Prophet’S Mother Is in Hell, Even Though the Qur’An States That God Will Not Punish Until He Sends

The Content of the Doubt

An atheist claims that there is a contradiction between the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad. The Qur’an tells us that God will not punish anyone until He sends them a messenger to establish proof against them first. However, the Sunnah tells us that the mother of the Prophet Muhammad is in Hell, even though she died before the Prophet Muhammad’s mission!

Response to This Ridiculous Suspicion

**Firstly: **

No, no, there is no authentic hadith that says that the mother of the Prophet Muhammad is in Hell, and there is no authentic hadith that says that God is tormenting her because she died as an unbeliever before the mission of the Prophet Muhammad.

As for the hadith that says:

[On the authority of Wakee’ ibn ‘Udas, on the authority of his paternal uncle Abu Razin, who said: I said , ” O Messenger of Allah, where is my mother? ” The Prophet said, ” Your mother is in Hellfire. ” I said, ” Then where are those of your family who have passed away?” The Prophet said, “Are you not satisfied that your mother is with my mother ?” ]

But the Previous Hadith is Fundamentally weak.☝

The one who narrated it is Wakee’ ibn ‘Udas , a man whose status is unknown, and there is no reliable documentation of him in the books of the ancients. That is why Abu al-Hasan ibn al-Qattan al-Fasi said about him that his status is unknown. Ibn Qutaybah al-Dinawari said about him that he is unknown. The investigators of Tahrir Taqrib al-Tahdhib said the following about him: [Unknown, as Yala ibn Ata al-Amiri was the only one who narrated from him, and no one authenticated him]. As for Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani , he ranked WakeeibnUdas as (acceptable) , and this rank is one of the lowest and least degrees according to Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalani, and it means that the narrator is weak and his hadith is not accepted except in the case of corroborating evidence and corroborating reports when there is a saheeh hadith from another chain of transmission that confirms his words, but this hadith has no corroborating evidence or corroborating reports, and therefore we cannot confirm its authenticity. So this hadith remains weak.

❤️

Al-Dhahabi said about the narrator Wakee’ ibn Udas that he was “trusted.” This technical term, according to Al-Dhahabi, means that Ibn Hibban mentioned this narrator in his book “Al-Thiqat .” However, this is not evidence of the trustworthiness of the narrator Wakee’ ibn Udas , because scholars of criticism and authentication do not rely on Ibn Hibban’s authentications, given that Ibn Hibban was lenient in authenticating hadiths and mentioned unknown narrators in his book “Al-Thiqat.” Ibn Hibban himself pointed to this point in the introduction to his book.

Therefore, the following was stated in the book (Al-Sunnah by Ibn Abi Asim) - 1/290:

Its chain of transmission is weak, due to the unknown nature of Wakee’ ibn ‘Adas.

It was mentioned in the encyclopedia (The Beauties of Islam and the Response to the Doubts of the Ignorants) - Part Eight - Footnote on page 79 - the following:

[Its chain of transmission is weak. It was included by Ahmad in his Musnad (16234). He said: Muhammad ibn Jafar told us, Shubah told us, on the authority of Yala ibn Ata, on the authority of WakiibnUdus, on the authority of his paternal uncle Abu Razin, who said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, where is my mother? He said: Your mother is in Hellfire. I said: Then where are those of your family who have passed away? He said: Are you not pleased that your mother is with my mother? And in its chain of transmission is WakiibnUdus. It was said: He is an unknown individual .]

So, the Hadith that Says that the Mother of the Prophet is in Hell is a Weak Hadith

As for the famous hadith that Imam Muslim included in his Sahih, it is as follows:

Yahya ibn Ayyub and Muhammad ibn ‘Abbad narrated to us - and this wording is Yahya’s - that they said: Marwan ibn Mu’awiyah narrated to us, on the authority of Yazid, meaning ibn Kaysan, on the authority of Abu Hazim, on the authority of Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of God said: ” I asked my Lord for permission to seek forgiveness for my mother, but He did not give me permission. I asked Him for permission to visit her grave, and He gave me permission . ”

But the previous hadith☝ did not talk about torment or Hellfire, but only about the topic of seeking forgiveness. This hadith did not explicitly mention that the Prophet Muhammad’s mother would be in Hellfire. Rather, all it included was that Allah forbade his Prophet from seeking forgiveness for his mother because she died as a disbeliever. It is worth noting that Islam states that there will be a test on the Day of Judgment for the disbelievers who lived and died in a time when there were no prophets or who did not receive any news about the true religion.

