Aslam

Praise be to Allah.

Firstly:

First of all we

should point out that what the questioner mentioned about Allah’s love for

His creation being “seventy times greater than the love of a mother for her

child” has no basis in the Qur’an or Sunnah. Allah, may He be exalted, does

not love the transgressors, and He does not love the evildoers, and He does

not love the disbelievers, so how can it be affirmed that Allah, may He be

exalted, loves all of His creation when the vast majority of them are these

types of people? Rather Allah, may He be exalted, loves those who do good,

and He loves the pious, and He loves those who repent, and He loves those

who purify themselves, and He loves those who are patient, and He loves

those who put their trust in Him, and He loves those who are fair and just.

These types of people are the ones for whom Allah, may He be exalted,

affirmed His love and they – naturally – cannot be any but those who affirm

His Oneness and not those who associate others with Him.

But despite all

that, among the names of Allah, may He be glorified, are the names

ar-Rahmaan (the Most Gracious), ar-Raheem (the Most Merciful); His mercy

precedes His wrath, and His pardon precedes His punishment, and He is more

merciful to His slaves than a mother to her child.

It was narrated

that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

Some prisoners were brought to the Messenger of Allah

(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and there was a woman among the

prisoners who was searching for someone. When she found a small boy among

the prisoners, she clasped him to her and started to breastfeed him. The

Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said to us:

“Do you think that this woman would throw her child into the fire?” We said:

No, by Allah, she would never do that if she is able not to. The Messenger

of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah is more

merciful towards His slaves than this woman is towards her child.”

Narrated by

al-Bukhaari, 5999; Muslim, 2754.

There is a

difference between mercy and love. Allah, may He be glorified and exalted,

has sent down a share of His mercy by virtue of which people show compassion

towards one another, He grants provision to His slaves, gives them more

time, is forbearing towards them and bears patiently their disbelief and

offensive words. All of that is in this world; but in the hereafter, His

mercy will be only for those who believed in Him and submitted to Him.

Secondly:

With regard to the

question, “Why are most people on earth non-Muslims?” The answer to that is:

because they are the ones who have chosen disbelief over Islam. Here we will

set aside those who are excused because the message did not reach them, and

let us ask: what is the matter with those who read about Islam and whom the

call reached, and they saw thousands of their coreligionists race towards

Islam, and they saw the millions who follow this great religion, and they

saw the clear signs that point to the truthfulness of the Prophet (blessings

and peace of Allah be upon him) and the truthfulness of his call, and the

truthfulness and miraculous nature of the Qur’an, and they heard the debates

in which the enemies of Islam were defeated and their specious arguments

refuted – yet despite all of that, and much more besides, they did not

believe in Islam and they did not accept it as their religion; rather

billions of them were content to worship a cross that they made or an idol

that they carved, or a grave that they built up, or a cow that they

worshipped instead of Allah. There is no power and no strength except with

Allah.

The truth is

obvious and clear; the signs that point to the greatness of Islam are too

many to be counted; no wise person can argue against the evidence that what

these disbelievers are doing is false; sound human nature and reasoning

reject those (false) acts of worship and the taking of other gods as lords

instead of Allah, the One. Allah, may He be exalted, has highlighted the

evidence and has established proof against them. Yet despite that, most

people insist on disbelieving and you will not find most people to be

grateful monotheists; rather they are disbelievers and polytheists.

Thirdly:

As for the answer

to the question, So why does Allah want the majority of His creation to

enter Hell?, The answer is that Allah, may He be exalted, does not approve

of the disbelief of these people and He does not like it, but they liked it

for themselves. The Almighty Lord, may He be glorified and exalted, has

stated in His holy Book that He is not pleased with the disbelief of the

disbelievers, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):

“If

you disbelieve, then verily, Allaah is not in need of you; He likes not

disbelief for His slaves. And if you are grateful (by being believers), He

is pleased therewith for you”

[az-Zumar 39:7].

This is a clear

statement that Allah, may He be exalted, does not like disbelief for His

slaves; rather He likes Tawheed (affirmation of the Oneness of Allah) and

Islam for them. Rather they are the ones who like disbelief as a religion

for themselves, and they refused to join the ranks of those who affirm the

Oneness of Allah. Allah, may He be exalted, does not force anyone to become

a Muslim or to become a disbeliever; rather He, may He be glorified and

exalted, has explained the paths of truth and falsehood, right and wrong,

Islam and disbelief, then He has given people the choice, along with His

promise to the Muslims of reward and His warning to the disbelievers of

Hell. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“29. And say:

‘The truth is from your Lord.’ Then whosoever wills, let him believe; and

whosoever wills, let him disbelieve. Verily, We have prepared for the

Zaalimoon (polytheists and wrongdoers), a Fire whose walls will be

surrounding them (disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah). And if they ask for

help (relief, water), they will be granted water like boiling oil, that will

scald their faces. Terrible is the drink, and an evil Murtafaq (dwelling,

resting place)!

30. Verily, as

for those who believed and did righteous deeds, certainly We shall not make

the reward of anyone who does his (righteous) deeds in the most perfect

manner to be lost.

