The Middle Position of the People of the Sunnah and the Community Regarding the Perpetrator of a Major Sin
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May Allah reward you, esteemed Shaykh: In the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) in the two Sahihs, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever kills himself with a sword, his sword is in his hand, and he stabs himself with it in his belly in the Fire of Hell, abiding therein forever, eternally. Whoever kills himself with poison, his poison is in his hand, and he drinks it in the Fire of Hell, abiding therein forever, eternally. Whoever throws himself down from a mountain and kills himself, he will be thrown down into the Fire of Hell, abiding therein forever, eternally.” What is meant by this eternity? Is it specific to the one who kills himself? And is it permissible to pray for mercy for the one who did that to himself?
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
This is a very important question, because sometimes in the Book and the Sunnah there are texts that open the door to hope and wide expectation, such as righteous deeds that result in the expiation of sins, or entering Paradise, or the like.So a person rejoices and is glad with that and says: So, a sin does not harm me as long as this small deed expiates my sins for me, or is a cause for my entering Paradise, so I do whatever sins I want. And sometimes there are texts containing severe warnings regarding some sins or some major sins, which are in reality major sins but do not take one out of Islam.So you find the man regretting and hesitating and saying: What is this? And so the people of the Qiblah—Meaning: the Muslims who claim affiliation to Islam—Regarding these texts, they are divided into three categories: -A category that prioritized the texts of hope and said: divided into those who said that a sin does not harm with Islam, and these are the Murji'ah, who prioritize the aspect of hope over the aspect of fear.And they say: You are a believer, do whatever you want, a sin does not harm you with faith.
-And a category that prioritized the texts of fear and deterrence and said: The doer of major sins is eternally abiding in the Fire of Hell forever, even if he is a believer, even if he prays, gives zakah, fasts, and performs Hajj. And these are the Wa'idiyah from the Mu'tazilah and the Khawarij.They said: If a person commits a major sin, such as killing himself, for example, or killing another person, or committing zina, or stealing, he is eternally abiding in the Fire of Hell. All of these groups deviated from the truth, neither the former nor the latter.
And the people of the Sunnah and the community are in the middle regarding this.They said: We take all the texts; because the Shari'ah is one and issued from one source, which is Allah (Mighty and Majestic), either in His Book or on the tongue of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). If that is the case, then they complete one another, restrict one another, and specify one another. A general text and a specific text come; so it is obligatory to apply the general to the specific and specify it with it. An absolute text and a restricted text come; so it is obligatory to apply the absolute to the restricted; because the Shari'ah is one and the Legislator is one. If that is the case, it is not possible for us to take one side without the other.
And based on this, a person is saved from many problems.It is said: It is mentioned in the Qur'an, the saying of Allah the Exalted: [An-Nisa: 93] These are five punishments: 1- His reward is Hell.
2- Abiding therein.
3- The anger of Allah upon him.
4- His cursing.
5- He prepared for him a great punishment.
When you read this verse, you say: Whoever intentionally kills a believer is eternally abiding in the Fire, and it is not possible for him to come out of it;Because Allah said: [An-Nisa: 93] And whoever Allah has cursed has been expelled and distanced from His mercy, and this necessitates that it is not possible for him to come out of the Fire to Paradise forever. And likewise what the questioner referred to regarding the one who kills himself, that he is eternally abiding forever; the hadith explicitly states eternity, and this necessitates that he does not come out of it; because this is a report from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and the report of the Messenger is truth, in which lying cannot occur, and its meaning cannot fail.
And for this reason we say: These things are a cause for that; killing the soul is a cause for eternal abiding in the Fire of Hell, as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said. But there are preventers of eternity indicated by the Shari'ah texts;Among them: That a person has with him something of faith, even the least of the least of the least, the weight of an atom of faith, then he does not abide eternally in the Fire. So we apply these texts to these texts.And we say: The texts of warning came in a general manner in order to deter from this deed and flee from it, but there is no eternal abiding except for the disbelievers. This is one aspect.
The second aspect: Some scholars said: These texts are according to their apparent meaning, and that is because the one who kills himself may be afflicted with the stripping away of faith, so he is not a believer when he kills himself. And if he is not a believer, he is a disbeliever eternally abiding in the Fire; because if he slaughters himself, if he is insane, there is nothing upon him. And if he is sane, he must have done it for a reason. And this reason is mostly to rest from the calamity or distress that befell him. And whoever claims that if he kills himself he will be saved from the distress that befell him has denied the resurrection and denied the punishment of the Hereafter. And if he denies the resurrection and the punishment of the Hereafter, he is thereby a disbeliever, so he is deserving of eternal abiding in the Fire; because it is not reasonable that a person kills himself to rest from what he is in except for his belief that he will move to what is rest for him. And it is not possible for it to be more restful for him after he has killed himself, so he is doubting or hesitating or denying the punishment of the Hereafter, and thereby he is a disbeliever.
