Letter 259 – Volume 1, Book 4

Part 1 of 2 – On those kuffaar/mushrikiin who NEVER received the da’wah and message of Islam and/or heard of Rasulullah ﷺ

As-Salamu ‘Alaikum

I had wanted to synthesize this letter from Imam Rabbani along with a few other senior scholarly quotes to present a comprehensively critical analysis on the topic.

However, procrastination and other commitments got the better of me, in addition to concerns about the planned long post/topic becoming too lengthy and terse to be digested in one go by the novice reader.

Therefore I am presenting this topic in 2 parts. Each part is both a stand alone analysis, as well as connects perfectly well with the other part. 

This topic is crucial in diffusing some of the confusion caused by the hypocrites pretending to be scholars of Islam. Further on how the hypocrites cause confusion abusing this topic, will be said later in the other part, bi idhniLlah. 

In sha Allah, it shall be of benefit to the reader.

TRANSLATION OF LETTER 259 STARTS ———————————————————–

On the benefits of [Allah’s] sending messengers and that in the realization of Wajib Al-Wujuud Ta’ala the mind is unsteady, and on the special judgment that pertains to the people of the mountains, the mushrikiin of the times of fatrah [between the arrival of two prophets], and the children of the mushrikin [i.e., all kafirs] of dar al-harb, and investigation into prophets being sent to the land of India in the previous nations – and the necessary elucidation pertaining to it – penned towards Makhduumzadah Khawajah Muhammad Sa’eed, qaddasa sirrahu, who is a melting pot of both ‘aqli [i.e., logical and rational, pertaining to the intellect] and naqli [i.e., transferred and taught through authentic chains of narration] knowledges and  superior affinities [to/from mashayekh]:

الحمد لله الذى هدانا و ما كنا لنهتدى لو لا ان هدانا الله لقد جآءت رسل ربنا بالحق

All praise is due to Allah Alone Who guided us, and never would we have been guided had Allah not guided us. Verily, the messengers of our Lord have come with the truth.

Through what discourse can one thank the blessing of the sending of the messengers, ‘alaihimus salatu was salam, and through which heart can such a bliss be acknowledged to the extent of its rightful due, and where are those limbs that can recompense the dues of this supremely exalted blessing by doing righteous deeds. If these most exalted of men did not exist, who would have guided us nincompoops towards the existence of The Creator and His Tawhid.

Philosophers of ancient greece, despite being big thinkers, could not be guided towards the existence of The Creator and attributed the existence of the universe to time, but when the sun of the da’wah of the prophets, ‘alaihimus salatu was salam, came up, shining bright, then the latter ones of the philosophers refuted the religion of their earlier ones by the blessings of the light brought by the da’wah of the prophets, ‘alaihimus salatu was salam – and accepted the existence of The Creator, Jalla Shanahu, and evidenced the proofs for the existence of Haqq Ta’ala. Indeed, our minds are dimmed from this task [of giving the proofs of the existence of Haqq Ta’ala] without following the lights of the prophethood and our understandings and influences are alienated from this matter without the auspices of the prophets, ‘alaihimus salatu was salam. Then, it is puzzling what indication our Maturidi masters have taken on some matters like the autonomy of the mind in evidencing the existence of The Creator and His Tawhid, that they have deemed the mushrik people of the mountains as accountable for both of these, that is, the evidencing of the existence of The Creator and His Tawhid, even if the da’wah of messengers has not reached them, and in both of these, have ruled disbelief and stated everlastingness in the hellfire for them. But, we do not understand the ruling of disbelief and everlastingness in hellfire unless it is after clear communication and establishing sound evidence through the sending of prophets. Indeed, there is no doubt that the mind is one of the evidences pointing towards the existence of Allah, but its evidencing does not contain such soundness of proving, that such a severe punishment may be bestowed.

Question: If the dweller of mountains, who is an idol worshiper, doesn’t stay everlastingly in hellfire, then he will go to heaven, and this too is not possible because entering heaven is forbidden on idol worshipers and their abode is hell. Allah Ta’ala, narrating about Sayyidina “Eisa, ‘ala nabiyyina wa ‘alaihis salam, states:

مَن يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدْ حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَأْوَاهُ النَّارُ

[Translation of meaning]: … Whoever commits shirk against Allah, Allah has forbidden paradise on him, and hellfire is his abode. [Holy Quran 5:72]

and between paradise and hellfire, no other outlet is proven; and even the people of A’araf [1] shall enter heaven after a few days. Indeed then, everlastingness is either in heaven or hell.

