Major sins and creation

wa alaykum as salaam wa rahmatullahi!

Thank you for your questions!

1. Yes. We say (in agreement with the Qur'an) that all major sinners who persist in their sins without repenting will be in Hellfire forever. As for Allah's forgiveness, this is reserved for those penitent Muslims who ask for forgiveness. All of this is easily proven in our translations as well as our book in great detail. It would not make sense for Allah to forgive someone who has been flagrant in sin and so defiant that he would not seek forgiveness before dying. We say that Allah's Mercy is more encompassing than His Wrath however, this refers to those who sip from the waters of Allah's Mercy while still alive.

2. As for the creation by Allah and the slaves, one of our imams Imam Mansuur Abdullah b. Hamza (as) best answered this question. He said that the Zaydi understanding is that "all things" refer to those bodies (ijsaam) and necessary accidents (al-araadh adh-dhuruuri). For example, we say that Allah created ice (a body) as well as its coldness (a necessary accident). However, we do not say that all actions and movements that occur are created by Allah. For example, the act of idol worship is not something created by Allah even though He created the material from which is the idol as well as the person who worships the idol. We say that creation has a limited capability to 'create' However, the creation of Allah and that of creation are just as dissimilar as Allah's Power and that of creation. For example, Allah says {You created falsehood (takhlaqoona ifka)} and says regarding Nabi Isa (as) {He created a bird out of clay}. Allah attributes the act of creation to creatures; however, Allah's bringing something into existence from non-existence cannot be compared to what is created by creation.

One may say that the verse says {Allah is the Creator of all things} and that negates the possibility that there exists anything that He didnt create. However, our imams (as) say that just because the Qur'an uses the term {all things} it doesnt mean that it refers to all things that exist. Similarly, Allah says regarding the dominion of the Queen of Sheba {She has dominion over all things}. The Qur'an uses {all things} but it doesn't mean that Queen Bilqis had dominion over everything that existed.

A good way to look at it is thus: If you say that Allah creates disbelief and disobedience then you are ascribing wickedness and ugliness to One who is all good and wise. If you say that Allah and the slave create disbelief and disobedience, you are putting partners to Allah. The only option left is to say that the slave creates disbelief and disobedience.

And Allah knows best!

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