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As for the claim, “Whoever says, ‘There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah,’ will enter Paradise,” and the appeal to the aforementioned hadith, the response is:

There is no doubt that the Quran and Sunnah contain both promises and warnings. Allah Most High says:

“Indeed, those who unjustly consume the property of orphans are only consuming fire into their bellies, and they will burn in a blazing Fire.”

Allah Most High also says:

“O you who believe, do not consume one another’s wealth unjustly, but only through trade by mutual consent. And do not kill yourselves. Indeed, Allah is ever Merciful to you.”

“And whoever does that in aggression and injustice, We will cast him into a Fire. And that is easy for Allah.”

There are many such passages in the Quran and Sunnah. The servant must believe in both, rather than believe in some and disbelieve in others. These polytheists wanted to believe in the promises while denying the warnings. The Harūriyyah and the Muʿtazilah wanted to believe in the warnings but not the promises. Both groups were mistaken.

The position of Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jamāʿah is to believe in both the promises and the warnings. Just as Allah—glorified be He—has explained that the punishment with which He threatens His servant is subject to conditions: that the servant does not repent, for if he repents, Allah accepts his repentance; and that he has no good deeds that erase his sins, for good deeds do away with