Tafsir: {And those who do not invoke any deity other than Allah...}
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Q: What is the meaning of the statement of the Truth, Blessed and Exalted is He: [Al-Furqan: 68-69]? Is the intent of the verse that a person commits the three major sins and then abides in the Fire forever? Or is the intent that if one commits any one of these major sins, he abides in the Fire forever? For example: if one commits the crime of murder, does he abide in the Fire forever or not? We ask you to please provide a detailed tafsir of this noble verse?
A: This great verse contains a warning against shirk, killing, and zina, and a threat to the perpetrators of these crimes with what Allah mentioned in His saying: [Al-Furqan:68]. Some of the mufassirun said that it means he was cast into Hellfire, and others said that its meaning is that it is a great, major sin, which He (Glorified and Exalted is He) explained by His saying: [Al-Furqan:69].
So this is the recompense for one who commits these three crimes: his punishment is doubled for him and he abides in it humiliated, not honored. These three crimes differ in rank. The crime of shirk is the greatest of crimes and the greatest of sins, and its perpetrator abides in the Fire forever, the ages of ages, and does not come out of the Fire ever, by the consensus of the scholars, as Allah the Exalted said in His great Book: [At-Tawbah: 17], and He said: [Al-An'am: 88], and He said: [Az-Zumar: 65], and He said regarding them: [Al-Ma'idah: 37], and the verses on this are many.
So the mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah), if he dies upon his shirk and does not repent, he abides in the Fire, and Paradise is forbidden to him and forgiveness is forbidden to him, by the consensus of the Muslims. Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Ma'idah: 72], and He said: [An-Nisa: 48], making forgiveness forbidden for the mushrik if he dies upon shirk. As for what is less than shirk, it is under the will of Allah.
The summary is: the mushrik, if he dies upon his shirk, abides in the Fire forever, the ages of ages, by the consensus of the scholars. This is like the one who worships idols, or stones, or trees, or stars, or the sun, or the moon, or the prophets, or worships the dead and those they call awliya (close friends of Allah), or calls for aid from them and seeks help or assistance at their graves or far from them, like some of them saying: "O my master so-and-so, help, help," or "O my master al-Badawi, help, help," or "O my master Abdul Qadir," or "O my master the Messenger of Allah, help, help, aid, aid," or "O my master al-Husayn," or "O Fatimah," or "O Sayyidah Zaynab," or others whom the mushrikin invoke. This is all major shirk, and I seek refuge in Allah. If he dies upon it, its owner becomes one of the people of the Fire—and I seek refuge in Allah—and abides in it.
As for the second crime, which is murder, and the third, which is zina: these two crimes are less than shirk, and they are the greatest of sins and the most dangerous if the one who commits them does not consider them permissible, but knows that they are forbidden, yet anger or desire or something else drives him to commit murder, and desire and Shaytan drive him to zina, while he knows that killing without right is forbidden and that zina is forbidden. The owners of these two crimes are threatened with the mentioned punishment, except that Allah forgives them, or bestows upon them sincere repentance before death. Because of the greatness of these two crimes and the much corruption that occurs through them, Allah coupled them with the crime of shirk in this verse, and threatened the people of these three crimes with doubled punishment and abiding in it, to deter from them and warn the servants of their dire consequences. Other texts from the Book and the Sunnah indicate that murder and zina are less than shirk in the case of one who does not consider them permissible, and that they are included in the saying of Allah the Exalted: [An-Nisa: 48].
As for the one who considers them permissible, he is a kafir (disbeliever), and his ruling is the ruling of the disbelievers in abiding in the punishment on the Day of Resurrection. We ask for well-being and safety.
As for the one who repents from among the people of these three crimes and others with sincere repentance, then Allah forgives him and replaces his bad deeds with good ones if he follows the repentance with faith and righteous deeds, as He (Glorified and Exalted is He) said after mentioning these three crimes and the punishment of their people: [Al-Furqan:70]. So Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) forgives the people of sins other than shirk if He wills that, or He punishes them in the Fire according to the measure of their sins, then He takes them out of it by the intercession of the intercessors, such as the intercession of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the intercession of the angels, the prophets, and the believers. And there remain in the Fire a group of people of tawhid whom no one’s intercession reaches, so Allah takes them out by His mercy because they died upon tawhid and faith, but they had evil deeds and sins by which they entered the Fire. When they are purified from them and the time that Allah has decreed for them has passed, they are taken out of the Fire by the mercy of Allah and are thrown into a river called (the River of Life) from the rivers of Paradise, where they grow as a seed grows in the mud of the flood. When their creation is complete, Allah puts them into Paradise.