And in any case, it is obligatory for us to know that the Book and the Sunnah were issued from Allah alone. Some of it is from His speech (Exalted and Majestic is He), which is the Qur'an, and some of it is from the speech of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). And the texts of the Book and the Sunnah restrict one another and specify one another, and there is never any contradiction between the texts of the Book and the Sunnah.
As for the issue of praying for mercy for him, it is permissible to pray for mercy for him; because he is not a disbeliever.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
This is a very important question, because sometimes in the Book and the Sunnah there are texts that open the door to hope and wide expectation, such as righteous deeds that result in the expiation of sins, or entering Paradise, or the like.So a person rejoices and is glad with that and says: So, a sin does not harm me as long as this small deed expiates my sins for me, or is a cause for my entering Paradise, so I do whatever sins I want. And sometimes there are texts containing severe warnings regarding some sins or some major sins, which are in reality major sins but do not take one out of Islam.So you find the man regretting and hesitating and saying: What is this? And so the people of the Qiblah—Meaning: the Muslims who claim affiliation to Islam—Regarding these texts, they are divided into three categories: -A category that prioritized the texts of hope and said: divided into those who said that a sin does not harm with Islam, and these are the Murji'ah, who prioritize the aspect of hope over the aspect of fear.And they say: You are a believer, do whatever you want, a sin does not harm you with faith.
-And a category that prioritized the texts of fear and deterrence and said: The doer of major sins is eternally abiding in the Fire of Hell forever, even if he is a believer, even if he prays, gives zakah, fasts, and performs Hajj. And these are the Wa'idiyah from the Mu'tazilah and the Khawarij.They said: If a person commits a major sin, such as killing himself, for example, or killing another person, or committing zina, or stealing, he is eternally abiding in the Fire of Hell. All of these groups deviated from the truth, neither the former nor the latter.
And the people of the Sunnah and the community are in the middle regarding this.They said: We take all the texts; because the Shari'ah is one and issued from one source, which is Allah (Mighty and Majestic), either in His Book or on the tongue of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). If that is the case, then they complete one another, restrict one another, and specify one another. A general text and a specific text come; so it is obligatory to apply the general to the specific and specify it with it. An absolute text and a restricted text come; so it is obligatory to apply the absolute to the restricted; because the Shari'ah is one and the Legislator is one. If that is the case, it is not possible for us to take one side without the other.
And based on this, a person is saved from many problems.It is said: It is mentioned in the Qur'an, the saying of Allah the Exalted:
But whoever kills a believer intentionally - his recompense is Hell, wherein he will abide eternally, and Allah has become angry with him and has cursed him and has prepared for him a great punishment.
وَمَنْ يَقْتُلْ مُؤْمِناً مُتَعَمِّداً فَجَزَاؤُهُ جَهَنَّمُ خَالِداً فِيهَا وَغَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَلَعَنَهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُ عَذَاباً عَظِيماً2- Abiding therein.
3- The anger of Allah upon him.
4- His cursing.
5- He prepared for him a great punishment.
When you read this verse, you say: Whoever intentionally kills a believer is eternally abiding in the Fire, and it is not possible for him to come out of it;Because Allah said:
and Allah has become angry with him and has cursed him
وَغَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَلَعَنَهُAnd for this reason we say: These things are a cause for that; killing the soul is a cause for eternal abiding in the Fire of Hell, as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said. But there are preventers of eternity indicated by the Shari'ah texts;Among them: That a person has with him something of faith, even the least of the least of the least, the weight of an atom of faith, then he does not abide eternally in the Fire. So we apply these texts to these texts.And we say: The texts of warning came in a general manner in order to deter from this deed and flee from it, but there is no eternal abiding except for the disbelievers. This is one aspect.
The second aspect: Some scholars said: These texts are according to their apparent meaning, and that is because the one who kills himself may be afflicted with the stripping away of faith, so he is not a believer when he kills himself. And if he is not a believer, he is a disbeliever eternally abiding in the Fire; because if he slaughters himself, if he is insane, there is nothing upon him. And if he is sane, he must have done it for a reason. And this reason is mostly to rest from the calamity or distress that befell him. And whoever claims that if he kills himself he will be saved from the distress that befell him has denied the resurrection and denied the punishment of the Hereafter. And if he denies the resurrection and the punishment of the Hereafter, he is thereby a disbeliever, so he is deserving of eternal abiding in the Fire; because it is not reasonable that a person kills himself to rest from what he is in except for his belief that he will move to what is rest for him. And it is not possible for it to be more restful for him after he has killed himself, so he is doubting or hesitating or denying the punishment of the Hereafter, and thereby he is a disbeliever.
And in any case, it is obligatory for us to know that the Book and the Sunnah were issued from Allah alone. Some of it is from His speech (Exalted and Majestic is He), which is the Qur'an, and some of it is from the speech of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). And the texts of the Book and the Sunnah restrict one another and specify one another, and there is never any contradiction between the texts of the Book and the Sunnah.
As for the issue of praying for mercy for him, it is permissible to pray for mercy for him; because he is not a disbeliever.