وَمَن يَبْتَغِ غَيْرَ الْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا فَلَن يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ
He who is desirous of a religion other than Islām will never have it accepted from him, and he will be amongst the losers in the Hereafter.
ʾĀl ʿImrān: 85
A brother has written to me expressing his concern for disbelievers being denied Paradise and condemned to Hell. While the brother comes across as understandably compassionate, the question overlaps with a related phenomenon. I therefore decided to share my response on my platform.
Certain Muslims are so enamoured with their non-Muslim idols, be they politicians, activists, sportsmen, singers or actors, that they arrogate unto themselves the right to overturn the theology of Islām. They dictate unto Allāh and His Messenger (صلى الله عليه و سلم) what they believe should happen in the Hereafter and deny explicit texts of the Qurʾān and Ḥadīth.
Allāh and His Messenger (صلى الله عليه و سلم) have clearly stated the fate of those who disbelieve, for example
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ وَالْمُشْرِكِينَ فِي نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ هُمْ شَرُّ الْبَرِيَّةِ
Indeed, they who disbelieve among the People of the Book and the polytheists will be in the fire of Hell, abiding eternally therein. Those are the worst of creatures.
ʾal-Bayyinah: 6
It is therefore most unsettling that there are those who call themselves Muslims but express greater love for their idols and tell us who are we to judge what the fate of their idols will be. We do not judge, Allāh has given His judgement in His Book and we hear and obey.
May Allāh save us from every whisper and deception of Satan, and protect our faith
Herewith my reply to the brother:
السلام عليكم
Your compassion for fellow children of ʾĀdam (عليه السلام) is commendable. Our Mother, ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها) expressed a similar concern, specifically in regards the good deeds of the deceased idolater, ʾIbn Judʿān.
However, you, me and our Mother combined cannot have greater concern and purer compassion than Rasūlullāh (صلى الله عليه و سلم). He desired that every human be saved from entering Hell. As in every matter, we defer to his guidance. How did he express this concern? By ceaselessly calling every possible person to the worship of Allāh. Once a person has heard the call, and still rejects, he will not enter Paradise as per the Ḥadīth which I sent in reply to your tweet query
مَنْ سَمِعَ بِي مِنْ أُمَّتِي أَوْ يَهُودِيٌّ أَوْ نَصْرَانِيٌّ فَلَمْ يُؤْمِنْ بِي لَمْ يَدْخُلْ الْجَنَّةَ
Ahmad, from ʾAbū Mūsā ʾal-ʾAshʿarī (رضي الله عنه)
وَالَّذِي نَفْسُ مُحَمَّدٍ بِيَدِهِ لاَ يَسْمَعُ بِي أَحَدٌ مِنْ هَذِهِ الأُمَّةِ يَهُودِيٌّ وَلاَ نَصْرَانِيٌّ ثُمَّ يَمُوتُ وَلَمْ يُؤْمِنْ بِالَّذِي أُرْسِلْتُ بِهِ إِلاَّ كَانَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ النَّارِ
Muslim from ʾAbū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه)
This is general, and Rasūlullāh (صلى الله عليه و سلم) did not distinguish between the various academic categories you mentioned, whether doubters, rejectionists or the obstinate. They have all willingly denied his call.
In regards ʾIbn Judʿān, Rasūlullāh (صلى الله عليه و سلم) replied to our Mother, “That will not benefit him, for there was not a single day that he ever uttered, ‘O my Lord, forgive me my sin on the Day of Accounting.’” i.e. he never brought faith.
عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، قَالَتْ قُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ابْنُ جُدْعَانَ كَانَ فِي الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ يَصِلُ الرَّحِمَ وَيُطْعِمُ الْمِسْكِينَ فَهَلْ ذَاكَ نَافِعُهُ قَالَ “ لاَ يَنْفَعُهُ إِنَّهُ لَمْ يَقُلْ يَوْمًا رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي خَطِيئَتِي يَوْمَ الدِّينِ ”
(Muslim:214)
Allāh is our Creator, Master and King. He owns every atom, and we are His to command as He sees fit, and to do with us as He wills. The least obedience the King of kings demands is that we submit and recognise him. Do we submit to the “sovereignty” of the land we live in and deny His ultimate sovereignty? Why do we regard punishments including the death penalty for treason and rebellion against secular authorities as reasonable, but regard divine punishment for rebelling against divine authority as unjust?
I advise that we submit not only bodily, but mentally to Allāh. Our minds are imperfect and make a toy of morality. Humans married young adults throughout history. For less than two centuries young adults have become “teenagers” and it is reprehensible for them to marry. In the last few decades homosexuality has not only been legalised, but it actively being promoted as a fashionable lifestyle. What then is right and wrong, moral and immoral when subject to human whims and fancies?
We are living in the midst of a war, a rebellion against the King. Satan seeks to enlist us in his army of rebels through doubts and giving our thoughts precedence over divine guidance. I can only appeal to you not to tread a path, the end of which is loss.
Your sincere concern for humanity must be expressed according to the teachings of Rasūlullāh (صلى الله عليه و سلم).
- Submit to divine will.
- Work on improving our spirituality (Qurʾān recitation, company of the pious, etc)
- Gain knowledge from authentic sources.
- Convey the Message to disbelievers, and be a tool of their salvation.
More than this I cannot say. Guidance is only from Allāh, whether for me, you or all mankind.
