Do Good People go to Hell!

As salam alaykum!

Hi Brother Green!

I've got a question from a non-muslim who is interested in Islam. Can you please answer his question. If you could please spare a few minutes, jazakallah khair.

His mail to me as follows:

Regarding Islam and the day of judgement and the afterlife, I read with interest in the "Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam" pages 50 & 51 that in short, anyone not a Muslim or not believing that there is no true God but God, will lose Paradise forever and will be sent to Hellfire.

This I find somewhat radical when we consider people of other faiths have devoted their lives to the study, worship and practice of their respective religions. They have lived their lives by similar principles to Islam of good over evil and the ultimate respect for life and the wonders of this earth e.g. Mother Teresa of Calcutta who spent her life devoted to working and assisting the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta. She was not a Muslim but a Christian. She lived her life by the grace of others, in poverty as a missionary devoted to helping others. By my literal reading from the extract quoted in the Qur'an 3.85 (And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will not be accepted from him and he will be one of the losers in the Hereafter.), we can therefore conclude that Mother Teresa seems to have been doomed to hellfire for not being a Muslim, irrespective of all the good she has done while on this earth and the sacrifice and pain she endured. This I find harsh and hard to believe.

Furthermore, if we take say the population of China being around 1.3Billion, and the respective religions found therein (Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism), am I to believe that they are all doomed to hell. If so, why did God not send another prophet to China, Japan etc to relay the word of God with their own respective "copy" of the holy book?

Apologies if the above comes across somewhat intense. In my little understanding of Islam, I just seem to find it somewhat inflexible to other faiths. God, as we read in the various scriptures and holy books available, is all wise, all caring, all compassionate..... I therefore feel that compassion should extend outwith the realm of Islam irrespective of one's own faith, colour or believes, as long as we live honourably respecting each other, God and life itself.

I would be very interested to hear your views to this regard.

Many thanks and best wishes
Geoff

Dear Geoff,
Thank you asking these questions and raising these issues. I’m happy to able to try and clarify these matters for you. As a Muslim, or someone who has surrendered his will to the will of God, we can only answer truthfully and explain to you  what God has taught us. He knows himself the best. He decides what do with His creatures, whom to punish and whom to forgive and reward. This is of course what the religion of Islam is based upon. God is all Knowing and Most Wise and He has revealed from His perfect knowledge guidance for us.

I think that the purpose of the booklet, although far from comprehensive, is to illuminate some reasons why Muslims are convinced, and also to indicate to others how they can be convinced that Islam and the Quran is from God. Once one is convinced of that, then one needs to understand that what is contained in the Quran is guidance from the Creator about how we should live our lives, and what are the benefits that we get from doing that and what are the consequences for those who fail to do that. Once one has realised this fact, then there is nothing left for an intelligent person except to follow Gods’ guidance and wisdom.
I think your first question can be answered very easily. In fact I’m sure you could answer it yourself!
Similar does not mean the same. In fact one simple, yet fundamental matter, can make a huge difference. You might take the example of two soldiers. Both carry guns, both shoot people, both wear uniforms, both march and call the commander of their unit sergeant., but one belongs to an army that is invading, with the intent to conquer and plunder and in the process massacres civilians, the other is defending his land and fights only those that fight him. Surely that simple difference is in fact fundamental, and makes the two soldiers quite unlike each other!

At the deepest level, the very basis of everything that one does are one’s beliefs. It is what we believe that fundamentally dictates what we do and how we behave and in fact how we judge others and ultimately how we are judged by God. In Islam it is what we believe rather than what we do that is at the heart of everything. If our beliefs are wrong and corrupt, they make everything wrong and corrupt. If the intentions that drive the person are evil and the cause is evil then the “good” we do can even reach the stage of “working to promote evil”.

Let us take your example. It may seem that Mother Teresa of Calcutta, or many other Christians, Jews, Sikhs and Hindus share common values and practices and attitudes to Muslims, and of course they do. In the case of Mother Teresa we should have no doubt that her life was spent propagating, calling to, and trying to convert people to the Catholic faith. This was the basis of her work, not the grace of others as you have claimed. She took people who were dying on the street with the express purpose and intent of “saving their souls” and bringing them to Christianity before they died.  You may wonder what is wrong with that. What is wrong is the basis.

The Quran makes it clear that what God wants from us is that we recognise Him and obey His commands. A person who knowingly turns away from this rejects God and has no right to claim His Mercy and Reward. A person who chooses to insult and disobey God can, and should, expect nothing except His punishment.

Let us give some simple analogies.