Secondly

Al-Azraqi narrated in his book (Akhbar Makkah) the following:

My grandfather told me, on the authority of Abd al-Majid ibn Abi Rawwad, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, that he told on the authority of Abdullah ibn Mas`ud, that he said: The Prophet went out one day, and we went out with him, until we reached the graveyards. He commanded us, so we sat down. Then he walked past the graves until he reached one of them, and sat down next to it and spoke privately to it for a long time. Then his voice rose. He started to cry and wept, so we cried because of the crying of the Messenger of Allah. Then the Messenger of Allah came to us and Umar ibn al-Khattab met him and said: ” What made you cry, O Messenger of Allah? It made us cry and frightened us. ” He took Umar by the hand and beckoned to us. We came to him and he said: ” Did my crying frighten you?” ” We said, ’ Yes, O Messenger of Allah . ’ He said that two or three times, then he said, ’ The grave you saw me talking to is the grave of Amina bint Wahb. I asked my Lord for permission to visit her, and He gave me permission. Then I asked Him for permission to ask forgiveness for her, but He did not give me permission. ’ So Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, revealed: “It is not for the Prophet and those who have believed to ask forgiveness for their sins, but He did not give me permission. ” { For the polytheists, even if they were relatives.} Surah At-Tawbah, verse 113, { And Abraham’s seeking of forgiveness for his father was only because of a promise he had made to him.} Surah At-Tawbah, verse 114, the Prophet said: ” Then I was seized with the same tenderness a son feels for his father, and that is what made me cry … “

However, the Previous Narration is Very Weak

It was narrated by Al-Azraqi in his book (Akhbar Makkah) , but Al-Azraqi is a person who has not been authenticated by any of the scholars of criticism and authentication. Moreover, the narrator mentioned in the chain of transmission is Abdul-Majid bin Abi Rawwad , a narrator who has been criticized by several scholars. For example:

Abu Hatim al-Razi said about him that he is not strong.

Abu Ya’la Al-Khalili said about him that he makes mistakes.

Yahya bin Saeed Al-Qattan said about him that he is a liar.

Muhammad bin Saad said about him that he was a weak Murji’ite.

Al-Hamidi was talking about him and criticizing him.

Al-Bukhari said about him that there is a difference in his hadiths.

Ibn Hibban said about him that he is abandoned and not strong

Abu Al-Qasim bin Bashkuwal said about him that he was afflicted with weakness.

Al-Hakim Al-Nishaburi said about him that he was one of those who remained silent about him (i.e. left him alone).

Yaqub bin Sufyan Al-Fasawi said about him that he is a stubborn innovator.

Another point is that the original narrator of this hadith is Ibn Jurayj , but Ibn Jurayj did not explicitly state that he heard it from Ibn Masoud . Ibn Jurayj is known to be a frequent mudallis (dissimulator), and his hadith is not accepted unless he explicitly states that he heard it. Here, he used ‘an’ (transmission via ‘an), so the hadith is weak. -----------------------------

The same content of the previous hadith was mentioned as follows:

On the authority of Khalid ibn Khidash, Abdullah ibn Wahb told us, on the authority of Ibn Jarir, on the authority of Ayyub ibn Hani, on the authority of Masruq, on the authority of Abdullah ibn Masud, who said: The Messenger of God went out one day to the graveyard, and we followed him. He came and sat down by one of the graves, and he confided in it for a long time. Then he wept, and we wept because of his weeping. Then he stood up, and Umar ibn Al-Khattab called him, then he called us and said: ” What made you cry?” ” We said, ’ We wept because of your weeping . ’ He said, ’ The grave I sat beside is the grave of Amina. I asked my Lord for permission to visit her, and He gave me permission. I asked my Lord for permission to supplicate for her, but He did not give me permission. And He revealed to me: {It is not for the Prophet and those who believe to ask forgiveness for the polytheists, even if they were relatives.} [Surat At-Tawbah, verse 113]. So I was seized by what The child takes the father …

However, the previous narration is weak because its chain of transmission includes Ibn Jurayj al-Mudallis, who did not explicitly state that he heard it. It also includes Ayoub ibn Hani’ , a narrator who is not documented in the books of the ancients. For example, Ibn ‘Adi al-Jurjani said that he did not know him.