And by this it is known that the sinner, such as the killer and the one who commits zina, does not remain in the Fire eternally like the disbelievers, but he has a specific duration of staying according to his crime, not like the staying of the disbelievers. So the staying of shirk is a permanent staying from which there is no escape and which has no end, as He (the Exalted) said in Surat al-Baqarah regarding the mushrikin: [Al-Baqarah:167]. And He (the Exalted) said in Surat al-Ma'idah: [Al-Ma'idah 5:36] They wish to come out of the Fire, but they will not come out of it, and for them is a continuous punishment [Al-Ma'idah:36-37].
As for the one who enters the Fire from among the sinners, they are taken out of it when the time that Allah wrote for them is completed, either by the intercession of the intercessors, or by the mercy of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) without the intercession of anyone, as that came in the mutawatir (mass-transmitted) hadiths of intercession from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), for in them it is mentioned that there remain in the Fire groups who have not been taken out by the intercession of the intercessors, so He (Glorified and Exalted is He) takes them out of it without the intercession of anyone, but by His mere mercy, because they died upon tawhid. And the abiding of those who abide among the sinners in the Fire is a temporary abiding that has an end. The Arabs call long residence "abiding," as some poets said describing a group: "They resided and abided," meaning they lengthened their residence. So the one who abides in the Fire with permanent abiding is only its people, and they are the disbelievers, so it is applied to them and they do not come out of it, as He (Glorified and Exalted is He) said: [Al-Balad: 19-20], and He said: [Al-Humazah: 8-9]. We ask Allah for well-being and safety.
(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 -
وَالَّذِينَ لا يَدْعُونَ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَهًا آخَرَ وَلا يَقْتُلُونَ النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلا بِالْحَقِّ وَلا يَزْنُونَ وَمَنْ يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ يَلْقَ أَثَامًا يُضَاعَفْ لَهُ الْعَذَابُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَيَخْلُدْ فِيهِ مُهَانًاA: This great verse contains a warning against shirk, killing, and zina, and a threat to the perpetrators of these crimes with what Allah mentioned in His saying:
And whoever does that will meet retribution.
وَمَنْ يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ يَلْقَ أَثَامًاMultiplied for him is the punishment on the Day of Resurrection, and he will abide therein humiliated -
يُضَاعَفْ لَهُ الْعَذَابُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَيَخْلُدْ فِيهِ مُهَانًاSo this is the recompense for one who commits these three crimes: his punishment is doubled for him and he abides in it humiliated, not honored. These three crimes differ in rank. The crime of shirk is the greatest of crimes and the greatest of sins, and its perpetrator abides in the Fire forever, the ages of ages, and does not come out of the Fire ever, by the consensus of the scholars, as Allah the Exalted said in His great Book:
It is not for the polytheists to maintain the mosques of Allah [while] witnessing against themselves with disbelief. [For] those, their deeds have become worthless, and in the Fire they will abide eternally.
مَا كَانَ لِلْمُشْرِكِينَ أَنْ يَعْمُرُوا مَسَاجِدَ اللَّهِ شَاهِدِينَ عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ بِالْكُفْرِ أُولَئِكَ حَبِطَتْ أَعْمَالُهُمْ وَفِي النَّارِ هُمْ خَالِدُونَBut if they had associated others with Allah, then worthless for them would be whatever they were doing.
وَلَوْ أَشْرَكُوا لَحَبِطَ عَنْهُمْ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَAnd it was already revealed to you and to those before you that if you should associate [anything] with Allah, your work would surely become worthless, and you would surely be among the losers."
وَلَقَدْ أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ وَإِلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ لَئِنْ أَشْرَكْتَ لَيَحْبَطَنَّ عَمَلُكَ وَلَتَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَThey will wish to get out of the Fire, but never are they to emerge therefrom, and for them is an enduring punishment.
يُرِيدُونَ أَنْ يَخْرُجُوا مِنَ النَّارِ وَمَا هُمْ بِخَارِجِينَ مِنْهَا وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُقِيمٌSo the mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah), if he dies upon his shirk and does not repent, he abides in the Fire, and Paradise is forbidden to him and forgiveness is forbidden to him, by the consensus of the Muslims. Allah the Exalted said:
Indeed, he who associates others with Allah - Allah has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire
إِنَّهُ مَنْ يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدْ حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ الْجَنَّةَ َومَأْوَاهُ النَّارُIndeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يَغْفِرُ أَنْ يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُThe summary is: the mushrik, if he dies upon his shirk, abides in the Fire forever, the ages of ages, by the consensus of the scholars. This is like the one who worships idols, or stones, or trees, or stars, or the sun, or the moon, or the prophets, or worships the dead and those they call awliya (close friends of Allah), or calls for aid from them and seeks help or assistance at their graves or far from them, like some of them saying: "O my master so-and-so, help, help," or "O my master al-Badawi, help, help," or "O my master Abdul Qadir," or "O my master the Messenger of Allah, help, help, aid, aid," or "O my master al-Husayn," or "O Fatimah," or "O Sayyidah Zaynab," or others whom the mushrikin invoke. This is all major shirk, and I seek refuge in Allah. If he dies upon it, its owner becomes one of the people of the Fire—and I seek refuge in Allah—and abides in it.