You have a business and employ a person paying them a good salary to do a simple job. Then you discover this person is in fact taking your money and all the while was working for someone else during the hours they should have been working for you. There is no doubt that this is a great type of wrong from that employed person, who deserves nothing except disgrace. This is the example of those who worship others along with God, although they should worship Him alone, and He alone is worthy of it.  This includes, for example, worshipping Jesus. Islam teaches, and we believe all the Prophets, including Jesus himself taught that we should worship only God. To worship something along with God is in fact the greatest sin a person can commit as far a God is concerned. To claim that some human, that breaths God’s air and eats His food and who is just a small creature, on a tiny planet in a universe that is in fact itself no more than a spec compared to God’s Throne is in fact the same as and equal to God, is not only an absurdity but in fact it the gravest of insults and the greatest of injustices!

Or take another example. You employ a person to do some specific work, say to paint your house white, and they paint it red. When you ask “Why did you do that?, the person replies that they thought it was better. Does this person deserve reward or punishment?  This is the example of a person who worships only God, but thinks they can do it in anyway they please, and imagines they don’t have to follow Gods commands.

Take another example. You as the boss and manager of growing company decide that the firm is need of new directives for its continued smooth running. So you send out new directives essential for the smooth future running of the company, but half the employees purposefully and continually ignore these directives and continue along the old pattern. Are such employees of any use to you? This is example of those who reject Prophet Mohammed and the guidance given to him by God, claiming they are following the previous message.

Let is take one final example.

You have in your business a voluntary pension scheme. So your employees can invest a small sum throughout their working life and reap huge returns when they retire, or they can keep the money, but have then they can have no claim to the pension.

This is the example who good deeds purely for Allah’s pleasure, seeking reward in the afterlife. They sacrifice a little in this life and reap the rewards in the next. As for those who refused the scheme are like those who worshipped Allah alone in the right way, but looked only for worldly benefit. So that is all they got. What right do they have to claim or expect more?

Is any of this really radical or harsh?

It is incidental as to how charming and polite and friendly and helpful such individuals were to those around them. In fact in many ways if they are like that it makes their crime even more appalling. In fact this very mannerism may encourage others to follow their example in disregarding the manager’s directives, doing the wrong work and not investing in the pension scheme. This is what I mean that their “goodness” can in fact become a call to evil.

Recently my parents agreed to let a friend of theirs do some building work for them. They even paid him above the going rate. He had many of the characteristics I just mentioned.  He then swindled my parents, did a shoddy job, used rotten wood, and much of the work in fact had to be redone by someone else. Would it be “radical” or harsh to take this man to court, for him to be fined or put in jail?

I  think, therefore, that there is nothing “radical” or harsh about what the Quran teaches at all. In fact it makes perfect sense. What is radical is thinking that a person can do what they like, insult and reject God and His guidance and oppose His Messengers and none of that matters just as long as they are “nice” to others? To treat such people in the same way as those who have truly obeyed God, accepted His Messenger and tried to follow His commands, now that would be unfair and unjust.

This brings us onto the matter of God’s justice. They maybe many people in the world to whom God’s message has not yet reached, and Allah does not punish a people until He has sent them a Messenger. No one goes to Hell by mistake. People go there because they chose to take that path, and rejected the path to Paradise. This is what is meant by:

“…whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will not be accepted from him and he will be one of the losers in the Hereafter”

Allah’s Message comes to people when and where He wills, according to His knowledge and wisdom. For those who have not received it then Allah will judge them justly.

At the end of the day we cannot make any judgements upon individuals. God alone knows the inner condition of the hearts. We can only go on what is apparent to us. Islam means willing submission to God and that is the way of living that Allah has revealed from His wisdom and Knowledge. How could any right minded person seek to live according to anything else?

Yours truly,
Abdurraheem Green

Comments

[Zishan]

Brilliant. I intend to use this in my literature. Please continue to share your da'wah with us.. may Allah increase you in guidance.

[Fatima Barkatulla]

Jazakallahu Khairan for the pointers here. Once I phoned a radio station when they were asking 'Can anyone convince us that God exists'. They were asking people to phone in who could prove that there is a Creator. This was in relation to the Tsunami and 'if there is a God then how come things like the Tsunami happen?' - that old chestnut. No one was phoning in so I phoned in and did my best. But I don't know if I covered the most convincing arguments as there were only a few minutes of air time for me. So please tell me brother Abdur Raheem, how would you in a few minutes prove the existence of God in such a situation. What are the most important points one needs to make if one can only make 2 or three?

