Praying for kaafirs to be guided

Question

Praise be to Allah.

Firstly:

We thank our brother for his interest and for
this question about something that is confusing him in some of the answers.

Secondly:

For more information on rulings concerning
the Raafidis and some of their views, please see questions no. 1148 and
10272.

Thirdly:

Praying for forgiveness for the mushrikeen is
undoubtedly haraam, as is indicated by the Qur’aan and Sunnah.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“It is not (proper) for the Prophet and
those who believe to ask Allaah’s forgiveness for the Mushrikoon, even though they be of kin, after it has become clear to them that they are the
dwellers of the Fire (because they died in a state of disbelief).

And Ibraaheem’s
(Abraham) invoking (of Allaah) for his father’s forgiveness was only because of a promise he [Ibraaheem (Abraham)] had made to him (his father).
But when it became clear to him that he (his father) is an enemy of Allaah, he dissociated himself from him. Verily, Ibraaheem was Awwah (one who
invokes Allaah with humility, glorifies Him and remembers Him much) and was forbearing”

[al-Tawbah 9:113-114]

al-Sa’di (may Allaah have mercy on him)
said:

This means, it is not appropriate or good for
the Prophet and those who believe in him to “ask Allaah’s forgiveness for the mushrikeen”, i.e. for those who disbelieve in Him and worship others
alongside Him. “even though they be of kin, after it has become clear to them that they are the dwellers of the Fire”

Although the Close Friend of the Most
Merciful, Ibraaheem (peace be upon him) prayed for forgiveness for his father, that was “was only because of a promise he [Ibraaheem (Abraham)]
had made to him (his father)” – when he said, “I will ask forgiveness of my Lord for you. Verily, He is unto me Ever
Most Gracious” [Maryam 19:47 – interpretation of the meaning] which was before he knew of his father’s fate.

When it became clear to Ibraaheem that his
father was an enemy of Allaah who would die in kufr, and his preaching and reminding was not going to be of any avail, he disowned him, in order
to please his Lord.

“Verily, Ibraaheem was Awwah (one who
invokes Allaah with humility, glorifies Him and remembers Him much)” means, he turned to his Lord in all his affairs, making a lot of dhikr
and du’aa’ and always praying for forgiveness.

“and was forbearing” means, he was
compassionate towards people and was tolerant towards their mistakes; he was not provoked by the attitude of the ignorant, and he did not
retaliate in kind against those who offended him. His father said to him, “I will indeed stone you”
and he said to him, “Peace be on you!
I will ask forgiveness of my Lord for you. Verily, He is unto me Ever Most Gracious” [Maryam 19:47 – interpretation of the meaning]

Al-Bukhaari (3884) narrated that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) called his paternal uncle Abu Taalib to Islam when he was dying, and the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “I will pray for forgiveness for you so long as I am not forbidden to do so.” Then the following verses
were revealed (interpretation of the meaning):

“It is not (proper) for the Prophet and
those who believe to ask Allaah’s forgiveness for the Mushrikoon, even though they be of kin, after it has become clear to them that they are the
dwellers of the Fire (because they died in a state of disbelief).”

[al-Tawbah 9:113]

“Verily, you (O Muhammad) guide not whom
you like”

[al-Qasas 28:56]

Al-Haafiz said:

“So long as I am not forbidden to do so”
means, so long as I am not forbidden to pray for forgiveness.

Muslim (976) narrated that Abu Hurayrah said:
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “I asked my Lord for permission to pray for forgiveness for my
mother, and He did not give me permission. I asked Him for permission to visit her grave, and He granted me permission.”

Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him)
said:

This indicates that it is forbidden to pray
for forgiveness for the kuffaar.

It is clear from these two ahaadeeth that
this prohibition applies to praying for forgiveness for them. The same applies to praying for them to be admitted to Paradise and saved from
torment.

The reason for this prohibition is:

“That seeking forgiveness for them in this
case (i.e., when it is clear that they are dwellers of the Fire) is a mistake and is of no use, so it is not befitting for the Prophet and the
believers to do this, because if they (the mushrikeen) have died in shirk or it is known that they will die in shirk, then the word of punishment
has been fulfilled against them and they will abide forever in Hell, and the intercession of those who intercede and the prayers of forgiveness of
those who pray will be to no avail.

Moreover, the Prophet (S) and those who
believe with him are obliged to like that which pleases their Lord and hate that which angers Him; they have to take as friends those whom Allaah
takes as friends and regard as enemies those whom Allaah regards as enemies, so praying for forgiveness for those who are clearly dwellers of the
Fire goes against that and contradicts it.”

~ Shaykh al-Sa’di (may Allaah have mercy on
him).

But praying for the kaafirs to be guided is
not included in the prohibition on praying for forgiveness for them.

It is proven that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) prayed for some of the kuffaar to be guided.

Al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him)
said in al-Saheeh: “Chapter on making du’aa’ for the mushrikeen to be guided so that their hearts may be softened.” Then he mentioned the
hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: “Al-Tufayl ibn ‘Amr came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) and said. ‘[The tribe of] Daws has rebelled and rejected [Islam]. Pray to Allaah against them.’ He said, ‘O Allaah, guide Daws and bring
them here.’” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2937; Muslim, 2524).

Al-Haafiz said in Fath al-Baari:

Al-Bukhaari mentioned the hadeeth of Abu
Hurayrah according to which al-Tufayl ibn ‘Amr al-Dawsi came (to the Prophet) and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said, ‘O Allaah, guide Daws and bring them here.’ The phrase “so that their hearts may be softened” indicates that the compiler [i.e.,
al-Bukhaari] understood the variations in the Prophet’s attitude, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sometimes
prayed against the kuffaar and sometimes prayed for them. He did the former when they were strong and able to do more to the Muslims, and he did
the latter when they were not causing any harm to the Muslims and there was the hope that they might enter Islam, as in the story of Daws.

Al-Tirmidhi narrated (2739) that Abu Moosa
al-Ash’ari said: The Jews used to sneeze in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), hoping that he would say
to them, “Yarhamakum Allaah (may Allaah have mercy on you).” But he would say, “Yahdeekum Allaah wa yuslihu baalakum) (may Allaah
guide you and reform you).” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.

Al-Haafiz said:

The hadeeth of Abu Moosa indicates that they
(the kuffaar) are included in the general command to pray for one who sneezes, but there is a special prayer for them in this case, which is to
pray that they be guided and reformed, and there is nothing wrong with that. This is different from the prayer said for Muslims when they sneeze,
for they are the ones for whom one should pray for mercy, unlike the kuffaar.

And Allaah knows best.