Does the sinner enter the Fire and remain in it forever, and what is the answer to what is in the two Sahihs?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : His EminenceThe Shaykh : It is known that it is part of the creed of the people of the Sunnah and the community: that the believing sinner, if he enters the Fire, will not remain in the Fire forever. But what is the answer to what is established in the two Sahihs from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: Sahih Muslim 109a?
The Shaykh : This is a point of difficulty. It is known that it is part of the creed of the people of the Sunnah and the community that whoever enters the Fire for a sin other than disbelief will not remain in it forever. Killing oneself is a sin other than disbelief. So what is the answer to what is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):, where the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned perpetuity?
Our answer to this is from one of two angles: either the word "perpetually" is not authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and it is like the wording of the verse:[An-Nisa 4:93], which does not contain perpetuity, and the meaning of "remaining" here is: a long stay.
Or it can be said: that this is an exception to those who remain in the Fire, and he is not from the people of disbelief. This is if this word is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
It is not far-fetched, because the person who kills himself, may Allah protect us from that, may have his heart detached from faith, because he does not kill himself except to flee from the decree of Allah, and out of a lack of patience with the decrees of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). So his heart may be detached from faith at that moment, as came in the hadith:Sahih al-Bukhari 6782.
So the answer in my view is from one of two angles:
Either it can be said: that the word "perpetually" is not authentic, so the wording of the hadith "remaining" matches the wording of the verse. Or it can be said: that this is an exception.
But the apparent view of the people of the Sunnah is: that perpetuity here is not authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
He who killed himself with steel (weapon) would be the eternal denizen of the Fire of Hell and he would have that weapon in his hand and would be thrusting that in his stomach for ever and ever
من قتل نفسه بحديدة فحديدته في يده يتوجأ في نار جهنم خالداً مخلداً فيها أبدا ًThe Shaykh : This is a point of difficulty. It is known that it is part of the creed of the people of the Sunnah and the community that whoever enters the Fire for a sin other than disbelief will not remain in it forever. Killing oneself is a sin other than disbelief. So what is the answer to what is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
That whoever kills himself with something, he will be punished with it in the Fire of Hell, remaining there forever, eternally, perpetually.
أن من قتل نفسه بشيء فإنه يعذب به في نار جهنم خالداً مخلداً فيها خالدا أبداًOur answer to this is from one of two angles: either the word "perpetually" is not authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and it is like the wording of the verse:
But whoever kills a believer intentionally - his recompense is Hell, wherein he will abide eternally
وَمَنْ يَقْتُلْ مُؤْمِناً مُتَعَمِّداً فَجَزَاؤُهُ جَهَنَّمُ خَالِداً فِيهَاOr it can be said: that this is an exception to those who remain in the Fire, and he is not from the people of disbelief. This is if this word is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
It is not far-fetched, because the person who kills himself, may Allah protect us from that, may have his heart detached from faith, because he does not kill himself except to flee from the decree of Allah, and out of a lack of patience with the decrees of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). So his heart may be detached from faith at that moment, as came in the hadith:
When (a person) an adulterer commits illegal sexual intercourse then he is not a believer at the time he is doing it
لا يزني الزاني حين يزني وهو مؤمنSo the answer in my view is from one of two angles:
Either it can be said: that the word "perpetually" is not authentic, so the wording of the hadith "remaining" matches the wording of the verse. Or it can be said: that this is an exception.
But the apparent view of the people of the Sunnah is: that perpetuity here is not authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).