Do atheist, agnostics, non-Muslims go to hell?

Recently this question was posed to me by my friend Musa in the Nur Dersana in Philadelphia, PA. In an attempt to have a more scholarly answer I am creating this post. Answering this post in a multi-madhab society of America I will attempt to include multiple sources.

Shaykh Hamza Yusuf article Who are the Disbelieves? presents the opinions of many great scholars including Imam Ghazali, Imam Suyuti, Ibn Taymiyyah and many more. Shaykh Hamza guides the reader through the many types of kufr and opinions. Conclusion being that no not all non-Muslims go to hell-fire. Alhamdulilah Allahs mercy is quite vast.
Please access this article here: Who are the Disbelivers ~ Shaykh Hamza Yusuf

Salafi
“A person who has never heard of Islam or the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and who has never heard the message in its correct and true form, will not be punished by Allaah if he dies in a state of kufr (disbelief). If it were asked what his fate will be, the answer will be that Allaah will test him on the Day of Resurrection: if he obeys, he will enter Paradise and if he disobeys he will enter Hell. The evidence (daleel) for this is the hadeeth of al-Aswad ibn Saree’, who reported that the Prophet of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There are four (who will protest) to Allaah on the Day of Resurrection: the deaf man who never heard anything, the insane man, the very old man, and the man who died during the fatrah (the interval between the time of ‘Eesaa (Jesus, upon whom be peace) and the time of Muhammad SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)). The deaf man will say, ‘O Lord, Islam came but I never heard anything.’ The insane man will say, ‘O Lord, Islam came but the children ran after me and threw stones at me.’ The very old man will say, ‘O Lord, Islam came but I did not understand anything.’ The man who died during the fatrah will say, ‘O Lord, no Messenger from You came to me.’ He will accept their promises of obedience, then word will be sent to them to enter the Fire. By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, if they enter it, it will be cool and safe for them.” – Islam QA – Fatwa 1244

May Allah guide us to what is best. I heard Shaykh Khalil AbdurpRashid state that the people on this earth when they indulge in the dunya ie: drinking alcohol, over eating, dating, etc; are actually seeking God. They have a hole in their heart from the realm of the spirits which they want to fill. That whole can only be filled with the remembrance of Allah. Our job as Muslims is to help them find that lost love and thus fill them with sakina.

Glory be to Allah, we have no knowledge save that which he has given us, He is all knowing, all wise.

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