The eternal abode of the one who commits minor shirk in the Fire and his fate when his evil deeds outweigh his good deeds
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, this questioner says: Does the one who commits minor shirk (associating partners with Allah) remain in the Fire forever? And if the sins that include minor shirk outweigh the good deeds, what is the servant’s fate in that case?
The Shaykh:
Only a disbeliever or one who commits major shirk remains in the Fire forever. As for minor shirk, even though he is punished in the Fire for it, he does not remain in it forever. His ruling is the ruling of the people of major sins: when they enter the Fire, they will come out of it by their faith and their tawhid (the oneness of Allah). So this does not take the ruling of major shirk regarding eternal abode in the Fire. Yes, the question remains: what if his good deeds outweigh his evil deeds?
If his good deeds outweigh his evil deeds, and among them is minor shirk, then he is forgiven.[Al-A'raf 7:8] Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, says: "Then those are the successful ones." This applies to those who do not have shirk. There are no good deeds in shirk at all. There are no good deeds in major shirk at all. The polytheists have no good deeds because they are invalid; they are scattered dust that will not be weighed on the Day of Resurrection. We will not set up a balance for them on the Day of Resurrection. This is only for the Muslims and the believers who have good deeds and evil deeds, and it is their good deeds and evil deeds that are weighed. [Al-Mu'minun 23:102-103] Yes.
The questioner:
He says: May Allah reward you. If the sins that include minor shirk outweigh the good deeds, what is the servant’s fate?
The Shaykh:
His fate is the warning, but he does not remain in the Fire forever. As long as he has tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and he has faith, he does not remain in the Fire forever. Even if he is punished for it, and even if his stay in it is long, his ultimate destination is Paradise. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you
Honorable Shaykh, this questioner says: Does the one who commits minor shirk (associating partners with Allah) remain in the Fire forever? And if the sins that include minor shirk outweigh the good deeds, what is the servant’s fate in that case?
The Shaykh:
Only a disbeliever or one who commits major shirk remains in the Fire forever. As for minor shirk, even though he is punished in the Fire for it, he does not remain in it forever. His ruling is the ruling of the people of major sins: when they enter the Fire, they will come out of it by their faith and their tawhid (the oneness of Allah). So this does not take the ruling of major shirk regarding eternal abode in the Fire. Yes, the question remains: what if his good deeds outweigh his evil deeds?
If his good deeds outweigh his evil deeds, and among them is minor shirk, then he is forgiven.
So those whose scales are heavy - it is they who will be the successful.
فَمَن ثَقُلَتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ(102) And those whose scales are heavy [with good deeds] - it is they who are the successful. (103) But those whose scales are light - those are the ones who have lost their souls, [being] in Hell, abiding eternally.
فَمَن ثَقُلَتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ وَمَنْ خَفَّتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ خَسِرُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ فِي جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدُونَThe questioner:
He says: May Allah reward you. If the sins that include minor shirk outweigh the good deeds, what is the servant’s fate?
The Shaykh:
His fate is the warning, but he does not remain in the Fire forever. As long as he has tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and he has faith, he does not remain in the Fire forever. Even if he is punished for it, and even if his stay in it is long, his ultimate destination is Paradise. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you
Source
75-اللقاء الأسبوعي مع الشيخ صالح الفوزان - 12 — archive.org (1:05:38)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.