In Islamic theology, the term Ahl al-Fatrah (Arabic: أهل الفترة, ahl al-fatrah), which literally means "people of the time period", refers to the people who lived during a gap in revelation between the times of the prophets Isa and Muhammad, approximately between 30 CE and 610 CE.

It can also refer in a general sense to everyone whom the da‘wah (invitation to Islam) has not reached in an uncorrupted manner and live in ignorance of the teachings of Islam. In Arabic the term used was "conveyance of the message" (Arabic: تبليغ الرسالة, tabligh ar-risalah).

Afterlife

Accordingly, the people of the period are judged differently on the Day of Judgement. There is a difference of opinion between scholars of Islam on their afterlife. The rationalist Mu'tazilites believed that every accountable person (Arabic: مكلف, mukallaf) must reject polytheism and idolatry and believe in an All-Powerful God. Failure to meet these requirements would result in eternal punishment.

On the other hand, the Ash'aris believed that those who did not receive the message would be forgiven, even idolaters. Their premise was that good and evil is based upon revelation; in other words, good and evil are defined by God. Therefore, in the absence of revelation, they cannot be held accountable.[1]

Abu Hamid al-Ghazali categorized non-Muslims into three categories:

  • 1. People who never heard of the message, who live in far away lands, such as the Byzantines ("Romans"). These will be forgiven.
  • 2. People who were exposed to a distorted understanding of Islam and have no recourse to correct that information. These too will be forgiven.
  • 3. People who heard of Islam because they live in neighboring lands and mix with Muslims. These have no hope of salvation.[1]

He also wrote about non-Muslims who have heard a distorted message: "The name of Muhammad has indeed reached their ears, but they do not know his true description and his character. Instead, they heard from the time they were young that a deceitful liar named Muhammad claimed to be a prophet. As far as I am concerned, such people are [excused] like those who the call of Islam has not reached, for while they have heard of the Prophet’s name, they heard the opposite of his true qualities. And hearing such things would never arouse one’s desire to find out who he was."[2]

Imam Nawawi said in his commentary Sharh Sahih Muslim that those who are born into idolatrous families and die without a message reaching them are granted paradise based upon the Qur'anic verse 17:15: "We do not punish a people until a messenger comes to them.". According to ibn Taymiyyah, these people who did not receive the message in this world will be tested in the afterlife, or Barzakh.[1] This view also shared and accepted by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Abu Hasan al-Ash'ari, and Ibn Kathir, as they all based this ruling according to Hadith about the fates of four kinds of peoples:

  1. Ahl al-fatrah, those who never received the call to Islam during their life
  2. Those who suffered deafness before the teaching of Islam reached them
  3. Those with mental illness and severe insanity (in another Hadith with similar narration also those with mental deficiancy or low intelligence disabilities which prevent them to understand Islam properly)
  4. Those who had suffered senility or dementia when the words of Islam reached him.[Notes 1]

According to Ibn Qayyim, Ibn Taymiyya, and other Islamic scholars who agreed on this Hadiths, this means those four type of peoples would be further examined by Allah in Barzakh, where these four type of person will be tested in the state where their senses and their minds in perfect condition, so they can understand they are being tested examined by God.[5][4]

Salafi view

Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani, a Salafi scholar, stated on this matter: “The term Ahl al-Fatrah refers to everyone whom the dawah (message of Islam) has not reached in a correct manner as it came in the Shariah… Such people will not be punished on the Day of Judgement [for their disbelief in this world]. It is quite possible for People of the Interval to exist in every time period, whether before [the revelation of the final message of] Islam or after. The message has to have reached them in its pristine purity, without any distortions. In cases where the dawah reaches people in a mutilated form in which its essential components; its fundamental principles of belief, have been substituted, I am the first to say that the dawah has not reached them.”

See also

References

Footnotes

  1. ↑ This Hadiths were narrated with the chains of narration ended in by Abu Hurairah and Al-Aswad bin Sari and graded as hasan (sound) hadith according to Shuaib Al Arna'ut, while Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Al-Albani, and Al-Tabarani grade it as Saheeh.[3][4] Meanwhile, another Hadith with similar narration from Anas ibn Malik also used for this ruling.[5]

Secondary sources

  1. 1 2 3 Between heaven and hell : Islam, salvation, and the fate of others. Khalil, Mohammad Hassan. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2013. p. 111. ISBN 9780199945412. OCLC 793726652.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. ↑ Nazimi, Hassan (10 July 2019). "Is there really such thing as a "kuffar", or "non-believer" in our world today?". The Muslim Vibe. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  3. ↑ Yulian Purnama (29 December 2009). "KafirkahOrang yang Belum Kenal Islam?". Konsultasi Syariah (in Indonesian). KonsultasiSyariah.com. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  4. 1 2 Muhammad Al-Munajjid (9 June 2015). "Whoever the call did not reach, due to a disability such as deafness, will be examined on the Day of Resurrection, and those of them whom it reached were not examined./من لم تبلغه الدعوة ، بسبب عاهة كالصمم فإنه يمتحن يوم القيامة ، ومن بلغته منهم لم يمتحن". IslamQa (in Arabic). IslamQa. Retrieved 26 November 2023. أَرْبَعَةٌ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ: رَجُلٌ أَصَمُّ لَا يَسْمَعُ شَيْئًا، وَرَجُلٌ أَحْمَقُ، وَرَجُلٌ هَرَمٌ، وَرَجُلٌ مَاتَ فِي فَتْرَةٍ، فَأَمَّا الْأَصَمُّ فَيَقُولُ: رَبِّ، لَقَدْ جَاءَ الْإِسْلَامُ وَمَا أَسْمَعُ شَيْئًا، وَأَمَّا الْأَحْمَقُ فَيَقُولُ: رَبِّ، لَقَدْ جَاءَ الْإِسْلَامُ وَالصِّبْيَانُ يَحْذِفُونِي بِالْبَعْرِ، وَأَمَّا الْهَرَمُ فَيَقُولُ: رَبِّ، لَقَدْ جَاءَ الْإِسْلَامُ وَمَا أَعْقِلُ شَيْئًا، وَأَمَّا الَّذِي مَاتَ فِي الْفَتْرَةِ فَيَقُولُ: رَبِّ، مَا أَتَانِي لَكَ رَسُولٌ، فَيَأْخُذُ مَوَاثِيقَهُمْ لَيُطِيعُنَّهُ، فَيُرْسِلُ إِلَيْهِمْ أَنْ ادْخُلُوا النَّارَ، قَالَ: فَوَالَّذِي نَفْسُ مُحَمَّدٍ بِيَدِهِ، لَوْ دَخَلُوهَا لَكَانَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ بَرْدًا وَسَلَامًا
  5. 1 2 "Those who will be tested on the Day of Resurrection/الذين يمتحنون يوم القيامة". Islamweb (in Arabic). Islamweb. 1 May 2005. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
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