Good question. The trick is in making it short. This is a challange in and of itself. The media only gives you a few second to make your point. Its called a "sound bite". The problem with soundbites is that all you can do is repect the conventional platitudes that have all ready been indoctinated into the masses by the establishment. Its what Noam Chomski calls "manufacturing consent." Fortunatly we have three powerful allies. One is reason, two is revelation and three is fitra. All three inextoriably lead to the conclusion that this universe has a Creator.
Try this for A quickie:
"You and everyone listening knows already that there is a Creator who crontrolls this universe and this Creator can hear you and help you. Tell me one thing, when that wave came and the earquake shook who was it do you think that people began to call out to and beg to save them? It was God. We all know deep down inside that God is there, and God hears and God can help. That's all the proof you need!"
Anyway I'll put up a more comprehensive answer to this soon, inshallah.

[Fadil Latheef]

Salaam! Jazakallah khair for answering that question. I have put it up on our MSA website www.gumsa.co.uk (Glasgow University Muslim Students Association) in the links (knowledge) section. Inshallah people will benefit especially our friend who asked the question in the first place.

[Fatima Barkatulla]

Jazakallahu Khairan for that....that's an angle I didn't come from when I called the Radio. Actually they gave me quite a lot of time, but the presenter kept asking subsidiary questions while I was addressing the main issue of 'can anyone convince us that there is a God.' Though I think that is good because it means people get to hear more about how we think about different things. On the Radio I've found that if you keep the tone one of a two way conversation rather than a speech or comment that you are going to just say, the presenters respond very well and give you more time on the Radio and ask you more questions. Also it's important to be understated because often you hear hyperactive Muslims phoning up sounding unreasonable and unintelligent because they are only letting their emotions through. It's good to start with a pleasent greeting and acknowledgement of the presenter's show and also mention the presenters name a few times during the conversation (That'a something I got from Khalid Yasin).
I found it useful to jot down some quick points before they put you on air because sometimes you can get sidetracked by other questions the presenter asks you and miss the main point of phoning up.

I think it would be great if whenever a topic like this comes up, there were a few of us who could phone up and each person add a different angle because as you mention brother Abdur Raheem, they only give you a short time and you have to say something that will last in the minds of the listener.

Here's how this particular conversation went roughly. I don't remember the exact words:
First the presenter: Eddie Nester, asked me something like: Fatima from Hendon, if I was a survivor of the Tsunami and I said to you: 'if there is a God then how come my whole family were killed in the Tsunami what would you say? How could God let that happen?

I said: I'd say, that you have to understand the purpose of this life. God has full control over what happens in the world and he sends us things in life to test us and see if we stand firm and keep our faith.

He said: Fatima you are a Muslim right? Well have you ever lost your faith in Allah...

I said: Never.

He said: even when something really bad happened to you?

I said: No never. Because I understand that everything is in God's control and there is a purpose behind it. Also this life is not the end. God is just and we believe that justice will be done in the next life. People will be rewarded for their patience - for example Eddie, The Prophet Muhammad told us that on the Day of Judgement, the poorest, most tried person on earth will be brought forward and he was a good person, and will be dipped into Paradise. And God will ask him 'Did you ever feel suffering' and he will say 'Never'. He will forget all the suffering on earth because he will get justice that day. And the richest person who had the best and most comfortable life will be brought forward and he was an evil person and he will be dipped into Hellfire and he will be asked 'Did you ever see happiness' and he will say 'No, never.'

Presenter: That's all very well Fatima, but if I was a survivor of the Tsunami I would say that all sounds like drivel to me.

I don't know what I said at that point.
He then asked: Is there room in Islam for non-Believers or are we all going to Hell Fatima? It seems to me that there's not much room for other viewpoints.

I said: well I don't have the right to judge you or any human being. That's up to God. I mean you might be someone who is sincerely searching for the Truth but haven't come across it yet. We can't say about just anyone that he's definitely going to Paradise or Hell.

Presenter: OK Fatima, so you heard Sue who said she was open to being convinced that God exists so what would you say to her:

I said: Well I'd say to her, look into the concept of God in Islam because I think she'll be surprised. Many of us have grown up with the Christian concept of God and so we think we either have to believe in that God or no God.
I'd say to her, look around you at the vast earth and universe, how complex it is, how everything has been orchestrated and is precise. All this creation points to the existence of a creator. I mean, the fact that the earth is exactly the right distance from the sun and if we were a tiny bit further away from the sun, we'd freeze, and if we were a bit closer we'd all burn....these things do not come about by coincidence, someone made them that way.

The presenter asked: So is there any room for evolution in Islam?

I said: well the theory of evolution is a theory and it isn't proven, but some aspects like the Big Bang, we would have no problem with. In fact the Qur'an says that the Universe was bound together and God caused it to explode. So we have no problem with the Big Bang...the issue is not HOW it happened but WHO caused the Big Bang?

He said: Fatima, many people would say Islam has come to represent extremism nowadays as there are many different interpretations of the Qur'an and the terrorists are using the Qur'an to justify what they do. What would you say to that?

