Al-Muhajabah's Islamic Blogs: will all non-Muslims end up in hell?

Kaitlin

Kaitlin — 2003-03-22T06:02:31-08:00

I found this post very illuminating. (I have not had the opportunity to look at your other posts yet.) I have not experienced this kind of open-heartedness with other religions. Outright condemnation tends to drive people away, I think.

Cindy

Cindy — 2003-03-22T09:27:19-08:00

I always hope that Allah really is the Most Merciful, but the problem is is that the image that a lot of Muslims give of Allah and Islam, it makes me worry.

Elham

Elham — 2003-03-22T10:38:02-08:00

Jazakallah sister!

I'm learning so much by just reading this blog.

umair

umair — 2003-03-22T13:43:17-08:00

mashaAllah, what a clear and concise explanation of such a fundamental issue! this is a very commonly discussed topic among muslims...i am so proud of you for your seeking out the Quraanic point of view!
i have a lot of interesting items surrounding this issue that i'll post on my blog one of these days, when i can clearly write them out, inshaAllah ;)

David

David — 2003-03-22T14:17:06-08:00

Of course, there is always the possibility that Muslims and Non Muslims both will just end up as food for the worms.

nnydd

nnydd — 2003-03-22T15:09:16-08:00

Assalamualaikum and peace to all,
This is indeed the position of many ulama' and has been the consensus among them since Imam al-Ghazali promoted the idea through his great writing, Faysal al-Tafriqah. [If I am not mistaken the same position is also held by Ibn Taimiyyah, but I have to recheck.] If possible try to get a copy of this kitab/book.
Wassalamualaikum, and peace again to all.

Zack Ajmal

Zack Ajmal — 2003-03-22T17:11:45-08:00

An excellent post which removes a lot of the misunderstanding not only of non-Muslims but of Muslims as well.

I have a minor quibble though.

"true and complete understanding"

My own views are very unorthodox about this issue, so I'll refrain from those here until I can articulate them properly. My understanding of the orthodox position is somewhat similar to your post. However I am not sure that position would use the phrase "true and complete"; Undistorted, true etc. are ok, but your phrase might be going a little farther.

I might be wrong and will appreciate pointers which correct my understanding.

Al-Munaqabah

Al-Munaqabah — 2003-03-23T03:12:38-08:00

Thanks for your reply, Zack. The word "complete" may not be the best choice, but I couldn't think of a better word. If you know only one fact about Islam and know it correctly, then you have a true knowledge about Islam, but I'm not sure that the scholars meant to say that a person who has true knowledge of a single fact is obligated to accept Islam. I tried to qualify the statement in my blog entry by saying that people need to have enough knowledge on which to form a fair basis of judgment of the religion. That's what I mean by "complete". If you can think of a better word, I'd appreciate it. Do you think that "sufficient" would be a better choice? Or maybe I should say "complete understading of the basics" or something like that.

Lilli

Lilli — 2003-03-23T12:04:03-08:00

What I think of is: Who on earth can say something like this from oneself? When do you know something full and complete? I'm a christ by birth and one point our priests often point out is the one of being not perfect and nothing being perfect of God / Allaah. So what does your Qu'ran say about it? (sorry for my silly english, it's not my mothertongue).

Al-Munaqabah

Al-Munaqabah — 2003-03-23T12:26:13-08:00

Thanks for visiting, Lilli. I'm not sure exactly what you're asking? I mentioned in response to Zack's question that what I meant by "complete" is "complete enough to make a judgment on the basis of". I agree that the way I phrased it isn't ideal.

Obviously, only God has complete knowledge of anything. Among the many names given to God in the Quran is al-Alim, the All-Knowing. If you're interested, I invite you to check out my article An Introduction to Islamic Monotheism, which discusses how Muslims think about God.

Zack Ajmal

Zack Ajmal — 2003-03-24T21:17:46-08:00

"a good understanding of the basics" might be a better phrase IMO.

Al-Munaqabah

Al-Munaqabah — 2003-03-25T05:54:08-08:00

Thanks, Zack. I've modified the blog entry. You may still not be perfectly satisfied with the phrasing but it best reflects my understanding at the current time :)

Jordan

Jordan — 2003-04-02T23:13:42-08:00

I think that quote from the Qu'ran means that if you were an overall good person, God/Allah is so omniscient that he can judge more wisely than we ever could, so just be a good Muslim/Christian/Buddhist/Hindu/whatever, and things will turn out the way they should.

Thanks.

Zack Ajmal

Zack Ajmal — 2003-04-03T00:02:48-08:00

Originally posted by Al-Munaqabah -

Thanks, Zack. I've modified the blog entry. You may still not be perfectly satisfied with the phrasing but it best reflects my understanding at the current time :)

Definitely better phrasing than before. Like I said, I have a somewhat unorthodox position on this, so I won't quibble with yours. I believe yours is the orthodox viewpoint.