The People's Schools of Thought Regarding Allah's Saying, "And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hellfire, to dwell therein forever, and Allah is angry with him and has cursed him and prepared for him a great punishment," and the Verification of the Correct Statement Therein
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The Shaykh : Now, as the lesson is nearing its end, let us speak about the verse of killing that we previously discussed, which is Allah's saying: [An-Nisa 4:93] This verse presents a difficulty according to the school of the people of the Sunnah and the community, and the people divided into two groups regarding it:
The first group: Those who took the apparent meaning and abandoned what contradicts it, such as the Khawarij and the Mu'tazilah. The Khawarij and the Mu'tazilah say that the doer of a major sin will dwell in the Fire forever. However, the Khawarij say he is a disbeliever, while the Mu'tazilah say he is in a position between the two positions. This is their opinion, and it is a defective opinion. Does the difficulty remain in the verse or not? The difficulty does not remain, because they say, "We act according to its implication, and the killer has committed a major sin from the major sins, and he will dwell in the Fire forever."
The second group: The people of the Sunnah and the community, and those who agree with them from the people of the Murji'ah and others, who said that the killer will not dwell in the Fire forever. Their answers regarding this verse differed into several opinions, which we mentioned yesterday:
The first opinion: That this refers to one who considers the killing of a believer permissible, and it is he who will dwell in the Fire forever. We mentioned that Imam Ahmad rejected this opinion and said: "If he considers its killing permissible, he is a disbeliever, whether he killed him or not". Correct. With this answer, or a similar one, we answer those who attributed the texts indicating the disbelief of the one who abandons prayer to the one who abandoned it while denying its obligation. When they say, "The one who abandons it while denying its obligation," we say to them, "Woe to you! If he denies its obligation, he is a disbeliever, even if he prays. How can the Messenger say 'the one who abandons it' while you say 'the one who denies it'? This is a distortion of the text."
The second opinion: It says, "This is his recompense if He recompenses him," meaning it is conditional. But does this answer remove the difficulty? It does not remove it, because if He recompenses him, this is his recompense, the problem remains: how does He recompense him with this punishment while he is not a disbeliever? It is clear that this is only an apparent escape, but in reality and upon deep reflection, it is not a correct answer.
The third aspect: They said that this refers to the disbeliever,[An-Nisa 4:93] meaning from among the disbelievers, [An-Nisa 4:93] and so on. We say that this answer also has issues, because the disbeliever dwells in the Fire forever for his disbelief, even if he did not kill. And if he killed a believer while he was a disbeliever, and then Allah granted him Islam, Islam demolishes what came before it. So how many are these? Three.
The fourth: That the intended meaning of "dwelling forever" is a long stay, not a permanent stay, because in the Arabic language, "dwelling forever" is used for a long stay, as it is said, "So-and-so is dwelling forever in prison." Is the prison permanent? It is not permanent. And it is said, "So-and-so is dwelling forever like the mountains," and it is known that the mountains will[Taha 20:105-106]. But here, the intended meaning is a long stay. It is clear, and I think this is also an easy answer that does not require effort. We say that Allah the Exalted did not mention eternity; He did not say "dwelling in it forever." He said , and the meaning is that he will stay for a long time. Yes.
The fifth aspect: It is said that this is from the category of threats, and it is permissible for a threat to be unfulfilled, because it is a transition from justice to generosity, and the transition from justice to generosity is generosity and praise. Yes. And they cited a poem for it:
"And I, even if I threaten him or promise him, *** I will unfulfill my threat and fulfill my promise"
And I, even if I threaten him, what? With punishment, for example, or promise him with reward, I will unfulfill my threat and fulfill my promise.
They said, and if you say to your son, "By Allah, if you go to the market, I will hit you with this stick," and he goes to the market, and when he returns, you hit him with your hand. What do you see in this? Is it generosity or not? Because it is lighter. The second time, I said, "By Allah, if you go to the market, I will hit you with this stick." Look at the stick, this sturdy stick. So he went to the market and returned, and I said to him, "Why do you go to the market? Wake up! Do not go to the market anymore. Come in and have lunch." What is this? This is more generous than the first.
