The misquoted reports about Abu Bakr's ridda wars do not come in the context of apostasy. The people fought against were regarded as Muslims according to many other reports, although a minority had apostised. They were fought for their refusal to pay due government taxes and poor rate, and after they initially and unexpectedly attacked those that sided with Abu Bakr on the issue, and after causing bloodshed among government ranks and attempted to overthrow the first caliph.
Prior to giving further details about this event, it is important noting that the Quran sanctions warfare against anyone, including Muslims, who refuse to desist from destructive practices such as riba 2:278-9. The events of the ridda war occured shortly after the prophet's death when many disheartened recent converts apostised and others attempted to reduce their community contributions. Umar is reported to have pleaded with Abubakr to be more lenient with those that refused paying their dues, which he categorically refused. Clearly the issue was not about spiritual apostasy or else Abubakr would have acceded to Umar's request, accepting that they pay less in exchange of their adherence to the Muslim community. Abubakr sent them an official letter calling them back to Islam, those very people who were nominal Muslims, but that refused adhering to the laws of the Islamic state. He instructed his emissaries to fight the rebels after they have been informed of their obligations towards the state and have rejected
"(the duties) that are incumbent upon them and [the advantages] that accrue to them, and (the emissary) should take what is [imposed] on them and give them what they are due".
In his letter Abubakr additionaly appealed to the prophet's practice in a similar situation. When he was confronted to Muslims who rebelled against the state and refused paying their dues, unjustly taking advantage of the system which others were sacrificing their own wealth and lives to maintain
"he struck whoever turned his back to Him (God) until he came to Islam, willingly or grudgingly".
Such a behavior is equal to turning one's back to God, as is represented by the state religion. This isnt speaking of simply renouncing the religion while remaining a full fledged citizen with his rights and obligations.
The rebels of the ridda war lauched their assault by night while the majority of the Muslim soldiers were sent on an expedition outside Medina. Abu Bakr fought back with his people and killed those who were involved. It is with such historical and Quranic perspective that the killing of apostates as reported in the history and hadith books should be understood, spiritual apostasy was never the sole charge warranting the death penalty, but rather political apostasy ie socio-political destabilisation and conspiracies to commit bloodshed, especially in times of war or other sort of trials that caused the early Muslims to be on high alert against those who wished to overthrown the system.
In addition, some among the early Muslims' enemies pretended converting in attempts to infiltrate the community and harm it through inciting sedition and providing vital information in times of war 3:72,33:60. All governements would punish and sometimes execute foreign spies, double agents, or traitors to an enemy with whom one is at war. These are the people covered in the saying
"The one who leaves his religion AND SEPERATES from the community, kill him".
This clearly puts 2 condition for the execution of an individual in war times, leaving the religion combined with seperation from the community to join the enemy. Leaving the religion while remaining a full fledged citizen with his rights and obligations does not warrant the death penalty. This openly declared threat would make the conspirators think twice before engaging in their insidious behavior. All scholars have understood that leaving Islam must be coupled with a will to harm it and its people, to warrant the death penalty. Ibn Taymiyah said
"Muhaarabah (waging war against Islam) is of two types: physical and verbal. Waging war verbally against Islam may be worse than waging war physically – as stated above – hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to kill those who waged war against Islam verbally, whilst letting off some of those who waged war against Islam physically. This ruling is to be applied more strictly after the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Mischief may be caused by physical action or by words, but the damage caused by words is many times greater than that caused by physical action; and the goodness achieved by words in reforming may be many times greater than that achieved by physical action. It is proven that waging war against Allaah and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) verbally is worse and the efforts on earth to undermine religion by verbal means is more effective".
Anyone can leave Islam and come back time and time again without punishment or being killed 4:137 which bellies the idea of killing a person as a punishment for leaving Islam or wavering in his faith. However God will only accept his repentance if it is sincere 3:86-89 and not followed by constant periods of disbelief then belief 4:137.
As reported by ibn Abbas
"A man from among the Ansar accepted Islam, then he apostatized and went back to Shirk. Then he regretted that, and sent word to his people (saying): 'Ask the Messenger of Allah [SAW], is there any repentance for me?' His people came to the Messenger of Allah [SAW] and said: 'So and so regrets (what he did), and he has told us to ask you if there is any repentance for him?' Then the Verses: 'How shall Allah guide a people who disbelieved after their Belief up to His saying: Verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful' was revealed. So he sent word to him, and he accepted Islam."
Nowhere does the Quran say a person must be punished or killed solely for the act of apostasy and all it mentions is that apostates shall face a terrible punishment in the Hereafter. This of course excludes those who apostize unwillingly, who are
3:86-91,16:106"compelled while his heart is at rest on account of faith".
Such a person is compelled to renounce faith with his lips due to imminent danger on his life while he remains a firm believer in his heart. This is what is often referred to as taqiya. The Quran doesnt condone lying, rather commands to uphold one's pledges, to judge with equity, to speak justly, kindly, with integrity, without corruption, with the outward locution corresponding to the intent
4:5-9,135,6:152,2:83,235,3:32,70"O you who believe! Reverence God and speak justly".
