The ruling on the claim that a disbeliever will enter Paradise

Question:
May Allah reward you. Your Eminence, the father, the questioner asks: What is the validity of the claim that Allah the Exalted may admit into Paradise one who committed disbelief, based on the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the man who asked his children to burn him and scatter his ashes over the mountains and the sea, and who said, “If Allah has power over me, He will punish me”? This statement was disbelief, so Allah forgave him and he entered Paradise?

Answer:
This claim is invalid. This claim is invalid. A disbeliever will never enter Paradise. This man who said, “Leave me alone,” is not a disbeliever; he is a Muslim. However, the intensity of his fear, the intensity of his fear of Allah, the intensity of his fear of Allah, drove him to this action due to the intensity of his fear of Allah. He was ignorant, meaning he had fear combined with ignorance, and that ignorance drove him to this. So he was excused due to his ignorance. He was excused due to his ignorance in this matter. He is a believer, not a disbeliever. No disbeliever will ever enter Paradise. Therefore, whoever says that a disbeliever will enter it, his statement is invalid.