So they said: If Allah the Exalted threatens the killer with this threat and then does not fulfill it, this is generosity. But in reality, there is something to consider in this, because we say that if this threat is executed, the difficulty remains, and if it is not executed, there is no benefit from it.
The sixth opinion: That this is the threat and the warning, one and the same, or that this is from the category of mentioning the cause, meaning that killing a soul intentionally is a cause for dwelling in the Fire. Whether we say that it becomes a cause because if he kills a soul, and may Allah protect us, his heart may become inclined, as came in the hadith:Sunan al-Bayhaqi 15:156 If his heart becomes inclined and he disbelieves, he deserves to dwell forever. Do you understand or not? So this is the outcome of a cause, a result of a cause, meaning the cause of the cause becomes the cause of dwelling forever, because it is the cause of the cause. So for his killing the believer intentionally, his heart becomes inclined, he disbelieves, and he dwells in the Fire. And if that is the case, then Allah the Exalted mentioned this cause as a warning and a deterrent from the other cause that necessitates it.
And the seventh: It says this is a direct cause, not a cause, but this cause has a preventer. Not every cause is effective, but the original state is its effect, unless a preventer is found, and the existence of a preventer is not certain. They said, and the analogy for that is to say that kinship is a cause for inheritance. So a person, a father inherits from a son, a son inherits from a father, but a preventer may arise, such as slavery or killing, so he does not inherit. So what is mentioned in the verse is a cause, but if a preventer is found, which is faith, it prevents dwelling in the Fire.
These are seven aspects in answering regarding the verse, and the closest, as we said, is the last one, and the one before it, which is the cause of the cause. The long stay is the fourth. I think the fourth is also the easiest, and since the Arabic language comes with this meaning, and it is the easiest to imagine and the least forced.
It remains for us to say: If the killer repents, does he deserve the threat if he repents? He does not deserve the threat by the text of the Qur'an, due to Allah's saying:[Al-Furqan 25:68-70] This is clear that whoever repents, even from killing, Allah the Exalted will replace his bad deeds with good ones. And the authentic hadith: Allah is the Greatest.
Look, now, the Children of Israel, even though Allah placed burdens and shackles upon them, and this community had the burdens and shackles lifted from it, so repentance is easier for it. If this is the case for the Children of Israel, how much more so for this community.
If you ask: What do you say about what is authentic from Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and him) "That the killer has no repentance"?
The answer is from one of two aspects:
Either Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and him) considered it unlikely that the intentional killer would have repentance, and he saw that he would not be granted success in repentance. And if he is not granted success in repentance, the sin does not fall from him, and he will be held accountable for it.
Or it can be said: That Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and him) intended that he has no repentance regarding the right of the murdered person, because the intentional killer is involved in three rights, which we will count, you and I:
The first right: For Allah.
The second: For the murdered person.
The third: For the guardians of the murdered person.
As for the right of Allah, there is no doubt that repentance is effective in it,[Az-Zumar 39:53] and there is no difficulty in it, by the apparent consensus.
The right of the guardians of the murdered person is dropped if the person surrenders himself to them. He comes to them and says, "I killed your companion, and do what you wish. Do you want the blood money, do you want retaliation, do you forgive?" So they either take retaliation, or take the blood money, or forgive. The right is theirs. This man also escapes from the guardians of the murdered person.
The killer remains. How does he escape from it? I mean the murdered person, how does he escape from him? There is no way to escape from him in this world. So only he remains. This is the meaning of Ibn 'Abbas's statement that he has no repentance, meaning with respect to whom? With respect to the right of the murdered person. As for the right of Allah and the right of the guardians of the murdered person, he has escaped from them. However, what appears to me is that if he repents with a sincere repentance, then even the right of the murdered person is dropped, not by disregarding his right, but because Allah the Exalted, by His grace, bears it for the killer and gives the murdered person an elevation of ranks in Paradise or forgiveness of sins, because pure repentance leaves nothing behind, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So if a person is sincere in his repentance, then Allah the Exalted and Majestic bears the satisfaction of the murdered person, either by increasing the reward and ranks in Paradise, or by forgiving the sins. And Allah knows best. Yes.
And prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his companions.
We have previously mentioned, from the attributes that the author (may Allah have mercy on him) compiled, satisfaction, anger, wrath, abhorrence, and dislike. Yes, five attributes. And we said that some of them are close to one another. Dislike and hatred are close, even though each of them may have an increase over the other. Likewise, wrath and anger and abhorrence. However, the scholars said that abhorrence is the most intense form of hatred, so it falls under the first category, which is dislike and hatred.
We also mentioned that these relate to the doer and the deed. We also mentioned that the hearing and the intellect have indicated them. And we mentioned that their practical benefit is that a person strives to avoid what involves dislike, anger, and wrath, and does what involves satisfaction, love, and acceptance.
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 مُؤْمِنًا مُتَعَمِّدًا فَجَزَاؤُهُ جَهَنَّمُ خَالِدًا فِيهَا وَغَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَلَعَنَهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُ عَذَابًا عَظِيمًاThe first group: Those who took the apparent meaning and abandoned what contradicts it, such as the Khawarij and the Mu'tazilah. The Khawarij and the Mu'tazilah say that the doer of a major sin will dwell in the Fire forever. However, the Khawarij say he is a disbeliever, while the Mu'tazilah say he is in a position between the two positions. This is their opinion, and it is a defective opinion. Does the difficulty remain in the verse or not? The difficulty does not remain, because they say, "We act according to its implication, and the killer has committed a major sin from the major sins, and he will dwell in the Fire forever."
The second group: The people of the Sunnah and the community, and those who agree with them from the people of the Murji'ah and others, who said that the killer will not dwell in the Fire forever. Their answers regarding this verse differed into several opinions, which we mentioned yesterday:
The first opinion: That this refers to one who considers the killing of a believer permissible, and it is he who will dwell in the Fire forever. We mentioned that Imam Ahmad rejected this opinion and said: "If he considers its killing permissible, he is a disbeliever, whether he killed him or not". Correct. With this answer, or a similar one, we answer those who attributed the texts indicating the disbelief of the one who abandons prayer to the one who abandoned it while denying its obligation. When they say, "The one who abandons it while denying its obligation," we say to them, "Woe to you! If he denies its obligation, he is a disbeliever, even if he prays. How can the Messenger say 'the one who abandons it' while you say 'the one who denies it'? This is a distortion of the text."
The second opinion: It says, "This is his recompense if He recompenses him," meaning it is conditional. But does this answer remove the difficulty? It does not remove it, because if He recompenses him, this is his recompense, the problem remains: how does He recompense him with this punishment while he is not a disbeliever? It is clear that this is only an apparent escape, but in reality and upon deep reflection, it is not a correct answer.
The third aspect: They said that this refers to the disbeliever,
But whoever kills a believer intentionally
ومن يقتل مؤمنا متعمداhis recompense is Hell, wherein he will abide eternally
فجزاؤه جهنم خالدا فيهاThe fourth: That the intended meaning of "dwelling forever" is a long stay, not a permanent stay, because in the Arabic language, "dwelling forever" is used for a long stay, as it is said, "So-and-so is dwelling forever in prison." Is the prison permanent? It is not permanent. And it is said, "So-and-so is dwelling forever like the mountains," and it is known that the mountains will
"My Lord will blow them away with a blast. (106) And He will leave the earth a level plain;
يَنْسِفُهَا رَبِّي نَسْفًا فَيَذَرُهَا قَاعًا صَفْصَفًاAbiding therein
خَالِداً فِيهَاThe fifth aspect: It is said that this is from the category of threats, and it is permissible for a threat to be unfulfilled, because it is a transition from justice to generosity, and the transition from justice to generosity is generosity and praise. Yes. And they cited a poem for it:
"And I, even if I threaten him or promise him, *** I will unfulfill my threat and fulfill my promise"
And I, even if I threaten him, what? With punishment, for example, or promise him with reward, I will unfulfill my threat and fulfill my promise.