This question truly is very difficult. The noble son [Khawajah Makhduum Sa’eed] knows that for a long time this question has been repeated to this ascetic and he hadn’t obtained a satisfactory answer. And whatever the author of Futuhat Al-Makkiyah has stated in response to this question, and proven the sending of prophets on the day of judgment for the da’wah of these people, and their fate in heaven or hell being decided at the acceptance or rejection of that da’wah, is not appreciated and liked by this ascetic – because the hereafter is the domain of results and not the domain of accountability that a prophet needs to be sent therein. After a long time, Haqq Ta’ala blessed me and helped solve this mystery. It was spiritually manifested (through kashf) that these people shall neither stay everlastingly in paradise nor hellfire. Instead, after the rising on the day of judgment and giving accounts, they shall be punished for their sins, and after paying off all rights [i.e., establishing justice], they too shall be annihilated and rendered completely non-existent, just like the animals who are non-accountable. Who shall everlastingness be for and who shall attain everlastingness, when this strange realization was presented in the court of the prophets, ‘alaihimus salatu was salam, they all testified in its favor and accepted it. And the knowledge is with Allah, Subhanahu.

This ascetic finds it quite disturbing that Haqq Ta’ala, despite His Supreme Mercy & Grace, without the sending of clear information through prophets, ‘alaihimus salatu was salam, and only on the basis of the slave’s judgment of mind [regarding His existence], in which there is a great room for mistakes and errors, would send his slave to hellfire, and arrest him in everlasting punishment [as Al-Maturidiy’s madhab indicates to a degree]. Since it is unacceptable to state that they will be rewarded in everlasting heaven despite shirk, as Al-Ash’ari’s madhab [along with Al-Maturidiy’s] proves and since there is no detour between heaven and hell, then the truth really is that which has been spiritually inspired (ilham) to me, that such a person, on the day of judgment, shall be rendered non-existent, after the settling of accounts. And according to the ascetic, the same ruling also applies to the children of the mushrikiin of dar al-harb [who die as children] because entering paradise is dependent on belief, whether that belief is based on original seeking [as would be the case of people who investigate into Islam and then believe] or on subordinated following [as is the case with people born into Muslim families] even though such following is [only] manifested in dar al-Islam, likewise is the case with the children of the ahl al-dhimmah [who die as children], but in their case, belief absolutely doesn’t apply, therefore, their entering heaven is inconceivable, while entering hellfire and staying there everlastingly for a mushrik too is dependent on disbelief being established after accountability, and this too, doesn’t apply in their case. Therefore, their ruling is similar to that of animals, that after being brought back to life, and the accounts being settled and their rights normalized, they shall be annihilated into non-existence. And the same ruling also applies in the case of those mushrikiin who were present in the times of fatrah of prophets [which is the time period between two prophets] and they did not have the opportunity to see the da’wah of any prophet at all.

Beloved son! As much as this ascetic observes and expands his vision, he doesn’t find any single place where our Beloved Prophet’s, sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa aalihi wa sallam, da’wah hasn’t reached. In fact, it feels that just like sunshine, the lights of the da’wah of our Master, ‘alaihis salatu was salam, have reached every place, so much so that it has even reached Yajuuj & Majuuj (Gog & Magog) who are behind a wall. And observing the previous nations, we come to know that such places are very few where a prophet was not sent; so much so that the land of India too, which seems quite alienated from this matter, was also sent prophets, and they have made da’wah towards The Creator, Jalla Shanahu. And in some cities of India, it is felt that the lights of the prophets, ‘alaihimus salatu was salam, are like torches in the pitch darkness of shirk. If someone wants to be certain, then he can be certain and see there is such a prophet that no one followed him at all and no one accepted his da’wah, and there is such a prophet that just one person declared belief on him, and some prophets’ following only amounted to two people, while for some others three people declared belief. A following of more than three people who declared belief on a prophet of India doesn’t seem apparent, that four people might have formed a prophet’s ummah. And whatever the elders of the kuffaar of India have written regarding the existence of Wajib Al-Wujuud Ta’ala and His Attributes, expressing His non-similitude [to creation] and sanctifying Him, as all been taken from the lights of prophethood, because in the previous nations, in everyone’s times, at least one prophet was definitely sent, who has informed of the existence of Wajib Al-Wujuud Ta’ala and its proofs, and regarding His non-similitude and sanctifying Him. If these exalted men did not exist, then how would the blind and disabled intellects of these destitutes wallowing in the darkness of kufr and sin, have attained the wealth of guidance. The lacking intellects of these idiots rule their own selves as worthy of lordship, and do not prove any god other than themselves, as the pharaoh of Egypt had said:

مَا عَلِمْتُ لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَٰهٍ غَيْرِي

[Translation of meaning]: “I don’t know for you a lord other than myself” [Holy Quran 28:38]

and he also said that

لَئِنِ اتَّخَذْتَ إِلَٰهًا غَيْرِي لَأَجْعَلَنَّكَ مِنَ الْمَسْجُونِينَ

[Translation of meaning]: “If you make anyone a god other than me, I shall imprison you” [Holy Quran 26:29]

And when the prophets, ‘alaihimus salatu was salam, informed them that there is The Wajib Al-Wujuud Creator for the universe, then some from amongst these miserably ill-fated people, due to their ugly inclinations, proved that The Creator exists, as a matter of imitation [of the prophets] and pretending [themselves to be like prophets] alleged that He [The Creator] dwells within themselves and based on such blasphemous reasoning, called people to worship themselves.

