How to Reconcile Eternal Punishment with “You Have Your Way, I Have Mine”?

Answered By Shaykh Dr. Muhammad Fayez Awad

Question

How can we reconcile the belief in the eternal punishment of disbelievers in Hell with the verse, “You have your way, and I have my Way.” [Quran, 109:6]?

Answer

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah, his Family, and his Companions.

The position of Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama‘a is that Paradise and Hell are eternal and do not perish. Whoever dies in a state of disbelief or associating partners with Allah (Most High) will be eternally condemned to Hell.

The Eternity of Hell

This belief is clearly supported by numerous texts from the Quran and Sunna. Among them are the following verses regarding the inhabitants of Hell:

“Those who disbelieve and wrong themselves—surely Allah will neither forgive them nor guide them to any path except that of Hell, to stay there for ever and ever. And that is easy for Allah.” [Quran, 4:168-169]

And:

“Surely Allah condemns the disbelievers, and has prepared for them a blazing Fire, to stay there for ever and ever.” [Quran, 33:64-65]

And also:

“That is the reward of Allah’s enemies: the Fire, which will be their eternal home—a (fitting) reward for their denial of Our revelations.” [Quran, 41:28]

Therefore, Hell is eternal, and so are its inhabitants among disbelievers and hypocrites. Only the sinful monotheists will be taken out of Hell through intercession or after being purified of their sins.

Abu Sa‘id reported that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:

“Death will be brought forth in the form of a black-and-white ram, and it will be placed between Paradise and Hell. It will be said, ‘O people of Paradise, do you recognize this?’ They will look and say, ‘Yes, this is death.’ Then it will be said, ‘O people of Hell, do you recognize this?’ They will look and say, ‘Yes, this is death.’ Then it will be ordered to be slaughtered, and it will be said, ‘O people of Paradise, eternity and no death! O people of Hell, eternity and no death!’” [Bukhari; Muslim]

The Quran contains 37 verses that explicitly affirm the eternity of Hell and its inhabitants.

Context of the Verse

This doctrinal concept does not contradict the verse:

“You have your way, and I have my Way.” [Quran, 109:6]

As explained by many scholars of tafsir, the context of the verse is the story of Walid Ibn Mughira, ‘As Ibn Wa’il, Aswad Ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib, and Umayya Ibn Khalaf, who met the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and proposed:

“O Muhammad, come and worship what we worship, and we will worship what you worship. We will share our practices with you, and if what you have brought is better than what we have, then we will have taken our share of it, and if what we have is better, then you will have shared with us in our matter and taken your share of it.”

Then Allah (Most High) revealed: “Say, O disbelievers…” [Quran, 109:1] [Tabari, Tafsir al-Tabari; Abu Hayyan, al-Bahr al-Muhit; Ibn ‘Ashur, al-Tahrir  wa al-Tanwir]

Two Interpretations of the Verse

The meaning of the verse, as mentioned by Mawardi in his tafsir, has two interpretations:

• “You have your way,” meaning your belief in disbelief, and “And I have my Way.” [Quran, 109:6],” meaning my belief in Islam, as stated by Yahya Ibn Salam.
• “For you is the recompense of your deeds, and for me is the recompense of mine.” This is a warning to them, meaning that the reward for my deeds is sufficient as a reward for me, as stated by Ibn ‘Isa.

Ibn ‘Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) said: “There is no sura in the Quran that causes more distress to Iblis than this sura because it is pure monotheism and disavowal of shirk.” [Mawardi, al-Nukat wa al-‘Uyun Tafsir al-Mawardi]

Accountability for Disbelief

The absence of compulsion in religion does not imply that there is no accountability for choosing disbelief or faith. Those who choose the path of disbelief have disobeyed Allah (Most High) and defied His commands, and it is not just that they should be equated with those who believe in Allah and adhere to His commands. Allah (Most High) says:

“Should We then treat those who have submitted like the wicked? What is the matter with you? How do you judge?” [Quran, 68:35-36]

And He says:

“The residents of the Fire cannot be equal to the residents of Paradise. (Only) the residents of Paradise will be successful.” [Quran, 59:20]

Consulting Scholars for Clarity

I advise anyone who finds difficulty in understanding the apparent contradictions between Quranic verses or does not comprehend them correctly to consult the scholars, as Allah (Most High) commands:

“If you (polytheists) do not know (this already), then ask those who have knowledge (of the Scriptures).” [Quran, 16:43]

May Allah grant us understanding of His Book and open for us His mercy and grace. All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all worlds.

[Shaykh] Dr. Muhammad Fayez Awad

Shaykh Dr. Muhammad Fayez Awad, born in Damascus, Syria, in 1965, pursued his Islamic studies in the mosques and institutes of Damascus. A graduate of the Islamic University of Medina in 1985, he holds a Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from Bahauddin Zakariya University in Pakistan.

He has extensive experience developing curricula and enhancing the teaching of various academic courses, including conducting intensive courses. Shaykh Awad has taught Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Quranic sciences, the history of legislation, inheritance laws, and more at several institutes and universities such as Al-Furqan Institute for Islamic Sciences and Majma‘ al-Fath al-Islami in Damascus.

He is a lecturer at the Sultan Muhammad al-Fatih Waqf University in Istanbul, teaching various Arabic and Islamic subjects, and teaches at numerous Islamic institutes in Istanbul. Shaykh Awad is a member of the Association of Syrian Scholars, a founding member of the Zayd bin Thabit Foundation, a member of the Syrian Scholars Association, and a member of the Academic Council at the Iman Center for Teaching the Sunna and Quran.

Among his teachers from whom he received Ijazat are his father, Shaykh Muhammad Muhiyiddin Awad, Shaykh Muhiyiddin al-Kurdi, Shaykh Muhammad Karim Rajih, Shaykh Usama al-Rifai, Shaykh Ayman Suwaid, Shaykh Ahmad al-Qalash, Shaykh Muhammad Awwama, and Shaykh Mamduh Junayd.