It is further to be noted here, that although martyrdom in the cause of faith is highly meritorious, still the Quran absolves those who sincerely, not out of lack of faith, cannot go to such an extent because
2:233"no soul shall have imposed upon it a duty but to the extent of its capacity".
Saving life takes precedence over following the law. That is why a Muslim may eat pork if facing starvation. Exactly what Jesus taught in the Gospels when he transgressed the sabbath by citing David's example.
Punishment in the hereafter for the sin of apostasy is therefore solely the lot of the one who willingly, without any compulsion renounces Faith and:
"opens (his) breast to disbelief-- on these is the wrath of Allah, and they shall have a grievous chastisement".
Severing of social ties must be made with apostates who were former hypocrites, especially in the context of war as in the verses that will be quoted, since these former Muslims used to hide their hatred and enmity from other Muslims, and now openly declare it, even striving to make them leave their religion
4:88-89"What is the matter with you, then, that you have become two parties about the hypocrites, while Allah has made them return (to unbelief) for what they have earned?..They desire that you should disbelieve as they have disbelieved, so that you might be (all) alike".
They are therefore to be cut off from the community to avoid the spread of their mischief
4:89"take not from among them friends until they fly (their homes)/hajiru in Allah's way".
Ties with them can only be restored when they decisively return to Islam (as indicated by the clause "fi sabilillah/for Allah's sake") and prove their faith to the rest of the community through difficult sacrifices such as leaving their homes and doing hijra in Allah's way, forsaking the domain of evil for an environment where they can practice their faith without restrictions, as the true believers were doing. If they do not do so then their expression of Islam is only for the purpose of spying and destruction, serving the purpose of those with whom Muslims are at war. In this case
4:89"if they turn back, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them, and take not from among them a friend or a helper".
They must be executed because of their open and secret hostile activities. However if those apostates refuse to flee their homes in Allah's way but nevertheless end the threat from within the community, by migrating for
4:90"a people between whom and you there is an alliance"
or who decide to remain within the Muslim community but have decisively abandoned all hostilities
4:90"who come to you, their hearts shrinking from fighting you or fighting their own people..withdraw from you and do not fight you and offer you peace, then Allah has not given you a way against them".
This Quranic passage establishes the social ruling as regards apostasy. The Quran frames it exclusively in the context of war, which is also the historical context in which the early scholars of Islam discussed the law of apostasy. That is why neither the Quran nor the scholars impose a punishment solely for the act of apostasy, but when it is coupled with hostile activity, verbal or physical.
Ridda is the word used in reference to those who engage in this multifaceted behavior. This historical perspective is often missed, disregarded or obscured whenever critics quote a saying from the prophet on apostasy, or the rulings of the fuqaha'. One can now understand the words of the prophet
"The one who leaves his religion AND SEPERATES from the community, kill him".
Here, the apostate is to be killed if he in addition severes all ties with the community. In those days, this amounted to joining enemy ranks. If the apostate remains in the community he is left unharmed. We thus see the prophetic practice in clear congruence with the aforementioned Quranic passage.
However even in times of peace, execution of an apostate is sometimes justified. In an Islamic state, Islam itself is what constitutes and legislates life on every level; administrative, economic, social etc. For a Muslim citizen to abandon Islam means to reject the law of the land. One cannot at the same time pledge to abide by those rules while rejecting the essence of the legislative authority, which is the Quran and the prophetic sunna. The entire system derives from these 2 pillars, and new laws are continuously formulated based on them. This constitutes a destabilising factor on all levels of society; how can a government endure if people reject a system unanimously adopted by the community? Except under a tyranny, such an attitude is unjustifiable and is an existential threat to the state. That is why the jurists have legislated for the threat to be cut off from its onset, before it becomes a movement. The apostate on the other hand is free to leave the land and reside outside Islamic jurisdiction, or remain in it without making his apostasy public. But if he makes the apostasy and rejection of the system public, remains in Muslim land, he becomes de facto an outlaw and a destabilising factor within society. Even if it is for the sake of converting to one of the non-Muslim groups of the Islamic land, the apostate still is guilty of rejecting the legislative authority. The non-Muslim groups on the other hand, pre-existed the Islamic state until it expanded to their lands. They never at any point rejected the legislative authority, but instead embraced it, along with the freedom of religion it grants them.
To further corroborate, under Uthman's caliphate, a man named Abdullah Ibn Saba and his followers deeply resented Uthman, favoring Ali instead whom they saw as a semi divine figure more eligible to be caliph. Their over exaltation of Ali took them outside the fold of Islam, making them apostates. Their true aim by feinting conversion was to spread political and social discord to destabilize the caliphate. They planned on capturing and killing Uthman should he refuse stepping down, and Uthman was eventually murdered. Ali eventually arrested them, exiled some of them and executed others. The fact some were exiled shows that although they were all considered apostates, they did not all qualify for the death penalty. The executions were not motivated by choice of creed, which isnt an endorsed practice by the Quran, but rather for the capital offense of fasad fil ard, which per the Quran warrants the death penalty. Although the brief and most authentic reports do not clearly say how this was done, some say that they were first burned then thrown into a ditch while others say they were first beheaded then had their lifeless bodies burnt.
