Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family.
The belief of Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa‘ah is that if a Muslim dies persisting in a major sin – such as zina, slander and stealing – he is subject to the will of Allah, may He be glorified. If Allah wills, He will forgive him, and if Allah wills, He will punish him for the major sin in which he was persisting when he died, but his ultimate destiny will be Paradise, because Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills” [an-Nisa’ 4:48]. And there are saheeh, mutawaatir hadiths which indicate that sinners who affirmed the oneness of Allah will be brought forth from the Fire. And there is the hadith of ‘Ubaadah ibn as-Saamit (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: We were with the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and he said: “Will you follow me on the basis that you will not associate anything with Allah, and you will not commit zina, and you will not steal… Whoever among you fills that pledge, his reward is incumbent upon Allah, and whoever commits any of those sin and is punished, that will be an expiation for him. Whoever commits any of those sin and Allah conceals him, then it is up to Allah: if He wills He will punish him, and if He wills He will forgive him.”
And Allah is the source of strength. May Allah send blessings and upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions. End quote.
Permanent Committee for Academic Research and Ifta’.
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn ‘Abdillah ibn Baaz, Shaykh ‘Abd ar-Razzaaq ‘Afeefi, Shaykh ‘Abdullah ibn Ghadyaan, Shaykh ‘Abdullah ibn Qa‘ood
Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah (1/728).
