will be rewarded with the highest place because of their patience …” [al Furqān: 75] And He Exalted is He said: “Certainly will the believers have succeeded those who are humble in their prayer …” until His saying Exalted is He: “… and those who guard their prayers
those are the inheritors, who will inherit al Firdaws; they will abide therein eternally.” [al Muʾminūn] And He Exalted is He said: “Race toward forgiveness from your Lord and a Garden whose width is like the heavens and the earth, prepared for the God fearing …” until His saying Exalted is He: “… and those who, when they commit an immorality or wrong themselves, remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins and who can forgive sins except and they do not persist in what they have done while they know. Those their reward is forgiveness from their Lord and Gardens …” [Āl ʿImrān: 135 136] And He Exalted is He said: “And My mercy encompasses all things, but I will decree it for those who are mindful [of Me] …” [al Aʿrāf: 156] And He Exalted is He said: “These are the limits of Allah, and whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger He will admit him into Gardens beneath which rivers flow …” [al Nisāʾ: 13] And He Exalted is He said: “And if you believe and are mindful, you will have a great reward.” [Āl ʿImrān] And He Exalted is He said: “But those who feared their Lord for them are Gardens …” [Āl ʿImrān: 198] And He Exalted is He said: “By time, indeed mankind is in loss, except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised one another to truth and advised one another to patience.” [al Assr: 13]
And in the authentic h adī th: “All of my community will enter Paradise except those who refuse.” It was said, “And who refuses, O Messenger of Allah?” He said: “Whoever obeys me enters Paradise, and whoever disobeys me has refused.”
4-It may be said: How do you judge that the transgressors of this Ummah will abide eternally in the Fire of Hell, while Allah Exalted is He says: “And the recompense of an evil deed is an evil like it.” [al Shūrā: 40] and His saying: “And you will not be recompensed except for what you used to do.” [al Ṣāffāt]
The implication of this would be that the transgressor is punished in proportion to his sin, then exits the Fire, as Ahl al Sunnah maintain. As for his eternal abiding in painful punishment, reason may perceive in that something distant from the Divine justice with which Allah Exalted is He has described Himself, as in His saying: “Indeed, Allah does not wrong [even] as much as an atom’s weight; and if it is a good deed, He multiplies it and gives from Himself a great reward.” [al Nisāʾ]
We reply: The transgressor who persists in his transgression and does not repent to his Lord until he dies deserves eternal abiding in the Fire as a matter of justice. His eternal punishment is manifestly just, and its justice is indicated by several proofs:
(1). One who persists in killing children after committing the abomination of sodomy, or who lies in wait on the roads of the Muslims to seize their wealth and shed their blood, or who spreads corruption among harmonious believers until many men, women, and children are killed and ruin and devastation occur
and then takes comfort in that, persists in it, and when reminded of Allah does not remember, when warned does not fear, and when admonished does not take heed, but increases only in transgression and disobedience, then dies upon that
Such a crime is not erased by tens or hundreds of years in the Fire of Hell. Reason does not remove him from the circle of criminality; he remains the same criminal transgressor even if years pass over him in Hell.
(2). Allah Exalted is He has informed in His Noble Book of the extent of their persistence in transgression, sin, and destructive crimes and indecencies. He says: “And if they were returned, they would return to that which they were forbidden; and indeed, they are liars.” [al
Anʿām] This indicates that one in such a state deserves perpetual confinement in the Divine prison. Reason, without hesitation, judges likewise, and worldly courts of justice follow this principle.
(3). It is not rationally permissible that Allah Exalted is He remove the transgressor from the Fire and then admit him into Paradise. The transgressor openly challenges Allah with acts of disobedience; thus, he does not deserve honor and exaltation in Paradise.
Consider: if a man killed another man’s son, did not apologize, persisted in killing his remaining sons, then was imprisoned for twenty years or more while still persisting in refusing apology and intending further killing would it not be blameworthy for the father of the slain to pardon him and honor him in any manner?
(4). Allah Exalted is He has conveyed the message fully, warned thoroughly, and informed the wrongdoers and transgressors of the everlasting punishment prepared for them. He confirmed this emphatically and warned them severely.
Whoever chooses disobedience to Allah over obedience, and the path of punishment over the path of reward, has only himself to blame, deserving everlasting punishment by his evil choice “So that mankind would have no argument against Allah after the messengers.” [al Nisāʾ: 165] “And there is nothing upon the Messenger except clear conveyance.” [al Nūr] “Did there not come to you messengers from among yourselves reciting to you the verses of your Lord and warning you of the meeting of this Day of yours?” They will say, “Yes.” But the word of punishment has come into effect upon the disbelievers. [al Zumar]
And in the Arabic proverb: “Whoever has excused has warned.”
(5). Ahl al Sunnah agree that the disbeliever abides eternally in Hell’s punishment, whether his disbelief was little or great. If a Muslim were to end his life with disbelief for only an hour and die persisting in it, he would be among those who abide eternally. We agree with them in this and do not differ. We may object to them in the same manner they object to us regarding the transgressor; and whatever answer they give us, we give them in return.
