How can the Prophet's (peace be upon him) father be in hell fire while his name was Abdullah (meaning Allah's man)?
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
(May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
How
can the Prophet's (peace be upon him) father be in hell fire while his name was
Abdullah (meaning Allah's man)?
(There may be some grammatical and spelling
errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in
confidentiality.)
Answer:
How can one named
Abd Allah be in hell fire
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His
help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide,
and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear
witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear
witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His
Messengers.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah
Baqarah verses 111-112:
111 And they (the Jews and the Christians) say: "None shall enter
112 Nay! Whoever submits his
whole self to Allah and is a doer of good he will get his reward with his Lord;
on such shall be no fear nor shall they grieve.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 32 Surah
Sajdah verse 19:
19 For those who believe and do righteous deeds are
Gardens as hospitable homes for their (good) deeds.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 47 Surah
Muhammad verse 12:
12 Verily Allah will admit those who believe and do righteous
deeds to Gardens beneath which rivers flow; while those who reject
Allah will enjoy (this world) and eat as cattle eat; and the Fire will be their
abode.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 22 Surah
Mumin verse 40:
40 He that works evil will not be requited but by the like thereof: and
he that works a righteous deed whether man or woman and is a believer
such will enter the Garden (of Bliss): therein will they have abundance without
measure.
In light of the above absolutely clear guidance of the
Quran, it is evident that the Mercy or Wrath of the All-Wise All-Just Lord does
not depend on the name of an individual, or what religion one claims to belong
to, or one’s race, or caste, or creed, or gender, or nationality, or color,
etc……The All-Wise All-Just Lord will Judge with Absolute Knowledge and Justice
who amongst His creation believed in Him and did righteous good deeds in
accordance with His Revealed Message, and who amongst them denied and rejected
Him and His Message.
Thus one may very well claim to be a ‘muslim’, or assign
himself the most beloved of names like Abd-Allah, or Abd-ar-Rahmaan, etc…… in
the Majestic Court and Presence of the Lord Most Supreme on that Tumultuous Day
of Judgment, if this person is deemed a disbeliever or a hypocrite, absolutely
regardless of what religion or caste or creed the person claimed to belong in
the life of this world, and absolutely regardless of what name he or his
parents assigned him….such a person will deserve the unbearable Wrath, Anger
and Punishment of the Lord Most High.
Thus sister, it is not one’s name or one’s claim to a
religion or anything else that will determine one’s salvation on that Tumultuous
Day of Judgment…..but rather it is one’s belief and one’s deeds which alone
with will determine whether one is a recipient of the Mercy of the Lord, or His
Wrath and His Anger.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 22 Surah
Hajj verse 17:
17 Those who believe (in the Qur'an), those who follow the Jewish
(Scriptures), and the Sabians, Christians, Magians, and Polytheists; Allah will Judge between them on the Day of
Judgment: for Allah is Witness of all things.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah
Baqarah verse 62:
62 Those who believe (in the Qur'an), and those who follow the Jewish
(Scriptures), and the Christians, and the Sabians; (all) who believe in Allah
and the Last Day and work righteousness shall have their reward with their
Lord; on them shall be no fear nor shall they grieve.
Now to your specific question:
How can
the Prophet's (peace be upon him) father be in hell fire while his name was
Abdullah (meaning Allah's man)?
Throughout the ages and annuls of times, mankind has been
almost unanimous in their belief that there is only one Creator of everything
that exists between the heavens and the earth.
Regardless of the name they assigned to Him….God, Eli, Allah, Eeshwar,
etc.; they believed in that One and Only Supreme Being as the Creator of the
heavens and the earth. Where the disbelievers differed in their belief with the
Message revealed by Allah Subhanah through His Prophets was that the
disbelievers had invariably always invented, associated, invoked, and
worshipped their own ‘small’ gods and self-invented deities as ‘partners’ in
the Dominion of the Lord Most High!
The literal meaning of the Arabic term ‘Abd’ is ‘a slave’;
thus ‘Abd-Allah’ would mean the ‘slave of Allah’. Contrary to popular belief, it is absolutely
untrue and inaccurate that the Arabs did not believe in Allah Subhanah as the
Creator of the heavens and the earth in the period of ignorance before the
advent of the Last and Final Messenger, Mohamed ar-Rasool Allah (saws)!
