By Imam Murtadha Gusau
Wednesday, September 16, 2026
In the name of Allah, Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all creation, and may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family and all his Companions.
Dear brothers and sisters! Historically, the Islamic scholars hold three main views and opinions regarding the religious status and afterlife position of Prophet Muhammad’s parents, Abdullah and Aminah. But among the three views, the opinion of the scholars of salaf is the most authentic and correct opinion. The three main views are as follows:
(1). The View That They Are Among the People of Hellfire:
This position relies on literal Hadiths, such as a narration in Sahih Muslim where the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) stated:
“My father and your father are in the Fire.”
The Islamic scholars who hold this view state that the parents died during the period of ignorance (Jahiliyyah) before Islam, practicing the polytheism of their tribe. The Islamic scholars of this Mazhab are as follows:
- Imam Abu Hanifah (in traditional commentaries of Al-Fiqh al-Akbar).
- Imam Al-Baihaqi.
- Shaikhul Islam Ibn Taimiyyah.
- Imam Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah.
- Imam Ibn Kathir.
- Imam Al-Nawawi.
- Shaikh Ibn Baz.
- Shaikh Uthaimin.
- Shaikh Nasirudden Al-Albani.
- Shaikh Al-Fauzan.
- Shaikh Rabi’ Bin Hadi al-Madkhali, in Majmu’u Kutub Wa Rasail Wa Fatawa Ash-Shaikh Al-Allamah Rabi’ Bin Hadi Al-Madkhali – Volume 14, page 318 – 320, fatwa no. 48 and 104.
- Shaikh Muqbil Bin Hadi Al-Wadi’i, the Hadith scholar from Yemen, and all his students.
- All the Saudi Islamic scholars.
- All the Islamic scholars who follows the aqidah and manhaj (methodology) of the pious predecessors (Salafus-Salih).
(2). The View That They Are Saved or Forgiven:
Some later and classical Islamic scholars rejected the idea that the Prophet’s parents could face punishment. They argue that the parents belonged to the Ahlul-Fatrah (the people of the time interval between Prophets who did not receive a clear, uncorrupted message of monotheism). Islamic theology generally holds that such people are not punished. Some minority reports also claim that Allah temporarily revived them so they could accept Islam. The Islamic scholars of this Mazhab are:
- Al-Qadi Iyad.
- Ibn al-Arabi al-Maliki.
- Imam al-Qurtubi.
- Imam al-Suyuti.
- The Grand Sheikh of al-Azhar Ibrahim al-Bajouri.
- Imam Fakhr al-Din al-Razi.
- Shaikh Muhammad al-Amin al-Shanqiti, author of the famous Qur’anic exegesis Adwa’ al-Bayan.
Imam al-Suyuti wrote specific treatises arguing that they attained salvation.
(3). The View of Withholding Judgment (Tawaqquf):
This approach advises Muslim believers to remain silent on the matter. Proponents state that absolute knowledge belongs to Allah alone. They believe it is disrespectful or unnecessary to speculate on the final fate of the Prophet’s immediate family.
Respected brothers and sisters! The Pios Predecessors (Salafus-Salih) understanding regarding the Prophet Muhammad’s parents is that they died in a state of disbelief and are considered among the people of the Hellfire, based on literalist interpretations of authentic Hadiths.
Salaf Islamic scholars rely on narrations such as the one in Sahih Muslim where the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said: “Verily, my father and your father are in the Fire,” as well as when he was denied permission by Allah to pray for forgiveness for his mother.
While some Islamic scholars like Imam Al-Suyuti argued that the Prophet’s parents were of Ahlul-Fatrah (the people of the interval who did not receive a clear message) or were miraculously saved, mainstream Salafi methodology rejects this for the Prophet’s specific parents, asserting that they knew the falsehood of shirk and polytheism of pre-Islamic Arabia (Jahiliyyah).
Salafus-Salih teachers emphasise that stating this ruling is a matter of theological adherence to textual evidence (nass) rather than a personal disrespect or lowering the honour of the Prophet’s lineage.
Respected brothers and sisters! There is nothing in the noble Qur’an that explicitly states that Ahlul-Fatrah will be saved or destroyed. Allah the Most High says:
“And We never punish until We have sent a Messenger to give warning.” [Qur’an, 17:15]
Due to His Perfect Justice, Allah does not punish anyone until after He has sent a Messenger. So, whomsoever the message of Islam did not reach, they will not be punished until the proof is established against them. This is what was told by Allah the Almighty. It is also narrated in the Sunnah that the proof will be established against Ahlul-Fatrah and they will be tested on the Day of Resurrection, and those who satisfy and follow the straight path will be safe, but those who disobey will enter the Fire. The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said to the man who asked him:
“Where is my father?” He replied, “In Hellfire.” When he saw the man’s face change, he (Peace be upon him) said, “My father and yours are in the Fire.”