As for the second crime, which is murder, and the third, which is zina: these two crimes are less than shirk, and they are the greatest of sins and the most dangerous if the one who commits them does not consider them permissible, but knows that they are forbidden, yet anger or desire or something else drives him to commit murder, and desire and Shaytan drive him to zina, while he knows that killing without right is forbidden and that zina is forbidden. The owners of these two crimes are threatened with the mentioned punishment, except that Allah forgives them, or bestows upon them sincere repentance before death. Because of the greatness of these two crimes and the much corruption that occurs through them, Allah coupled them with the crime of shirk in this verse, and threatened the people of these three crimes with doubled punishment and abiding in it, to deter from them and warn the servants of their dire consequences. Other texts from the Book and the Sunnah indicate that murder and zina are less than shirk in the case of one who does not consider them permissible, and that they are included in the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills.
وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُAs for the one who considers them permissible, he is a kafir (disbeliever), and his ruling is the ruling of the disbelievers in abiding in the punishment on the Day of Resurrection. We ask for well-being and safety.
As for the one who repents from among the people of these three crimes and others with sincere repentance, then Allah forgives him and replaces his bad deeds with good ones if he follows the repentance with faith and righteous deeds, as He (Glorified and Exalted is He) said after mentioning these three crimes and the punishment of their people:
Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work. For them Allah will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.
إِلا مَنْ تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا فَأُولَئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ حَسَنَاتٍ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًاAnd by this it is known that the sinner, such as the killer and the one who commits zina, does not remain in the Fire eternally like the disbelievers, but he has a specific duration of staying according to his crime, not like the staying of the disbelievers. So the staying of shirk is a permanent staying from which there is no escape and which has no end, as He (the Exalted) said in Surat al-Baqarah regarding the mushrikin:
Thus will Allah show them their deeds as regrets upon them. And they are never to emerge from the Fire.
كَذَلِكَ يُرِيهِمُ اللَّهُ أَعْمَالَهُمْ حَسَرَاتٍ عَلَيْهِمْ وَمَا هُمْ بِخَارِجِينَ مِنَ النَّارِIndeed, those who disbelieve - if they should have all that is in the earth and the like of it with it by which to ransom themselves from the punishment of the Day of Resurrection, it will not be accepted from them, and for them is a painful punishment
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ أَنَّ لَهُمْ مَا فِي الْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا وَمِثْلَهُ مَعَهُ لِيَفْتَدُوا بِهِ مِنْ عَذَابِ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ مَا تُقُبِّلَ مِنْهُمْ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ As for the one who enters the Fire from among the sinners, they are taken out of it when the time that Allah wrote for them is completed, either by the intercession of the intercessors, or by the mercy of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) without the intercession of anyone, as that came in the mutawatir (mass-transmitted) hadiths of intercession from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), for in them it is mentioned that there remain in the Fire groups who have not been taken out by the intercession of the intercessors, so He (Glorified and Exalted is He) takes them out of it without the intercession of anyone, but by His mere mercy, because they died upon tawhid. And the abiding of those who abide among the sinners in the Fire is a temporary abiding that has an end. The Arabs call long residence "abiding," as some poets said describing a group: "They resided and abided," meaning they lengthened their residence. So the one who abides in the Fire with permanent abiding is only its people, and they are the disbelievers, so it is applied to them and they do not come out of it, as He (Glorified and Exalted is He) said:
(19) But they who disbelieved in Our signs - those are the companions of the left. (20) Over them will be fire closed in.
وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِآيَاتِنَا هُمْ أَصْحَابُ الْمَشْأَمَةِ عَلَيْهِمْ نَارٌ مُؤْصَدَةٌ(8) Indeed, Hellfire will be closed down upon them (9) In extended columns.
إِنَّهَا عَلَيْهِمْ مُؤْصَدَةٌ فِي عَمَدٍ مُمَدَّدَةٍ
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.