تعالى الله عما يقول الظالمون علوا كبيرا

Exalted is Allah from what the transgressors [2] say, [by an] infinitely great exaltation.

Here, no idiot should question that if the land of India was sent prophets, then the information of them being sent, would have definitely reached us; in fact, that news would have been almost mass transmitted due to multiple da’wahs. If this is not the case, then that [prophets being sent to India] isn’t either.

In reply to this, we say that the da’wah of these sent prophets was not universal. In fact, someone’s da’wah was to just meant for one people while someone else’s was restricted to a mere village or city. And it is possible that Haqq Subhanahu wa Ta’ala might have blessed a person in a nation or a village with this blessing [of prophethood] and that person would have called the people of that nation or village towards the realization of The Creator, and would have forbidden them from worship of other than Haqq Ta’ala, and the people of that nation or village might have denied him and might have considered him lowly and ignorant, and when the denial and belying would have exceeded all bounds, the the help of Haqq Ta’ala would have come and destroyed them.

Likewise, after some time, another prophet might have been sent to a nation or village, and that prophet too would have enacted the same affair with the people of that nation or village as was done by the previous prophet, and people would have treated the latter prophet too as they did the previous ones. On this analogy, it could have been perpetuating.

In the land of India, plentiful signs of villages and cities being destroyed are found. Even though these people have been destroyed, but those words of da’wah remained amongst their contemporaries.

وَجَعَلَهَا كَلِمَةً بَاقِيَةً فِي عَقِبِهِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ

[Translation of meaning]: And the word has been maintained safely behind so that they may perchance return [to the right path]. [Holy Quran 43:28]

The news about these prophets sent [to India] would have reached us only if a lot of people were their followers and if a strong following was established. If one person came, and left after doing da’wah for a few days, and no one accepted him, and then another one came and he too did the same thing, and only one person believed with him, and with the third [prophet], a mere two or three people believed, then how could the news have spread and become common. And the kuffaar were all obstinate upon denial and they used to belie those who opposed the religions of their forefathers – then who would have passed [the information] on, and to whom!

Secondly, words like ‘nubuwwah’ (prophethood), ‘risalah’ (messengerhood) and ‘payghamber’ (prophet/messenger), were present in the Arabic and Persian languages due to being common to the da’wah of these Prophets and our Prophet, ‘alaihi wa ‘alaihimus salatu was salam, and these words were not present in the Indian language, that the prophets sent to India might have been called “nabi” or “rasuul” or “payghamber” and have been remembered by these titles. 

And furthermore, in response to this question, we state as a contraposition, that even if prophets were not sent to India and even if they did not receive da’wah in their mother tongue – then the ruling on them being that of the people of mountains – that despite their rebellion [against the truth] and claims of godhood, they shall not enter hellfire and shall not be in everlasting punishment – is neither acceptable to the sound mind nor does the rightful spiritual manifestation (kashf) testify to it, because we see some of these dejected, rebellious lowlives in the center of hellfire.

والله اعلم بحقيقة الحال – و السلام

And Allah alone knows the reality of the state. Was-Salam.

———————————————————————————————– END LETTER 259

[1] – Regarding the people of A’araf, they are mentioned in verses 7:46 – 7:49. In fact the Surah itself is called Surah A’araf. The case of the people of A’araf is both slightly off topic to the discussion at hand, as well as pertinent. The verses, the translations of their meanings, and some basic extracts from tafsiir books regarding the verses are given below.

وَبَيْنَهُمَا حِجَابٌ وَعَلَى الأَعْرَافِ رِجَالٌ يَعْرِفُونَ كُلاًّ بِسِيمَاهُمْ وَنَادَوْاْ أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ أَن سَلاَمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ لَمْ يَدْخُلُوهَا وَهُمْ يَطْمَعُونَ

Between them (heaven and hell) shall be a curtain (and this is what is called the A’araf), and on the A’araf will be men* who would know everyone (people of both sides) by the mark [on his forehead]**: they will call out to the Companions of the Garden, “peace on you”: they [i.e., people of A’araf] would not have entered [heaven, yet], but they will have an assurance [of it]. [Holy Quran 7:46]

*As to who exactly the “People of A’araf” will be, there are many different sayings of the mufassireen (exegetes). One is that they shall be those Muslims whose good deeds will be equal to their bad deeds and they shall be stationed on the A’araf. When they look towards the people of paradise, they shall greet them with the salam, when they look towards the people of hellfire, they shall plea to Allah “Our Lord! Do not gather us with the transgressors” and eventually shall enter Jannah.

