بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وصحبه وسلم أما بعد: We find some Muslims invoking mercy upon a Christian journalist who died upon Kufr. Some of them go as far as calling her a Shaheed (martyr), and some as far as affirming Jannah for her. Let's ignore the fact that she defended the Palestinian people and the fact that she condemned the Jewish aggression. In fact, let's ignore every good and noble deed that she ever did, simply because dying in the state of Kufr renders all of that useless. What do you think this is? There is no flattery when it comes to Tawheed! Allah says regarding the deeds of the Kuffar: { وَقَدِمۡنَاۤ إِلَىٰ مَا عَمِلُوا۟ مِنۡ عَمَلࣲ فَجَعَلۡنَـٰهُ هَبَاۤءࣰ مَّنثُورًا } “And We shall turn to the deeds they have done and scatter them like dust.” [Surah Al-Furqân: 23] What's more, Allah praises 18 Prophets under one context in Suratul An'am, then after praising them, concludes: {وَلَوۡ أَشۡرَكُوا۟ لَحَبِطَ عَنۡهُم مَّا كَانُوا۟ یَعۡمَلُونَ} “If they had associated partners with Him, all their deeds would have come to nothing.” [Surah Al-Anâm: 88] There is no flattery when it comes to Tawheed - not even in the case of Prophets and Messengers! Let's state the facts: Fact 1: Anyone who dies upon Kufr will abide in Hell forever as Allah said: { إِنَّ ٱلَّذِینَ كَفَرُوا۟ وَمَاتُوا۟ وَهُمۡ كُفَّارٌ أُو۟لَـٰۤىِٕكَ عَلَیۡهِمۡ لَعۡنَةُ ٱللَّهِ وَٱلۡمَلَـٰۤىِٕكَةِ وَٱلنَّاسِ أَجۡمَعِینَ (161) خَـٰلِدِینَ فِیهَا لَا یُخَفَّفُ عَنۡهُمُ ٱلۡعَذَابُ وَلَا هُمۡ یُنظَرُونَ (162) } “Surely those who disbelieve and die as disbelievers are condemned by Allah, the angels, and all of humanity. * They will be in Hell forever. Their punishment will not be lightened, nor will they be delayed ˹from it˺.” [Surah Al-Baqarah: 161-162] Fact 2: It is Haraam to seek mercy and forgiveness for the Kuffar as Allah said: { مَا كَانَ لِلنَّبِیِّ وَٱلَّذِینَ ءَامَنُوۤا۟ أَن یَسۡتَغۡفِرُوا۟ لِلۡمُشۡرِكِینَ وَلَوۡ كَانُوۤا۟ أُو۟لِی قُرۡبَىٰ مِنْ بَعۡدِ مَا تَبَیَّنَ لَهُمۡ أَنَّهُمۡ أَصۡحَـٰبُ ٱلۡجَحِیمِ } “It is not ˹proper˺ for the Prophet and the believers to seek forgiveness for the polytheists, even if they were close relatives, after it has become clear to the believers that they are bound for the Hellfire.” [Surah At-Tawbah: 113] Abu Hurairah radhiyallahu 'anhu reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) visited the grave of his mother and he wept, and moved others around him to tears, and said: I sought permission from my Lord to beg forgiveness for her but it was not granted to me, and I sought permission to visit her grave and it was granted to me so visit the graves, for that makes you mindful of death. [Muslim] Fact 3: It is not permissible to say of any individual Muslim -let alone a non-Muslim- who dies fighting in Allah's cause that he died a Shaheed (martyr) - unless there is specific evidence testifying to that. For example, the Prophet (ﷺ) once climbed the mountain of Uhud with Abu Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthman. The mountain shook with them, so the Prophet (ﷺ) said (to the mountain), "Be firm, O Uhud! For on you there are no more than a Prophet, a Siddiq and two martyrs (referring to 'Umar and 'Uthman). [Bukhari] So on the basis of this hadeeth, we can testify that 'Umar and 'Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them both) both died as martyrs. Fact 4: We have to make an effort to learn the correct Islamic 'Aqeedah and teach it to others. Otherwise we'll be overtaken by emotions and fall into the same mistakes that these Muslims have fallen into ولا حولا ولا قوة إلا بالله