Will Allah punish an ignorant person if he commits a mistake? What are the types of ignorance? What are the rulings on this fiqh wise and what should be our goal in this context?
Shaykh Yasir Qadhi divulges details.
punished an ignorant person who commits a mistake.
The general rule is that an ignorant person who genuinely had no idea and genuinely tried to please Allah subhanho wa Taala will will be forgiven that is the default. And the point being is that this person must sincerely want to please Allah, and not have any recourse to cleansing or getting rid of that ignorance. You see, ignorance is of many types. There's a willful ignorance, you can remain ignorant even though knowledge is around you. You can remain ignorant and never ask questions, even though you have the opportunity to ask questions. That is an ignorance that perhaps is inexcusable, you're supposed to ask, you're supposed to wonder. But there are people that have no recourse to
scholars, they have no way of finding out and they are ignorant not by choice or not by their default, they have no other way for those people. Yes, indeed, it is very possible and likely that Allah subhana wa tada will forgive them if they did something sincerely out of ignorance and the evidences for this are many of them is the famous Hadith and sign Bahati where our Prophet Sall Allahu Allah said him said, one of the people of the past when he was about to die, he told his children, I'm a very sinful person. So when I die, I don't want to be buried because I'm scared Allah will resurrect me. So when I die, cremate my body and distribute the ashes everywhere, so that
Allah cannot resurrect me. So his children did as he was told, and then Allah gathered his remains and said, couldn't fire Kuhn, and the person was resurrected? And Allah said, Why would you do this meaning Do you don't think I can resurrect you? So the man said, I was scared of you, Oh Allah. So Allah for gave him because the man was genuinely scared of Allah which is aspect of him and the point the man was ignorant and thought that he could outwit or outdo Allah, the man was ignorant and he thought I can do better and I can make sure Allah does not resurrect me and he did it out of ignorance. So Allah azza wa jal forgave him, even though it is cool for him to believe that you are
more powerful than a lot and you can outsmart Allah. So yes, indeed, if a person does something genuinely out of ignorance, and is sincere for the sake of Allah, there is a strong possibility of forgiveness for that person. Point is though the goal is not to remain ignorant. The goal is to learn and if you see somebody ignorant, the goal is to teach them with gentleness and wisdom.
Will Allah punish an ignorant person if he commits a mistake? What are the types of ignorance? What are the rulings on this fiqh wise and what should be our goal in this context?
Shaykh Yasir Qadhi divulges details.