If there is a part of the earth where the call has not reached its people, and they are Christians, do we consider them to be upon their religion? The discussion is regarding the hadith: “Whoever hears of me and does not follow me…”

The questioner : It is the same question, but regarding the old answer, meaning: But what about the one who did not hear of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)?

The Shaykh : The answer is in the hadith. As the scholars of usul al-fiqh (principles of jurisprudence) say, a hadith has a matn (text) and a mafhum (implication). Its matn is: , and its mafhum is: , meaning they do not enter the Fire. That is, in every age and every land, there are non-Muslims, whether they are Jews, Christians, Buddhists, materialists, or whatever else. These non-Muslims, their affair revolves around one of two things, with no third option: either the call of the Prophet (peace be upon him) reached them, or it did not reach them. If it reached them, you know the reward from the hadith itself. If it did not reach them, they do not have this punishment. This is the answer to your question. Do you understand?

The questioner : Okay.

The Shaykh : Or is there something else?

The questioner : But we are asking about the outcome. Is it obligatory for me to follow a specific religion? If Islam did not reach them, are they judged based on their personal deeds, or do they reach knowledge of the Creator or the oneness of the Creator…?

The Shaykh : You, my professor, actually have many questions in your mind. You think that when you ask one question, it must include all the questions. Your question was, “If he did not hear,” and you received the answer. Now you are asking, “Is he judged? Is it so? Is it so?” and so on. Every question has an answer. I have no objection to anyone asking a question. At the beginning of this session, we said that we will answer what we have an answer for, and otherwise, we refer all knowledge to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). But the question must be clear. Your first question was, “If he did not hear,” and you took the answer: if he did not hear, he does not have this threat. Do you understand?

The questioner : It is known.

The Shaykh : No problem, but now, regarding your second question, specify it for me so I can answer it. What is your second question?

The questioner : People to whom the message of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) did not reach, such as the Inuit in any part of the world.

The Shaykh : We told you.

The questioner : Their judgment here is done. We know that: “No town is there but that a messenger has come to it.” Do the people here follow a specific religion if they are judged, for example, if they followed Christianity, are they judged on the religion of Christianity?

The Shaykh : My brother, the answer has already been given—may Allah reward you. Either he heard of Islam or he did not. If he heard of Islam and did not believe, he is in the Fire. If he did not hear, he is not in the Fire, meaning he is not judged with this judgment that is applied to those who heard.

The questioner : May Allah reward you.

The Shaykh : No, no, allow me a moment; because I feel that he did not take the answer. As long as he did not hear of the Prophet (peace be upon him), he is not in the Fire. So, what is your question now: Is he judged? How is he judged when the call did not reach him?

The questioner : We know, or through reading the tafsirs (exegeses), that the small child is judged.

The Shaykh : How is he judged?

The questioner : He is tested. In some tafsirs, meaning the Qur'an and the exegeses, it is stated that the small child, if a child who has not reached the age of accountability dies, at two years old or five years old or less or more, below the age of accountability, then he is tested on the Day of Resurrection by Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He).

The Shaykh : And after the test, what happens?

The questioner : It is decided, either Paradise or Fire, if he obeyed or if he disobeyed.

The Shaykh : No, this is not correct.

The questioner : This is what I read.

The Shaykh : No, this is not correct.

The questioner : His knowledge is with Allah.

The Shaykh : Do not read to me the saying of the Exalted, “His knowledge is with Allah.” It is Allah’s knowledge in the Qur'an. What does our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) say in the Noble Qur'an: , who will answer with the verse before it?
The Shaykh: Where are you now? Here is the verse. How do you say that these children are judged?

The questioner : We read in many correct tafsirs…

The Shaykh : No—may Allah reward you—this verse is explicit for you.

The questioner : The brothers are sharing this matter with me, and they read this topic.

