Both the Misguided and the Misguiders Among the People of the Book Deserve Punishment

Question

The scholars of the People of the Book — that is, the Jews, Christians and others — who did not believe in the Qur’an and also misled the common people, and whose end came upon that very state: are all these people inhabitants of Hell, or will only the scholars go to Hell, with no sin upon the common people? The scholars of the Shi‘a sect, the Qadianis and the like misled people — will the punishment for that also fall only on their scholars, or will the common people be included as well?

Answer

Those who went astray will be punished, and those who led others astray will be punished too. When those who were led astray are subjected to punishment, they will offer many excuses — “other misguided people led us astray” — but they will not be heard. They will also reproach those who misled them: “You led us astray; had you not misled us, we would have believed.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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