#الأربعون_في_ذكر_الأربعين

10. The Fragrance of Paradise Can Be Smelt Forty Years Away 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn Al-Aas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: ((مَنْ قَتَلَ مُعَاهَدًا لَمْ يَرِحْ رَائِحَةَ الْجَنَّةِ، وَإِنَّ رِيحَهَا تُوجَدُ مِنْ مَسِيرَةِ أَرْبَعِينَ عَامًا)) “Whoever kills a person under a covenant (a protected non-Muslim) will not smell the fragrance of Paradise, even though its fragrance can be detected from a distance of forty years’ journey.” [Reported in Sahih Al-Bukhari, 6914] Brief Commentary: 1. Islam strongly emphasises the importance of fulfilling promises and covenants. For this reason, the Prophet ﷺ gave a stern warning against killing a Mu‘āhad (a non-Muslim under protection), which includes: a) someone who pays jizyah b) someone living under a peace treaty c) someone granted safety by a Muslim 2. This hadith serves as a clear refutation of the modern-day Khawarij who hold citizenship in non-Muslim countries or enter them on visas—both forms of a covenant—and then go on to kill innocent people under the pretext of jihad. 3. Whoever kills such a person will not smell the fragrance of Paradise, meaning they will be kept far from it, let alone enter it. 4. The fragrance of Paradise is described as reaching from an immense distance—reported in different narrations as a journey of 40 years, 70 years, or even more. These variations are understood to reflect differences in people’s deeds and ranks, or simply to emphasise the vastness of the distance rather than define it precisely. 5. The statement “will not smell it” does not necessarily imply eternal punishment. A Muslim who commits major sins remains within Islam; they may be punished, but will ultimately enter Paradise. 6. Some scholars have used this hadith to argue that while killing a protected non-Muslim carries a serious warning of punishment in the Hereafter, it does not necessarily entail the death penalty in worldly law. References: Fat-h Al-Bari https://t.me/madrasatuna/6032