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 29 Surah
Ankabut verse 61, 63:
61 If indeed thou (O Prophet (saws)) ask them (the disbelievers) Who
has Created the heavens and the earth and subjected the sun and the moon (to
His Law); they (the disbelievers) will certainly reply "Allah." How
are they then deluded away (from the Truth that there is no god but Allah)?
63 And if indeed thou ask them who it is that sends down rain from the
sky and gives life therewith to the earth after its death; they will certainly
reply "Allah!" Say
"Praise be to Allah!" But most
of them understand not.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah
Zumar verse 38:
38 If indeed thou (O Prophet (saws)) ask them who it is that created
the heavens and the earth, they would be sure to say "Allah." Say: "See ye then? The things that ye
invoke besides Allah, can they. if Allah Wills some penalty for me, remove His
Penalty? Or if He Wills some Grace for me can they keep back His Grace?"
Say: "Sufficient is Allah for me! In Him trust those who put their
trust."
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 23 Surah
Muminoon verses 84-90:
84 Say: "To whom belong the earth and
all beings therein? (Say) if ye know!"
85 They (the disbelievers) will say "To Allah!" Say:
"Yet will ye not receive admonition?"
86 Say: "Who is the Lord of the seven heavens and the Lord of the
Throne (of Glory) Supreme?"
87 They will say "(They belong) to Allah." Say: "Will ye
not then be filled with awe?"
88 Say: "Who is it in Whose Hands is the governance of all things;
Who protects (all), but does not require protection (from any)? (Say) if ye
know."
89 They will say "(It belongs) to
Allah." Say: "Then how are ye deluded?"
90 We have sent them the Truth (there is absolutely no other ‘god’ but
Allah): but they indeed practice falsehood!
The pagan Arabs in the period of ignorance before the
advent of the Last and Final Messenger (saws) not only believed in Allah
Subhanah as the Creator of the heavens and the earth, but they professed belief
and claimed affinity to the Noble Prophets Ibraheem (a.s.) and Ismael (a.s.), they
believed that the Kaaba was the Holy Sanctuary, they performed Hajj and Umrah
for Allah, etc……but in spite of all these claims and deeds, they had invented
their own ‘small’ gods and deities, held them as ‘equals’ or ‘partners’ in the
Sole Dominion of the Lord Most High, and along with invoking and worshipping
Allah Subhanah, they also invoked and worshipped their self-invented false
deities…..and it was this ‘shirk’ or associating others as ‘partners’ with
Allah Subhanah which was categorically and absolutely unacceptable to Allah
Subhanah!
Your
Question (again): How can the Prophet's (peace be upon him) father be in hell
fire while his name was Abdullah (meaning Allah's man)?
Sahih Muslim Hadith 398 Narrated by Anas ibn Malik
A companion whose father had died in the
‘Days of Ignorance’ came and asked the Prophet (saws): ‘O Messenger of Allah
(saws), where is my father?’ The Prophet (saws) replied: ‘He (you father) is in
the Hell Fire.’ When the companion
turned away, he (the Prophet (saws)) called him back and said: ‘Verily my
father and your father are both in the Hell Fire!’
Because the pagan Arabs in the days of ignorance before
the advent of Prophet Mohamed (saws) believed in Allah Subhanah as the Creator
of the heavens and the earth, the name ‘Abd-Allah’ (slave of Allah) was an
extremely common and accepted name in the region…..but as was the accepted
belief and practice of the Arabs in the days of ignorance before the advent of
the Prophet Mohamed (saws), the Prophet’s (saws) father Abdullah ibn
Abdul-Muttalib died in the state of the ultimate abomination of ‘shirk’….and as
is the Decree and Determination of the Lord Most Majestic, Most Supreme, leave
alone one’s assigned name, not even the closest of blood-relationship with a
Prophet of Allah can save one who dies in the state of the unforgivable
abomination of ‘shirk’!
Allah says in the Quran: Chapter 4 Surah An-Nisa
Verse 48
Shirk (associating other deities with Allah) is
the only sin that Allah does not forgive, and He forgives, whomsoever He
pleases, sins other than this, for whosoever associates any other partner with
Allah, does indeed forge a big lie and commits the most heinous sin.
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah
Maidah verse 72:
Whoever
commits ‘shirk’ (invoking anything with Allah),
Allah shall forbid for him
If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and
commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws),
one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any
other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be
assured of being led astray.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only
due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me
alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is
the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan
