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ConclusionThe objections about eternal punishment

The Question is will those who commit the greater sins will remain in Hell forever?

The “Wa-eedia” sect believes among the Muslims believes that every greater sin results from disbelief. They say the greater sin will be the cause for living in the fire forever. Opposed to this the “Marjia” sect of Muslims believe that if a person truly believes then no sin will harm him (One group is resorting to commission and the other to omission)

Allama Hilli after describing the permanent punishment of the disbelievers in “Sharah Tajreed” ads: “There is a debate among the Muslims about those who commit the greater sins. The Wa-eedia consider them to be disbelievers but a group among the Imamia, Moatazllis and Asharis believe that there punishment will cease one day and present a few proofs about it.”

In “Awail Maqalaat” Shaykh Mufid says that the Ulema of the Imamia sect are unanimous that only the disbelievers will get the eternal punishment of fire but the believers who swear about the duties from God will not be subjected to such a punishment if they commit a greater sin. The Marjia and all the sects of Ahle Hadiths agree to this idea but the Moatazallis are united against it. They believe that the permanent punishment in the fire will be for all those who sin and deserve it including the disbelievers. (1)

All these sects have quoted the previous verses to prove their point especially those verses that relate to intentional killing and the usurers and their permanent punishment in Hell. The most des c r i p tive among them is verse 23 of Surah Jinn that says: “

“The fire of Hell is for those who disobey God and His Messenger and they will stay in it for ever.” But we find from our studies that these verses suggest that this punishment will be for those who disbelieve in God and His Messenger and whose sins result in disbelief for they deny the origin and the Judgment Day and the tenets of religion. One among such verses is verse 27 of Surah Yunus that says:

“As if their faces have been covered with the pieces of pitch dark night.”

This has been said about the disbelievers in verses 40 and 41 of Surah Abasa:

“Darkness shall cover them. These are the disbelievers, the wicked.”

It seems that the disbelievers are the issue so it is quoted from Imam Mohammad Baqir;

“This verse refers to those make innovations in religion, or have doubts, or indulge carnal excessiveness. God will blacken their faces on the Judgment Day and heap infamy and disgrace upon them. He says that they are the people of the fire and will stay in it forever.” (2) The term “ he who sins and the sins cover him totally” is there in verse 88 of Surah Baqarah and tells us that committing a greater sin will not be the cause of the eternal punishment in the fire but the total commitment to sin will be the cause because we learn from the hadiths that faith lights up in the heart of people and the brightness of its light depends on the amount of goodness the person has done in this life. He commits sins only if this light does not cover him totally and then darkness begins to engulf him and faith is extinguished only when darkness covers him totally.”

A glimpse of it is there is verse 14 of Surah Tatiff that says:

“What they used to do has rusted their hearts.”(3)

Some verses speak about the intentional sins like that of murder this may denote the intentional disobedience of God’ commandment, and opposition to the truth with animosity and arrogance which one of the clearest signs of disbelief.

Verse 10 of Surah Rom is a valid proof and says:

“Then evil was the end of those who committed sins by rejecting God’s manifest signs and mocking Him”

This tells us that persistence on sinning results in the denying of the signs of God (and a permanent stay in Hell). Verse “Verily god does not forgive anything being associated with Him but He forgives all others.” And this has been repeated in verses 48 and 116 of Surah Nisaa.

This is a valid proof that only the polytheists do not deserve forgiveness (all forms of disbelief are connected with polytheism) and they will stay in Hell for ever while the other sinners may be forgiven. It means that the accounting of their deeds is different from the disbelievers and they cannot be put in the same rank.

We should avoid any presupposition here; this verse does not instigate the sinners to sin because this verse does not say that this will certainly happen but that it may happen and it depends on God’s pleasure and it in turn depends His wisdom which says that the forgiveness will be according to what the person deserves. This also says that the people should not sever all links with God and His chosen ones or those they should not burn their boats.

Hadith tells us that this verse is a verse full of hope and Amirul Muminin said:

“No verse in the Qura’n gives as much hope as this one.”(4)

For further clarifications we should note the point that this verse does not speak about the lesser sins because according to the Qura’n those who abstain from the greater sins have been promised forgiveness from the lesser ones. There is no hint about the greater sins after repentance because repentance absolves all sins and even the sin of paganism. So the verse says that there should be a difference between polytheism and the greater sins (done without repentance). The first sin is not pardonable because polytheism leaves no doors open for salvation but the second sin can be forgiven but not without conditions denoted earlier in the term “whoever He wishes.”

Many Qura’nic verses support our contention e.g. it is said in verse 44 of Surah Mumin:

“And you will remember what I am telling you and I leave my affairs to God. Verily God is the all seer of His slaves.”

Verse 7 of Surah Zilzal says: “Whoever does good equal to the weight of an atom shall see it ’If the greater sins were the cause of staying forever in the fire then he could not have seen it. Or be rewarded. Another proof about the pardon or intercession are these verses. Abstinence from the greater sins become the reason for the forgiveness of the lesser ones and the intercession is for those who did not have the chance to repent. If they deserve salvation then they will be forgiven. So how can we put those who commit the greater sins in the same rank as the polytheists and how can we consider them to be the ones to burn eternally in the fire of Hell? How is it possible for the wisdom of god to decree that a person who has been a believer through out his life but committed a greater like telling a lie be subjected to eternal punishment?

We do not say that he will not be punished for that lie but that he does not deserve to burn forever in hell.

There are many hadiths from the infallible ones that reject this claim of the “Wa-eedia” that those who have committed the greater sin are damned to burn for ever in Hell. (5)

The truth is that this sect of the Khawarij has fallen into this abyss because of extreme bias, arrogance, and ignorance of the meanings of the Qura’n and the hadiths of the infallible ones and surely due to lack of logical conclusions.

Actually all these Khwarij people were the victims of their own bigotry and ignorance and their history is the greatest proof against them. (6)

 


 

1. Awail Maqalaat page 53
2. Tafsir Ali bin Ibrahim vol.1 page 311
3. Usul Kafi vol. 2 page 373 hadith 2
4. For further details see Tafsir Namuna verse 48 of Surah Nisaa.
5. For further details see Behar-ol-Anwar vol.8 page 351 to 374 and Tafsir Kabeer vol.3 page 144.
6. Same as above.

 

ConclusionThe objections about eternal punishment
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