The Reality of Redemption: Muslims, the People of the Book, and the Relativity of Reward Between Paradise and Hell
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To understand the hadith stating that every Muslim will receive a Jew or Christian as his ransom from the Fire, we must first understand the reality of the opposition between Paradise and Hell as a final destiny encompassing all people, whose position has settled in opposition to the other party. Opposition means opposition between two parties with a common denominator between them.
This opposition has three levels: the first is the opposition between Paradise and Hell themselves; the second is the opposition between the deeds of the people of Paradise and the people of Hell; and the third is the opposition between the reward of the people of Paradise and the people of Hell.
The First Level: The Opposition Between Paradise and Hell
The opposition between Paradise and Hell is clear and does not require extended explanation. The common denominator between them is that every person has a place in both. The believer has a place in Paradise and a place in Hell, and the disbeliever likewise has a place in Paradise and a place in Hell. The believer inherits the place of the disbeliever in Paradise, and the disbeliever inherits the place of the believer in Hell.
Hence the saying of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace:
Abu Hurairah — Sunan Ibn Majah, Vol. 12, p. 476 The dead person goes to the grave, and the righteous man sits in his grave, neither frightened nor anxious. Then it is said to him: Where were you? He will say: I was in Islam. It will be said to him: Who is this man? He will say: Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah — may Allah bless him and grant him peace — he came to us with clear proofs from Allah and we believed him. It will be said to him: Have you seen Allah? He will say: It is not befitting for anyone to see Allah. Then a space will be made for him towards the Fire, and he will look at it, some parts of it crushing others. Then it will be said to him: Look at what Allah has saved you from. Then a space will be made for him towards Paradise, and he will look at its flowers and what is in it. Then it will be said to him: This is your seat. And it will be said to him: You were upon certainty, upon it you died, and upon it you will be resurrected, Allah willing.
The evil man will be made to sit in his grave, terrified and in a state of shock. It will be said to him: What were you doing? He will say: I do not know. It will be said to him: Who is this man? He will say: I heard people saying something, so I said it. Then a path will be opened for him toward Paradise, and he will look at its flowers and what is in it. It will be said to him: Look at what Allah has turned away from you. Then a space will be opened for him towards the Fire, and he will look at it, some parts of it crushing others. Then it will be said to him: This is your seat; you were in doubt, you died in it, and you will be resurrected in it, God willing.
We notice that the subject of the test is belief in the prophethood of the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, and the question of seeing God Almighty in this world — the two decisive issues between Muslims and the People of the Book. We also notice that the bliss is not only entering Paradise but also salvation from Hell, and that the torment is not only entering Hell but also deprivation from Paradise. This is the meaning of the relativity of the reward between the people of Paradise and the people of Hell.
Based on this relativity, the fate of each party is determined in relation to the other party in terms of work and in terms of reward. Thus everyone who enters Hell is a ransom for everyone who enters Paradise, because whoever enters Paradise inherits the seat of the disbeliever in Paradise, and everyone who enters Hell inherits the seat of the believer in Hell — so all the disbelievers are a ransom for all the believers.
Hence you will not find in the Qur’an the expressions “the people of Paradise” and “the people of Hell” except that the relativity of the relationship between them is established alongside them, as is the governing principle of Surat Al-A’raf, where this comparison is the main subject of the surah:
Surat Al-A’raf 7:36 وَالَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا وَاسْتَكْبَرُوا عَنْهَا أُولَٰئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ ۖ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ And those who deny Our signs and are arrogant toward them — those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide therein eternally.
Surat Al-A’raf 7:42 وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَا نُكَلِّفُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا أُولَٰئِكَ أَصْحَابُ الْجَنَّةِ ۖ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ And those who believe and do righteous deeds — We charge no soul except with that within its capacity. Those are the companions of Paradise; they will abide therein eternally.