Al-Daraqutni said about him that he is “considered to be considered ,” and this term means that the narrator is weak and is only suitable for consideration in terms of evidence and corroboration.

Yahya bin Ma’in said about this narrator that his hadith is weak.

As for Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, he said about him that he is truthful but his hadith is weak; that is, he does not accurately record his hadith, and therefore he makes mistakes.

There is another narrator in the chain of transmission, Khalid ibn Khidash al-Mahlabi , who has been criticized by some scholars, such as Ali ibn al-Madini and Zakariya ibn Yahya al-Saji . Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani said of him : “He is trustworthy but makes mistakes.”

There is Another Story as Follows

Hasan ibn Musa and Ahmad ibn Abd al-Malik narrated to us: Zuhair narrated to us. Ahmad ibn Abd al-Malik said in his hadith: Zubayd ibn al-Harith al-Yami narrated to us, on the authority of Muharib ibn Dithar, on the authority of Ibn Buraydah, on the authority of his father, who said: We were with the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, and he stopped us while we were with him, close to a thousand riders. He prayed two rak’ahs, then turned to us with his face and eyes. They were shedding tears. Then Umar ibn al-Khattab stood up and sacrificed his father and mother for him, saying: ” O Messenger of Allah, what is the matter with you? ” The Prophet said: ” I asked my Lord, the Mighty and Sublime, to seek forgiveness for my mother, but He did not permit me. So my eyes shed tears out of mercy for her from the Fire .”

However, the previous narration does not state that the Prophet’s mother is in Hell, but rather that the Prophet wept out of mercy for her from Hell.

The meaning of the narration may be that the Prophet was afraid that his mother would enter Hell, so he wept, but it is not a condition that his mother actually entered Hell.

We have previously stated that the unbelievers who did not receive the message of the prophets will be tested on the Day of Judgment, and thus it is possible that the Prophet feared that his mother would fail the test in the Hereafter and enter Hell.

So the narration does not contain any clear indication that the Prophet’s mother is being tormented in Hell.

There is another weak narration that says:

Ahmad ibn Ishaq narrated to us, saying: Abu Ahmad narrated to us, saying: Fadil narrated to us, on the authority of Atiyyah, who said: When the Messenger of God came to Mecca, he stood at his mother’s grave until the sun became hot on him, hoping that he would be given permission to seek forgiveness for her, until the verse was revealed: { It is not for the Prophet and those who have believed to ask forgiveness for the polytheists, even if they were relatives.} After it has become clear to them that they are companions of Hellfire} until His saying: {He disavowed him} Surah At-Tawbah, verses 113-114

However, the previous narration is weak. The narrator, Atiyah ibn Sa’d al-Awfi, is a weak narrator of hadith, and he never met the Prophet.

The narrator, Fadil ibn Marzouq al-Aghar , is trustworthy, but he made mistakes in hadith, to the point that he transmitted fabricated hadiths. Some scholars criticized him for this. For example:

Abu Hatim al-Razi said about him:
[It is very important and his hadith is written down but not used as evidence]
Ibn Hibban said about him:
[He makes mistakes] ,
Ibn Hibban also said about him:
[He is very strange in his hadiths. He was one of those who made mistakes regarding trustworthy people.]
Omar bin Shaheen said about it:
[It is necessary to stop regarding it]
Al-Hakim Al-Nishapuri said about him:
[It is not among the conditions of authenticity, and Muslim was criticized for including his hadith]
Al-Nasa’i said about him that he is weak * Al-Darimi
said about him that he is weak * Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani said about him that he is truthful but has errors.

