Question: Assalamu Alaikum,
I have heard it said that the father of Prophet Mohammad SAW was an unbeliever but he died before the birth of the Prophet SAW . In Sura Yaseen verse 6 it states “In order that you may admonish a people whose fathers received no admonition and who therefore remain headless of the signs of Allah “. How therefore are his parents considered for they both died before the revelations came to him SAW ?.
Answer: Assalamu Alaikum,
The most accepted opinion regarding the parents of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) is that they are saved from the fire of Hell. In this regard, Imam Suyuti (A.R) wrote in one of his writings that the parents of the Prophet (s.a.w) are safe from the fire. He held that whoever dies and did not receive the message of Islam is saved from the fire according to the statement of Allah in which he said, ‘We never punish until we have sent a Messenger (to give warning) (Quran 17:5).
The great scholar, Imam Bajuri has also indicated to the survival of the Prophet’s parents from the fire on the basis that they came in the period of ‘Fatra’, which is a period during which no Prophet came. (Ar Risalah An Nafi’ah – Muhammad Salih Farfur-Pg. 69).
Allama Ibn Abideen Shami has also made this evident in his book, and has shown that the parents of the Prophet (s.a.w) will be admitted in paradise as believers. Regarding this, Allama Ibn Abideen wrote, ‘Allah honoured the Prophet (s.a.w) by giving life to his parents (he caused them to become alive) until they believed in the Prophet (s.a.w) as it is mentioned in the Hadith which has been considered Saheeh (sound) by Imam Qurtubi and Ibn Nasiruddeen and others. So both of them benefited from Imaan after death (which is against the general rule) in honour of the Prophet (s.a.w). This occurred in the same manner as how Allah gave life to the murdered person from the Israelites so that he may inform others of who the murderer was.’ Allama Shami also explaned that the parents of the Prophet (s.a.w) died during the period of ‘fatrah’ which is the perod where no Prophet came. In this way, they will be saved from the fire of Hell. (Raddul Mukhtar Vol. 4 Pg. 231-Fatawa Haqqaniya Vol. 1 Pgs. 239, 240 – Jamia Darul Uloom Haqqaniya Pakistan; An Nibras- Commentary of Sharhul Aqaaid pg. 316).
The gist of this discussion is that according to many of the great scholars, the parents of the Prophet (s.a.w) will not be deemed/considered as unbelievers in the hereafter, and would be saved from the fire of Hell.
And Allah Knows Best.
Mufti Waseem Khan.
4/11/2014