31. These! For

them will be ‘Adn (Eden) Paradise (everlasting Gardens); wherein rivers flow

underneath them; therein they will be adorned with bracelets of gold, and

they will wear green garments of fine and thick silk. They will recline

therein on raised thrones. How good is the reward, and what an excellent

Murtafaq (dwelling, resting place)!”

[al-Kahf

18:29-31]

“2. Verily, We

have created man from Nutfah (drops) of mixed semen (sexual discharge of man

and woman), in order to try him, so We made him hearer and seer.

3. Verily, We

showed him the way, whether he be grateful or ungrateful.

4. Verily, We

have prepared for the disbelievers iron chains, iron collars, and a blazing

Fire.

5. Verily, the

Abraar (the pious believers of Islamic Monotheism) shall drink of a cup (of

wine) mixed with (water from a spring in Paradise called) Kaafoor.

6. A spring

wherefrom the slaves of Allah will drink, causing it to gush forth

abundantly.”

[al-Insaan

76:2-6].

Here we will quote

an example of how Allah offered guidance to people by sending Messengers

with clear signs, yet they chose disbelief over Islam. They were the people

of Thamood. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“17. And as for

Thamood, We showed and made clear to them the Path of Truth (Islamic

Monotheism) through Our Messenger (i.e. showed them the way of success), but

they preferred blindness to guidance; so the Saa‘iqah (a destructive awful

cry, torment, hit, thunderbolt) of disgracing torment seized them because of

what they used to earn.

18. And We

saved those who believed and used to fear Allaah, keep their duty to Him and

avoid evil.”

[Fussilat

41:17-18].

This is an

example, and similar to these people are all those who disbelieved in their

Lord and rejected their Messengers, and were content with disbelief in this

world and eternity in the Fire in the Hereafter. These modern disbelievers

have a precedent; messengers brought the truth from their Lord to them, and

Allah, may He be exalted, made the Messenger to each people one of their

own, so that they would recognise his truthfulness and honesty, and He gave

each one of them a sign that is enough proof for people, yet despite that,

they said that their Messengers were sorcerers or madmen. The disbelievers

of Quraysh demanded a sign from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be

upon him) so that they would believe. He showed them the splitting of the

moon, and they said that it was sorcery. So the words of Allah concerning

them are true (interpretation of the meaning):

“and even if

they see every one of the Ayaat (signs) they will not believe therein”

[al-An‘aam

6:25].

Those people did

not stop at rejecting the Messengers of their Lord; rather they conspired

against them, to kill them or expel them from their lands. Allah, may He be

exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And those who

disbelieved, said to their Messengers: ‘Surely, we shall drive you out of

our land, or you shall return to our religion.’ So their Lord revealed to

them: ‘Truly, We shall destroy the Zaalimoon (polytheists, disbelievers and

wrongdoers)’”

[Ibraaheem

14:13].

And Allah, may He

be exalted, tells us that the people of Ibraaheem (peace be upon him) said:

“So nothing was

the answer of [Ibraaheem’s (Abraham’s)] people except that they said: ‘Kill

him or burn him.’ Then Allah saved him from the fire. Verily, in this are

indeed signs for a people who believe”

[al-‘Ankaboot

29:24].

And Allah, may He

be exalted, says concerning our Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be

upon him):

“And (remember)

when the disbelievers plotted against you (O Muhammad

صلى الله عليه وسلم) to imprison you, or

to kill you, or to get you out (from your home, i.e. Makkah)”

[al-Anfaal

8:30].

If this was the

case with regard to those to whom the Messenger, whom they knew, brought the

message from his Lord, and they saw the signs with their own eyes, then what

about those Indians, Chinese and Europeans, if the Arabian Prophet Muhammad

(blessings and peace of Allah be upon them) came to them as a bringer of

glad tidings and a warner??

When some of the

polytheists claimed that Allah, may He be exalted, approved of their

disbelief and that if that was not the case, He would have diverted them

from it, our Lord, may He be blessed and exulted, showed them to be liars

and explained that they were only following their whims and desires and

their forefathers who had gone astray. Allah, may He be exalted, said

(interpretation of the meaning)

“And those who

joined others in worship with Allah said: ‘If Allah had so willed, neither

we nor our fathers would have worshipped aught but Him, nor would we have

forbidden anything without (Command from) Him’”

[an-Nahl 16:35].

Then Allah, may He

be exalted, refuted them by saying:

“And verily, We

have sent among every Ummah (community, nation) a Messenger (proclaiming):

‘Worship Allah (Alone), and avoid (or keep away from) Taghoot (all false

deities, i.e. do not worship Taaghoot alongside Allah).’ Then of them were

some whom Allah guided and of them were some upon whom the straying was

justified”

[an-Nahl 16:36].

Shaykh Muhammad

al-Ameen ash-Shanqeeti (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

In these verses,

Allah explains that He did not approve of their disbelief, and that He sent

a Messenger to every nation, commanding them on the Messenger’s lips to

worship Allah alone and to avoid taaghoot (false gods), i.e., to keep away

from the worship of any deity besides Him. He also told them that Allah

guided some of them to worship Him alone, and that some of them went astray;

in other words, their disbelief and doom were confirmed.

