In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Assalamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh
All praise and gratitude are due to Allah SWT. May the blessings and peace of Allah SWT be upon His Messenger PBUH.
Allah, in His wisdom, has bestowed upon mankind the faculties of reason and intellect. He has revealed His divine guidance through Scriptures and sent Messengers to call people to the truth and warn them against falsehood. However, He has also granted humans the freedom to make their own choices. Those who choose to obey benefit themselves, while those who disobey bring harm upon themselves. Allah states, “Verily, We showed him [the human being] the way, whether he believes or disbelieves” (Quran, 76:3). Additionally, He declares, “And say: “The truth is from your Lord.’ Then whosoever wills, let him believe; and whosoever wills, let him disbelieve.” (Quran, 18:29).
Guidance ultimately rests in the hands of Allah. If He so willed, He could guide all of humanity, as nothing within the realms of earth and heavens is beyond His capabilities. He says, “Say: ‘With Allah is the perfect proof and argument; had He so willed, He would indeed have guided you all'” (Quran, 6:149).
Nevertheless, in His infinite wisdom, Allah has endowed us with the ability to choose. He has sent down guidance and the Criterion, being the Quran, to assist us. Those who sincerely seek guidance, obey Him, and turn to Him will be granted guidance and steadfastness on His path. Allah affirms, “And those who strive for the sake of Us (to find guidance), We will surely guide them to Our ways, and indeed, Allah is with the doers of good” (Quran, 29:69). Furthermore, He states, “While as for those who accept guidance, He increases their guidance and bestows on them their piety” (Quran, 47:17).
Conversely, those who knowingly, willingly, and arrogantly reject the truth, disobey Allah, and turn away from Him will not be granted the guidance they spurned. They shall deserve Allah’s punishment, as He declares, “Truly, Allah guides not him who is a liar and a disbeliever” (Quran, 39:3). He also states, “I will turn away from My signs those who act unjustly with arrogance in the land. And even if they were to see every sign, they still would not believe in them. If they see the Right Path, they will not take it. But if they see a crooked path (the paths of devil and desires), they will follow it. This is because they denied Our signs and were heedless of them” (Quran, 7:146).
Human beings possess the freedom to choose based on their reasoning capabilities. However, if a person loses the faculty of reason, which allows them to differentiate between good and evil, truth and falsehood, they are not held accountable by Allah’s mercy and grace. According to Islamic law, the insane person is not accountable until they regain their senses, and the same applies to children until they reach the age of understanding and to sleepers until they wake up. None of these individuals are held accountable until they acquire or regain the ability to discern between matters of faith and disbelief, truth and falsehood, and the like.
Overall, each path a person chooses will yield corresponding rewards and punishments. Obedience leads to Paradise, as Allah affirms, “Indeed, he succeeds who purifies his own self (i.e., obeys and performs all that Allah ordered, by following the true Faith of Islamic Monotheism and by doing righteous good deeds)” (Quran, 91:9). Conversely, disobedience leads to Hell, as stated, “And indeed, he fails who corrupts his own self (i.e., disobeys what Allah has ordered by rejecting the true Faith of Islamic Monotheism or by following polytheism, or by doing every kind of evil wicked deed)” (Quran, 91:10).
The choice between these two paths is a matter for which every individual will be held accountable by the Lord of the Worlds. It is evident that faith or disbelief, obedience or disobedience, is a personal choice. Allah has made reward and punishment contingent upon this choice.
But what of those whom the message of Islam never reached?
It is an integral aspect of Allah’s justice that He does not punish any people until He has first sent them a warning and established evidence against them. Allah treats everyone with absolute fairness. As stated in the Quran, “And We never punish until We have sent a Messenger (to give warning)” (17:15).
In his tafseer (exegesis or commentary) on this verse, the scholar Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) explained that these words emphasise the justice of Allah, indicating that He does not punish anyone until after He has provided evidence against them by sending a Messenger. This is reinforced by other verses: “Every time a group is cast therein [into Hell], its keeper will ask, ‘Did no warner come to you?’ They will say, ‘Yes indeed; a warner did come to us, but we belied him and said: Allah never sent down anything (of revelation), you are only in great error'” (67:8), and, “And those who disbelieved will be driven to Hell in groups, till, when they reach it, the gates thereof will be opened (suddenly like a prison at the arrival of its prisoners). And its keepers will say, ‘Did not the Messengers come to you from 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 torment has been justified against the disbelievers!'” (39:71).
A person who has never heard of Islam or the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, and who has never been exposed to the true message in its correct form, will not be punished by Allah if they die in a state of kufr, or disbelief. Regarding their fate, it will be subject to Allah’s Judgment on the Day of Resurrection. In some way befitting of His Wisdom, they will be tested. If they obey, they will enter Paradise, and if they disobey, they will enter Hell. The evidence for this can be found in the hadith narrated by al-Aswad ibn Saree, in which the Prophet PBUH said:
“There are four (who will protest) to Allah on the Day of Resurrection: the deaf man who never heard anything, the insane man, the very old man, and the man who died during the interval between the time of Jesus and the time of Muhammad. The deaf man will say, ‘O Lord, Islam came but I never heard anything.’ The insane man will say,
‘O Lord, Islam came but the children ran after me and threw stones at me.’ The very old man will say, ‘O Lord, Islam came but I did not understand anything.’ The man who died during that interval will say, ‘O Lord, no Messenger from You came to me.’ Allah will accept their promises of obedience, and then a command will be issued for them to enter the Fire. By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, if they enter it, it will be cool and safe for them.” Another report adds: “Whoever enters it, it will be cool and safe for him, and whoever does not enter it will be dragged to it.” (Reported by Imam Ahmad and Ibn Hibbaan).
Ultimately, for those who hear the message of Islam in its true and accurate form and reject it, evidence will be established against them. However, for those who have not heard the message or have heard it in a distorted manner, their case is entrusted to Allah. Allah possesses the most comprehensive knowledge of His creation and will never treat anyone unjustly. He is the All-Seeing of His servants.
And Allah Knows Best.