Surat Al-A’raf 7:44 وَنَادَىٰ أَصْحَابُ الْجَنَّةِ أَصْحَابَ النَّارِ أَن قَدْ وَجَدْنَا مَا وَعَدَنَا رَبُّنَا حَقًّا فَهَلْ وَجَدتُّم مَّا وَعَدَ رَبُّكُمْ حَقًّا ۖ قَالُوا نَعَمْ ۚ فَأَذَّنَ مُؤَذِّنٌ بَيْنَهُمْ أَن لَّعْنَةُ اللَّهِ عَلَى الظَّالِمِينَ And the companions of Paradise will call out to the companions of the Fire, “We have found what our Lord promised us to be true. Have you found what your Lord promised to be true?” They will say, “Yes.” Then a crier will announce between them, “The curse of Allah is upon the wrongdoers.”
Surat Al-A’raf 7:46–48 وَبَيْنَهُمَا حِجَابٌ ۚ وَعَلَى الْأَعْرَافِ رِجَالٌ يَعْرِفُونَ كُلًّا بِسِيمَاهُمْ ۚ وَنَادَوْا أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ أَن سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ ۚ لَمْ يَدْخُلُوهَا وَهُمْ يَطْمَعُونَ ﴿46﴾ وَإِذَا صُرِفَتْ أَبْصَارُهُمْ تِلْقَاءَ أَصْحَابِ النَّارِ قَالُوا رَبَّنَا لَا تَجْعَلْنَا مَعَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ ﴿47﴾ وَنَادَىٰ أَصْحَابُ الْأَعْرَافِ رِجَالًا يَعْرِفُونَهُم بِسِيمَاهُمْ قَالُوا مَا أَغْنَىٰ عَنكُمْ جَمْعُكُمْ وَمَا كُنتُمْ تَسْتَكْبِرُونَ ﴿48﴾ And between them is a partition, and on the heights are men who recognize everyone by their mark. And they will call out to the companions of Paradise, “Peace be upon you.” They have not yet entered it, and they are still hoping. (46) And when their eyes are turned toward the companions of the Fire, they will say, “Our Lord, do not place us with the wrongdoing people.” (47) And the companions of Al-A’raf will call out to men whom they recognize by their mark, saying, “Your multitude has not availed you, nor was it that you were arrogant.” (48)
Surat Al-A’raf 7:50 وَنَادَىٰ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ أَنْ أَفِيضُوا عَلَيْنَا مِنَ الْمَاءِ أَوْ مِمَّا رَزَقَكُمُ اللَّهُ And the companions of the Fire will call out to the companions of Paradise, “Pour upon us from your bounty.”
The Second Level: The Specific Relationship Between Muslims and the People of the Book
The specific relationship between the Muslims and the People of the Book is what the relativity of the reward in Paradise and Hell is built upon. The Jews and Christians are combined under the term “People of the Book,” so the key relationship is between the Muslim and the People of the Book. This specificity is that the Jews, Christians, and Muslims were all addressed to work for God, as established in the hadith narrated by Ibn Umar:
Ibn Umar — Musnad Abi Ya’la al-Mawsili, Vol. 11, p. 328 Your survival among the previous nations is like the period between the afternoon prayer and sunset. The people of the Torah were given the Torah, so they worked until noon, then they were unable to do so, so they were given a qirat, a qirat. The Christians were given the Gospel, so they worked until the afternoon prayer, then they were unable to do so, so they were given a qirat, a qirat. So we were given the Qur’an, and we worked from the afternoon prayer until sunset, and we were given two qirats. The Jews and Christians said: O our Lord, we were more devoted than them, and You gave us qirat by qirat? Then Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, said: Have I wronged you in any of your rewards? They said: No. He said: It is My bounty which I give to whomever I wish.
This hadith proves the relativity of the relationship in reward between the Muslims and the People of the Book. This relativity arose from Allah addressing all three communities to work for Him, then the People of the Book abandoned that work while the Muslims responded. The position of the People of the Book in abandoning work for Allah resulted in deviation from monotheism to polytheism — the basic issue that separates entry into Paradise from entry into Hell.
Monotheism thus becomes the subject of a comparison that establishes the relativity of the reward between the Muslim monotheist and the polytheist People of the Book. The Muslim’s entry into Paradise by his steadfastness in monotheism is the opposite of the People of the Book’s entry into Hell by changing their religion to polytheism.
