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Fatwa CenterPeople with no good deeds will leave Hell by the mercy of Allaah
Question
Please would you kindly explain the Hadeeth which says that Allaah The Almighty will bring out of Hell by virtue of His mercy some people who never did a good deed except saying the two testimonies of faith. Did these people not perform prayer? If they did, how could it be said that they never did a good deed? Is it required that these people should have performed prayer, given Zakaah [obligatory charity] and performed Hajj? Will people leaving Hell through intercession get out of Hell a long time before these people?
May Allaah reward you.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu 'alyhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
The Hadeeth in question was narrated by Imaam Ahmad 
in Al-Musnad. It was narrated on the authority of Abu Sa‘eed 
that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:
When the believers are saved from Hell on the Day of Resurrection and become safe, the believers will be more eager in pleading with their Lord on behalf of their (Muslim) brothers who were admitted to Hell than your eagerness in this worldly life in arguing with one another to claim a right that is his. They (i.e. the believers) will say, "O Allaah, our brothers used to pray with us, fast with us and perform Hajj with us, (but) You admitted them to Hell." Allaah will say: "Go and take out (of Hell) whom you recognize." They will go to them and recognize them from their appearances, for the fire would not have burned their faces. (They will find) some of them in fire up to the middle of their legs, and some up to their ankles. So they will take them out and then say, "O our Lord, we brought out of Hell all those whom You commanded us to.” Allaah will say: "Go and take out (of Hell) anyone in whose heart there is faith equal to the weight of a Dinaar (a coin). Then He will Say (to them): "Go and take out (of Hell) anyone in whose heart there is faith equal to the weight of half a Dinaar," until He will Say: "Go and take out (of Hell) anyone in whose heart there is faith equal to the weight of an atom."
Abu Sa‘eed then said: "If you do not believe me then read this verse which says (what means): {Indeed, Allaah does not do injustice, [even] as much as an atom's weight; while if there is a good deed, He Multiplies it and gives from Himself a great reward.} [Quran 4:40]
(The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, continued):
They (i.e. the believers) will say, "O our Lord, we brought out of Hell those whom You commanded us to bring out, and none is left whose heart contains goodness. Allaah The Almighty will then Say: "Now, the angels, the prophets and the believers have interceded, and now remains the intercession of the Most Merciful.” He will then take out one or two handfuls of people who have never done good deeds out of the Fire and their bodies will then have been burnt to the extent that they have become charcoal. They will then be taken to a stream called “the water of life" and it will be poured over them. They will then grow as a seed grows from the silt carried by a flood and they will come out like pearls and on their necks will be seals (which state): "Those emancipated by Allaah." It will be said to them, "Enter Paradise and whatever you wish for or see, I have for you that which is better." They will ask, "What is better than that, O our Lord?" Allaah will say, "Granting you My pleasure, after which My wrath would never be inflicted upon you.
[Ahmad (Al-Albaani: Saheeh (Authentic))] The origin of this Hadeeth was narrated in Saheeh Muslim.
This Hadeeth shows that those people did not do any good deeds or perform prayers, because people who performed prayers, payed Zakah and did good deeds, had left Hell before them. However, this does not mean that it is possible to neglect prayers relying on this intercession. Abandoning prayers is one of the gravest sins, and some scholars deem the Muslim who abandons it a disbeliever based on some authentic Hadeeths. Persistence on committing misdeeds may cause their doer to die on other than the religion of Islam – may Allaah forbid.
The Hadeeth does not specify a period of time for getting out of Hell between its dwellers who had some good deeds and others. The structure of the Hadeeth signifies that there is a relatively brief time between the departures of the two parties.
Allaah Knows best.
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