What becomes of those who had no knowledge of Islam?
A very commonly asked question regarding Islam. What would happen to someone in a remote community who had absolutely no exposure to the message of Islam? How would Allah deal with such a person?
This question touches upon fundamental concepts in Islam, including justice of Allah, human responsibility and the day of reckoning. We believe Islam teaches that Allah is truly Just, He is aware of each person’s circumstances, knowledge, capabilities and intentions. Thus, it behooves a Muslim to tread very carefully while attempting to draw final conclusions about the salvation or otherwise of individuals where the circumstances are entirely unknown.
There was a case in the time of Prophet Musa. The Quran expresses it in the following words: When Pharaoh said: “What about the previous generations? Moses said: 'My Lord has a Record with Him of their knowledge.
My Lord neither errs nor forgets."
The ( Holy Quran 20:51-52) This succinct reply is very informative; Prophet Musa did not venture to provide an answer on the fate of everyone from past ages, instead, he left this matter to Allah, who holds complete knowledge about it. Allah knows the condition of every single being; who knew what, what they could possibly have comprehended, what avenues they were presented with, and under what constraints they lived.
What about those who didn't hear about Islam?
The question of fate comes up even more profoundly, regarding those who, in essence, never heard the message of Islam through human intermediary. Think about secluded populations, distant tribes, isolated individuals living in times of history where communication was limited or non-existent, and they had never encountered the Holy Book, or someone to deliver to them the message of the religion through understanding.
These individuals do not have the luxury of being compared to the person who clearly understands message of Islam and turned down deliberately.
A Muslim believes that Allah, subhanahu wa ta’ala, is Just and never make error. Every person's life situation is before His eyes. There is surely a clear distinction between a person who intentionally ignored the reality when he knew, and one who simply was denied learning about it in the first place. That is precisely why we can't declare with certainty where such an individual (unknown to us all) would end up.
Allah’s Justice is Supreme We are believers in an Absolutely Just God (Allah). Our judgment system is far too imperfect. We know only partial facts about a person, but we don’t know their heart’s intention, the constraints in their circumstances, or whether the message reaching them truly conveyed the intended understanding.
For an outsider (and every individual outside the sphere of such a person) to presume and categorically declare their destination, be it in Paradise or in hell, is to take Allah's place, without the knowledge that ONLY Allah has.
Allah has, as is frequently mentioned in the holy Book of Islam, absolute knowledge and He is perfectly just. We have to remember this one principle - no person will be unjustly dealt with by Him
We shouldn't put ourselves in a position where we act as Judge: This does not imply that there is no guidance or principle for how one is supposed to conduct his life or believe that such principles bear no consequences or meaning on salvation. We know, for example, that adherence to the guidelines revealed in the holy Quran leading to divine pleasure(s) is part of faith and also the path to eternal salvation(s). Our obligation however should limit to accepting and conveying this and also to realize that, since every situation is unique, each of these is ultimately the knowledge of Allah alone as to how to implement this criteria for a given individual.
Thus, the answer becomes: we don’t know how their life was, but we know that Allah knows every thing and He will dispense Justice perfectly.
This is how a Muslim can answer and respond with honesty, sincerity and proper acknowledgment of our limitations vis-a-vis the omnipotence of Allah.
What would Muslims tell their non-Muslim friends?
I suggest simply saying something along these lines, We have absolutely no knowledge on how their lives went, for even for people on Earth now it’s only for Allah, subhanahu wa ta’ala, to truly assess each human’s situation, but we do know that Allah is Absolutely Just and will judge with full knowledge. I know of an argument about an astronaut and if he died in space before hearing islam, where the people say he will go to paradise as he will definitely embrace islam if told and the same number say the hell, for he would neglect his prayers!
We shouldn’t participate in such kind of discussions.
Allah knows the real condition. We always mention that, in these discussions, that for our benefit to adhere toislam, we ought to leave those whose knowledge, intentions, circumstances etc., are known to only Allah, as they are. The focus must be for us. We ourselves need to learn Islam and adopt its way of life and if we can (even through our actions) show Islam in good light to others so be they are also aware and guided into its path’.
The story of Prophet Musa and the question he was asked by the Pharaoh is an ideal lesson for answering this tricky, yet fundamental question in islam about the fate of all earlier generations and as by corollary to, any individual anywhere in time who might have, unbeknownst to us all, failed to clearly hear the message of islam, the divine guidance Allah. When Musa (AS), was asked a similar query by the haughty Egyptian King, what was the response? The Holy Book states: When he asked regarding the preceding generations, he said: "Knowledge concerning them is with my Lord.
He, with the Almighty, neither errs nor forgets."
And so it goes…
This is only for Islamic knowledge informations not for hurting others.