Narrated from Abu Umamah (RA), the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:“There are three persons whose voluntary acts of worship or obligatory acts of worship Allah Ta'ala will not accept:A child who is disobedient to his parents.The one who reproaches others after doing them a favor (the one who reminds others of his favors).The one who denies Divine Decree (Qadar).”Is this hadith authentic? Does ‘not accepted’ mean that there will be no reward?

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad () is His Slave and Messenger.

We would first like to point out that this hadith has been reported with different wordings. None of the versions mention obligatory or voluntary deeds. Rather, this distinction was mentioned by some commentators on the hadith, as will be explained. Likewise, including the one who denies divine decree among those mentioned does not appear in any of the authentic narrations; rather, all of the chains that contain this addition have been judged weak by the majority of scholars.

The established wording – reported from a number of the Companions – is the statement of the Prophet : “The one who is undutiful to his parents, the habitual drinker of alcohol, and the one who reminds others of his favors will not enter Paradise.” As for the wording, “Allah will not accept from them any compensation or ransom,” it appears in the narration of Abu Umaamah which also includes “the one who denies divine decree,” but this wording is not established in this context, as previously noted.

After judging this narration – the version that includes the phrase “the one who denies divine decree” – to be weak, the apparent problem that arises when attempting to reconcile these categories is thereby resolved. This is because the one who denies divine decree is not considered a believer by consensus, as he rejects a fundamental pillar of faith. In contrast, those who commit these major sins do not leave the fold of belief according to the position of the scholars of the People of Sunnah (Ahl-us-Sunnah), who do not declare a person a disbeliever for committing major sins. So how could their punishment be equal? Thus, once it is established that mentioning the one who denies divine decree is not authentic in this hadith, the issue is resolved. All those mentioned in the authentic narrations remain within the fold of belief, and there is no inconsistency in their sharing a similar warning.

As for the meaning of denying their entry into Paradise or the non-acceptance of their deeds – as mentioned in some narrations – this has been interpreted by scholars in several well-known ways:

First: It means they will not enter Paradise initially; rather, they may enter the Fire first, then be admitted into Paradise afterward, as is the case with all who affirm pure monotheism.

Second: That this warning is subject to the will of Allah, meaning: unless Allah wills to admit them into Paradise.

Third: That the meaning is that if Allah were to punish them strictly according to what they deserve, they would not enter Paradise. This is similar to the verse in which Allah describes the punishment of the Muslim who intentionally murders a fellow Muslim (what means): {His recompense is Hell, wherein he will abide} [Qur’an 4:93], meaning: if He were to recompense him fully, that would be his due.

Fourth: That what is meant by “Paradise” here is a particular level of Paradise – the highest and most noble – so the meaning would be that they will not enter that specific rank. This is supported by a narration of Anas which is reported by Al-Bazzaar : “The one addicted to alcohol, the one undutiful to his parents, and the one who reminds others of his favors will not enter the gardens of the highest Paradise.”

As for the warnings mentioned regarding certain people from within the Muslim community whose deeds will not be accepted – such as one who introduces wrongdoing in the sacred precinct of Madinah, shelters an innovator, falsely claims lineage, and similar cases – does this mean that complete acceptance is denied, or that divine approval is withheld while the obligation is still discharged, or does it carry some other meaning?

Al-Nawawi said in his commentary on Saheeh Muslim, quoting from Al-Qaadi : “It was said that the meaning is that neither his obligatory nor voluntary acts are accepted with acceptance of approval, even though they may be accepted in the sense of fulfilling the obligation.” [End quote.]

Al-San‘aani said in At-Tanweer: “Three whose deeds Allah will not accept on the Day of Resurrection – sarfan, meaning no repentance, no voluntary act, nor anything by which he seeks to avert punishment – and ‘adlan, meaning no obligatory act. It has also been said that the meaning of ‘adlan is that Allah does not accept from him in a way that expiates this sin, even though other acts of obedience may still expiate it.” [End quote.]

Allah Knows best