In both possible cases, Ali had done something which the prophet forbade;
- the first potential misdeed was execution by fire. It is reported
"When we intended to depart, Allah's Apostle said, "I have ordered you to burn so-and-so and so-and-so, and it is none but Allah Who punishes with fire, so, if you find them, kill them". In another report "We were with the Prophet and we passed by a colony of ants which had been burned, and the Prophet became angry and said, ‘It is not fitting for any man to punish with the punishment of Allah.”
- the second potential misdeed was mutilation of lifeless bodies. It is reported
"The Prophet forbade robbery (taking away what belongs to others without their permission), and also forbade mutilation (or maiming) of bodies.”
The traditions explain that this instruction is rooted in a Quranic verse
16:126"And if you take your turn, then retaliate with the like of that with which you were afflicted; but if you are patient, it will certainly be best for those who are patient".
This verse is said to have been revealed after the prophet had seen the violent manner in which his uncle Hamza's dead body had been ripped open and then threatened
"Never yet have i felt more anger than now i feel; and when next time God gives me victory over Quraysh, i will mutilate thirty of their dead".
This emotional, on the spot declaration was never fulfilled, and the prophet in addition forbade mutilation as shown above, in obedience to the Quranic directive. Even in warfare, killing must be swift, without recourse to inefficient weapons that cause unnecessary suffering
"The Prophet forbade the throwing of stones (with the thumb and the index or middle finger), and said "It neither hunts a game nor kills (or hurts) an enemy, but it gouges out an eye or breaks a tooth".
When ibn Abbas learned of what Ali had done (either burning or mutilating), he publicly rebuked him by appealing to the prophetic sunna mentioned above, which embarrassed Ali, hence his first reaction
"Wayh Ibn Abbas!".
Ali either knew about the prophet's commands but let his emotions overcome him in the execution of the right course, or had forgotten them. So he admitted his error and praised ibn Abbas for speaking the truth
"When ‘Ali was informed about it he said: How truly ibn Abbas said!"
18:29,2:256"There is no compulsion in religion; truly the right way has become clearly distinct from error; therefore, whoever disbelieves in the Shaitan and believes in Allah he indeed has laid hold on the firmest handle, which shall not break off, and Allah is Hearing, Knowing"
When 2:256 says there is no compulsion in religion, it also gives the reason for the prohibition of compulsion
"truly the right way has become clearly distinct from error".
The reason is that truth has been clearly explained, there is thus no need to enforce it. It is available for anyone to consider, while knowing the consequences of accepting or rejecting it. The clause on which the prohibition of force is based ie "truly the right way has become clearly distinct from error" was never reversed, whether before or after the "verses of the sword" meaning the effect must equally remain unchanged.
Islam requires that belief follows reason and understanding. There is no need for compulsion in a matter whose advantages and disadvantages are clearly defined and the reward and punishment for accepting or rejecting it well-explained
"the right way has become clearly distinct from error".
This is why the prophet is told that he is not a warder, keeper and guardian over those who turn away. Like all prophets that passed before him his task consists in warning and giving glad tiding to the people, he has no power to influence their freewill or force their belief 17:54,42:48,88:21-2. He should therefore let him disbelieve whoever wishes to 18:29 after making sure that the message has reached them 13:40 in the most kindly manner 6:108,16:125.
Sure anyone able but unwilling to defend his own people from persecution is deserving of condemnation, in this world and the next. When the believers were stirred up for battle, it was based on the reality of their physical and spiritual opression, whether men, women, old and young alike 2:217,4:75,8:26,22:39-40,28:57,60:1,85:8-10,96:9-10. This was an undeniable reality and necessity. They had to overcome any fear and trust that Allah's help will come at the battlfield. He will weaken the struggle of the oppressors no mater the forces they can muster 4:84. Even when this was established, the prophet still did not expect the Muslims to shed their blood for a decision from which they were excluded. Consensual agreement always preceded the final decision to go to war, as here stated in the context of the battle of Uhud
3:159"and seek their advise in all matters of public policy".
Once the decision is attained by common agreement, the plan must be launched with an absolute trust in God
3:159"then when you have decided upon a course of action, trust in Allah; for surely Allah loves those who place their trust in Him".
Even the prophet after that point may not revoke the covenant and act according to his whims 3:161-4. It is to be noted that in that particular context of Uhud, the prophet was the minority opinion. He advised confronting the Meccan alliance within Medina, instead of meeting them at Uhud. Yet he never protested the decision once it was mutually agreed upon, nor did he blame the majority once the battle was over and the Muslims were defeated. No matter how supreme the wisdom of the Muslim community's ruler is, in this case a prophet of God, the right of the remaining members of society to be consulted can never be waved off. We see here that in this defeat of the Muslims at Uhud, an important lesson was implemented as to the conduct of a Muslim leader.