 Another saying is that the Muslims who were martyred in jihad, but they earned their parents’ displeasure (which is a major sin), they shall be stationed onto the A’araf.

 Another saying says that those Muslims whose one parent is pleased with them, but another one is displeased with them, shall be kept in the A’araf. From all of this [preceding descriptions] we know that the status of the Ahl Al-A’araf (people of A’araf) is less than that of the Ahl Al-Jannah (people of Jannah).

 Mujahid (a senior exegete from the salaf) says that the A’araf shall contain the peacemakers, the pious, the scholars and those who bore hardships – and it shall be for the purpose that people witness the virtues and honor bestowed onto them.

 Another saying says that the prophets shall be assembled onto the A’araf and on that high platform they shall be given distinction above ALL of the people present on the day of judgment, and their virtues and esteemed statuses will be made manifest, so that both people of heaven and people of hellfire see them; and so that they [the prophets] assess all of their [the heaven people’s and hell people’s] states and the rewards and punishments handed out to them.

According to these sayings, the People of A’araf will be the top echelon of the people who shall enter heaven, as they are more esteemed in status than other heaven dwellers.

There is no problem with all these sayings, as it may well be possible that people of all categories might be stationed onto the A’araf with a different wisdom behind the stationing of every individual category [of people].

 ** from amongst both the heaven people and the hell people. The heaven people’s faces shall be white and shiny and fresh. The hellfire’s people’s faces shall be dark, and eyes blue. Such are their signs

وَإِذَا صُرِفَتْ أَبْصَارُهُمْ تِلْقَاء أَصْحَابِ النَّارِ قَالُواْ رَبَّنَا لاَ تَجْعَلْنَا مَعَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ

And when their eyes [i.e., of the people of A’araf] turn towards the people of hellfire, they will say: “Our Lord! Do not gather us with the transgressors.” [Holy Quran 7:47]

وَنَادَى أَصْحَابُ الأَعْرَافِ رِجَالاً يَعْرِفُونَهُمْ بِسِيمَاهُمْ قَالُواْ مَا أَغْنَى عَنكُمْ جَمْعُكُمْ وَمَا كُنتُمْ تَسْتَكْبِرُونَ

The people of A’araf will call to certain men [from amongst the kuffaar] whom they will know from the marks [on their foreheads], saying: “Of what benefit to you is your accumulated wealth and your boastfulness? [Holy Quran 7:48]

أَهَـؤُلاء الَّذِينَ أَقْسَمْتُمْ لاَ يَنَالُهُمُ اللّهُ بِرَحْمَةٍ ادْخُلُواْ الْجَنَّةَ لاَ خَوْفٌ عَلَيْكُمْ وَلاَ أَنتُمْ تَحْزَنُونَ

 [The people of A’araf will address the kuffaar, and point towards the poor Muslims and ask] Are these not the men [whom you considered worthless in the world] and you swore in regards to them that Allah would not show them any Mercy [- have a good look with what honor and bliss they are staying in heaven]? [They have been told:] ‘Enter Jannah: there is no fear upon you, and don’t you grieve.’” [Holy Quran 7:49]

[2] – On transgressors, the Quran says:

وَالْكَافِرُونَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ

  [Translation of meaning]: … and the kafirs, THEY are the transgressors. [Holy Quran 2:254]

CONCLUSION FROM IMAM RABBANI’S LETTER:

1. ONLY & ONLY ISLAM can take one to paradise.

2. Those mushrikiin who NEVER got the message of Islam, don’t have Islam. So they can’t be considered as those who shall enter paradise.

3. At the same time, everlasting hellfire is for those who got the message and YET rejected it. 

4. So the only logical conclusion which Imam Rabbani understood through ilham, was that these people shall be annihilated into oblivion and non-existence. 

5. Also note that Imam Rabbani still calls these people mushrikiin/kuffaar. This is due to the fact that they CAN’T be called ahl al-fitrah because:

a – Ahl al-Fitrah by definition are those who are in the time period between two prophets and in such a time period, the message might have been corrupted beyond recognition or forgotten by people. This is certainly NOT such a time. 

b – They (ahl al-fitrah) might not have received the da’wah of Islam through prophethood, but AT THE SAME TIME their innate human instinct stays intact and they DO NOT worship the sun and the moon and idols and so on. 

As stated, this can be used as a stand alone discourse on the topic, as well as be connected to the, bi idhniLlah, upcoming parts on the same topic. 

And Allah alone grants success. There is no success except by Him.

Was-Salam.