How can the Prophet's (peace be upon him) father be in hell fire while his name was Abdullah (meaning Allah's man)?

Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

 

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

How can the Prophet's (peace be upon him) father be in hell fire while his name was Abdullah (meaning Allah's man)?

 

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Answer:

 

How can one named Abd Allah be in hell fire

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

 

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verses 111-112:

111    And they (the Jews and the Christians) say: "None shall enter Paradise unless he be a Jew or a Christian."  Those are their (vain) desires!  Say: "Produce your proof if ye are truthful."

112    Nay! Whoever submits his whole self to Allah and is a doer of good he will get his reward with his Lord; on such shall be no fear nor shall they grieve.

 

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 32 Surah Sajdah verse 19:

19      For those who believe and do righteous deeds are Gardens as hospitable homes for their (good) deeds.

 

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 47 Surah Muhammad verse 12:

12      Verily Allah will admit those who believe and do righteous deeds to Gardens beneath which rivers flow; while those who reject Allah will enjoy (this world) and eat as cattle eat; and the Fire will be their abode.

 

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 22 Surah Mumin verse 40:

40      He that works evil will not be requited but by the like thereof: and he that works a righteous deed whether man or woman and is a believer such will enter the Garden (of Bliss): therein will they have abundance without measure.

 

In light of the above absolutely clear guidance of the Quran, it is evident that the Mercy or Wrath of the All-Wise All-Just Lord does not depend on the name of an individual, or what religion one claims to belong to, or one’s race, or caste, or creed, or gender, or nationality, or color, etc……The All-Wise All-Just Lord will Judge with Absolute Knowledge and Justice who amongst His creation believed in Him and did righteous good deeds in accordance with His Revealed Message, and who amongst them denied and rejected Him and His Message.

 

Thus one may very well claim to be a ‘muslim’, or assign himself the most beloved of names like Abd-Allah, or Abd-ar-Rahmaan, etc…… in the Majestic Court and Presence of the Lord Most Supreme on that Tumultuous Day of Judgment, if this person is deemed a disbeliever or a hypocrite, absolutely regardless of what religion or caste or creed the person claimed to belong in the life of this world, and absolutely regardless of what name he or his parents assigned him….such a person will deserve the unbearable Wrath, Anger and Punishment of the Lord Most High.

 

Thus sister, it is not one’s name or one’s claim to a religion or anything else that will determine one’s salvation on that Tumultuous Day of Judgment…..but rather it is one’s belief and one’s deeds which alone with will determine whether one is a recipient of the Mercy of the Lord, or His Wrath and His Anger.

 

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 22 Surah Hajj verse 17:

17      Those who believe (in the Qur'an), those who follow the Jewish (Scriptures), and the Sabians, Christians, Magians, and Polytheists;  Allah will Judge between them on the Day of Judgment: for Allah is Witness of all things.

 

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 62:

62      Those who believe (in the Qur'an), and those who follow the Jewish (Scriptures), and the Christians, and the Sabians; (all) who believe in Allah and the Last Day and work righteousness shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear nor shall they grieve.

 

Now to your specific question:

How can the Prophet's (peace be upon him) father be in hell fire while his name was Abdullah (meaning Allah's man)?

Throughout the ages and annuls of times, mankind has been almost unanimous in their belief that there is only one Creator of everything that exists between the heavens and the earth.  Regardless of the name they assigned to Him….God, Eli, Allah, Eeshwar, etc.; they believed in that One and Only Supreme Being as the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Where the disbelievers differed in their belief with the Message revealed by Allah Subhanah through His Prophets was that the disbelievers had invariably always invented, associated, invoked, and worshipped their own ‘small’ gods and self-invented deities as ‘partners’ in the Dominion of the Lord Most High!

 

The literal meaning of the Arabic term ‘Abd’ is ‘a slave’; thus ‘Abd-Allah’ would mean the ‘slave of Allah’.  Contrary to popular belief, it is absolutely untrue and inaccurate that the Arabs did not believe in Allah Subhanah as the Creator of the heavens and the earth in the period of ignorance before the advent of the Last and Final Messenger, Mohamed ar-Rasool Allah (saws)! 

