Jews & Christians who hear of the Prophet yet don't believe

Jews & Christians who hear of the Prophet yet don't believe

Question:

It is established from the Prophet (Sallaallaahu ‘alaihi wa ‘alaa aalihi wa sallam) that he said: ((there is no man from amongst the Jews nor from amongst the Christians who hears of me and does not believe in me except that the fire has precedence over him)), so do we understand from this hadeeth that with the mere acquaintance and hearing that the person will not be excused or is the understanding of the evidence to coincide with that?

Answer:

That which is apparent is that it is the mere coming to hear about him just as it is intended, ((no Jew and no Christian hears of me and does not believe in me except that he will enter the fire)) so we say: coming to hear about him is just as it is intended – so he does not hear it from the Christian or from the Jew who distort the image of the Prophet (Sallaallaahu ‘alaihi wa ‘alaa aalihi wa sallam), but rather the hearing of this should be from the aspect that the proofs can be established due to it, so one explains to them the affair of Allaahs Messenger (Sallaallaahu ‘alaihi wa ‘alaa aalihi wa sallam) with a sufficient explanation, and as for the hadeeth then it is reported by Muslim from the hadeeth of Aboo Hurairah radiyallaahu ‘anhu.

Shaykh Muqbil bin Haadee
Ghaaratul Ashritah, volume 2, page 297
Translated by Aboo Haatim Muhammad Farooq