Once everybody is set to leave with a full trust in their decision and the will of God, then their physical, mental, financial capacities as compared to their enemies only become secondary issues. Only if these conditions would result in overburdening and harming the person and the people depending on him, even before engaging in fighting, then such person is justified in holding back from fighting 9:91,48:17. The others rely on Allah, who knows their material and physical limits, and will assist them 8:66. They are fully justified in fighting back, and will be helped in the process
22:38"Surely Allah will defend those who believe; surely Allah does not love any one who is unfaithful, ungrateful".
Part of the 613 Jewish commandments is to similarily be fearless in battle and fully trust in God Deut3:22,7:21,20:3 and in fact the reason why the Jews were punished with a 40 years desert wandering prior to their entry into the land promised to their forefathers was because they had shown fear and mistrust in God's capacity to defeat, through a weak army, a much stronger adversary. Besides the wordly necessity of waging war in God's way, the Quran asssures those who fear death and the loss of this present world that it is a shallow reasoning since this world is ephemeral and the Hereafter awaiting the righteous believers, including those that went forth for a just war, is perduring 4:74. Choosing to serve God in this way, putting one's own life on the line to defend the oppressed and advance the cause of truth is the most selfless spiritual sacrifice one can achieve and hence martyrdom is justifiably described in the prophetic sayings as meriting the highest reward. And although the believers are promised wordly gains as a result of their faith in God and His prophet, as a result of their personal sacrifices for the sake of their cause against all odds, the Quran stresses that these wordly gains must never be the true motive. However military jihad only ranks third in terms of divine appreciation
"I asked the Prophet 'Which deed is loved most by Allah?" He replied, 'To offer prayers at their early (very first) stated times.' " `Abdullah asked, "What is the next (in goodness)?" The Prophet said, "To be good and dutiful to one's parents," `Abdullah asked, "What is the next (in goodness)?" The Prophet said, "To participate in Jihad for Allah's Cause." `Abdullah added, "The Prophet narrated to me these three things, and if I had asked more, he would have told me more".
Just as obeying a divine injuction to fight in Allah's way results in being rewarded in this world as well as the next 48:18-21, turning one's back to the enemy and refusing to fight in Allah's way makes a person
48:16,8:16"deserving of Allah's wrath"
in this world as well as the next, as stated in the Hebrew Bible in
Jer48:10"A curse on anyone who is lax in doing the Lord’s work! A curse on anyone who keeps their sword from bloodshed".
As already said above, history bares testimony to this fact with the example of the Israelites who had refused to put their trust in the prophet Musa to go forth and fight in Allah's way. Their wordly reward was consequently taken away and they were forbidden entry into the blessed land and sent to wander 40 years in the desert until the last one of those who had shown cowardice was dead and a new generation raised instead that would willingly take up arms, fight and conquer as divinely ordained.
See the Quran in 2:243,5:21-26 as well as the Hebrew Bible in Numbers13:28-33,14:1-35,21:14-35,26:64-65 and Deut2:7,14-19,Josh5:6.
The Muslims are warned that the same fate awaits those who turn their backs to the prophet when they are called to struggle in Allah's way
9:38-39"If you do not go forth, He will chastise you with a painful chastisement and bring in your place a people other than you, and you will do Him no harm; and Allah has power over all things".
The Believers should rejoice at the opportunity of serving God's cause but what God wishes to accomplish isnt really dependent on them for He could easily uproot them in case of disobedience and rise another people instead. However, those who followed the prophet Muhammad in times of peace and war are the opposite example. Contrary to the majority of Israelites in Moses' time who refused to march forth despite witnessing all kinds of divine miracles, the majority of Muhammad's followers fought when ordered to. This is corroborative of their desperate situation, leaving them no choice but to fight for their survival, the survival of their families and their rights to worship Allah. Because of all their sacrifices and because they went forth when they were commanded to, they were made successors in the land 6:133-134 and they earned Allah's rewards in this world as well as, God wills, in the next.
In addition, the Muslims are commanded not to neglect the obligatory prayers, even when facing the enemy at the battlefield 4:101-3. This shows the true objective of these warriors fighting to free themselves and their people from religious bondage; fighting was not their primary occupation for when the time of holding the timed and ordained communion with their Lord arrived, they performed their spiritual obligations despite the imminent danger.
I will get to that youtuber's hadith, but just after an introduction to a similarly misused and abused Quran passage. In 2:282, The ratio of 1 man equivalent to 2 women's testimonies is a general advice
"so that IF one of them errs, the other can remind her".
