Question
What is the ruling on Jews and Christians nowadays? Are they believers or disbelievers?
Fatwa
All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad, sallaallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.
The Quran, Sunnah (tradition) and the consensus of scholars indicate that anyone who embraces any religion other than Islam is a disbeliever: the other religion will not be accepted and he will be among the losers in the Hereafter. Allah the Almighty Says (what means):
• {And whoever desires other than Islam as religion never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers.} [Quran 3:85]
• {Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam.} [Quran 3:19]
There is an explicit text that states that the People of the Book who do not believe in the Prophet, sallaallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, or who associate other deities with Allah The Almighty, or deny the prophethood of any of the Prophets are disbelievers. The fact that they believe in one of the revealed books will not be of benefit to them, because if they truly believe in their messenger and their book, they will believe in all the prophets and messengers. Allah The Almighty Says (what means):
• {Indeed, those who disbelieve in Allah and His messengers and wish to discriminate between Allah and His messengers and say, "We believe in some and disbelieve in others," and wish to adopt a way in between “Those are the disbelievers, truly. And We have prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating punishment.} [Quran 4:150,151]
• {O People of the Scripture, why do you disbelieve in the verses of Allah while you witness [to their truth]?} [Quran 3:70]
• {Say, "O People of the Scripture, why do you disbelieve in the verses of Allah while Allah is Witness over what you do?"} [Quran 3:98]
These verses were addressed to the People of the Book at the time of the Prophet, sallaallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, as they used to believe in Moosaa (Moses), may Allah exalt his mention, and the Torah, or ‘Eesaa, may Allah exalt his mention, and the Gospel. Allah the Almighty Says (what means):
• {They have certainly disbelieved who say, "Allah is the Messiah, the son of Mary"} [Quran 5:72]
• {They have taken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allah, and [also] the Messiah, the son of Mary. And they were not commanded except to worship one God; there is no deity except Him. Exalted is He above whatever they associate with Him.} [Quran 9:31]
• {Those who disbelieved among the People of the Scripture and the polytheists were not to be parted [from misbelief] until there came to them clear evidence} [Quran 98:1]
The fact that they are People of the Book or that their food is lawful to us does not contradict their judgment as disbelievers. This is because the One who judged their food lawful is the One who judged them to be disbelievers and no one can change His judgment or repel His Decree.
In fact, what was mentioned in the Holy Quran regarding promising Christians or Jews that they will enter Paradise is restricted to those who were monotheists among them, those who believed in their prophet and did not associate any other deity with Allah The Almighty and who died before the mission of Prophet Muhammad, sallaallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Allah the Almighty Says (what means):
• {Indeed, those who believed and those who were Jews or Christians or Sabeans [before Prophet Muhammad] - those [among them] who believed in Allah and the Last Day and did righteousness - will have their reward with their Lord, and no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve.} [ Quran 2:62]
This is what was approved by scholars of Tafseer (exegesis) and those who have knowledge of the Book of Allah. It is also supported by the fact that anyone who believes that ‘Eesaa (Jesus), may Allah exalt his mention, is the son of Allah The Almighty or that Allah The Almighty is poor or can get tired, is not considered a true believer. Also, anyone who believes that ‘Eesaa, may Allah exalt his mention, is the one who will undertake Reckoning on the Day of Judgment and will admit to Hell those who do not believe in his lordship or that he is the son of Allah The Almighty, will not be a true believer on the Day of Judgment.
The Holy Quran states that the People of the Book do not believe in the Day of Judgment. Allah The Almighty Says (what means):
• {Fight those who do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Scripture -- [fight] until they give the Jizyah willingly while they are humbled.} [Quran 9:29]
• {You will surely find the most intense of the people in animosity toward the believers [to be] the Jews and those who associate others with Allah; and you will find the nearest of them in affection to the believers those who say, "We are Christians."} [Quran 5:82]
The latter verse refers to those Christians who believed in Prophet Muhammad, sallaallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and were affected when listening to the Quran. This is because there were many Christians who converted to Islam, as proven by history. Allah the Almighty Says (what means):
• {That is because among them are priests and monks and because they are not arrogant. And when they hear what has been revealed to the Messenger, you see their eyes overflowing with tears because of what they have recognized of the truth. They say, "Our Lord, we have believed, so register us among the witnesses. And why should we not believe in Allah and what has come to us of the truth? And we aspire that our Lord will admit us [to Paradise] with the righteous people." So Allah rewarded them for what they said with gardens [in Paradise] beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide eternally. And that is the reward of doers of good. But those who disbelieved and denied Our signs - they are the companions of Hellfire.} [Quran 5:82-86]
Consequently, the People of the Book who exist nowadays may be classified into two categories:
The first are those who have received the Da‘wah (call) of Islam and the Prophet, sallaallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and did not believe. They are disbelievers in this life and will be eternally in Hell in the Hereafter if they die without believing. This is proven by the aforementioned verses and the Hadeeth that says that the Prophet, sallaallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, swore that anyone of the People of the Book who hears his message and does not believe will be among the dwellers of Hell. [Muslim] It was also narrated that the Prophet, sallaallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that Jews and Christians would be consigned to Hell because they worshipped someone other than Allah The Almighty. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
The second category are those who did not hear of Islam nor of the Da‘wah of the Prophet, sallaallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. If we assume that these people exist nowadays, even with the most developed means of communications available, then there are different opinions from the scholars. The predominant opinion is that they will be tested in the Hereafter and some of them will be saved, while others will perish. In this world, they are considered disbelievers by consensus and we should give Da‘wah to them. All the rulings of disbelievers apply to them.
All that we have mentioned above are indisputable matters in Islam and anyone who denies or doubts any of them is considered a disbeliever. Al-Qaadhi ‘Iyaadh reported the consensus of scholars on this matter.
Some Hanbali scholars said that the one who doubts the fact that the People of the Book are disbelievers is a disbeliever as well, for Allah the Almighty Says (what means):
• {And whoever desires other than Islam as religion -- never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers.} [Quran 3:85]
And Allah knows best.