What is the ruling regarding Jews and Christians nowadays? Are they considered believers or disbelievers?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Him, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

The Quran, Sunnah and the consensus of scholars indicate that a man who embraces any religion other than Islam, is a disbeliever. His faith will not be accepted and, in the next life, he will be among those at loss. Allaah the Almighty Says (what means):

· {And whoever desires other than Islam as religion, never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers.}[Quran 3:85]

· {Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allaah is Islam.}[Quran 3:19]

There is an explicit text that states that the People of the Book who do not believe in Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, or deny the Prophethood of any other Prophet, or those who associate deities with Allaah The Almighty, are disbelievers. The fact that they accept one of the revealed Books as true, will not be of benefit to them, because if they truly believe in the one Messenger and Scripture sent to them, they would believe in them all. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):

· {Indeed, those who disbelieve in Allaah and His messengers and wish to discriminate between Allaah and His messengers and say, "We believe in some and disbelieve in others," and wish to adopt a way in between. Those are the disbelievers, truly. And We have prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating punishment.}[Quran 4:150-151]

· {O People of the Scripture, why do you disbelieve in the verses of Allaah while you witness [to their truth]?}[Quran 3:70]

· {Say, "O People of the Scripture, why do you disbelieve in the verses of Allaah while Allaah is Witness over what you do?"}[Quran 3:98]

The aforementioned verses were addressed to the Jews and Christians at the time of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, as they used to believe in Moosaa (Moses) and the Torah, and in ‘Eesaa and the Gospel, respectively.

Furthermore, Allaah the Almighty Says (what means):

· {They have certainly disbelieved who say, "Allaah is the Messiah, the son of Mary"}[Quran 5:72]

· {They have taken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allaah, and [also] the Messiah, the son of Mary. And they were not commanded except to worship one God; there is no deity except Him. Exalted is He above whatever they associate with Him.}[Quran 9:31]

· {Those who disbelieved among the People of the Scripture and the polytheists were not to be parted [from misbelief] until there came to them clear evidence}[Quran 98:1]

The fact that they are People of the Book, or that their food is allowed for us, does not contradict their status as disbelievers. This is because the One who rendered it lawful for us to eat what they have prepared, is the One who judged them to be disbelievers; and, no one can change His verdict or repel His Decree.

In fact, the passage in the Holy Quran that mentions a promise to Christians or Jews of entering Paradise, is restricted to those who were monotheists among them. Thus, such individuals would only be those who believed in their Prophet, did not associate any other deity with Allaah The Almighty and who died before the advent of Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Allaah the Almighty Says (what means):

· {Indeed, those who believed and those who were Jews or Christians or Sabeans [before Prophet Muhammad] - those [among them] who believed in Allaah and the Last Day and did righteousness - will have their reward with their Lord, and no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve.}[ Quran 2:62]

This is what was approved by scholars of Tafseer (interpretation) and those who have knowledge of the Holy Book. It is also supported by the fact that anyone who considers that Allaah The Almighty has a son – ‘Eesaa (Jesus), may Allaah exalt His mention – or that He is poor or can get tired, is not a true believer. Moreover, anyone who thinks that ‘Eesaa will undertake the reckoning in the Hereafter and admit to Hell those who do not believe in his lordship, or that he is the son of Allaah The Almighty, will prove himself to be a disbeliever on the Day of Judgment.

The Holy Quran further states that the People of the Book do not have faith in the [occurrence of the] Day of Judgment. Allaah the Almighty Says (what means):

· {Fight those who do not believe in Allaah or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allaah and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Scripture - [fight] until they give the Jizyah willingly while they are humbled.}[Quran 9:29]

In another verse, He Says (what means): {You will surely find the most intense of the people in animosity toward the believers [to be] the Jews and those who associate others with Allaah; and you will find the nearest of them in affection to the believers those who say, "We are Christians."}[Quran 5:82] This refers to those Christians who believed in Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and were affected when listening to the Quran. Thereby, [they were among] the many Christians who converted to Islam, as has occurred throughout history. Allaah the Almighty continues, Saying (what means):

{That is because among them are priests and monks and because they are not arrogant. And when they hear what has been revealed to the Messenger, you see their eyes overflowing with tears because of what they have recognized of the truth. They say, "Our Lord, we have believed, so register us among the witnesses. And why should we not believe in Allaah and what has come to us of the truth? And we aspire that our Lord will admit us [to Paradise] with the righteous people." So Allaah rewarded them for what they said with gardens [in Paradise] beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide eternally. And that is the reward of doers of good. But those who disbelieved and denied Our signs - they are the companions of Hellfire.}[Quran 5:82-86]

Consequently, the People of the Book who exist nowadays may be classified into two categories:

Firstly, there are those to whom the call of Islam and the [message of the] Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, has reached, yet they did not believe. Thus, they are disbelievers in this life and will be, for eternity, in Hell in the Hereafter, if they die with that conviction. This is proven by the aforementioned verses and the Hadeeth in which the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, swore that anyone of the People of the Book who hears his message and does not have faith in it will be among the inhabitants of the Fire. [Muslim] He also said that the Jews and Christians would be flung in Hell, due to their worship of other than Allaah The Almighty. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Secondly, there are individuals who have never even heard of Islam or the Da‘wah (call) of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. If we assume that these people exist nowadays, even with the most advanced means of communications available, then there are different opinions among the scholars. The predominant view is that they will be tested in the Hereafter, whereby some will be saved [by having faith] and others will perish. In this world, they are considered as disbelievers, by consensus, and we should call them to Islam. All the rulings of disbelievers apply to them.

Everything that we have mentioned above is indisputable in Islam; and, anyone who denies or doubts any of it is deemed a disbeliever. Al-Qaadhi ‘Iyaadh reported the consensus of scholars on this matter.

Some Hanbali scholars have added that the one who doubts the disbelief of the People of the Book becomes a disbeliever, too, [like them], for Allaah the Almighty Says (what means): {And whoever desires other than Islam as religion - never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers.}[Quran 3:85]

And Allaah Knows best.