It is a conditional statement, which makes the second female a passive witness unless the primary witness is forgetful. Therefore if a women is sound and competent, then she would need no other woman to remind her of something she knew but forgot. Her single testimony becomes equal in value to that of the man. The testimony is not gender based as one expert is not sufficient for a transaction to be binding; it requires 2 men as is clear from the verse's beginning
"get two witnesses out of your men".
The verse actually favors a woman witness who wouldnt automatically be dismissed for incompetence but would be supported in case of error while the single male witness would be replaced in the same case.
The verse addresses the issue of financial matters and the fact is that on average, women are much less qualified than men in financial expertise, even in western societies. As well, women are almost all affected, sometimes completely debilitated by PMS symptoms during and around the times of their menstrual cycles, in their emotional-intellectual and physical capacities, all of which might potentially compromise female testimony in such a situation. To dismiss that condition as potentially affecting every single woman simply for the sake of preserving a facade of progressive thinking, is a denial of an objective reality.
The Quran doesnt deny human nature and instead approaches everyday matters realistically and pragmatically. It only accepts the testimony of a person affected by a psycho-emotional condition that could potentially influence the objectivity of a case, when it is a woman -hence the 2nd woman to remind her. It is clearly referring to a condition not to the presumed intellectual capacities of a woman, hence the 2nd woman's role to remind her of something she knows but was mislead into forgetting.
If what the Quran meant was that a man's testimony is equal to 2 women's, the Quran in other instances ie when a woman is accused of adultery, would be saying that one woman's testimony is equal to 4 men's because if 4 men are not brought forth then their testimony will not be valid and they will be lashed for lying 24:4.
Also, in the case a husband accuses his wife of adultery without bringing forth eyewitnesses, her testimony has the same value as her husband's, contrary to the Bible where the accused wife is immediately considered guilty by default and is made to undergo humiliating and strange rituals to prove her innocence Numbers5:11-31. Without forgetting the fact that in Jewish law, women arent even allowed to serve as witnesses in legal matters in a court of law.
The famous hadith, gladly picked up by the critics if Islam, where the prophet reportedly admonishes a group of women for their "deficiencies" isnt speaking of mental IQ, that notion is bellied by the description of the inquisitive woman as jazlah/wise,intelligent. The second part of the hadith, with the word ghalaba which means to overcome, plainly states that women might outsmart "dhi lubbin”—a very intelligent, or wise, or resolute man. How can an intellectually inferior individual outwit one of superior intellect? The word 'aql does not always equate with general mental capacities. That is why the prophet corroborated his statement "'aql deficiency" with the verse 2:282 spoken of earlier which deals with the issue of 2 women witnesses replacing one male witness. And neither does naqs necessarily equate with deficiency but also "to reduce".
This is like telling them that though they have been reduced in their worldly and religious duties, this does not mean in any way that they are of lesser mental/spiritual capacities since they can overcome the smartest of men. The statement within the hadith that most of hell dwellers will be women is not due to an inherent spiritual flaw but because of them cursing more and being more ungrateful. In another hadith and using the same wording it says that most of the dwellers of Paradise will be women too.
Imam Muslim quotes ibn Sireen as sayong that there was discussion between men and women as to which gender will be the majority in Heaven. Abu Hurayra answered, based on the prophet's statement that women will be more (Fath al Baari 6/325). By applying the same misunderstanding one would interpret this latter hadith as saying that women are spiritually superior to men. A woman is commanded by Allah not to pray or fast during her menses, which are the 2 examples the prophet gives of how they are reduced in religion. And though they are exempted from these rituals, by obeying these commands they will still receive their rewards. Seeing that a woman on her way to perform was sad, Aisha asked
"What is wrong with you?' I replied, ' I do not offer the prayers (i.e. I have my menses).' He said, ' It will not harm you for you are one of the daughters of Adam, and Allah has written for you (this state) as He has written it for them. Keep on with your intentions for Hajj and Allah may reward you that."
Men do not receive rewards for not praying or fasting and although the divine law stipulates different rights and obligations to men and women their ultimate reward is the same.
Anyone who knows the character and eloquence of the prophet with which he was able to effectively change the hearts and minds of his addressees, knows that he would never utter such hurtful, insulting speech, much less on a festive day of Eid. He would never put anyone down, especially due to gender, race, class or any other matter, and this is something the Quran forbids anyone to do.
Furthermore had the prophet been a proponent of such notion of women being mentally and spiritually inferior then he would never have entrusted his wives with safeguarding, transmitting and teaching the most sacred knowledge to both men and women. He is also reported as giving precedence to his wife Umm Salama's opinion in a very crucial matter, during the treaty of Hudaybiya over that of his closest male companions. The caliphs would later emulate the prophet in this behavior, on certain occasions. Aisha would even issue fatwas.
A neat and clean, as well as pure appearance helps one to remain mentally uplifted everyday, and gives the correct introduction of one's personality to others. This is a reason why, the prophet is reported to have avoided both in his private and religious life, foul smelling foods and used to perfume himself on all occasions, always seeking to be presentable so as to not offend neither the humans nor the angels, especially in a religious gathering context
7:31"O children of Adam, take your adornment at every place of prayer. Eat and drink, but not to excess. Verily, He does not love those who commit excess".
