The Belief of the People of the Sunnah and the Community Regarding the Committers of Major Sins
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Question:
The belief of the people of the Sunnah and the community is that the commiters of major sins will not remain in the Fire forever. Will the one who commits usury or interest (riba) remain in the Fire forever? What is the way to reconcile the statement of Allah the Exalted: [Surat al-Nisa: 48] to the end of the verse, with the indication of the verse on usury or interest regarding eternal abode in the Fire?
Answer:
Regarding major sins, eternal abode in the Fire is mentioned for some of them. Major sins are of different types, and the criterion chosen by the scholars of knowledge is: any sin for which there is a threat of the Fire, or the anger of Allah, or a curse, or a fixed punishment in this world, is a major sin. And whatever does not have any of these is called a sin, but not a major sin.
And regarding major sins, eternal abode is mentioned for some of them, such as unlawful sexual intercourse (zina) and killing; eternal abode is mentioned for them. And regarding usury or interest, it is said: [Surat al-Baqarah: 275]. And regarding the one who kills himself, it is said that he is eternally abiding in the Fire if he kills himself. For these sins and their like, the eternal abode mentioned is not the eternal abode with which Allah threatened the disbelievers. No, there are two types of eternal abode:
One is an eternal abode with no end, but rather forever and ever. This is the eternal abode of the disbelievers—we seek refuge in Allah—just as Allah said regarding them: [Surat al-Ma'idah: 37]. And He the Exalted said: [Surat al-Baqarah: 167]. This is the state of the disbelievers—we seek refuge in Allah—forever and ever.
And the second type of eternal abode is a long abode; because it is a long duration, but it ends. If the eternal abode of the one who kills himself and the one who kills people is as Allah the Exalted said: [Surat al-Nisa: 93], this is a temporary eternal abode. And so is the eternal abode of the one who commits usury or interest who dies upon usury or interest without repenting; this is a temporary eternal abode, having an end that Allah knows . Then after the end, Allah takes them out of the Fire to the River of Life, as came in the authentic hadith: that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) intercedes for the people of major sins with four intercessions. Each time he intercedes, Allah sets a limit for them, so He takes them out of the Fire and casts them into the River of Life, and they grow as a seed grows in the place where the flood deposits its silt. And it came that Allah takes them out in groups... blackened, having been burned, so they are cast into the River of Life, and they grow as a seed grows in the place where the flood deposits its silt. So these do not have the permanent eternal abode, but it is an eternal abode with an end.
And with this, the difficulty is resolved regarding the hadiths transmitted in this matter and the verses. So eternal abode is of two types, as the scholars of knowledge said: an eternal abode with no end, and this is the eternal abode of the disbelievers, the polytheists, the Jews, the Christians, the worshippers of idols, the communists, and their like of apostates, and their like of every disbeliever who died in a state of major disbelief... so this one remains in the Fire forever and ever. The Fire is eternal, and their abode in it is eternal. We seek refuge in Allah.
As for the second type of eternal abode: a temporary eternal abode with an end, which varies. So this one remains for a billion years, and this one remains for the duration of a hundred years, and this one remains for the duration of a thousand years. This one remains longer, and this one shorter, according to their crimes. But they have an end, they have an end in the Fire that Allah knows . And this is the eternal abode of the people of major sins, a temporary eternal abode. And the Arabs say of one who stays and lengthens his stay that he has "akhada" (remained eternally). The poet says:
They stayed and thus remained eternally
Meaning they stayed and lengthened their stay. The Arabs in their language call one who stays for a long time one who has "akhada" in his place if he lengthens the stay.
The belief of the people of the Sunnah and the community is that the commiters of major sins will not remain in the Fire forever. Will the one who commits usury or interest (riba) remain in the Fire forever? What is the way to reconcile the statement of Allah the Exalted:
Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَنْ يُشْرَكَ بِهِAnswer:
Regarding major sins, eternal abode in the Fire is mentioned for some of them. Major sins are of different types, and the criterion chosen by the scholars of knowledge is: any sin for which there is a threat of the Fire, or the anger of Allah, or a curse, or a fixed punishment in this world, is a major sin. And whatever does not have any of these is called a sin, but not a major sin.
And regarding major sins, eternal abode is mentioned for some of them, such as unlawful sexual intercourse (zina) and killing; eternal abode is mentioned for them. And regarding usury or interest, it is said:
But whoever returns to [dealing in interest or usury] - those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide eternally therein.
وَمَنْ عَادَ فَأُولَئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَOne is an eternal abode with no end, but rather forever and ever. This is the eternal abode of the disbelievers—we seek refuge in Allah—just as Allah said regarding them:
They 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 مُقِيمٌThus 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 النَّارِAnd the second type of eternal abode is a long abode; because it is a long duration, but it ends. If the eternal abode of the one who kills himself and the one who kills people is as Allah the Exalted said:
But whoever kills a believer intentionally - his recompense is Hell, wherein he will abide eternally, and Allah has become angry with him
وَمَنْ يَقْتُلْ مُؤْمِنًا مُتَعَمِّدًا فَجَزَاؤُهُ جَهَنَّمُ خَالِدًا فِيهَا وَغَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِAnd with this, the difficulty is resolved regarding the hadiths transmitted in this matter and the verses. So eternal abode is of two types, as the scholars of knowledge said: an eternal abode with no end, and this is the eternal abode of the disbelievers, the polytheists, the Jews, the Christians, the worshippers of idols, the communists, and their like of apostates, and their like of every disbeliever who died in a state of major disbelief... so this one remains in the Fire forever and ever. The Fire is eternal, and their abode in it is eternal. We seek refuge in Allah.
As for the second type of eternal abode: a temporary eternal abode with an end, which varies. So this one remains for a billion years, and this one remains for the duration of a hundred years, and this one remains for the duration of a thousand years. This one remains longer, and this one shorter, according to their crimes. But they have an end, they have an end in the Fire that Allah knows . And this is the eternal abode of the people of major sins, a temporary eternal abode. And the Arabs say of one who stays and lengthens his stay that he has "akhada" (remained eternally). The poet says:
They stayed and thus remained eternally
Meaning they stayed and lengthened their stay. The Arabs in their language call one who stays for a long time one who has "akhada" in his place if he lengthens the stay.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.