Something I'd like to know..

[Robert]

I know this question has been asked a lot around here, but I've not really found a good answer yet...

Let's say there are two people who have just died:
One is an Atheist. He is kind, forgiving and considerate to everyone he meets. He respects other's beliefs and has an open minded view about religion, yet has remained an Atheist because he is unsure which is the right path.

The other is a Muslim. He does everything a proper Muslim should do, yet he is cruel, inconsiderate and goes out of his way to make people's lives a misery. At every opportunity, he will criticize and disrespect people's beliefs. Whenever he meets a non-muslim, he will insult them and constantly tell them that they are evil and will burn in hell.

The question is, which one of these will go to hell? It's something that's been bothering me for a while now, and I'd like to know the answer...

[kite runner]

Acocrding to Islam the athiest will get his rewards in this life for the good deeds he did. If he heard the message of islam but rejected he will go to hell if it is Allah's will. The muslim will be punished in hell for a time but then let into heaven (I think) but he will be punished for his bad deeds.

[Masuma]

I

The other is a Muslim. He does everything a proper Muslim should do, yet he is cruel, inconsiderate and goes out of his way to make people's lives a misery. At every opportunity, he will criticize and disrespect people's beliefs. Whenever he meets a non-muslim, he will insult them and constantly tell them that they are evil and will burn in hell.

Wait a sec....! You just said that he is a MUSLIM and then you say that he'll criticize and insult others etc? ^o)

This thing doesn't even fit! And yeah I'll inshAllah answer to your full post but you don't seem to have a clear idea of what Muslim really is! So i'll try my best to first clarify this.

A Muslim is one who submits his will to God. Whatever God says, he carries it out to the best of his ability. So God never says to insult or abuse others or to be a source of misery for others! So if God doesn't say it, then a Muslim obviously doesn't carry it out.

So why you said that he is a good Muslim and then mentioned all the anti-social acts???

I think you should have said that there is a "NAMESAKE Muslim" who is this and that.

So you agree? :)

[Predator]

Regarding the atheist , Islam asserts that God will judge everyone according to their circumstances.
God says: 'Nor would We punish until We had sent a messenger (to give warning).' [Sûrah al-Isrâ: 15]

Non-Muslims . have to be warned first. Allah will not punish people without a previous warning. This warning should be in the language and in a manner that the person understands and If the atheist they did not get the message properly , he would be neither a believers nor unbelievers and will have a different ruling on the Day of Judgment.

People who have never had an opportunity to come to understand Islam correctly will be tested by God on the Day of Judgment. Those who pass the test and obey the commands will go to Paradise and those who are disobedient will go to Hell.

It is obligatory for all people to accept Islam and that anyone who knowingly rejects the truth of Islam is condemned in the Hereafter.

God knows best who has heard His message properly and rejected it and who has not done so
God is the only one who knows the hearts of people and their circumstances, and He is the only one who will sit in judgment. We must trust in Him.
　
　
Regarding the Musilim , First of all he must not tresspassing on God's Judgement and say what he is going to do with each and every individual on the Day of Judgment and thus he must not say that they will burn in hell as The same non-muslim can become a Pious Muslim and enter Paradise


If he has been cruel and done others wrong to others , then he must apologize to them before he dies , his apology should be accepted and he should seek forgiveness from God or else he will be punished in the Hellfire for a certain period to cleanse himself of his sin before enters Jannah

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[freethinking]

From my understanding of Holy Scripture, both will have an opportunity to be saved before they die and even at the moment of human death. Also my understanding of hell is not flesh butning but rather thier hearts burning with anguish for they are soereated from God and Love, for the one thing the devil cannot show is Love.
God loves us as we love children and much more indeed. Satan can make people thinki he is lightr like a good angel but not with Love, It is the one thing that father of lies cannot fool people who listen to the holy Spirit of God within them, i.e their conscience can be deceived by

[جوري]

that is up to God!

all the best

[siam]

first of all---a "proper" Muslim would not be (intentionally)cruel...etc therefore he is a hypocrite---one who chooses those parts of the religion that is convenient and ignores the rest.
We all make mistakes and to those who realize them and repent, God is Compassionate and Merciful.
The Quran says we will be judged for "an atoms weight" of good we have done and "an atoms weight" of bad we have done....therefore, regardless of the labels we call ourselves----we will be judged IN JUSTICE according to our intentions and actions.
There is only ONE God in existence---he is not just my God or your God, he is God of all creation and he is Compassionate, Merciful, and Just. We have been given the intelligence to figure this out for ourselves. ----failing to do so simply out of laziness
is not a good excuse. Therefore, make a sincere effort to contemplate about God...........and ask lots of questions.......

[Alpha Dude]

Hey Robert,

The atheist is punished because Allah has made his own existence obvious to us. Allah tells us in the Qur'aan to reflect upon creation. Could all this have come out of existence by itself? Hence we have no reason at all to believe otherwise.