The manner in which he embodied universal and Quranic principles and moralities led his closest entourage to be among his earliest followers, contrary to other prophets including Jesus, and one of his wives, Aisha, who loved and supported him throughout his life, is reported as describing him as a walking Quran. This means that whatever is stated in the Quran such as kindness towards women, prayers and charity, love and respect for poor, needy, orphans etc. can all be found in his life. His connection with the book was such, internalizing its warnings, glad tidings and lessons to such an extent that he once said of certain suras (Hud, Waqia, Mursalat, Naba, Takwir) passing over the upheavals of the Hereafter as having caused him to grow old.
He was evidently tender hearted towards his wives, hence him being described in some narrations as if that love was enforced upon him. Without that intensity in love, he would never have been able to marry and be dutiful to all the women that he did all the while maintaining his multiple responsibilities, as a prophet, leader, army commander, judge, friend, as well as his personal daily and long nights of spiritual dedication.
Thus the prophet, although he embodied piety was not an ascetic in the sense that he renounced this life's ligitimate pleasures. That intense love, he had for his wives, and the additional burdens it created, were nevertheless made bearable by the comfort and tranquility the prayers provided him (Sunan an-Nasa’i 3939).
With the issue of Hell and threats, the Quran employs rethorical devices conveying the idea of how no imagination can fathom this reality. The Quran only uses hints, through loan images derived from our wordly experiences, so that we may form an approximate picture of it. These hints are meant at making hell a threat and warning
101:10,104:5,37:62-65,39:16,17:60"a trial for men..and We cause them to fear, but it only adds to their great inordinacy"
74:35-7"Surely it (hell) is one of the gravest (misfortunes), A warning to mortals, To him among you who wishes to go forward or remain behind".
54:4"And there has certainly come to them information that in which there is deterrence".
Many aspects describing hell are said to be a trial and warning. The threat of hellfire, its grafic description throughout the book is actually a mercy from God, akin to those educational programs where inmates are encouraged to speak about the awful places in which they dwell, in order to reform potential criminals or discourage people from making the choices that would lead them there. It is like a shock therapy meant at breaking stubbornness and unreasonable denial. Once that is achieved and that the warning is heeded, most will consider honestly listening to the message and ponder upon it. The Quran was meant for all of mankind and the fact is that the vast majority of humanity will only maintain a good conduct and abide by the rule in the presence of incentives and deterrents. That is how society works or else one would remove all deterrents and simply expect the people to be morally upright. But the Quran does address the fact that some, will seek goodness regardless of rewards and punishments, simply by virtue of their nature and to please their Creator, the doing of good in cases where man has received no benefit. A stage in which a man's nature is so inclined to good that he has not to make an effort for doing good; he does good to all people as an ordinary man does good to his own kindred, looking at the whole comunity as his kindred
16:90"Surely Allah enjoins the doing of justice and the doing of good/ihsan (to others) and the giving to the kindred".
The deterring nature of hellfire as described in the Quran applies to the tree of Zaqqum, emerging from the bottom of hellfire, yielding a type of thorny produce as repulsive as demon heads, tasting like the liquid that results from the washing of the wounds, boiling the belly of those that eat it out of desperation, neither providing with nutrition nor satisfiying the hunger 37:62-66,44:43-45,56:52-3,69:36,88:6.
In contrast, the gardens of heaven shall have all kinds of thornless trees ceaselessly providing every fruit, in abundance, within easy reach 56:28.
2000 years ago if a person had foreknowledge of airplanes, he would describe them to the people through the closest possible references known to their senses such as "big metal bird etc.". The Quran therefore uses parables or allegories to describe things such as the nature of the soul or other subjects unknown to men's senses like the angels, the process of revelation, the pleasures of Paradise, the sufferings of Hell and so on. All these concepts are beyond our knowledge and observation; words have not yet been invented for them and their true meaning, shape or form are known only to God until the day we come face to face with such concepts and experience them. Hence the frequent rethorical question as to mankind's present inability to clearly picture what is in store in Hell 74:27. It is also interesting to note that the physical state of the dwellers of Hell, the form in which they shall be made is itself an alegory
87:13"And he will neither die therein nor live".
How does one who is in a state between life and death, physically experience the pain and suffering of hell? How does that special type of fire of which no human has any experience, a
104:6"fire kindled by God"
and
104:7"rising above the hearts"
be the means by which punishement will be inflicted? Many factors of that otherwordly realm are left in purposeful ambiguity because beyond human imagination. Sometimes when it gives a partial glimpse of hell punishments, it follows up by a vague statement about there being other similar ordeals in that place 38:55-8. It is to be noted, physical pain isnt the sole corresponding chastisement of the dwellers of hell. Their sins did not only cause physical injury to their victims, but also emotional, spiritual, etc. Thus, while undergoing this harsh but necessary process of "spiritual cleansing", the dwellers of hell will be made to experience many different types and combinations of sufferings, all related to their worldy deeds and the effects they had on themselves and their environement, from humiliation 46:20 to spiritual frustration to distancing from God's mercy/laan to physical torture.