The Jews and Christians claimed that God was incarnated and seen in this world:
Surat At-Tawbah 9:30 وَقَالَتِ الْيَهُودُ عُزَيْرٌ ابْنُ اللَّهِ وَقَالَتِ النَّصَارَى الْمَسِيحُ ابْنُ اللَّهِ ۖ ذَٰلِكَ قَوْلُهُم بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ ۖ يُضَاهِئُونَ قَوْلَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِن قَبْلُ ۚ قَاتَلَهُمُ اللَّهُ ۚ أَنَّىٰ يُؤْفَكُونَ And the Jews say, “Ezra is the son of God,” and the Christians say, “The Messiah is the son of God.” That is their statement with their mouths; they imitate the statement of those who disbelieved before. May Allah destroy them; how are they deluded?
So the People of the Book became a trial for the Muslims in their religion and belief, until the steadfastness of the Muslim on monotheism became linked to the polytheism of the People of the Book and their temptations:
Surat Al-Baqarah 2:109–112 وَدَّ كَثِيرٌ مِّنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ لَوْ يَرُدُّونَكُم مِّن بَعْدِ إِيمَانِكُمْ كُفَّارًا حَسَدًا مِّنْ عِندِ أَنفُسِهِم مِّن بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الْحَقُّ ۖ فَاعْفُوا وَاصْفَحُوا حَتَّىٰ يَأْتِيَ اللَّهُ بِأَمْرِهِ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ ﴿109﴾ وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ ۚ وَمَا تُقَدِّمُوا لِأَنفُسِكُمْ مِّنْ خَيْرٍ تَجِدُوهُ عِندَ اللَّهِ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ ﴿110﴾ وَقَالُوا لَن يَدْخُلَ الْجَنَّةَ إِلَّا مَن كَانَ هُودًا أَوْ نَصَارَىٰ ۗ تِلْكَ أَمَانِيُّهُمْ ۗ قُلْ هَاتُوا بُرْهَانَكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ ﴿111﴾ بَلَىٰ مَنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ فَلَهُ أَجْرُهُ عِندَ رَبِّهِ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ ﴿112﴾ And many of the People of the Scripture wish they could turn you back after your faith to disbelievers, out of envy from themselves after the truth has become clear to them. So pardon and overlook until Allah delivers His command. Indeed, Allah is over all things competent. (109) And establish prayer and give zakah, and whatever good you put forward for yourselves, you will find it with Allah. Indeed, Allah is Seeing of what you do. (110) And they say, “None will enter Paradise except one who is a Jew or a Christian.” That is merely their wishful thinking. Say, “Produce your proof, if you should be truthful.” (111) Yes, whoever submits his face to Allah while he is a doer of good will have his reward with his Lord. And no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve. (112)
The governing principle for all is: whoever submits his face to Allah while doing good will have his reward, with no fear and no grief — regardless of Jewish or Christian claims of exclusivity.
The Third Level: The Ruling of Oppressor and Oppressed
The People of the Book, with their polytheism, distortion, warfare against Muslims, and temptation of the believers — along with their envy of the religion — occupy the position of the oppressor. The rule of the oppressor and the oppressed therefore applies between them and the Muslims, requiring that the good deeds of the oppressor be taken and given to the oppressed, and the bad deeds of the oppressed be placed upon the oppressor, so that every oppressor becomes a ransom for every oppressed.
This applies on the individual level:
Abu Hurairah — Sahih Muslim, Vol. 16, p. 462 If his good deeds are exhausted before what is due from him is fulfilled, some of their sins will be taken and placed upon him, then he will be thrown into the Fire.
And on the communal level between Muslims and People of the Book:
— Al-Dibaj ‘ala Muslim, Vol. 6, p. 108 On the Day of Resurrection, people from among the Muslims will come with sins like mountains, which God will forgive them and place on the Jews and Christians.
What is meant is that He will place upon them the like of those sins for their own sins — or what is meant is sins that the disbelievers were the cause of by committing them, so they are dropped from the Muslims by God’s forgiveness and placed on the disbelievers because they established them. And in another narration: “He will place on the Jews and Christians the like of them for their disbelief and sins, so He will put them in the Fire for their deeds, not for the sins of the Muslims.”
This is inevitable, consistent with the interpretation of the Almighty’s saying: {And no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another}.
