His final question asks how to reconcile the statement of Allah the Exalted, “And if you reveal what is in your hearts or conceal it, Allah will hold you accountable for it,” with the meaning of the noble hadith.
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The questioner : His final question asks how to reconcile the statement of Allah the Exalted [Al-Baqarah 2:284] with the meaning of the noble hadith, which is “that Allah has pardoned the Ummah of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) for what their hearts contemplate, as long as they do not act upon it or speak of it”?
The Shaykh : The reconciliation between this verse and the hadith you mentioned is found in the statement of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Baqarah 2:286] So whatever is within a person’s capacity, he is held accountable for it, and whatever is beyond his capacity, he is not held accountable for it. The statement of Allah the Exalted: [Al-Baqarah 2:284] was followed by the verse: [Al-Baqarah 2:286] Thus, the fleeting thoughts that come to a person, to which he does not incline and in which he does not find comfort, which are merely passing whispers of the soul that he does not accept or act upon, are not a cause for accountability because they are beyond a person’s capacity or because they exceed his capacity. However, if the thoughts that arise in the heart are ones in which a person finds comfort and believes in them, then it is an act for which the servant is held accountable. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih al-Bukhari 1 And he (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke about a man who fights his Muslim brother, saying: Sahih Muslim 2888b They said: O Messenger of Allah! What about the one who was killed? He said: Sahih al-Bukhari 6875 The important point is that whatever comes to the heart, if a person finds comfort in it, accepts it, and considers it, he is held accountable for it. But as for the thoughts that occur and a person entertains in his mind but does not incline toward them, he is not held accountable for them. For example, if a person is thinking to himself whether he should divorce his wife or not, we say that the wife is not divorced even if he intends to divorce her, because divorce does not occur except through speech or an action that indicates it, such as writing. He is not held accountable for this. Likewise, if he intends to give these coins in charity and resolves to do so but does not hand them over, he is not obligated to give them in charity, whether he intended it for a specific person or intended it as charity without specifying who should receive it; in either case, he is not obligated to give the charity. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you.
This is a message from a listener whose name is represented by the letters M, G, and T, from the Tameem Governorate in Iraq.
Whether you show what is within yourselves or conceal it, Allah will bring you to account for it
وإن تبدوا ما في أنفسكم أو تخفوه يُحاسبكم به اللهThe Shaykh : The reconciliation between this verse and the hadith you mentioned is found in the statement of Allah the Exalted:
Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity
لا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَاWhether you show what is within yourselves or conceal it, Allah will bring you to account for it
وَإِنْ تُبْدُوا مَا فِي أَنفُسِكُمْ أَوْ تُخْفُوهُ يُحَاسِبْكُمْ بِهِ اللَّهُAllah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity. It will have [the consequence of] what [good] it has gained, and it will bear [the consequence of] what [evil] it has earned.
لا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا اكْتَسَبَتْThe reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended.
إنما الأعمال بالنيات، وإنما لكل امرئٍ ما نوىWhen two Muslims confront each other with their swords, both the slayer and the slain are doomed to Hell-Fire.
إذا التقى المسلمان بسيفيهما فالقاتل والمقتول في النارThe killed one was eager to kill his opponent.
لأنه كان حريصاً على قتل صاحبهThe questioner : May Allah reward you.
This is a message from a listener whose name is represented by the letters M, G, and T, from the Tameem Governorate in Iraq.