They said, and if you say to your son, "By Allah, if you go to the market, I will hit you with this stick," and he goes to the market, and when he returns, you hit him with your hand. What do you see in this? Is it generosity or not? Because it is lighter. The second time, I said, "By Allah, if you go to the market, I will hit you with this stick." Look at the stick, this sturdy stick. So he went to the market and returned, and I said to him, "Why do you go to the market? Wake up! Do not go to the market anymore. Come in and have lunch." What is this? This is more generous than the first.
So they said: If Allah the Exalted threatens the killer with this threat and then does not fulfill it, this is generosity. But in reality, there is something to consider in this, because we say that if this threat is executed, the difficulty remains, and if it is not executed, there is no benefit from it.
The sixth opinion: That this is the threat and the warning, one and the same, or that this is from the category of mentioning the cause, meaning that killing a soul intentionally is a cause for dwelling in the Fire. Whether we say that it becomes a cause because if he kills a soul, and may Allah protect us, his heart may become inclined, as came in the hadith:
A person remains in a state of ease in his religion as long as he does not touch forbidden blood
لا يزال المرء في فسحة من دينه ما لم يصب دما حراماAnd the seventh: It says this is a direct cause, not a cause, but this cause has a preventer. Not every cause is effective, but the original state is its effect, unless a preventer is found, and the existence of a preventer is not certain. They said, and the analogy for that is to say that kinship is a cause for inheritance. So a person, a father inherits from a son, a son inherits from a father, but a preventer may arise, such as slavery or killing, so he does not inherit. So what is mentioned in the verse is a cause, but if a preventer is found, which is faith, it prevents dwelling in the Fire.
These are seven aspects in answering regarding the verse, and the closest, as we said, is the last one, and the one before it, which is the cause of the cause. The long stay is the fourth. I think the fourth is also the easiest, and since the Arabic language comes with this meaning, and it is the easiest to imagine and the least forced.
It remains for us to say: If the killer repents, does he deserve the threat if he repents? He does not deserve the threat by the text of the Qur'an, due to Allah's saying:
(68) And those who do not invoke with Allah another deity or kill the soul which Allah has forbidden [to be killed], except by right, and do not commit unlawful sexual intercourse. And whoever should do that will meet a penalty. (69) Multiplied for him is the punishment on the Day of Resurrection, and he will abide therein humiliated - (70) Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work. For them Allah will replace their evil deeds with good.
وَالَّذِينَ لا يَدْعُونَ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَهاً آخَرَ وَلا يَقْتُلُونَ النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلاّ بِالْحَقِّ وَلا يَزْنُونَ وَمَنْ يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ يَلْقَ أَثَاماً يُضَاعَفْ لَهُ الْعَذَابُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَيَخْلُدْ فِيهِ مُهَاناً إِلاّ مَنْ تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلاً صَالِحاً فَأُولَئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ حَسَنَاتٍIn the story of the man from the Children of Israel who killed ninety-nine people, so Allah placed repentance in his heart. He came to a worshipper and said to him: "I have killed ninety-nine souls, is there any repentance for me?" The worshipper was shocked by the matter and said: "No, you have no repentance. You have killed ninety-nine souls and you come asking if there is repentance for you? You have no repentance." He said: "I will complete the hundred for you," and he killed him, completing the hundred. This indicates a scholar. Look at the virtue of knowledge. It indicated a scholar who said: "He killed a hundred souls, is there any repentance for him?" He said: "Yes, who can stand between you and repentance? Allah is the Greatest. But this village is unjust in its people, so go to such-and-such a village, which has people of goodness and righteousness." So the man traveled, emigrating from his land to the land of goodness and righteousness. Death overtook him on the way. The angels of mercy and the angels of punishment disputed over him, until Allah sent down a judgment between them, saying: "Measure the distance between the two villages, and to whichever he is closer, he is from its people." He was closer to the people of the righteous village, so the angels of mercy took his soul.