His saying — “He will hand over to every Muslim a Jew or a Christian, and he will say: This is your release from the Fire” — is interpreted by what came in the hadith of Abu Hurairah, may God be pleased with him:
Abu Hurairah — Riyad as-Salihin, Vol. 1, p. 273 Everyone has a home in Paradise and a home in Hell. So when the believer enters Paradise, the disbeliever will succeed him in Hell, because he deserves it due to his disbelief. The meaning of “your release” is that you were exposed to entering the Fire, and this is your release. Because God Almighty has determined for the Fire a number that will fill it, so when the disbelievers enter it with their sins and disbelief, they will be in the sense of being freed for the Muslims.
The Quranic Grounding: Envy, the Children of Israel, and the Placing of Burdens
Since the Jews were the beginning of distortion, envy, and strife, and the Christians followed them in that, the Qur’an singles them out for mention:
Surat An-Nisa’ 4:54 أَمْ يَحْسُدُونَ النَّاسَ عَلَىٰ مَا آتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ ۖ فَقَدْ آتَيْنَا آلَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَآتَيْنَاهُم مُّلْكًا عَظِيمًا Or do they envy people for what Allah has given them of His bounty? But We had already given the family of Abraham the Scripture and wisdom and conferred upon them a great kingdom.
Imam Al-Qurtubi | Tafsir Al-Qurtubi, Vol. 6, p. 137 Abu Ja’far said: He means by “Or do they envy people” — the Jews who were given a portion of the Book. And from Mujahid regarding this verse he said: Jews. And this is supported by His saying: “And let them bear their own burdens and other burdens with their own burdens.”
A clear Quranic example of placing evils upon the Jews specifically is the story of the two sons of Adam in Surat Al-Ma’idah:
Surat Al-Ma’idah 5:27–29 وَاتْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ نَبَأَ ابْنَيْ آدَمَ بِالْحَقِّ إِذْ قَرَّبَا قُرْبَانًا فَتُقُبِّلَ مِن أَحَدِهِمَا وَلَمْ يُتَقَبَّلْ مِنَ الْآخَرِ قَالَ لَأَقْتُلَنَّكَ ۖ قَالَ إِنَّمَا يَتَقَبَّلُ اللَّهُ مِنَ الْمُتَّقِينَ ﴿27﴾ إِنِّي أُرِيدُ أَن تَبُوءَ بِإِثْمِي وَإِثْمِكَ فَتَكُونَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ النَّارِ ۚ وَذَٰلِكَ جَزَاءُ الظَّالِمِينَ ﴿29﴾ And recite to them the news of the two sons of Adam in truth, when they offered a sacrifice and it was accepted from one of them but was not accepted from the other. He said, “I will surely kill you.” He said, “Allah only accepts from the righteous.” (27) Indeed, I want you to bear my sin and your sin and be among the companions of the Fire. And that is the recompense of the wrongdoers. (29)
The meaning of “for my sin” is what is specific to me in what I have neglected — that is, some of my bad deeds will be taken and placed upon you because of your injustice towards me, and you will bear the sin of your killing me. This is supported by the hadith:
— On the authority of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace On the Day of Resurrection, the oppressor and the oppressed will be brought, and some of the good deeds of the oppressor will be taken and added to the good deeds of the oppressed until justice is achieved. If he has no good deeds, some of the evil deeds of the oppressed will be taken and placed upon him.
And the sin of whoever established a bad tradition is proven by:
— Narrated by Muslim, Abu Dawud, and Al-Tirmidhi No soul is killed unjustly except that the first son of Adam will bear some of the burden of it, because he was the first to establish killing.
Then the verses establish the important rule in the relationship of retribution:
Surat Al-Ma’idah 5:32 مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَٰلِكَ كَتَبْنَا عَلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ أَنَّهُ مَن قَتَلَ نَفْسًا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ فَسَادٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا وَمَنْ أَحْيَاهَا فَكَأَنَّمَا أَحْيَا النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption in the land — it is as if he had killed mankind entirely. And whoever saves a life — it is as if he had saved mankind entirely.
The rule established here is that the sin falls on the one who has the cause for which the sin first occurred — in this case, envy, which was the reason the first son of Adam killed his brother. Since envy was present in the Jews, God’s judgment on them was derived from this principle.
