Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
Allah Almighty does not force anyone to disbelief or disobedience. Rather, He created people, tested them, clarified for them the path of good and the path of evil, and gave them will and choice, while knowing beforehand what they would choose and having that written in the divine decree. The meaning of “He created people for Hell” is that these people will end up in Hell because of the deeds they chose, not that Allah created them and forced them to disbelieve so that He could punish them.
Allah Almighty commanded His servants to believe and obey, forbade disbelief and disobedience, and does not approve of disbelief for His servants. He says:
“If you disbelieve, then indeed Allah is Free of need from you, and He does not approve disbelief for His servants; and if you are grateful, He approves it for you.” [Az-Zumar: 7]
If a person were forced into disbelief or disobedience, he would not deserve punishment for it, because a person is not held accountable for something he was compelled to do and had no choice in.
Allah تعالى says:
“And say: The truth is from your Lord, so whoever wills—let him believe; and whoever wills—let him disbelieve. Indeed, We have prepared for the wrongdoers a Fire whose enclosure will surround them…” [Al-Kahf: 29]
And He says:
“And We guided him to the two ways.” [Al-Balad: 10]
At-Tabari (may Allah have mercy on him) explained the two ways as the path of good and the path of evil, as in the verse:
“Indeed, We guided him to the way, whether he be grateful or ungrateful.” [Al-Insan: 3]
Thus, a person has will and choice, and this choice is the basis of religious responsibility, reward, and punishment.
Allah Almighty knows, before creating His servants, what they will choose and what they will do, and He has written it with Him. But He does not force them to perform those deeds.
Allah’s prior knowledge and the writing of the decree do not mean that a person has been deprived of his will. Rather, Allah knows what the servant will choose and has written that in the divine decree.
Therefore, it is necessary to distinguish between Allah’s knowledge of what will happen and forcing a servant to perform an action. Allah knows the servant’s choice before it occurs, while the servant chooses the action through his own will.
It is authentically reported in Sahih Muslim (2662), from Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Do you not know that Allah created Paradise and created Hell, and He created people for this and people for that?”
The statement “He created people for Hell” does not mean that He created them for the purpose of punishing them, or that He forced them to disbelieve and then punished them for it.
Rather, it means that these people will end up in Hell because of their deeds and disbelief, which they chose.
The letter lam here indicates outcome and eventual consequence, not purpose or causation. In other words, their final destination will be Hell; it does not mean that the original purpose of their creation was to punish them.
Al-Munawi (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned that the lam in the hadith indicates outcome and consequence, similar to Allah’s saying:
“And We have certainly created for Hell many of the jinn and mankind.” [Al-A‘raf: 179]
At-Tabari explained this as meaning that they will end up in Hell because Allah’s prior knowledge concerning them will come to pass: they will disbelieve in their Lord.
Allah is completely independent of His servants and has no need to punish them. Rather, He punishes those who deserve punishment as an act of justice.
Allah تعالى says:
“What would Allah do with your punishment if you are grateful and believe? And Allah is Appreciative and Knowing.” [An-Nisa’: 147]
If a servant were to believe, give thanks, and obey, there would be no reason for him to deserve punishment. Hell is instead the consequence of disbelief, disobedience, and rebellion. Allah knows beforehand who will choose the path of faith and who will choose the path of disbelief.
It is reported in the hadith that a person may perform the deeds of the people of Paradise until there is only an arm’s length between him and it, then what was written overtakes him and he performs the deeds of the people of Hell and enters it.
This does not mean that a person was truly a sincere believer performing the deeds of the people of Paradise and then was suddenly forced into disbelief.
Rather, the Prophet ﷺ clarified in the hadith of Sahl ibn Sa‘d (may Allah be pleased with him) that someone who performs the deeds of the people of Paradise as it appears to people may actually have something different within him.
During one of the battles, there was a man who fought fiercely, to the extent that the Companions thought he was among the people of Paradise. The Prophet ﷺ said that he was among the people of Hell. The man then wounded himself and died, and the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Indeed, a man may perform the deeds of the people of Paradise as it appears to people, while he is among the people of Hell; and he may perform the deeds of the people of Hell as it appears to people, while he is among the people of Paradise.” Narrated by al-Bukhari (4207) and Muslim (112).
The intended meaning is to warn against corruption of the inner self, bad intentions, and an evil ending. It does not mean that Allah wrongs a righteous and sincere servant by suddenly turning his faith into disbelief without cause.
Whoever is truthful with Allah, sincere toward Him, and strives against himself in obedience, Allah, out of His generosity and mercy, guides and keeps him firm.
Allah تعالى says:
“Allah keeps firm those who believe with the firm word in the worldly life and in the Hereafter. And Allah sends the wrongdoers astray. And Allah does what He wills.” [Ibrahim: 27]
And He says:
“And those who strive for Our sake—We will surely guide them to Our ways. And indeed, Allah is with those who do good.” [Al-‘Ankabut: 69]
And Allah says:
“Indeed, whoever fears Allah and is patient, then surely Allah does not allow the reward of those who do good to be lost.” [Yusuf: 90]
The hadith “Allah created people for Hell” does not mean that Allah forced these people into disbelief or created them pointlessly for the purpose of punishing them. Rather, Allah is the Wise and Just Creator. He does not wrong anyone. He has clarified for people the path of good and evil, given them will and choice, and holds them accountable for what they choose and do.
The meaning of some people being among the people of Hell is that they will end up there because of the disbelief and disobedience they chose, while Allah already knew this and had written it in the divine decree.
The Muslim’s creed therefore combines belief in Allah’s decree and His prior knowledge with affirming human responsibility for choice and action, while being certain that Allah is more just and merciful than to punish a person for something he was forced to do.
We ask Allah Almighty to make us among the people of Paradise and to keep us firm upon faith until we meet Him.
And Allah knows best.