This was done to console the man and let him know that this was not just for his father. It may have been that both the Prophet’s and the man’s fathers had heard Da’awah.
And when the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said: “My father and yours are in the Fire”, he was talking about something that he knew, as he (Peace be upon him) never told lies or spoke through his own desire, as Allah the Most High says:
“By the star when it goes down or vanishes. Your companion (Prophet Muhammad, Peace be upon him) has neither gone astray nor has erred. Nor does he speak of his own desire. It is only a Revelation revealed.” [Qur’an, 53:1-4]
If evidence had not been established about the Prophet’s father, Abdullah Ibn Abdul-Muttalib, he (Peace be upon him) would not have said that about him. He might have been told about Prophet Ibrahim’s religion, and that was enough to establish proof against him. People had been following Prophet Ibrahim’s religion until Amr Ibn Luhai Al-Khuza’i propagated the worship of idols and they followed him and supplicated to them instead of Allah. It may also have been the case that Abdullah had knowledge that enabled him to discern that what the Quraish were doing in worshipping idols was null and void, but he still followed what they were doing, and that was the proof against him.
It was also narrated in the Hadith that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) asked Allah’s Permission to ask forgiveness for his mother, but he was not granted it, and that he asked Permission to visit her grave and he was granted that. He was not permitted to ask forgiveness for his mother maybe because sufficient Da’awah that established proof against her had reached her. It may also be because people of Jahiliyyah, the pre-Islamic time of ignorance, are treated the same as other disbelievers with regard to worldly rulings, and therefore it is not permissible to supplicate to Allah or ask forgiveness for them, and that their situation is left to Allah in the Hereafter.
If no proof is established against a person in this world, they will not be punished until they are tested on the Day of Resurrection, because Allah the Almighty says:
“And We never punish until We have sent a Messenger to give warning.” [Qur’an, 17:15]
So if it is known that a Prophet’s Da’awah did not reach people in a certain era, they will be tested on the Day of Resurrection; if they are successful they will enter Paradise (Jannah), but if they fail they will enter into the Fire. The same applies to the elderly, those who are mentally ill, and others whom Da’awah did not reach, and the children of the disbelievers; all of these people, according to the most correct opinion in this regard, will be tested. This is because when the Prophet (Peace be upon him) was asked about them, he said:
“Allah knows best what they were doing.”
So, children of the disbelievers will be examined on the Day of Resurrection along with Ahlul-Fatrah; if they give the correct replies they will be saved, otherwise they will be with those perishing in the Fire. Praise be to Allah, the matter concerning the Prophet’s parents is not a problem for those who know the Sunnah and the rules of the Shari’ah, the Islamic law.
Therefore, according to the mainstream Salaf methodology, the biological parents of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) died in a state of polytheism and are considered among the people of the Hellfire, based on explicit, authentic narrations in Sahih Muslim. A man asked the Prophet (Peace be upon him):
“Where is my father?” The Prophet answered, “Your father is in the Fire.” When the man turned away, the Prophet called him back and said, “Indeed, my father and your father are in the Fire.” [Reported in Sahih Muslim]
And the Prophet visited his mother’s grave, wept, and made it known that he asked his Lord for permission to seek forgiveness for her, but permission was not granted to him.
Salafiyyah Islamic scholars such as Shaikh Ibn Baz, Shaikh Ibn Uthaimin, Shaikh Nasirudden Al-Albani, Shaikh Al-Fauzan, following classical scholars like Imam Ibn Kathir, maintain that because the Prophet’s parents lived during the fatra (the time period between Prophet Isa and the mission of Prophet Muhammad where the clear message of Tauhid had been altered or lost), they are still judged according to the ruling of ahlul-shirk of that era because they died upon the religion of their people (worshipping idols), though the ultimate detailed test on the Day of Judgment is a separate theological nuance discussed by Islamic scholars.
The whole Salaf Islamic scholars reject positions held by some later Ash’ari, Maturidi, or Sufi Islamic scholars, such as Imam al-Suyuti, who argued that the Prophet’s parents were miraculously revived and accepted Islam, or that they were exempt because they were from Ahlul-Fatra al-Najiya (saved interval people), viewing those specific proofs as weak or fabricated.
Therefore, a traditional majority view among earlier classical scholars—based on apparent Prophetic Hadiths in Sahih Muslim—held that the Prophet’s parents died in a state of pre-Islamic ignorance (jahiliyyah) and were among those in the Fire.
Wallahu A’alam.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May the peace, blessings and salutations of Allah be upon our noble Messenger, Muhammad, and upon his family, his Companions and his true followers.
Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumu’ah and the late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okene’s Mosques, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: gusauimam@gmail.com or +2348038289761 or +2348024192217.