Are the Parents of Prophet Mohammed in Heaven or Hell? A Qur’anic Explanation of Their Fate
A debatable issue within the Muslim community is with regards to the destiny of the parents of Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him). Some claim they were from among a tiny group of people called the Hanifs who practised a form of monotheism, so will be in paradise. Others claim they were polytheists and therefore will be in hell, and back this up with evidence from the hadith. But what does the Qur'an actually say on the matter and does it provide a clear answer to this question.
The Arabs
The Arabs prior to the revelation were known as the gentiles, meaning a people without knowledge of prior scripture. Allah "... is the One who sent to the gentiles a messenger from among themselves..." (62:2), meaning a messenger without prior scriptural knowledge was sent to a people without prior scriptural knowledge. Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) was one of those who "...did not know what was the Book, nor what was faith..." (42:52) and he was from among "...those who were unaware" (12:3). Allah sent the Qur'an to Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) to teach the Arabs "...what you did not know" (2:151, 2:239 and 4:113).
If Allah had not sent Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) to the Arabs and by extension to the rest of humanity, they would have come up with the excuse "...the Book was only sent down to two groups before us (Jews & Christians), and we were unaware of their study" (6:156) in addition to saying "...no bearer of good news or warner has come to us..." (5:19). This would have been a very strong claim for them on the day of judgement against any potential punishment.
No punishment without a warner
Allah says that "...for every nation is a messenger; so when their messenger comes, the matter is decreed between them with justice..." (10:47), meaning communities will be held accountable only after Allah sends a messenger to them first. This idea is reinforced when the Qur'an says "...your Lord does not destroy the towns until He sends to their capital a messenger who recites Our revelations to them..." (28:59).
Based on this, the polytheists of Arabia would not have been accountable for their misdeeds prior to the revelation of the Qur'an because Allah says "We had not given to them any books to study, nor did We send to them before you any warner" (34:44). Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) was "...one of the messengers" (36:3) sent "to warn a people whose fathers were not warned, for they are unaware" (36:6).
Based on this, the polytheists of Arabia would not have been accountable for their misdeeds prior to the revelation of the Qur'an because Allah says "We had not given to them any books to study, nor did We send to them before you any warner" (34:44). Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) was "...one of the messengers" (36:3) sent "to warn a people whose fathers were not warned, for they are unaware" (36:6).
Idol worship
The Qur'an says that Allah "... was not to destroy any town because of its wickedness while its people were unaware" (6:131). Regarding the people of Mecca, the biggest crime they were committing was associating gods with Allah. The Qur'an has categorically stated that "Allah does not forgive that partners be set up with Him, and He forgives other than that for whom He pleases..." (4:48 & 4:116). Allah through His infinite mercy will forgive all sins a person commits and then repents of, except for dying whilst believing in polytheism.
For a person to die whilst persisting in polytheism, the consequences are extremely dire as Allah says "...whoever sets up partners with Allah, then Allah will restrict paradise from him, and his destiny will be the fire..." (5:72). But this only applies to those who were made aware during their lifetime.
Conclusion
The Qur'an has clearly stated that Allah will never punish a person as long as their ignorance was due to the lack of a messenger being sent. History has established that the father of Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) passed away before he was born, and his mother passed away in his early childhood; well before the Qur'an was revealed to him.
If Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) did not know anything of the religion before the Qur'an was revealed to him, it is unreasonable to assume his parents were aware of the graveness of polytheism. Based on Allah's eternal system, the parents of Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) would avoid punishment from Allah for their lack of belief. This is simply because they were unaware at the time and did not live long enough to witness the revelation being recited by their son (peace be upon him).