There is another weak narration, which is as follows:

[Muhammad ibn Sad told me, he said: My father told me, he said: My uncle told me, he said: My father told me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn Abbas, regarding His statement: {It is not for the Prophet and those who have believed to ask forgiveness for the polytheists} Surah At-Tawbah, verse 113, to: {They are companions of Hellfire} Surah At-Tawbah, verse 113: The Messenger of God wanted to ask forgiveness for his mother, but God forbade him from doing so, so He said : Indeed, Abraham, the friend of God, sought forgiveness for his father . “So God Almighty revealed: {And Abraham’s seeking of forgiveness for his father was not but because he was compassionate and forbearing.} [Surat At-Tawbah, verse 114]

But the previous narration is very weak, and the chain of narrators is all weak. This chain of narration is called the chain of narrators of the Al-Awfi family . It is made up of narrators from the same family: (the Al-Awfi family) , and they are all weak in hadith. For example, in the chain of narration is Sa`d ibn Muhammad Al-Awfi , and Ahmad ibn Hanbal said about him:

[A Jahmite, and he was not among those who deserved to be written about, nor was he suitable for that]

For example, in the chain of transmission is Al-Husayn ibn Al-Hasan Al-Awfi , who is a denier of hadith and weak according to the consensus of scholars…

and so on.

Then there are different narrations regarding the reason for the revelation of the verse: {It is not for the Prophet and those who have believed to ask forgiveness for the polytheists} ; some narrations state that the verse was revealed regarding the uncle of the Prophet when the Prophet wanted to ask forgiveness for him after this uncle died in disbelief. Some other sayings indicate that the verse was revealed regarding Muslims who wanted to ask forgiveness for their disbelieving relatives who died in disbelief, so the verse was revealed forbidding them from doing so.

So, there is No Authentic, Explicit Narration that the Prophet’s Mother is in Hell

As for some sheikhs who cite as evidence the verse: “It is not for the Prophet and those who have believed to ask forgiveness for the polytheists, even if they were relatives, after it has become clear to them that they are companions of Hellfire.” [At-Tawbah: 113]

However, the previous verse speaks about the ruling on polytheists who are clearly the people of Hellfire. It does not address the polytheists whose fate in the afterlife is not yet clear. I explained a short while ago that there are two types of polytheists: There is the polytheist who has heard of the virtues of Islam but persists in his polytheism. This person will undoubtedly go to Hellfire.

On the other hand, there is another polytheist who has never known anything about Islam, nor heard of it, nor heard of the call of any prophet, nor has he received a true picture of the call of the prophets. Therefore, it has not yet become clear to this polytheist that he is among the people of Hellfire, but rather he will be tested on the Day of Resurrection, and we should stop asking forgiveness for him until the ruling on this polytheist on the Day of Resurrection becomes clear to us.

Note:

Some enemies of Islam commit the fallacy of attribution, where they say to me: “Look at Sheikh so-and-so saying such-and-such, and look at Sheikh so-and-so saying such-and-such” !

But this approach is the approach of the bankrupt and it is an illogical approach because Islam is built on evidence, not on the individual himself. The sheikh is neither a messenger nor a disbeliever, but rather a mere mujtahid who may be wrong or right. This is what the imams of Islam have taught us since ancient times. Therefore, the individual must provide evidence first.

There is a jurisprudential rule that says: [The scholar can be inferred and used as evidence, but he cannot be inferred or used as evidence.]

Finally

Regarding the hadith that says that the Prophet Muhammad’s father is in Hell, scholars have responded to this point by saying that the Prophet Muhammad’s father had heard and learned about the Hanafi school of thought, which is the monotheistic religion of Abraham and Ishmael, but he did not follow this religion and preferred to follow the paganism that was prevalent among his people, and thus he deserved Hell.

There is a point I would like to point out, which is that some Christians say: How can the mother of the Prophet be in Hell?

And I reply to them and say:

I explained in the article that there is no authentic, explicit text indicating that the Prophet’s mother is in Hell.

Christianity also states that Christian prophets lived in hell for hundreds of years, and some of them were infidels. For example, the Prophet Solomon, according to the Bible, followed paganism despite having written several books in the Bible. Similarly, the Apostle Nicholas was one of the seventy Christian apostles and was filled with wisdom and the Holy Spirit. However, he eventually apostatized, became a heretic, and invented the Nicolaitans.

Indeed, Christianity states that all humans, including the prophets, descended into hell and were imprisoned there until Jesus descended to them and brought them out of hell hundreds and thousands of years later!!!

The Holy Bible, which Jews and Christians believe in, states that their God did not send messengers to all nations, and so most nations remained without a messenger throughout history that preceded the appearance of Jesus!!!