Being reckless with regard to zina on the grounds that the Muslim who commits sin will never stay in Hell for eternity

The belief of Ahl
as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa‘ah is that those who commit major sins are subject to
the will of Allah. If Allah wills, He will punish them, and if He wills, He
will forgive them, and if they are punished, they will not remain in Hell
forever. This is what is indicated by the mutawaatir texts of the Qur’aan
and Sunnah, such as the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“Verily, Allah
forgives not that partners should be set up with him in worship, but He
forgives except that (anything else) to whom He pleases, and whoever sets up
partners with Allah in worship, he has indeed invented a tremendous sin”

[an-Nisa’ 4:48]. 

Al-Bukhaari (18)
and Muslim (1709) narrated from ‘Ubaadah ibn as-Saamit that the Messenger of
Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, when a number of his
companions were around him: “Swear allegiance to me, pledging that you will
not associate anything with Allah, you will not steal, you will not commit
zina, you will not kill your children, you will not fabricate lies against
one another, and you will not disobey in anything that is right and proper.
Whoever among you fulfils that, his reward will be with Allah, and whoever
does any of those things and is punished for it in this world, that will be
expiation for him. Whoever does any of those things then Allaah conceals
him, his case will rest with Allaah: if He wills He will forgive him and if
He wills He will punish him.” So we swore allegiance to him on that basis. 

Al-Bukhaari (44)
and Muslim (193) narrated from Anas that the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever says Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah and has in his
heart goodness the weight of a grain of barley will be brought out of Hell,
then whoever says Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah and has in his heart goodness the
weight of a grain of wheat will be brought out of Hell, then whoever says
Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah and has in his heart goodness the weight of an atom
(or a small ant) will be brought out of Hell.”

Abu ‘Abdullah
said: Abaan narrated to us: Qataadah narrated to us: Anas narrated to us
from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) “faith” instead
of “goodness”. 

This does not mean
that we may be heedless or reckless with regard to sin. The sinner may be
faced with a bad end or loss of faith. Hence one of the Salaf said: Sins are
the harbingers of kufr. 

Moreover, no one
takes the idea of the punishment of Hell lightly except the negligent fool
who does not know what Hell is or what the punishment of Allah is, or that
one dip in the Fire will make him forget the greatest pleasure in this
world. 

There are reports
concerning the punishment and humiliation of those who commit zina, that
instil fear in the heart and mind and would stop anyone thinking of zina.
These reports include the following: 

Al-Bukhaari (1386)
narrated that Samurah ibn Jundub said: When the Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) had prayed, he would turn to us and say: “Who among
you saw a dream last night?” If anyone had seen a dream, he would tell him
and say whatever Allah willed. One day he said: “Did any of you see a dream
last night?” We said: No. He said: “But last night I dreamt that two men
came to me and they took me by the hand and led me out to the holy land. …
Then we moved on to a hole like a tannoor (a kind of oven) that was narrow
at the top and wide at the bottom. A fire was lit underneath it, and when it
came close they rose up until they almost came out, and when it died down
they went back into it. In it were naked men and women. I said: Who are
these? They said: Move on. So we moved on.” 

According to
another report narrated by al-Bukhaari (7047): “… So we went on, and came to
something like a tannoor (a kind of oven).  – I [the narrator] think he
said: In it there was much noise and voices. We looked into it and saw naked
men and women. A flame of fire was reaching them from underneath, and when
it reached them, they cried out loudly. I said to them, ‘Who are these?’
They said to me, ‘Move on, move on.’ … ‘As for the naked men and women whom
you saw in a structure that resembled an oven, they are the adulterers and
adulteresses.’”  

And he said:
“When a man commits zina, faith departs from him and hovers like a cloud
over him, then when he stops that, faith returns to him.”

Narrated by Abu
Dawood (4690), at-Tirmidhi (2625). Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in
Saheeh Abi Dawood. 

See also the
answer to question no. 159349 

Then it may be
said here to the one who has a heart: what kind of believer is this who is
content to let the most precious thing he has depart from him, namely faith,
when he does not know whether Allah will restore it to him as it was or take
it away from him, in return for a moment of pleasure that will soon pass? 

If a woman betrays
her husband, she has combined adultery, wrongdoing and treachery towards her
husband, all of which are grave major sins. How does she know that she will
be able to repent or that Allah will accept her repentance? Indeed she does
not know whether she will be able to die as a believer or not. We ask Allah
to keep us safe and sound. 

Because zina is so
abhorrent and is so grave a sin, Allah has made the hadd punishment for the
previously married person who commits zina stoning to death. 

We ask Allah to
keep us safe and to save us and protect us and you and all the Muslims from
these sins. 

And Allah knows best.