The ruling on interpreting the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “And Paradise is forbidden to him”

Question:
Honorable Shaykh, regarding the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), “And Paradise is forbidden to him,” should it not be said that the prohibition of Paradise for him means that he will not enter it initially, but rather he will enter the Fire and then be purified? Is this understanding correct?

Answer:
Or is this clear? That is, he is forbidden from Paradise. If he were to enter Paradise, it would not be forbidden to him. Therefore, it is better to say that this is among the hadiths of warning. We do not engage in interpreting them, but we find them as they came, such as “He is not one of us who imitates others” and “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.” The statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), “Whoever imitates a people is one of them,” and “Whoever does such and such is not one of us,” does not mean that he is a disbeliever, but this is from the category of warning.