strike off this hypocrite’s head.” The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said, “He was present at Badr. And how do you know? Allah may well have looked upon the people of Badr and said to them, ‘Do whatever you wish, for I have forgiven you.’”
Allah thus forgave him this grave misdeed because he had participated in Badr. This shows that Allah may forgive a grave misdeed on account of a great good deed. The believers believe in both the promise of reward and the threat of punishment, accepting the Prophet’s saying—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—
“Whoever’s last words are ‘There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah’ will enter Paradise,”
and similar statements, alongside Allah’s words:
“Indeed, those who unjustly consume the property of orphans are only consuming fire into their bellies, and they will burn in a blazing Fire.”
For this reason, no particular individual is declared to be destined for Paradise without specific evidence, nor is any particular individual declared to be destined for the Fire without specific evidence. Neither declaration may be made merely on the assumption that someone falls within the general statements, for a person may fall within both categories and thus deserve both reward and punishment. Allah Most High says:
“So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it,
and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.”
When a servant has both bad deeds and good deeds, although he deserves punishment for his bad deeds, Allah rewards him for his good deeds. He does not nullify a believer’s good deeds because of the sins he has committed. Only the Khawārij and the Muʿtazilah maintain that a major sin nullifies all good deeds. They hold that those who commit major sins will remain in the Fire forever, that they will not leave it through intercession or any other means, and that no faith whatsoever remains in someone who commits a major sin. These are false views that contradict the Book, the mass-transmitted Sunnah, and the consensus of the Companions.