Question Summary:
Are my parents doomed to etenal hellfire even though they lived good, decent lives, believed in one God, even allowed their son to become a muslim? Is this ISLAM? Please i need to know that this is not our religion.

Question Detail:

i am a revert of 13 years and come from a non muslim upbringing. i am blessed to have the most loving, supportive parents who, through tolerance and open minds, allowed me to embrace islam at the age of 18.

i have always had the belief that the Creator of all that exists is a loving and merciful God who much sooner forgives than punishes. sadly, i have met many muslims who condemn all non muslims to hellfire at a whim. these people take the standpoint that any person who is not a muslim belongs to the fire and have no chance of redemption in the sight of Allah. i am very aware of the meaning of shirk and how greatly Allah frowns upon it and with good reason. my point is this, not all christians believe that jesus (PBUH) is the son of Allah, or is Allah but they merely believe that he is the saviour who will come again and establish Allah's rule on earth. this is very much in line with the islamic belief in the last days.

also, there are people who are completely non religious but still believe in one god and who do not assign partners to Allah Most high. I just cannot in my heart accept that Allah will just throw everyone in hell because they were not muslim, although they believed in the basic tawheed that we muslims adhere to. every surah begins with bismilaah hir rahmaan hir raheem, Allah reminds us that He is the Merciful, the Benevolent.

Are my parents doomed to etenal hellfire even though they lived good, decent lives, believed in one God, even allowed their son to become a muslim? Is this ISLAM? Please i need to know that this is not our religion.

Answer :

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatoh
We commend you for your commitment in adhering to Deen. It certainly takes a great amount of courage to accept Islam. We make Dua that Allah makes you steadfast and continue to accept you for His Deen, Ameen.
In principle, anyone who accepts Allah as One and Muhammed (Salalahu Alayhi Wasallam) as His final Messenger will be saved from hell fire. Therefore, if your parents believe in this, they will never be doomed to eternal hellfire.
And Allah knows best
Wassalam
Muhammed Zakariyya Desai,
Assistant Mufti
Checked and Approved by:
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Darul Iftaa, Madrassah In'aamiyyah