In fact it says clearly that the primary reason for them begging to come out of hell isnt physical pain, but grief 22:22. In the end, they will be purged of their sins and then their ultimate fate is left to God. In 85:10 for example it speaks of the punishement in hell as seperate from the punishement by the fire. The flames and its related punishments are said to be meant for the worst of the disbelievers, again, showing that not all sins require the same types of "cleansing method" 92:14-15.
5:36"if they had what is in the earth, all of it, and the like of it with it, that they might ransom themselves with it from the punishment of the day of resurrection, it shall not be accepted from them"
Talking about ransoms, If the next life turns out to be the one depicted in this Quran, that youtuber would be the first to seek for any type of ransom to ward off the deserved punishment of that crushing day.
As to the hadith he clumsily alludes to, to properly understand it, 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 worldly 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 sinful among them, and not among the idolaters for example are mentioned 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 worldly 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 mentioned 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?
Those who are destined for Heaven, without undergoing any cleansing process, will not be brought anywhere near Hell. They will be so far removed from it, they will not hear the sound of its roar on the Day of Resurrection
92:17,26:90,21:98-103"Surely you and what you worship besides Allah are the firewood of hell; to it you shall come. Had these been gods, they would not have come to it and all shall abide therein. For them therein shall be groaning and therein they shall not hear. Surely (as for) those for whom the good has already gone forth from Us, they shall be kept far off from it, They will not hear its faintest sound, and they shall abide in that which their souls long for. The great fearful event shall not grieve them, and the angels shall meet them: This is your day which you were promised".
The supreme awesomness of this Day will not grieve the righteous, who shall in addition be protected from its upheaval and afflictions 2:277,21:103,88:8,76:7-11. Through a subtle linguistic device, the Quran explains this idea of the righteous believers on that day being far removed from the terror
"no fear upon them, and nor shall they grieve".
The first part of the verse pictures a caring entity looking over with full understanding of the situation without any fear while watching the scene. A practical example would be of a child who might be fearlessly playing with a snake, not knowing the impending danger but the mature person watching over, understanding the situation, would be full of fear and worry. On the last day however, because the successful will be fully justified in lacking fear and feeling secure despite the surrounding terrifying events, then the caring entity watching over wont have any fear upon them. The same phrase is used in 7:49 for the dwellers of heaven, they are in such secure conditions that none will have any reason to fear for them.
As Solomon reportedly says concerning the righteous in the life to come
Prov1:33"But he who hearkens to me shall dwell confidently and shall be tranquil from the fear of harm".
The righteous will thus proudly exclaim to all to come read from his book of deeds held in evidence in his right hand, the Iliyin 69:19,83:18,84:7. He shall be secured from harm 41:40, relieved with sustenance from heaven before entering it. The traditions speak of a Pool the water of which is from the Garden, and from which the believers shall drink before entering the Garden. Those that will be prevented from this favor on account of their sins, will long for a portion of that sustenance 7:50,19:86. They will wish for a share of the light beaming upon the righteous with such force that it will emanate from them 57:13-15. The absence of light upon the wicked on the day of judgement is alluded to in the Hebrew Bible, including in Job38:14-15.
The futur dwellers of heaven will be greeted with the best greetings by the angels and God Himself, honored and given the good news of Heaven from the moment of their earthly death 16:32,41:30 until their resurrection and entry in Heaven 7:46,13:23-4,14:23,15:45-8,21:103,36:58,39:73,56:26. This doesnt sound in anyway as if all people will be made to suffer after death as suggested by this youtuber. Once in heaven, no lewd, empty talk will be heard, only peaceful and wise speech 19:62,56:25,88:11. They will keep greeting one another and praying for eachother's peace within heaven 10:10.
On the other hand the hell dwellers, from the instant of their death where they will be violently seized by the angels and told they had been following the evil course 16:28-9,7:37,8:50,47:27 will endure a lengthy and difficult trial until they enter hell where they shall incessantly quarrel among oneanother, receive each new comer with open hostility for having influenced one another in sin 38:55-60, cursing, denying and blaming one another.
As to punishment in the hereafter, Only those arriving to the resurrection burdened with disbelief and so many sins they havent repented for, they will be the only ones gathered for a terrible task 25:26,54:6 as opposed to the righteous believers who in their lifetime stood in awe of such day
76:7-11"Therefore Allah will guard them from the evil of that day and cause them to meet with ease and happiness".