The Principle of Calling to Misguidance
The sin of misguidance falls upon the People of the Book because they initiated misguidance and because its cause is present in them. Their call to misguidance is a general rule in accountability and recompense:
Abu Hurairah — Narrated by Muslim, Abu Dawud, and Al-Tirmidhi Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward like the rewards of those who follow him, without that detracting from their rewards in the slightest. And whoever calls to misguidance will have a sin like the sins of those who follow him, without that detracting from their sins in the slightest.
Imam Al-Nawawi | Al-Nawawi’s Commentary on Sahih Muslim, Vol. 6, p. 88 This hadith is one of the principles of Islam: whoever innovates something evil will have upon him a burden like that of everyone who follows him in that action until the Day of Judgment.
Thus the interpretation of redemption is: the sins that Muslims committed in following the People of the Book in their misguidance are upon the Muslim for the sin of following, and upon the People of the Book for the sin of calling to misguidance — because whoever calls to misguidance bears his sin and the sin of whoever acts upon it, without diminishing anything from their sins. So God forgives the Muslim the sin of following if He wills, and leaves upon the People of the Book the sin of calling to misguidance.
Rulings Derived from the Relativity of Reward
The general rule — that the reward of the Muslim nation is double that of the People of the Book — gives rise to several specific rulings:
That whoever converts to Islam from the People of the Book will have a double reward:
— Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol. 1, p. 181 Three will have two rewards: a man from the People of the Book who believed in his Prophet and then believed in Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace.
That whoever is killed from the Muslims at the hands of the People of the Book will have the reward of two martyrs:
Umm Khallad — Al-Sunan Al-Kubra by Al-Bayhaqi, Vol. 9, p. 175 A woman came to the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace — her name was Umm Khallad, and she was wearing a niqab, asking about her son who had been killed. Some of the companions said to her: You have come asking about your son and you are wearing a niqab. She said: If I lose my son, I will not lose my modesty. The Messenger of God said: Your son will have the reward of two martyrs. She said: Why is that, O Messenger of God? He said: Because the People of the Book killed him.
Gog and Magog as Ransom at the End of Time
The established principle of redemption in the relationship between the Islamic nation and the People of the Book on the one hand, and between the Islamic nation and Gog and Magog on the other hand, explains the complete reality of redemption. Gog and Magog will also be a ransom for the Muslims from the Fire at the end of time:
— Sunan Al-Kubra by Al-Nasa’i, Vol. 6, p. 409 Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, will say to Adam on the Day of Resurrection: O Adam, arise and send from your descendants a group for the Fire. He will say: O Lord, what is sent for the Fire? He will say: From every thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine, and one will remain. This was difficult for the companions, so they said: O Messenger of Allah, from every thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine, and one will remain — so who is that one? He entered his house and then came out to them and said: From Gog and Magog, one thousand, and from you one.
The existence of the People of the Book is with the beginning and continuation of the nation, while the existence of Gog and Magog is at the end of its history at the end of time. The end is the most dangerous rule of punishment with God:
— Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol. 6, p. 2436 A servant may do the work of the people of Hell, but he is from the people of Paradise. He may do the work of the people of Paradise, but he is from the people of Hell. Actions are judged by their endings.
From here, the tribulation of Gog and Magog will be the most dangerous thing the nation will face in its entire history. Hence, Gog and Magog were a ransom for the nation from the Fire, just as the People of the Book are, due to their stance towards the nation — its temptation and injustice — from the beginning until the end.
Conclusion The hadith stating that every Muslim will receive a Jew or Christian as his ransom from the Fire is not arbitrary. It is grounded in three interlocking principles: the Quranic relativity between the people of Paradise and Hell, in which every believer inherits the place of the disbeliever in Paradise and vice versa; the ruling of oppressor and oppressed, in which the good deeds of the oppressor are transferred to the oppressed and the sins of the oppressed are placed upon the oppressor; and the principle of calling to misguidance, in which whoever initiates an evil path bears a share of the sin of all who follow it. The People of the Book, as the initiators of distortion, polytheism, and the temptation of Muslims away from monotheism, bear all three of these conditions. Gog and Magog complete the same principle at the end of time.