Sahih Muslim, 203
sahihAnas reported:
Verily, a person said: Messenger of Allah, where is my father? He said: (He) is in the Fire. When he turned away, he (the Prophet) called him and said: Verily my father and your father are in the Fire.
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا عَفَّانُ، حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ ثَابِتٍ، عَنْ أَنَسٍ، أَنَّ رَجُلاً، قَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَيْنَ أَبِي قَالَ " فِي النَّارِ " . فَلَمَّا قَفَّى دَعَاهُ فَقَالَ " إِنَّ أَبِي وَأَبَاكَ فِي النَّارِ " .
Isnad
5 transmittersReferences2 variants
- In-Book Reference
- Book 1, Hadith 406
- USC-MSA web (English) reference
- Book 1, Hadith 398 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
It is established in Islam that if a person dies while being a disbeliever, he will enter Hell. Some people frequently asked the Prophet useless questions until he fed up. As a result, he used to rebuke them and others to help them stop this kind of question. In this hadith, Anas ibn Malik narrated that a man asked, "O Messenger of Allah, where is my father?” He asked whether his father was in Paradise or Hell. The Prophet replied, "In Hell.” This is because the man’s father died while being a disbeliever. When the man turned away, the Prophet called him and said, "Verily, my father and your father are in Hell.” It is due to the Prophet's good behavior and treatment of his companions. When he noticed the man’s sadness, he wanted to console him to find contentment, for if there had been a son who wanted to benefit his disbelieved father, the Prophet would have been the first one to do so. It was the revelation that informed the Prophet of his own father's destiny. This is because whoever died before the Prophet's message of Islam and followed the Arabs’ practice of worshiping idols was one of the people of Hell. As a matter of fact, the people of that period received the call of Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and other prophets. In addition, some of them followed his message and lived with Jews and Christians, so they knew about prophets and the necessity of faith, but the majority intentionally disobeyed and associated others in worshipping Allah. Finally, this hadith contains the following benefits: (1) If a person dies while being a disbeliever, he will enter Hell, and his close relatives will not benefit him, and (2) It clarifies the Prophet’s good treatment and honorable character..