في قصة الرجل من بني إسرائيل الذي قتل تسعا وتسعين نفر فألقى الله في نفسه التوبة فجاء إلى عابد قال له : إنه قتل تسع وتسعين نفس فهل له من توبة العابد استعظم الأمر قال لا ما لك توبة تسعة وتسعين نفس تقتلها وتجي تقول هل لي من توبة ما لك من توبة قال نكمل بك المائة فقتله أتم به المائة فدل على عالم شوف فضل العلم دل على عالم قال إنه قتل مائة نفس فهل له من توبة قال نعم من يحول بينك وبين التوبة الله أكبر ولكن هذه القرية ظالم أهلها فاذهب إلى القرية الفلانية فيها أهل خير وصلاح فسافر الرجل هاجر من بلده إلى بلد الخير والصلاح فوافته المنية في أثناء الطريق فاختصمت فيه ملائكة الرحمة وملائكة العذاب حتى أنزل الله بينهم حكما وقال قيسوا ما بين القريتين فإلى أيتهما كان أقرب، فهو من أهلها فكان أقرب إلى أهل القرية الصالحة فقبضته ملائكة الرحمةLook, now, the Children of Israel, even though Allah placed burdens and shackles upon them, and this community had the burdens and shackles lifted from it, so repentance is easier for it. If this is the case for the Children of Israel, how much more so for this community.
If you ask: What do you say about what is authentic from Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and him) "That the killer has no repentance"?
The answer is from one of two aspects:
Either Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and him) considered it unlikely that the intentional killer would have repentance, and he saw that he would not be granted success in repentance. And if he is not granted success in repentance, the sin does not fall from him, and he will be held accountable for it.
Or it can be said: That Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and him) intended that he has no repentance regarding the right of the murdered person, because the intentional killer is involved in three rights, which we will count, you and I:
The first right: For Allah.
The second: For the murdered person.
The third: For the guardians of the murdered person.
As for the right of Allah, there is no doubt that repentance is effective in it,
Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ لا تَقْنَطُوا مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعاًThe right of the guardians of the murdered person is dropped if the person surrenders himself to them. He comes to them and says, "I killed your companion, and do what you wish. Do you want the blood money, do you want retaliation, do you forgive?" So they either take retaliation, or take the blood money, or forgive. The right is theirs. This man also escapes from the guardians of the murdered person.
The killer remains. How does he escape from it? I mean the murdered person, how does he escape from him? There is no way to escape from him in this world. So only he remains. This is the meaning of Ibn 'Abbas's statement that he has no repentance, meaning with respect to whom? With respect to the right of the murdered person. As for the right of Allah and the right of the guardians of the murdered person, he has escaped from them. However, what appears to me is that if he repents with a sincere repentance, then even the right of the murdered person is dropped, not by disregarding his right, but because Allah the Exalted, by His grace, bears it for the killer and gives the murdered person an elevation of ranks in Paradise or forgiveness of sins, because pure repentance leaves nothing behind, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Repentance wipes out what came before it
التوبة تجب ما قبلهاAnd prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his companions.
We have previously mentioned, from the attributes that the author (may Allah have mercy on him) compiled, satisfaction, anger, wrath, abhorrence, and dislike. Yes, five attributes. And we said that some of them are close to one another. Dislike and hatred are close, even though each of them may have an increase over the other. Likewise, wrath and anger and abhorrence. However, the scholars said that abhorrence is the most intense form of hatred, so it falls under the first category, which is dislike and hatred.
We also mentioned that these relate to the doer and the deed. We also mentioned that the hearing and the intellect have indicated them. And we mentioned that their practical benefit is that a person strives to avoid what involves dislike, anger, and wrath, and does what involves satisfaction, love, and acceptance.