The Shaykh : No, they did not read this topic. They read another topic, and I am telling you what it is. The children of the mushrikin (those who associate partners with Allah). This is the topic you read. As for the children of the Muslims, …
The Shaykh: There is no problem at all with this. The children of the believers are attached to their fathers, even in matters that have a very, very great virtue. I do not know how I passed over it. He (peace be upon him) said: , meaning the burden of accountability . And it is not only that they do not enter the Fire while being attached to their fathers, but they will be intercessors for their fathers. It came in Sahih Muslim: Where did you bring them in for us?—the brothers laugh—Be patient, be patient;
The Shaykh: The research you read, and Allah knows best, is about the children of the mushrikin. There are three opinions from the scholars of the Muslims: The children of the mushrikin are in Paradise, and they are the servants of the people of Paradise. This is one opinion.
The Shaykh: The second opinion: They are tested in the open spaces of the Day of Resurrection, just as their fathers were tested in this world.
The Shaykh: The third opinion: They and their fathers are in the Fire. Even on this occasion, a hadith is narrated, and I mention it to warn you against it. That the Lady Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her and grant her satisfaction)—you know that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) married her, she had been married before to a man, and she had children from him. So she asked the Messenger (peace be upon him) one day about her children from her first husband who died in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance and died. He said to her—and pay attention, the hadith is not authentic— This hadith is not authentic.

The questioner : The mind does not accept this.

The Shaykh : No problem, but the mind is not the judge. But how did you judge more than this?—the brothers laugh—Where were you, professor? What do they call you? Abu what?

The questioner : Abu Muhammad.

The Shaykh : O Abu Muhammad, where were you when you gave that judgment?…
The Shaykh: As long as two or three children died from Khadijah’s first husband, you say it is not possible, and then you realized that all the disbelievers’ children will be in the Fire. Is this what is not possible?

The questioner : I meant that the correct statement is that this has not come in any other topic like this, meaning that I hear you say Fire or I hear you say Paradise, or I see it or I do not see it…

The Shaykh : But do you realize that the children of the disbelievers who did not commit any sin will all be in the Fire? Do you realize this?

The questioner : It is not in it.

The Shaykh : You said that a moment ago.

The questioner : I said that I read it.

The Shaykh : Yes, and you read it and did not believe.

The questioner : It is not a condition…

The Shaykh : No problem, now we do not have this book.

The questioner : I mean, our Shaykh: We are the general people.

The Shaykh : And what am I doing now?

The questioner : Stay with me. You find among us the people of dhikr (remembrance of Allah), the imams of the mosques. Meaning, you find an imam here, you ask him a question, you go to a second mosque and ask him the same question. Here is an answer and there is an answer, one gives it and the other by the text. So you are asking me, and I am sitting in a session like this for the first time.

The Shaykh : In this, I give you your right. The issue that you ask this one and that one, I give you your right. But my brother, those you ask are not scholars. Unfortunately, they are not scholars.

The questioner : Maybe I do not know that they are not scholars. I know that they are more knowledgeable than me.

The Shaykh : They may be more knowledgeable than you, but they are not scholars.

The questioner : But the general people…

The Shaykh : The important thing, Abu Muhammad, is that we return to finish our discussion. Yes, the correct opinion among the three opinions is that the ruling on young polytheist children is the same as the ruling on the insane, the ruling on the senile elderly, and the ruling on the people of the period of ignorance (ahl al-fatra) whom we mentioned, who are those to whom the call of the Messenger (peace be upon him) did not reach. It is reported in an authentic hadith that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) will send a messenger to them on the open spaces of the Day of Resurrection, commanding them to throw themselves into the Fire. The Fire will be before them, so whoever obeys will enter Paradise, and whoever disobeys will enter the Fire, exactly as is the case in this life, but with a great difference. And the difference here, my brothers, I hope you pay attention to it, concerns the messenger and those to whom he is sent. The messenger here in this world has miracles and proofs that correspond to the material life of those to whom he is sent. The messenger there will also come with a sign to test those to whom he is sent, proving that he is truly a messenger from the Lord of the Worlds. The trial there is like the trial here, with a great difference: here, whoever believes will be afflicted with what is mentioned in the hadith: So the one who wants to believe must be afflicted and suffer a spiritual fire. But there, it is a real, material fire. However, the messenger who is sent to them, they know with certainty that he is from Allah. So whoever obeys him enters Paradise, and whoever disobeys him enters the Fire. Therefore, there is no religious obligation (taklif) before the arrival of the warning, and no religious obligation before the coming of the Messenger or the call. This is part of the perfection of the judgment of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and His mercy toward His servants, which He deposited regarding this matter in His saying: So these polytheist children, no messenger came to them because they had not yet entered the sphere of religious obligation. Those nations to whom the call of the Messenger did not reach, no messenger came to them, and therefore our Lord does not punish them. This is the unanimous opinion. But what do you think our Lord will do with them? Whoever has knowledge of the hadith we mentioned earlier, his answer for them is that it is a test on the open spaces of the Day of Resurrection:
This is the truth, with no obscurity... So leave me alone regarding the intentions of the people of the path.