Allah, may He be

exalted, says in Soorat al-An‘aam (interpretation of the meaning):

“Say: ‘With

Allah is the perfect proof and argument, (i.e. the Oneness of Allaah, the

sending of His Messengers and His Holy Books, to mankind); had He so willed,

He would indeed have guided you all’”

[al-An‘aam

6:149].

The fact that He

alone can help and guide people is the perfect proof and argument against

His creation. In other words: whoever We guide and bless with Our help, that

is grace and mercy from Us. And whoever We do not do that for, that is

justice and wisdom from Us, because he was not owed that by Us and did not

deserve it from Us. Rather if We grant that, it is grace, and if we do not

grant it, it is justice.

End quote from

Adwa’ al-Bayaan,

7/95, 96.

Fourthly:

The questioner

says: Is it true that no one will ever enter Paradise except Muslims, and

Ahl as-Sunnah in particular? That is subject to further discussion:

Following the

sending of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), then yes,

no one will enter Paradise except a Muslim, because Islam abrogated all the

previous religions; Allah, may He be exalted, commanded all His creation to

enter this religion, and stated that He will never accept any other religion

from anyone, and that whoever meets Him with any other religion will be

among the losers. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the

meaning):

“And whoever

seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him, and in

the Hereafter he will be one of the losers”

[Aal ‘Imraan

3:85].

Because of that,

the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) instructed Bilaal to

call out to the people: “No one will enter Paradise except a Muslim.”

Narrated by

al-Bukhaari, 3062; Muslim, 178.

With regard to the

previous nations, everyone who believed in his Prophet and Messenger will

enter Paradise; they were the Muslims of their time. Allah, may He be

exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Verily, those

who believe and those who are Jews and Christians, and Sabians, whoever

believes in Allah and the Last Day and does righteous good deeds shall have

their reward with their Lord, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they

grieve”

[al-Baqarah

2:62].

With regard to the

question of Paradise being for Ahl as-Sunnah in particular, this is an

incorrect view. None of the scholars have said such a thing; rather all of

the ummah of Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) who

responded to his call will enter Paradise; no one will be deprived of it

except those who turned on their heels (apostatized) and nullified their

Islam by doing something that took them out of Islam altogether, and those

innovators who went against sharee‘ah and opposed Ahl as-Sunnah. They, like

other sinners among the monotheists, will be subject to the will of Allah,

may He be glorified and exalted: if He wills, He will punish them, and if He

wills, He will forgive them, then the final destination of any one of them

will be Paradise, if he died believing in Tawheed.

This also applies

to those who committed some sins or fell into some innovation, but were

among Ahl as-Sunnah in general; they will also be subject to the will of

Allah, may He be glorified and exalted: if He wills, He will punish them,

and if He wills, He will forgive them. However, adhering to the Sunnah,

defending it and following it in word and deed will increase the hope of

entering Paradise and being saved from the punishment of Allah.

Fifthly:

The one who

understands from the hadeeth about divisions and from the words of the

Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) about the seventy-two

different sects who go against Ahl as-Sunnah, “All of them will be in the

Fire”, that they will abide forever in the fire of Hell, is mistaken and has

gone against the consensus of the Muslims. The fact that these sects have

gone astray and have been given a warning of Hellfire does not mean that

they will abide therein forever.

Shaykh al-Islam

Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

Whoever says that

the seventy-two sects have all committed kufr (disbelief) in a way that puts

them beyond the pale of Islam has gone against the Qur’an, Sunnah and the

consensus of the Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them all), and also the

consensus of the four imams and others. There is no one among them who

regarded each one of the seventy-two sects as disbelievers.

End quote from

Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa, 7/218

Describing those

who differ as disbelievers is the way of the followers of innovation and

misguidance; it is not the way of Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa‘ah.

Shaykh al-Islam

Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

The Khaarijis were

the first ones to regard the Muslims as disbelievers, saying that they

become disbelievers because of committing sins. They also regarded as

disbelievers those who disagreed with their innovation and regarded it as

permissible to kill them and take their wealth. This is how the innovators

are: they introduce an innovation and regard as disbelievers those who

differ with them, concerning it. Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa‘ah follow the

Qur’an and Sunnah, and obey Allah and His Messenger; they follow the truth

and show compassion to all people.

End quote from

Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa, 3/279

And he said

concerning the seventy-two sects: They regard one another as disbelievers

because of some of the ideas they believe in.

End quote from

Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa, 7/218

For reports of the

hadeeth about division and some comments on it, please see the answer to

question no. 90112

For a description

of Ahl as-Sunnah and the saved sect, please see the answers to questions no.

10777 and

206

Sixthly:

By the mercy of

Allah, may He be exalted, to His slaves, He will not punish with Hell those

whom the call of Islam did not reach. For those who are alive at the

present, or who lived before, whom news of Islam did not reach, they will be

tested on the Day of Resurrection. We have discussed this matter in the

answers to questions no. 1244 and

130271.

And Allah knows

best.