Friday, April 10, 2020

Islam critiqued refuses paying for others' sins; Ransoming Muslims from hell?

In answer to the video "YHWH, Allah and the Jews"

For an understanding of that hadith, a few Quran principles need to be established. In 2:24 it states that the men themselves will be the fuel of Hell, to keep the fire burning, and to get themselves burned in that fire. This concept is alluded to repeatedly 21:98. That is because the energy a person expends in this world for any given action is converted to matter in the Hereafter. On the Day of Judgement
99:6"men will appear alone so that their deeds can be shown to them"  
19:59"so they shall soon meet (the result of their) sin". 
It is the manifestation of this esoteric aspect of one's actions that causes pain or pleasure in the Hereafter and the Quran often likens the sinful actions in this world to unconscious self-chastisement
"those who swallow the property of the orphans unjustly, surely they only swallow fire into their bellies and they shall enter burning fire"  
2:174-5"those who hide aught of the Scripture which Allah hath revealed and purchase a small gain therewith, they eat into their bellies nothing else than fire...Those are they who purchase error at the price of guidance, and torment at the price of pardon. How constant are they in their strife to reach the Fire!".
These verse speak for themselves, some people are already building their place in hell through their deeds in this world and already burning in it without knowing it.
Each person therefore perfects/worsens his abode in the Hereafter through his thoughts and actions in this world. That is why the Quran speaks of the dwellers of Heaven as having inherited it, they inherited the fruit of their own deeds
19:63,39:74,23:10-11,43:72"And this is the garden which you are given as an inheritance on account of what you did". 
This parallelism, actions in the material world simultaneously translated into matter in the spiritual world, finds echo in a few ahadith, where it is reported that
"When it will be the Day of Resurrection Allah would deliver to every Muslim a Jew or a Christian and say: That is your rescue from Hell-Fire".
As understood by the earliest Muslim authorities in hadith, this report is connected to other similar ones saying
"There is not one among you who does not have two places, a place in Paradise and a place in Hell". 
The elaborated meaning is thus that, as noted by the scholars and in light of the aforementioned Quran passages, those Jews and Christians are not randomly chosen, but will be the sinful disbelievers among them. The Quran repeatedly distinguishes them from the righteous of their communities deserving of reward in the Hereafter 3:113-115,5:83. These sinful Jews and Christians will take the place a Muslim had fashioned for himself in hell through his worldy actions. Some Muslims, the Quran says, not all Muslims, on the Day of Judgement will be deemed worthy of Paradise and deserving of forgiveness despite their minor sins, in light of their overwhelming good actions.

Although that person's sins will have inevitably translated into matter in the afterlife, building him a place in hell, he will not enter it since he has been absolved from his sins. This in itself does not make that abode disappear. And this leaves a feeling of uneasiness, knowing that a place in hell marked with one's name still exists. That feeling will be ransomed through the sight of another person made to enter it due to his own sins. 

The Quran speaks of several levels to hellfire, depending on actions and choice of creed. After Muslims, those closer to divine truths are Jews and Christians and hence, depending on their worldly actions can be very similar in station than a sinful Muslim. That is why the sinflul among them, and not among the idolaters for example are mentionned as taking a forgiven Muslim's place in hell. Now the Quran makes it very clear, nobody in the Hereafter suffers more than his deserved punishment 2:261-274,28:84,6:160. Those taking other people's places in hell will not be downgraded and made to suffer more than what they deserve. Their total suffering, in both their own place in hell, as well as the place once reserved for a Muslim, will correspond exactly to what they deserve
"and they shall not be dealt with unjustly".
This could be achieved by removing the person from his own station of suffering, then upgrading him to a place of lighter punishment, the place once reserved to a Muslim. He will remain until the cleansing process is finished and the balance of justice is equalised. The Muslim, as already said, has avoided suffering on account of his overwhelming good deeds, not because someone has been designated to take his place in hell.

As a side note, the "ransoming" by God is not done by offering something from Himself to release the Muslims. God rather creates a situation where someone, by virtue of his own deeds, becomes another's ransom.

In a hadith, the prophet speaks of 3 types of reckoning upon the Muslims on the Day of Judgement
"One sort will enter Paradise without rendering an account. Another sort will be reckoned an easy account and admitted into Paradise. Yet another sort will come bearing on their backs heaps of sins like great mountains".
Regarding the last group the hadith continues that, as amply stated in the Quran, because of their wordly servitude and humility, their sins will be forgiven through their own good deeds 
"Allah will ask the angels though He knows best about them: Who are these people? They will reply: They are humble slaves of yours. He will say: Unload the sins from them..."

The hadith continues
"Unload the sins from them and put the same over the Jews and Christians"

As is clear, this unloading of the Muslims' sins is due to their own deeds, not because others were made to carry their burdens. The hadith authorities have understood the sins put on the Jews and Christians as other than those unloaded from the Muslims. It will be their own sins but same in nature as those the Muslims were carrying. 

These Jews and Christians are different than the righteous among them, whom the Quran repeatedly stresses will be forgiven and rewarded in the hereafter.

The prophet might have mentionned Muslims, Jews and Christians specifically because of the question/remark he was reacting to. Someone might have commented on the fate of the sinners among these 3 groups; the Muslims, if they were righteous enough will have their sins removed from them, while the Jews and Christians will carry their own sins that are similar in nature to those the Muslims were carrying. This hadith as a side note is often brought up by Christian missionaries who try to project unto Islam their own unease in regards to their illogical concepts. If, for argument's sake, the concept of ransoming someone for another's sins seems like a perverted, unjust system then what to say of God's ransoming mankind's sins through the blood of a completely sinless, innocent human being as they believe in regards to Jesus?

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