 

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 29 Surah Ankabut verse 61, 63:

61      If indeed thou (O Prophet (saws)) ask them (the disbelievers) Who has Created the heavens and the earth and subjected the sun and the moon (to His Law); they (the disbelievers) will certainly reply "Allah." How are they then deluded away (from the Truth that there is no god but Allah)?

63      And if indeed thou ask them who it is that sends down rain from the sky and gives life therewith to the earth after its death; they will certainly reply "Allah!"  Say "Praise be to Allah!"  But most of them understand not.

 

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah Zumar verse 38:

38      If indeed thou (O Prophet (saws)) ask them who it is that created the heavens and the earth, they would be sure to say "Allah."  Say: "See ye then? The things that ye invoke besides Allah, can they. if Allah Wills some penalty for me, remove His Penalty? Or if He Wills some Grace for me can they keep back His Grace?" Say: "Sufficient is Allah for me! In Him trust those who put their trust."

 

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 23 Surah Muminoon verses 84-90:

84      Say: "To whom belong the earth and all beings therein? (Say) if ye know!"

85      They (the disbelievers) will say "To Allah!" Say: "Yet will ye not receive admonition?"

86      Say: "Who is the Lord of the seven heavens and the Lord of the Throne (of Glory) Supreme?"

87      They will say "(They belong) to Allah." Say: "Will ye not then be filled with awe?"

88      Say: "Who is it in Whose Hands is the governance of all things; Who protects (all), but does not require protection (from any)? (Say) if ye know."

89      They will say "(It belongs) to Allah." Say: "Then how are ye deluded?"

90      We have sent them the Truth (there is absolutely no other ‘god’ but Allah): but they indeed practice falsehood!

 

The pagan Arabs in the period of ignorance before the advent of the Last and Final Messenger (saws) not only believed in Allah Subhanah as the Creator of the heavens and the earth, but they professed belief and claimed affinity to the Noble Prophets Ibraheem (a.s.) and Ismael (a.s.), they believed that the Kaaba was the Holy Sanctuary, they performed Hajj and Umrah for Allah, etc……but in spite of all these claims and deeds, they had invented their own ‘small’ gods and deities, held them as ‘equals’ or ‘partners’ in the Sole Dominion of the Lord Most High, and along with invoking and worshipping Allah Subhanah, they also invoked and worshipped their self-invented false deities…..and it was this ‘shirk’ or associating others as ‘partners’ with Allah Subhanah which was categorically and absolutely unacceptable to Allah Subhanah!

 

Your Question (again): How can the Prophet's (peace be upon him) father be in hell fire while his name was Abdullah (meaning Allah's man)?

Sahih Muslim Hadith 398      Narrated by Anas ibn Malik

A companion whose father had died in the ‘Days of Ignorance’ came and asked the Prophet (saws): ‘O Messenger of Allah (saws), where is my father?’ The Prophet (saws) replied: ‘He (you father) is in the Hell Fire.’  When the companion turned away, he (the Prophet (saws)) called him back and said: ‘Verily my father and your father are both in the Hell Fire!’

 

Because the pagan Arabs in the days of ignorance before the advent of Prophet Mohamed (saws) believed in Allah Subhanah as the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the name ‘Abd-Allah’ (slave of Allah) was an extremely common and accepted name in the region…..but as was the accepted belief and practice of the Arabs in the days of ignorance before the advent of the Prophet Mohamed (saws), the Prophet’s (saws) father Abdullah ibn Abdul-Muttalib died in the state of the ultimate abomination of ‘shirk’….and as is the Decree and Determination of the Lord Most Majestic, Most Supreme, leave alone one’s assigned name, not even the closest of blood-relationship with a Prophet of Allah can save one who dies in the state of the unforgivable abomination of ‘shirk’! 

 

Allah says in the Quran: Chapter 4 Surah An-Nisa Verse 48

Shirk (associating other deities with Allah) is the only sin that Allah does not forgive, and He forgives, whomsoever He pleases, sins other than this, for whosoever associates any other partner with Allah, does indeed forge a big lie and commits the most heinous sin.

 

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verse 72:

Whoever commits ‘shirk’ (invoking anything with Allah),  Allah shall forbid for him Paradise,  and Hell shall be his abode.  And for such wrong doers there will be no one to help.

 

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws),   one can be assured of never ever being misled;   but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led astray.  

 

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone.  Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

 

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

 

 

Burhan

 

 
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