37: Do not bear witness that a person is an inhabitant of Paradise or the Fire.

Do not bear witness for any of the people of Islam (i.e. that he is a person of Paradise or of the Fire) due to a good or bad deed, since you do not know what his final action before his death will be. You hope for Allah’s Mercy for him and you fear for him because of his sins. You do not know what has been destined for him at the time of his death [1] as regards repentance and what Allah has destined for that time if he dies upon Islam. You hope for Allah’s mercy for him and you fear for him because of his sins.

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NOTES

[1] Al-Miqdaad ibn al-Aswad (radiallaahu anhu) said: I will not say anything good or bad about a person until I see how he ends, after something I heard from the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam). It was said, “What did you hear?” He said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) say, “The heart of the son of Adam is agitated more severely than the cooking pot when it boils.” Reported by Ahmad, al-Haakim and Ibn Abee ‘Aasim in as-Sunnah (no.226). Declared saheeh by Shaikh al-Albaanee in Saheehul-Jaami’(5023).

Anas (radiallaahu anhu) reports that the Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) said, “Do not be delighted by the action of anyone until you see how he ends up.” Reported by Ahmad and Ibn Abee ‘Aasim in as-Sunnah (347-353) and declared saheeh by Shaikh al-Albaanee in Silsilatul-Ahaadeeth as-Saheehah (no.1334).

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