Will All Muslims Go to Hell?

In one of his articles[1]

Mr. Jochen Katz has pointed out a contradiction in Aal Imraan 3: 157 —

158, 169, Al-Taubah 9: 111 and Maryam 19: 71.

Elaborating upon the contradiction in the stated verses, Mr. Katz writes:

According to Sura 19:71 every Muslim will go to Hell (for at least some

time), while another passage states that those who die in Jihad will go

to Paradise immediately.

Before analyzing the stated contradiction, I would first like to inform my

readers that it is not merely the martyrs in the way of God, who have been

promised complete immunity from hellfire, but, in fact, all the God-fearing

believers have been promised to be kept in protection from the slightest of

evil. Al-Zumar 39: 60 — 61 declares:

And on the Day of Resurrection, you will see those, who blasphemed against

God, their faces turned black — Is not in the hellfire [a most suitable]

abode for the arrogant? And God shall deliver the righteous with salvation, no

harm shall [even] touch them, nor shall they grieve.

According to Al-Anbiyaa 21: 98 — 103 the pious shall not only be

saved from all evil, but shall be kept so far away from the burning fire that

they shall not even hear the horrifying sounds of the growling fires. The verses

read as:

You and whatever you worship except God shall be the fuel of hellfire, to

which, all of you shall surely come — had these truly been gods, they would

not have reached this [end] — all [burning] in it, forever. In it, for them

shall be painful groans of anguish and in they shall be bereft of hearing.

Indeed, those, for whom We have already promised the good, they shall be kept

away from this [hellfire]. They shall not even hear the slightest sound of the

growling fire; and they shall be among all that their souls shall desire,

forever. They shall not be grieved by the great terror. And the angels shall

receive them [saying]: ‘This is the day, of which you were promised’.

It is clearly stated in the aforementioned verses that all pious, God-fearing

and righteous people shall not be even touched or brought close to the

encompassing flames of the hellfire. Thus, it is not merely the martyrs, but all

those, who do not deserve to be thrown in the burning fires of hell, who shall

remain completely immune from even the slightest of pains and tortures of

hellfire.

Keeping the foregoing clarification in perspective, now let us take a close

look at the relevant verses of Surah Maryam. The verses cited by Mr. Katz

(verses 71 — 72), with a few of its preceding verses are reproduced below:

And [yet, disregarding the power of God,] this [rejecting] man says: ‘When

I am dead, would I really be raised again?’ Does this man not remember that

before this, We created him, while he was nothing? Thus, by [the providence

of] your Lord, indeed We shall gather them as well as [all] the devils and

then We shall bring them forth, around the hellfire, squatting. Then, of each

group, We shall separate the one, who was most obstinate in his rebellion

against the Most Merciful. And We are indeed aware of those, who are most

deserving of burning in it. And each one of you, shall surely come to this

[fire]. This is a promise of your Lord, that must come to pass. Then, we shall

save the righteous [from all suffering] and We shall abandon the wrong-doers

in it, squatting.

In the context of the verse, it is quite clear that the words “Each one of

you…” are addressed to the rejecters of the Prophet’s call. The addressees of

this verse are, in fact, the same people who are being warned and admonished in

the immediately preceding verses. Thus, seen in the correct perspective, the

referred verses of Surah Maryam are, more or less, similar in meaning to

the cited verses of Surah Al-Anbiyaa. Thus, Al-Raaziy has also

mentioned the foregoing opinion about the referred verse in his commentary. He

writes:

Some of them are of the opinion that the addressees in this verse are the

same rejecters, who are mentioned in the preceding verses. They are first

addressed in the third  person and

then admonished in the second person. The adherents of this opinion say: ‘It

is not correct to assume that the believers shall enter hellfire, on the basis

of the following: Firstly, the Qur’an has declared in Al-Anbiyaa 21:

101 that “Indeed, those, for whom We have already promised the good, they

shall be kept away from this hellfire”, being ‘kept away’ from hellfire cannot

be spoken for those who shall enter it. Secondly, the Qur’an says: “They shall

not hear its slightest sound”. Were they to enter the hellfire, the believers

would then most certainly hear its sounds. And thirdly, the Qur’an says: “They

[i.e. the believers] shall that day be secure from all panic”.

As should be clear from the foregoing explanation, the Qur’an does not, at

any instance, declare that the true believers shall be made to enter hellfire.

Such an end is promised only for those whose arrogance and pride drove them to

reject the truth even after having clearly recognized it.

© Copyright January 2001. All Rights

Reserved with the Author