سليمان الكندي
Twitter: @Sulayman_Kindi
Kindi's Blog 
Sheikh
I was wondering, was Ibn Qayyim wrong when he described the types of Kufr I sent or is that valid according to Ijma?
No, these terms are even exclusive to any one particular scholar. We all learn them in Tafseer and Aqeedah classes as part of the academic discussion on the nature of faith and disbelief.
Perhaps you should understand that context of why these terms were coined. They were never meant to be bases for rulings for different kinds of disbelievers as you seem to be advocating. I trust that this clarifies and puts the matter to rest
Sheikh
Sorry, I did not understand? When you say no, do you mean Ibn Qayyim is wrong or is he right on the forms of disbelief?
What do you mean by exclusive to any one scholar?
As a last question: what about this fatwa from Islamweb, are they correct then:
https://www.islamweb.net/en/fatwa/359569/the-types-of-kufr-disbelief-according-to-ibn-al-qayyim
The error is not with Ibn Qayyim but with your understanding. It seems that you are trying to force the issue and extract a category of disbelievers who will enter Paradise. This is not what the Imam or the fatwa says. Please desist!
All the kinds of disbelievers he mentions have the same ruling. The distinctions mentioned are for academic / theoretical discussion on causes of disbelief NOT WHETHER THEY WILL ENTER HELL OR NOT.
The fatwa clearly and correctly says, without distinction of the types of disbeliever :
If he disbelieves after the evidence has been established against him and after he has become aware of the prophecy of Muhammad  then he will abide in Hellfire eternally.
Apologies Sheikh. I just wanted to clarify something
1. According to Ulema, a non muslim who has never heard of Islam will be tested in the hereafter correct? It says here from Islamweb:
To conclude, Allaah makes it clear that He will not punish any people before sending a messenger to them to guide them to the right path and warn them of the consequences of going astray giving evidence, setting Sharee’ah rules and calling to the good and correct religion. There is no difference in this regard between the era of Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and the consecutive eras that came after him. However, if the call to Islam does not reach someone and he does not hear about Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, then the ruling on him is the same as the one who dies before the sending of Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, as a Prophet and did not know about other prophets. It is narrated in a Hadeeth that such people will be tested and tried on the Last Day. Imaam Ahmad may Allaah have mercy upon him narrated that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Four people will protest on the Day of Judgement: a deaf person who does not hear anything, an insane person, a decrepit person, and one who dies in a period where no Prophet was sent (Fatrah). As for the deaf person, he will say, ‘O my Lord, Islam came (to me) while I could not hear’; the insane person will say, ‘O my Lord, Islam came (to me) while children were throwing dung at me’; the decrepit person will say, ‘O my Lord, Islam came while I could not understand anything;’ and one who died in a period where no prophet was sent will say, ‘O my Lord, no prophet came to me.’ Then Allaah will take a covenant from them that they will obey Him and then send one to tell them to enter Hell. By Him in whose Hand is my soul, if they enter Hell, it will be cool and a means of safety for them.”
I ask because of this video here:
So due to this video, I was wondering if the Kaffir of the categories sent in my email will be tested on Qiyamah like the one who never heard Islam? Is that correct?
The Hadith referenced is clear and you are correct. And all authority belongs to Allah.
The video however is an entertainment and deception. Ibn Kathir mentions a grey area about the children of disbelievers. We have no unanimous certainty and the decision is of course left to the mercy of Allah. This video has twisted the words of the Imam to a topic ge never intended and by which he imagines Paul Walker might be in Paradise! Allah save us from every misguidance.
Sheikh, I understand but I was wondering:
Ibn al-Qayyim may Allaah have mercy upon him said in his book Tareeq Al-Hijratayn wa Baab As-Sa’aadatayn:
“A person becomes deserving of punishment due to two reasons:
1- Turning away from the evidence and refusing it, and refusing to act according to it and its implications.
2- Being stubborn against it [evidence] after it has been established and abandoning its implications.
The first is the disbelief of turning away; the second is the disbelief of stubbornness. As regards the disbelief due to ignorance while the evidence is not established, and one was not able to know it, then this is the type which Allah negated punishment for until the evidence of the Messengers is established against the person
So I was wondering, is it correct to say the Kafir who know Islam is true but reject are punished, while Kafirs who have heard of Islam but do not believe it to be true will be in the gray area
I have not read this book.
There is no grey area here. They have heard and disbelieved, you know the answer
I mean, are you familiar with Ibn Qayyim’s work overall? Is what he said accurate or am I misunderstanding what he said about the causes for punishment.
I have perused through the book and it is difficult to match a paraphrased English translated extract with a 1200 page Arabic book. Regrettably I do not have the time to do this at present. Moreso even if the original quote is found, the Imam clearly mentions hosts of opinions on various matters and his difficulty he has with them. Context is important. This will have to be checked. e.g. ISIS took a quote from Imam Nawawi as proof, whereas he mentioned it as something HE WAS REFUTING.
I am obligated to convey our beliefs, which I have believe I have done, and I believe I have more than fuflilled my obligation in answering your question. It is our belief that those who have heard the Call and rejected will not enter Paradise, the only grey area being that of children.
It might be wise that you spend time in the physical company of a scholar close to you. Your queries are not to be resolved through Google searches or unclear correspondence. With your zeal it may even be advisable that you undertake full time studies of Islam at a physical institution. It may be that you become a beneficial scholar unto the world.
I pray for your every good, and will be willing to help where I can on other matters, just as I would try to help the queries of any other Muslim. This matter is however closed, Allah reward and guide us all.