Secondly, truth stands clear from falsehood. So if somebody is invited to the truth of Islam and that person has a clean sincere heart, then he has no reason to decline it.

Those are the reasons an atheist will be punished. He denies something that Allah has made obvious to us.

However, some subtle points need to be made.

If a person has not heard the message of Islam, he may or may not be held accountable on the day of judgement. Allah does not punish a people unless they have been warned. So in the case of certain people, for example, those that live in far away tribes that haven't heard about Islam, they might be tested in some different way on the day of judgement itself or be held accountable for the way they lived their lives.

The other is a Muslim. He does everything a proper Muslim should do, yet he is cruel, inconsiderate and goes out of his way to make people's lives a misery.

A person can't possibly be doing everything a proper muslim ought to be doing if he is behaving the way you described. :)

We have to remember that Islam is a way of life. It is not just about worship five times a day, fasting and giving alms. It's much more than just the prescribed ritual worship. Even something simple as giving somebody a smile is considered worship.

At every opportunity, he will criticize and disrespect people's beliefs. Whenever he meets a non-muslim, he will insult them and constantly tell them that they are evil and will burn in hell.

- If he is doing the above out of arrogance then he has a problem.
- Leaving out the insults, if he is telling others that they have a punishment awaiting them out of sincere concern and no arrogance then he is not doing anything wrong per se. However, his method of dawah (inviting people to Islam) is one that is lacking wisdom.

Thirdly, just because he is a muslim, he is not guaranteed paradise. Sinful muslims will be punished in hell to the extent of their sins. Then later admitted into paradise after they are cleansed by the fire.

One has to behave according to the commandments of Allah. Sometimes some subtle arrogance and hypocrisy can enter the heart and take us to hell. It is solely the mercy of Allah that will grant us paradise, not our own deeds alone. We can only be sincere.

Also see this post.

[Candle]

if I understand correctly, all Muslims will go to heaven but must pay for his misdeeds regardless. Likewise, Muslims must commit themselves to doing good deeds. I do not know about atheists, but I suspect they will not make it into heaven. I do know that God promises a 'warner'. In other words, everyone to whom God's pronouncements apply has been extended a just opportunity to surrender to his service.

Hopefully someone can provide you with some detailed answers here. I have found Islam to be refreshingly straight-forward concerning these types of questions. :)

[Muslimeen]

One has to behave according to the commandments of Allah. Sometimes some subtle arrogance and hypocrisy can enter the heart and take us to hell. It is solely the mercy of Allah that will grant us paradise, not our own deeds alone. We can only be sincere.

I agree, as a muslim it is very important to watch how we speak. We should never look down upon anyone and feel proud we are muslim. As for many of us, we were born muslim by the mercy of Allah, requiring no effort on our part what so ever. If we become proud and arrogant and feel we are above others and do not have humility, allah can snatch the Imaan from our hearts at the time of death, leaving us to die as disbelievers. May Allah save us. Ameen

[glo]

Wait a sec....! You just said that he is a MUSLIM and then you say that he'll criticize and insult others etc? ^o)

This thing doesn't even fit! And yeah I'll inshAllah answer to your full post but you don't seem to have a clear idea of what Muslim really is! So i'll try my best to first clarify this.

Hi sister An33za

Are you suggesting that only those who never criticise or insult others can truly call themselves Muslims?
That's a very noble idea - but how realistic is it?
It is in the human nature to be selfish, critical and judgmental.

How many Muslims (or indeed human beings from any religion or none) do you think walk this planet, who are truly righteous and always loving, caring and non-judgmental towards their fellow human beings?

My personal thought is that no human being can achieve such a level of perfection. Even the most honoured and respected and righteous people I know have flaws and faults.

[Seek]

Salam Alaykum my brother Robert,

You feel its not fair? you have done well in your life, and another Muslim who does wrong in his life goes to Jannah(Heaven)?

If I may, I would like to explain this through an example.

Suppose there is a teacher. He teaches his material to the students. After a week there is a test, the good student will pass, the bad student will fail.

Lets say 2 students, one passed, the other failed, who should we punish? the good student or the bad student? and why?
We punish the bad student because he had a week to study and prepare for the test. He spent his time playing and not studying or neglecting his studying, or he did not understand and that was his mistake not asking and seeking knowledge.

The same goes for a bad and good Muslim. The good Muslim passed the test of Allah by believing and going by what Allah has told him to do. The bad Muslim did not, he believed that there is God, but the problem lays where he did not do as Allah told him to do so. So he gets punished. Why? he had all his life to correct his mistakes, yet he chooses not to and continue on doing wrong. Everyone is responsible for the mistakes he or she has done in their lives. I'm not here to judge who goes to hell or heaven. Not anyone can say who goes to hell or heaven.