Consequently they, whether male or female, will never be abased or disgraced between their earthly death and final entry to heaven. Instead, once resurrected they will be shining with a light emanating from them and guiding them on the path to paradise while the rest of the world is plunged in darkness 3:194-5,57:12,66:8. They will in addition be receiving Allah's love 19:96, His individual care 76:11, they will be safe from harm 41:40 and raised in a happy state 56:8,76:11,88:8. Their faces will be bright 3:107,75:22 looking forward to Allah's promise 50:32,28:61. They wont have any grief or fear of the supreme awesomeness of that day, as they will be protected from its upheaval and afflictions, welcomed and greeted by the angels before the beginning of their judgement 2:277,16:32,21:103. They will be removed far away from hearing the faintest sound of hell 2:17,26:90,21:98-103.
The fire of hell will only be brought before the disbelievers and unrepented sinners 18:99-101, the only ones experiencing this mighty day as a great difficulty 74:8-10. This group of believers from among the Muslims and the righteous who will be safeguarded from any difficulty on that Day, does not include the criminals among the Muslims themselves whom the Quran says will enter hell and/or experience a difficult judgement. Those who rejected or disregarded most or all of the directives of the Quran when it was communicated to them (Muslims and non-Muslims alike) and who transgressed willingly and rebelliously, then despite their good actions, their measurements on the scales of deeds, on the day they are raised for judgement, these measurements will be light
23:102-103"Then as for him whose scales/mawazin are heavy, these are the successful. And as for him whose scales are light, these are they who shall have lost their souls, abiding in hell".
The Quran also clearly says that among the Muslims themselves there are different grades in God's eyes 35:32-5 and although all will eventually enter heaven, this entry will be granted differently from person to person following a personalized appropriate trial, going from short and easy to lengthy and difficult.
Some will even have to pass through Hell as long as Allah deems fit before being granted entry in heaven 6:128,11:106-108 and the Quran has mentionned several crimes such as murder, corruption of inheritance, abusing the weak people's wealth or charity etc whose perpetrators will go to hell regardless of their faith. It is in such context that the following prophetic saying is understood
"Gabriel, upon him be peace, came to me with the good news that anyone from my nation who dies without associating partners with Allah will enter Paradise. I said, “Even if he commits adultery and theft?” The Prophet said: Even if he commits adultery and theft". Elsewhere "People among those who worshiped Allah alone (ahl al-tawh?i¯d) will be punished in the Hellfire until they are coals. Then the mercy of Allah will reach them and they will be taken out and presented at the gates of Paradise. The people of Paradise will pour water over them and they will grow just as the stubble carried by the stream grows, then they will enter Paradise".
People will be divided into 3 groups; the foremost in faith who will have precedence over the others and will be drawn close to God (more from old times than later times 56:13-14), the righteous (more from the old as well as late times 56:40) and the wrongdoers 56:7-11. This shows that the communities and groups that have been formed in the world on the basis of race, country, language, tribe and clan, and economic and political interests, will break, and the people will be re-grouped on the basis of true belief, morality and character.
Each group will have to answer to a different level of reckoning, going from fast and easy to difficult and lengthy. The first group wont be reproached for their minor sins and shortcomings, will be forgiven and redeemed through their good deeds. Once made to enter paradise, the reward awaiting them will be made to match not any deed, but the best of them at least. Then by God's grace their reward will be made to surpass what is proportionaly due to them 6:160,16:96-7,29:7,39:35,46:16,84:8. It is clear that in Islam, the righteous' good deeds in themselves are not what grant him salvation in the hereafter. They serve as a measure of a person's faith in God. It is then God's grace that translates exponentially that level of faith, whose indicator are the deeds, into reward in the hereafter.
On the other hand, others will be requited for the worst of their deeds, all the bad that they accumulated, including the smallest sins. These small sins wont be forgiven immidiately as with the previous group 13:21,46:16,74:38-9 hence their lengthy and difficult reckoning 13:18,41:27,74:9-10. This minute, but just requital will fall upon them on a day like a crushing weight 75:25. The ahadith speak of people coming on the plain of judgement carrying their sins that will physically materialize as mountain like burdens on their backs.
They will be reprimended for every one of their misdeeds, great or small. Depending on each case, that requital will occur starting from their earthly death, in the intermediary period that precedes the resurrection, meaning the barzakh. It will go on during the Resurrection and Hell if necessary, before they are finally granted forgiveness and potential entry in Heaven. Some will certainly have to go through the last stage, dwelling in Hell, before they are purged from their sins but others will be cleansed through prior processes. As God says elsewhere even in reference to the followers of the devil himself
7:18"Whoever of them follows you, I will surely fill Hell with some/min of you all".
This is because each person's circumstances that lead him to follow a certain path are different. Only God is capable of integrating such intricacies in a perfect individual judgement. The vast majority of mankind will have to undergo one of, or a combination of these stages of requital -the grave, the resurrection, and hell- while a tiny fraction will enter heaven without rendering any account. This is the idea behind the prophet's reported statement that from among Adam's progeny 99% of mankind will be singled out for hell. It doesnt however say that these 99% will all be made to enter it, just that they will certainly deserve it. As said above, some will have to go through it while others will sufficiently be retributed and cleansed through prior processes.
