What is the ruling on one who denies the resurrection after death?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : What is the ruling on one who denies the resurrection after death?
The Shaykh : He is a disbeliever. If a person denies the resurrection after death, he is a disbeliever who has exited Islam, by the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He:[At-Taghabun 64:7] And because the one who denies the resurrection is denying Allah and His Messenger and the consensus of the Muslims. There is no doubt about the disbelief of a man in this state. So if we see someone denying the resurrection, it is obligatory for us to advise him to the best of our ability. There is no doubt that the one who says this is a disbeliever and an apostate, and he should be advised. If he does not repent, it is obligatory to refer him to the responsible authorities, and the responsible authorities will execute the rulings of apostasy upon him. Even if his soul suggests to him that he will adopt an acceptable religion, he will be a loser. This is the word of our Lord, the Creator who sent down the laws, for Allah the Exalted took the covenant and the pledge from the prophets in general that they would believe in Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), as He, Mighty and Majestic, said: [Ali 'Imran 3:81] meaning, my covenant. [Ali 'Imran 3:81] So they testified against one another, and He, Exalted and Majestic is He, testified that when a Messenger confirming what is with them comes to them, they would believe in him and support him. And who is the Messenger confirming what is with them? It is Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). If this was taken from their messengers, then if they truly believed in their messengers, they would follow them in this. And here is 'Isa (peace be upon him), the last of the prophets of the Children of Israel, and there is no messenger between him and Muhammad, who said to the Children of Israel: [As-Saf 61:6] This is the previous messenger. [As-Saf 61:6] The later messenger is named Ahmad, and the good news of the Messenger means that following him is obligatory, because if following him were not obligatory, there would be no benefit in the good news about him. [As-Saf 61:6] That is, this Messenger about whom the good news was given, when [As-Saf 61:6].
And indeed, the scholars of the Jews and the Christians have testified that Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), is the one the prophets gave good news of, and the one they find written about with them in the Torah and the Gospel, who commands them to do what is right and forbids them from doing what is wrong, and makes lawful for them the good things and forbids them the bad things, and removes from them their burden and the shackles that were upon them. So those who believe in him and honor him and support him and follow the light that was sent down with him, those are the successful ones.
The Najashi, when they mentioned to him the story of the revelation and he saw them doing those actions, believed and testified that the Messenger is the truth, and he was one of the leaders of the Christians. 'Abdullah ibn Salam (may Allah be pleased with him), one of the rabbis of the Jews, testified for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he is the Messenger of Allah in truth. But the People of the Book, as Allah said about them:[Al-Baqarah 2:109].
So in summary: I advise and warn my Muslim brothers from this ugly, detestable opinion, which is called the unification of religions. This is something that is absolutely impossible. How can religions be unified when one of them is true and two are abrogated? This is not possible, unless it is possible to combine fire and water. So let not Muslims be deceived by this false, detestable, ugly claim that is contrary to Islam. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you and bless you, O honorable Shaykh. This questioner says.
The Shaykh : He is a disbeliever. If a person denies the resurrection after death, he is a disbeliever who has exited Islam, by the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He:
Those who disbelieve have claimed that they will never be resurrected. Say, "Yes, by my Lord, you will surely be resurrected; then you will surely be informed of what you did. And that, for Allah, is easy."
زَعَمَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أن لَنْ يُبْعَثُوا قُلْ بَلَى وَرَبِّي لَتُبْعَثُنَّ ثُمَّ لَتُنَبَّؤُنَّ بِمَا عَمِلْتُمْ وَذَلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرٌAnd [recall, O People of the Scripture], when Allah took the covenant of the prophets, [saying], "Whatever I give you of the Scripture and wisdom and then there comes to you a messenger confirming what is with you, you [must] believe in him and support him." [Allah] said, "Have you acknowledged and taken upon that My commitment?
وَإِذْ أَخَذَ اللَّهُ مِيثَاقَ النَّبِيِّينَ لَمَا ءاتَيْتُكُمْ مِنْ كِتَابٍ وَحِكْمَةٍ ثُمَّ جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ مُصَدِّقٌ لِمَا مَعَكُمْ لَتُؤْمِنُنَّ بِهِ وَلَتَنْصُرُنَّهُ قال أَأَقْرَرْتُمْ وَأَخَذْتُمْ عَلَى ذَلِكُمْ إِصْرِيThey said, "We have acknowledged it." He said, "Then bear witness, and I am with you among the witnesses."
قَالُوا أَقْرَرْنَا قال فَاشْهَدُوا وَأَنَا مَعَكُمْ مِنَ الشَّاهِدِينَindeed I am the messenger of Allah to you confirming what came before me of the Torah
إِنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيَّ مِنَ التَّوْرَاةِbringing good tidings of a messenger to come after me
وَمُبَشِّرًا بِرَسُولٍ يَأْتِي مِنْ بَعْدِيand bringing good tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name is Ahmad." But when he came to them
وَمُبَشِّرًا بِرَسُولٍ يَأْتِي مِنْ بَعْدِي اسْمُهُ أَحْمَدُ فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُمْwhen he came to them with clear evidences, they said, "This is obvious magic."
جَاءَهُمْ بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ قَالُوا هَذَا سِحْرٌ مُبِينٌAnd indeed, the scholars of the Jews and the Christians have testified that Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), is the one the prophets gave good news of, and the one they find written about with them in the Torah and the Gospel, who commands them to do what is right and forbids them from doing what is wrong, and makes lawful for them the good things and forbids them the bad things, and removes from them their burden and the shackles that were upon them. So those who believe in him and honor him and support him and follow the light that was sent down with him, those are the successful ones.
The Najashi, when they mentioned to him the story of the revelation and he saw them doing those actions, believed and testified that the Messenger is the truth, and he was one of the leaders of the Christians. 'Abdullah ibn Salam (may Allah be pleased with him), one of the rabbis of the Jews, testified for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he is the Messenger of Allah in truth. But the People of the Book, as Allah said about them:
Many of the People of the Scripture wish they could turn you back to disbelief after you have believed, out of envy from themselves [even] after the truth has become clear to them
وَدَّ كَثِيرٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ لَوْ يَرُدُّونَكُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ إِيمَانِكُمْ كُفَّارًا حَسَدًا مِنْ عِنْدِ أَنفُسِهِمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الْحَقُّSo in summary: I advise and warn my Muslim brothers from this ugly, detestable opinion, which is called the unification of religions. This is something that is absolutely impossible. How can religions be unified when one of them is true and two are abrogated? This is not possible, unless it is possible to combine fire and water. So let not Muslims be deceived by this false, detestable, ugly claim that is contrary to Islam. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you and bless you, O honorable Shaykh. This questioner says.