About the Atheist. If he did well in his life, saw the message of Islam and yet ignored and it and did not ask questions. In this situation this person has failed the test. If the Atheist did not see the message of Islam all his life, no one has the right to judge him, he or she did not see Islam or did not get the message.

I hope this answers your question.

May Allah help you my brother.

[glo]

Isn't this essentially a question of faith vs deeds?

The OP is asking whether God will judge us by our faith (i.e. being a devout Muslim who believes in Allah) or by our deeds (i.e. being an atheist who does good deeds to others)

I guess the answer is that we should do both - believe in God and do good deeds.
I think that if one truly knows and loves and desires to serve God, then one develops a deep desire to also love and serve other people.
Believing in God and doing good deeds should really go hand in hand.

You should be able to recognise true followers of God by 'their fruits' - i.e. how they conduct themselves and how they treat others ...

[kite runner]

I agree, as a muslim it is very important to watch how we speak. We should never look down upon anyone and feel proud we are muslim. As for many of us, we were born muslim by the mercy of Allah, requiring no effort on our part what so ever. If we become proud and arrogant and feel we are above others and do not have humility, allah can snatch the Imaan from our hearts at the time of death, leaving us to die as disbelievers. May Allah save us. Ameen

Ameen. Sadly some muslims take it for granted. It is very frustrating for some reverts who live in areas where muslims are not accepted or some who have lost their famlies,friends,homes and kids all for Allah. May Allah reward them

[Dirt 101]

Two have just died... No longer are they athiest and Muslim. They are two dead bodies.
What was essential has left them; breath and life has left them.

There is no need to be concerned with them. Not now.
For them, the opportunity of a lifetime, is over.

Uni-verse. Everyone gets just one turn.

That others would learn from their successes as well as their failures may be best...
And, all that can be hoped for, now...

[Masuma]

Those who submitted their will to Allah in this life would see their reward and those who didn't will also see what their hands sent forth!

Being a namesake Muslim would do no benefit to you in the end, neither being an Atheist! :)

[haseeb4]

The Muslim wouldn't really be a proper Muslim if he was rude and nasty as he would be disobeying the quran and sunnah but he would still be a Muslim due to his beleif. So he would be punished for his sins in hell but would still enter paradis in then end. If the athiest was searching for a religion Allah would have showed him Islam. Anybody who really searches for the true religion will find islam as anybody who works for something will indefiniteley achieve it. Allah would never leave him misguided. If he rejected Islam he would enjoy the reward for his good deeds in this world.
A true Muslim should be inclined to love Allah as he is the one that loves him the most. A Muslim acknowledges this and uses his life in the best way he can and refrains from sin.

[LauraLee]

I just came across this thread and it kind of answers a question I have had about hell. So to make sure I understand this, a Muslim enters Paradise, but what has been referred to as a "Namesake Muslim" will suffer punishment in hell and then enter Paradise? Could you clarify, because I thought no one knew whether they would enter Paradise or not, no matter how many good deeds or how faithful they were. That entering Paradise is based on Allah's will for you to do so. I may be completely off on this, but that is why I am here . . . for clarification. Such clairification is greatly appreciated.

[siam]

"I thought no one knew whether they would enter Paradise or not, no matter how many good deeds or how faithful they were. That entering Paradise is based on Allah's will for you to do so."

The purpose of religion is to help/guide us to be better human beings---to achieve the noble purpose for which we were created. Therefore, following the guidance of the Quran should enable us to attain our better natures/selves. The purpose of Faith/belief (through the use of our God-given intellectual faculties) in One God, his Guidance and his Messengers is so that we can submit to his will with conviction. This is when we are "Muslim" or one who submits (to God). The word "Muslim" is not a label that separates one group of people from another, for we are all equally creations of God. The word "Muslim" in the Quran refers to a state of being, an attitude and behavior that honors submission to God's will. Human beings can only interpret such a state of being through the actions of a person, for we do not know what is in his heart---But God knows, that is why he is the best of Judges in matters of heaven and hell. ---it is also why it is best for human beings to refrain from judging if someone else is going to hell or not. The point of our stay on earth is to strive(Jihad) to be better human beings/Muslims today than we were yesterday.

The Quran promises that God will Judge in Justice. We have free-will so that we can make the choices needed to live a life that reflects God's will. Guidance of what is God's will is given to us in the Quran. ---so go study it.......

reflection-----
In the Quran, Prophet Abraham(pbuh) was a spiritual-seeker, he used his intellectual abilities to understand about God---but before he became a spiritual seeker, he rejected the concept of the Gods of his parents----Today, some people may be following the same journey as Prophet Abraham(pbuh), they may be rejecting a false concept of God in order to become spiritual seekers on a quest to true Taqwa (God-awareness)......

It is not for us to judge/condemn anothers journey.....