What is the ruling on reconciling the hadith of Abu Dharr, “I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) while he was sleeping, and he was wearing a white garment,” which contains, “No servant who says, ‘There is no god but Allah,’ and then dies upon that, will enter Paradise except…”

The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.

The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and Allah's mercy and blessings.

The questioner : Your Eminence, Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen, what is the ruling on reconciling the hadith narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim from Abu al-Aswad al-Dili, in which Abu Dharr told him that he said: .
I ask, what is the reconciliation between this hadith and what we see and read regarding the people of the misguided sects, such as the Rafidah and the Khawarij, and what is found among the hypocrites, in that they testify to the testimony of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and die upon it? Please inform us, may Allah guide you and reward you?

The Shaykh : All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment:
The hadith of Abu Dharr, as you have heard, indicates clearly that this speaker, meaning the one who says, “There is no god but Allah,” is a true believer, but his soul incited him to commit some sins, indeed some major sins, such as zina (unlawful sexual intercourse), theft, and the like. The path of the people of the Sunnah and the community is that a believer, even if he commits a major sin, his ultimate destination is Paradise, and any punishment before Paradise is up to Allah (Mighty and Majestic); if He wills, He will punish him, and if He wills, He will forgive him. The evidence for this is the saying of the Exalted: . Thus, all those who commit sins, however great they are, as long as they are less than kufr (disbelief), do not prevent entry into Paradise; the ultimate destination of the doer is Paradise, but he may be punished for the sin he committed, or Allah may forgive him, and the matter is up to Allah: .
As for the hypocrites and the people of bid'ah (religious innovation) that leads to kufr (disbelief), which declares them disbelievers due to their innovations, in reality they did not say, “There is no god but Allah,” with their hearts, because this deviation that leads to kufr (disbelief) contradicts sincerity, and saying, “There is no god but Allah,” must involve sincerity. As for one who says, “There is no god but Allah,” while believing that there is no Lord and no God, may Allah protect us from that, or believing that there is a god with Allah who manages the universe, or believing, for example, that the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) all became apostates after his death, or believing that Abu Bakr and 'Umar became apostates after the death of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), or the like of these innovations that lead to kufr (disbelief), these people did not sincerely say, “There is no god but Allah,” so their innovations contradict the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): Yes, is that clear?

The questioner : But, O Shaykh, he did not say... meaning, the words of the Messenger do not indicate that anyone who says, “There is no god but Allah”?

The Shaykh : No, no, sincerity is necessary. For this reason, listen to the saying of Allah the Exalted regarding the hypocrites: , and in the same surah He says: , and He says about them: This is a testimony to the messengership, meaning: they are liars in their saying: We testify that you are indeed the Messenger of Allah. Yes.