Is the following statement a hadith: "Hellfire will not burn a person who says La ilaha illallah"?

The Details of the Question

Is the following statement a hadith: "Hellfire will not burn a person who says La ilaha illallah"?

The Answer

Dear Brother / Sister,

- There are hadiths narrated from Abu Hurayra, Abu Saidul-Khudri, Abu Darda and other Companions regarding the issue. For instance, according to the narration from Abu Darda, the Prophet (pbuh) said,    

“If a person says, ‘la ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lah’, Paradise becomes wajib for him.” (see Majmauz-Zawaid, 1/16)

- However, it is necessary to utter that statement and act in accordance with it in order to benefit from the positive results of this statement. As a matter of fact, the Prophet (pbuh) stated the following according to the narration from Sad b. Ubada:

If a person says, ‘la ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lah’, obeys it with his heart and surrenders to it with his tongue and witnesses that Muhammad is Allah’s slave and messenger, Allah will make Hell haram for him.” (Majmauz-Zawaid, 1/21)

- Besides, if a person says, “la ilaha illallah” and dies immediately after it, this is evidence showing that he enters the grave with belief. A person who enters the grave with belief – may enter Hell due to his sins – will finally enter Paradise. It is possible to interpret some of those hadith in this sense.

- The believers whose thawabs are more than their sins will go to Paradise directly. Those whose sins are more than their thawabs will remain in Hell for a while to be cleaned and will go to Paradise after that. Unbelievers will be in Hell forever.

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