Is it possible for Allah to punish the obedient, or is it impossible?
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Question : The punishment of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, for the obedient. It is possible. It is possible. Is it possible? Hmm? It is possible. It is impossible.
Answer : Yes, it is possible rationally, meaning in terms of occurrence it can happen, but it is impossible religiously and impossible rationally from another angle. It is impossible religiously because Allah the Exalted has informed that He does not wrong anyone, and punishing the obedient is injustice. Allah the Exalted said:[Taha 20:112] So, it is impossible religiously. And it is impossible rationally regarding Allah, Mighty and Majestic, because Allah is free from injustice in His essence, and He is free from it in His actions.
Now, if someone were to say that it came in a hadith and it came in a hadith that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to us Sahih Muslim 2816g, we say there is no problem. As for the first one, its meaning is that if Allah were to punish the people of His heavens and earth, He would punish them while they are deserving of the punishment, and He would not be unjust. And when do they become deserving?
When they disobey by abandoning obedience or by committing sin. As for the second, the preposition "by" in "by his deeds" indicates exchange, meaning if we were to rely on compensation, no one would enter Paradise, because if a person were held accountable for the least of Allah's blessings, he would perish. But by the mercy of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, for him,
Answer : Yes, it is possible rationally, meaning in terms of occurrence it can happen, but it is impossible religiously and impossible rationally from another angle. It is impossible religiously because Allah the Exalted has informed that He does not wrong anyone, and punishing the obedient is injustice. Allah the Exalted said:
But he who does of righteous deeds while he is a believer - he will neither fear injustice nor deprivation.
وَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِنَ الصَّالِحَاتِ وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَلَا يَخَافُ ظُلْمًا وَلَا هَضْمًاNow, if someone were to say that it came in a hadith
If Allah were to punish the inhabitants of His heavens and earth, He would punish them while He is not unjust to them.
إن الله لو عذب أهل سماواته وأرضه لعذبهم وهو غير ظالم لهمnone amongst you can attain salvation because of his deeds alone. They said: Allah's Messenger, not even you? Thereupon he said: Not even I, but that Allah should wrap me in His Mercy
يدخل أحد الجنة بعمله قالوا وَلاَ أَنْتَ قَالَ وَلاَ أَنَا إِلاَّ أَنْ يَتَغَمَّدَنِيَ اللَّهُ بِرَحْمَةٍWhen they disobey by abandoning obedience or by committing sin. As for the second, the preposition "by" in "by his deeds" indicates exchange, meaning if we were to rely on compensation, no one would enter Paradise, because if a person were held accountable for the least of Allah's blessings, he would perish. But by the mercy of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, for him,
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، [648] تعذيب الله للطائع هل هو جائز الوجود أم ممتنع - ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.