I said: I'd say that people have to look at what Islam is not what some Muslims do, because there are good and bad Muslims, some people are not doing what Islam tells them to do. It's unfair to blame Islam for what some bad Muslims do, just as it would be unfair to judge Christianity by what Hitler did. (I got that from Abdur Raheem Green!)
And not just anyone has the right to interpret the Qur'an, its interpretation was done by the Prophet Muhammad and is preserved till today.

Presenter:
Well Thank you Fatima. I get where your coming from though I would disagree with that last point. All religions have been used and interpreted by various people over the ages and the Qur'an is open to interpretation too.
_________________________________________

I can on hind sight think of better answers to some questions but I must say I was not expecting him to ask me so much on daytime Radio. By the way it was BBC London.

Thought that might be interesting/useful to others.

Well talk about not being able to stick to the topic..that's him, not you!
And how he tried to dismantle everything you said!
That's one of the reasons i don't like these phone ins. They have control of the mic...and even if you make a good point, then they have the rest of the day to dismantle it.
Actually the VERY important point to make here is:
The issue of suffering in the world has nothing to do with the existence of God. This is an emotional argument of atheists, not a rational one. The evidence for God's existence is as you said. The "problem of evil" as they call it, is really only an issue that can answered by Allah.
I hope to cover this all in detail in some later articles.

[Fatima Barkatulla]

I think radio phone ins can be good if you can phone in regularly and make consistently good points. That way people get to see your whole worldview rather than a small snapshot. You need to listen to a particular presenter for some time before you can talk confidently with them because you sort of know what approach to take. One person who I know of who has done this successfully is Omar Abdullah a.k.a. Tobias on BBC London's 9am-12 phone in with Vanessa. Ma Sha Allah, he has made himself a good reputation with even the non-Muslim callers and Vanessa and the callers treat his comments as an authoritative and reliable representation of Islam. He seems to call in very often, not just for Islam related issues but other issues for which Islam has something to offer. Consistency seems to pay off.

[mustafa u]

As salaamu alaykum,
Just wanted to drop a random comment that using these means for dawah purposes (the radio, etc) is extremely important and underutilized by muslims. There should be a central repository for questions and answers of people who have had experience.

BTW, this is the american brother you met in the mosque and we talked for a while.
Our short talk has given me the motivation to put my theoretical knowledge into practice and start writing and lecturing once again. Please keep me in your duaas

Mustafa Umar
Studying in France

[Joseph Herbozo]

Justify the fundamental premise that a spiritual relationship with God(s) must involve submiting to him/her/it.

[Tom]

I think the below verse from Sura Al-Maidah can answer the guys question:

'Surely those who believe and those who are Jews and the Sabians and the Christians whoever believes in Allah and the last day and does good-- they shall have no fear nor shall they grieve.' Sura Al-Maidah 5-69

Maha Salaama

Tom

[Umm Rageh]

Assalamu Alaikum,

Firstly just wanted to 'say' that I think brother ARG answered this man's question with absolute tact and precision and yet there wasn't an insult to be seen Masha'Allah- talk about the gift of the 'gab' in writing!! It's so frustrating and a little sad to know 'the truth the Haqq' and watch people around me live in such denial about their accountability to their Creator. That people actually believe that the 'buck stops' at Prophet Jesus(pbuh)and he has become god and will save us all no matter what. Sometimes I ask myself how people can believe in something as astounding as his immaculate conception (which us muslims also believe in) and yet totally disregard and even mock our last Prophet(swt) and his message of salvation. But then I remember Allah's words and they put my mind at ease again Alhamdulilah.
Is it that people think that because we cannot see our Lord that the 'rules' don't apply- that whatever we do or don't do we will be ok- see you in heaven!! That somehow we are 'owed' eternal bliss because of all the trials we put up with in this world- not realising that WE are the ones who bring on these hardships upon ourselves because we fail to follow the straight path to Allah(swt)and live our lives like we are supposed to according to our Maker.

There are times when I want to shake my family (I'm a revert) and demand that they wake up and stop living in this absurd denial and that they've still got time while they are alive- but then I remember that it's not up to me what happens to them in the Akhira...so I just make du'aa for them...

Insha'Allah Geoff has become a muslim and a mumin- or on his way for his own sake. Amen

And Allah knows best

ARGcomment: I sure know that feeling of wanting to give them a good shake as if it might wake them up from their slumber! But Allah guides who He wants. Our job is just to pass on the message.

[Muslimah]

Mashallah. Brother Green, I like your lectures very much. I have learnt a lot by your lectures, especially regarding the issues concerning women. May Allah give you reward for your efforts.

[new balance]

No matter where you are, you let fly into your house, make good landing in your side and happiness always accompany with you, let your room, let the flowing with years of writing poems with unforgettable, let my message for you happiness and good luck!