Please contribute generously in order to ensure the continuity of our website InshaAllah.
Is it true that all the disbelievers, even if their morals are good and they do not harm anyone, will enter Hell? If the answer is yes, then what about non-Muslim children and those who had no choice but to be born disbelievers?
Praise be to Allah.
You should note that all the disbelievers who hear the message of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and do not enter Islam will go to Hell . Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Verily, those who disbelieve (in the religion of Islam, the Quran and Prophet Muhammad) from among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) and Al-Mushrikun will abide in the fire of Hell. They are the worst of creatures.” [Al-Bayyinah 98:6]
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “By the One in Whose hand is my soul, no one of this nation, Jew or Christian, hears of me then dies without having believed in that with which I was sent, but he will be one of the people of the Fire.” (Narrated by Muslim, 153)
The point is not whether their morals are good , rather the point is whether they submit to Allah and obey his commands. Do you not see the Magians [Zoroastrians] or the Buddhists, for example, who worship fire or idols instead of Allah, and they do not worship Allah or submit to Him alone, and the Christians who say that God has a son, and other Mushriks (those who associate others with Allah). They are being ill-mannered towards Allah, and insulting and reviling Him.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah says, `The son of Adam denied Me and he had no right to do so. And he reviled Me and he had no right to do so. As for his denying Me, it is his saying: He will not remake me as He made me at first - and the initial creation [of him] is no easier for Me than remaking him. As for his reviling Me, it is his saying: Allah has taken to Himself a son, while I am the One, the Everlasting Refuge. I begot not nor was I begotten, and there is none comparable to Me.’” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari, 4974)
So how can their morals be good when they are so ill-mannered towards Allah, even though Allah has given them hearing and sight, and has made everything easy for them, and has sent His Messengers to them and revealed His Books to them, and bestowed His blessings upon them, so it is His right that they should thank Him and not be ungrateful to Him or disbelieve in Him. If they do not do that then they deserve His punishment and wrath. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“and your Lord treats no one with injustice.” [Al-Kahf 18:49]
With regard to the situation of their children who die when still young , Shaykh `Abd Al-`Aziz ibn Baz was asked about that and he said:
If one who is not yet accountable dies among non-Muslim parents , then he comes under the same rulings as them in this world, so he should not be washed and the funeral prayer should not be offered for him, and he should not be buried in the Muslim graveyard.
But in the Hereafter his case is referred to Allah. It was narrated in an authentic report that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was asked about the children of the Mushrikin he said: “Allah knows best what they would have done.” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari, 1384)
Some of the scholars were of the view that Allah’s knowledge about them will be made manifest on the Day of Resurrection, and that they will be tested, as will the people who lived during the Fatrah (interval between two Prophets) and others .
If they do what they are told to do then they will enter Paradise, and if they disobey then they will enter Hell. There are authentic Hadiths from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) which say that the people who lived during the Fatrah (interval between two Prophets) will be tested on the Day of Resurrection. These are the people whom the call of the Messengers did not reach and those who come under a similar ruling, such as the children of the Mushrikin, because Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And We never punish until We have sent a Messenger (to give warning).” [Al-Isra’ 17:15]
This is the most correct view among the various opinions concerning the people who lived during the Fatrah and others whom the call did not reach, and it is the view favoured by Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah and his student Ibn Al-Qayyim, and a number of the earlier and later generations. (Majmu` Fatawa wa Maqalat Mutanawwi`ah, 3/163-164)
And Allah knows best.