As for His saying: “And the recompense of an evil deed is an evil like it.” [al Shūrā:40] and similar verses know that the major sins and indecencies forbidden by Allah are of such magnitude and enormity beyond human perception. Allah has illustrated the gravity of some major sins, saying: “That whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption in the land it is as if he had killed all mankind; and whoever saves one it is as if he had saved all mankind.” [al Māʾidah: 32] And He says regarding some sins: “And you think it insignificant while it is, in the sight of Allah, tremendous.” [al Nūr] A single wicked word may spread immense corruption and destroy crops and progeny.
Adultery leads to harms whose extent only Allah knows; the child born of adultery may incline toward evil, hardness, and severity, and so may his descendants. Whatever corruption arises from that progeny is rooted in that original sin likewise with other major sins.
Accordingly, the recompense for one who commits such acts and dies persisting in his major sin is eternal abiding in the Fire an appropriate and just recompense.
(6). The morally responsible people are divided into two categories: pure and impure.
The pure will have forgiveness and noble provision in the Gardens of Bliss.
The impure Allah will gather them together and heap them all into Hell, as stated in the Qur’an.
The Hereafter is the abode of recompense; the impure cannot purify himself there, nor rectify himself by repentance or righteous deeds therein. “And how could they attain it from a distant place?” [Sabaʾ]
The punishment of Hell does not purify the soul or cleanse it, nor does it transform it from impure to pure. This is indicated by His saying: “And if they were returned, they would return to that which they were forbidden.” [al Anʿām: 28] And His saying, narrating the words of the people of the Fire: “They will say, ‘Our Lord, our wretchedness overcame us, and we were a misguided people. Our Lord, remove us from it, and if we return [to evil], then indeed we would be wrongdoers.’ He will say, ‘Remain despised therein and do not speak to Me.’” [al Muʾminūn] And His saying Exalted is He: “So taste [the punishment]; and never will We increase you except in torment.” [al Nabaʾ] And His saying Exalted is He, in narration: “… Did We not give you long lives enough for whoever would remember therein to remember, and the warner had come to you? So taste, for there is no helper for the wrongdoers.” [Fāṭir] and many other verses in this chapter.
What clarifies what we have mentioned is that the punishment of Hell is a punishment of wrath and vengeance; and what is of that nature is not intended for the purification and refinement of souls. This is unlike the punishment of this world, which is, in most cases, a punishment of mercy intended for the purification and refinement of souls just as He Exalted is He said: “And We will surely make them taste the nearer punishment before the greater punishment that perhaps they will return.” [al Sajdah] And He Exalted is He said: “Do they not see that they are tested every year once or twice, yet they do not repent nor do they remember?” [al Tawbah] And He Exalted is He said: “And We tested them with good [times] and bad that perhaps they would return.” [al Aʿrāf] And He Exalted is He said: “And We certainly sent [messengers] to nations before you; then We seized them with hardship and adversity that perhaps they would humble themselves. Then why, when Our punishment came to them, did they not humble themselves? But their hearts hardened, and Satan made attractive to them what they used to do …” [al Anʿām]
Furthermore, Allah may also punish in this world with a punishment of wrath and vengeance, when His anger intensifies and His abhorrence becomes severe. In such a case, faith does not benefit a soul that had not believed before or had not earned good in its faith. Of this type is what Allah Exalted is He mentioned in His saying: “And how many a town have We destroyed that was unjust, and We produced after it another people. And when they sensed Our might, at once they fled from it. [They were told], ‘Do not flee, but return to where you were given luxury and to your dwellings perhaps you will be questioned.’ They said, ‘Woe to us! Indeed, we were wrongdoers.’ And that cry of theirs did not cease until We made them like a harvested field, extinguished.” [al Anbiyāʾ]
When this kind of punishment descends upon a people, repentance and faith do not avail them just as Allah narrated concerning Pharaoh: “Until, when drowning overtook him, he said, ‘I believe that there is no deity except that in whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am of the Muslims.’ while you had disobeyed before and were among the corrupters.” [Yūnus]
(7). The verses of the Qur’an have cut off ambitions and severed hopes. There is no verse in the Qur’an stating that anyone will exit the Fire, nor even an indication of that.
Rather, what appears in the Qur’an is censure of the Jews for their claim of exiting the Fire. He Exalted is He said: “And they say, ‘The Fire will not touch us except for a few days.’ Say, ‘Have you taken a covenant with Allah for Allah will never break His covenant or do you say about Allah what you do not know?’ Rather, whoever earns an evil deed and his sin encompasses him those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide therein eternally.” [al Baqarah]
Thus, Allah refuted in this verse the Jews and everyone who speaks as they do with a decisive refutation. He declared their statement false, then followed it with affirmation of eternal abiding in the Fire for whoever earns an evil deed and whose sin encompasses him whether from the Jews, the polytheists, or others.