Guidance is in the Hand of Allah

Allah has created man and given him reason, and He has sent
down to him Revelation and sent to him Messengers to call him to the truth
and warn him against falsehood. Then He has left him to make his own
choice. 

“And say: ‘The truth is from your Lord.’ Then whosoever
wills, let him believe; and whosoever wills, let him disbelieve.”

[al-Kahf 18:29 – interpretation of the meaning] 

Allah commanded His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) to convey the truth to all of mankind. Then they have
the choice to do as they wish. If a person obeys, he benefits himself, and
if he disobeys, he harms himself, as Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning): 

“Say: ‘O you mankind! Now truth (i.e. the Quran and the
Prophet Muhammad), has come to you from your Lord. So whosoever receives
guidance, he does so for the good of his own self; and whosoever goes
astray, he does so to his own loss; and I am not (set) over you as a Wakeel
(disposer of affairs to oblige you for guidance).’”

[Yoonus 10:108] 

Islam is the religion of the natural state of man (fitrah),
the religion of reason and thought. Allah has distinguished the truth from
falsehood. He has enjoined all that is good and forbidden all that is evil.
He has permitted good things and forbidden evil things. There is no
compulsion in religion because the benefits or harms come back upon the
created being, not upon the Creator. Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning): 

“There is no compulsion in religion. Verily, the Right Path
has become distinct from the wrong path. Whoever disbelieves in taghoot
(false gods) and believes in Allah, then he has grasped the most trustworthy
handhold that will never break.”

[al-Baqarah 2:256]  

And Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“Whosoever does righteous good deeds, it is for (the benefit
of) his ownself; and whosoever does evil, it is against his ownself. And
your Lord is not at all unjust to (His) slaves.”

[Fussilat 41:46] 

Guidance is in the hand of Allah. If Allah willed, He could
guide all of mankind, for there is nothing that He cannot do on this earth
or in the heavens. Nothing happens in His Dominion except that which He
wills. 

“Say: ‘With Allah is the perfect proof and argument, (i.e.
the Oneness of Allah, the sending of His Messengers and His Holy Books, to
mankind); had He so willed, He would indeed have guided you all.’”

[al-An’am 6:149 – interpretation of the meaning] 

But in His Wisdom, Allah has created us with the ability to
choose, and He has sent down to us guidance and the Criterion. So whoever
obeys Allah and His Messenger will enter Paradise and whoever disobeys Allah
and His Messenger will enter Hell, as Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning): 

“Verily, proofs have come to you from your Lord, so whosoever
sees, will do so for (the good of) his ownself, and whosoever blinds
himself, will do so to his own harm, and I (Muhammad) am not a watcher over
you.”

[al-An’am 6:104] 

The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has
no part in guidance; all that he and the Muslims have to do is to explain
and convey the message, and show them guidance but they cannot force people
to follow it, as Allah said to His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) (interpretation of the meaning): 

“And had your Lord willed, those on earth would have
believed, all of them together. So, will you (O Muhammad) then compel
mankind, until they become believers?”

[Yoonus 10:99] 

And Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“And the duty of the Messenger is only to convey (the
Message) plainly.”

[al-‘Ankaboot 29:18] 

Guidance to the truth is in the hand of Allah alone and no
human being has any share in that, as Allah said to His Messenger (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) (interpretation of the meaning): 

“Verily, you (O Muhammad) guide not whom you like, but Allah
guides whom He wills. And He knows best those who are the guided.”

[al-Qasas 28:56]  

Allah guides whomsoever He wills and sends astray whomsoever
He wills. He has told us that He guides those who obey Him and turn to Him,
as He says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“While as for those who accept guidance, He increases their
guidance and bestows on them their piety.”

[Muhammad 47:17] 

But whoever disobeys Allah and turns away from Him, Allah
will not guide him, as He says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“Truly, Allah guides not him who is a liar, and a
disbeliever.”

[al-Zumar 39:3] 

Allah is Omniscient and knows what has happened and is
happening and what is yet to come. Allah knows the believers and the
disbelievers, and what they will do, and He knows what their fate will be in
the Hereafter. He has written all this in al-Lawh al-Mahfooz (the Preserved
Tablet), as He says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“And all things We have recorded in a Book.”

[al-Naba 78:29] 

Allah has created man with the ability to choose, and He has
created him able to do both, either believe or disbelieve, as He says
(interpretation of the meaning): 

“Verily, We showed him the way, whether he be grateful or
ungrateful.”

[al-Insan 76:3] 

Man has the choice in terms of his reason only; if he loses
his reason by which he is able to distinguish between the alternatives of
good and evil, truth and falsehood, then he is not accountable. Hence
according to Islamic sharee’ah (law), the pen is lifted from the insane
person (i.e., he is not accountable) until he recovers his senses, and from
the child until he reaches the age of understanding, and from the sleeper
until he wakes up. None of these people are accountable until they gain or
recover the reason by which they may distinguish between the alternatives of
faith and disbelief, truth and falsehood, and so on. 

Whatever direction a person takes, there will be reward and
punishment. If he obeys, there will be Paradise: 

“Indeed he succeeds who purifies his ownself (i.e. obeys and
performs all that Allah ordered, by following the true Faith of Islamic
Monotheism and by doing righteous good deeds.”

[al-Shams 91:9 – interpretation of the meaning] 

And if he disobeys, there will be Hell: 

“And indeed he fails who corrupts his ownself (i.e. disobeys
what Allah has ordered by rejecting the true Faith of Islamic Monotheism or
by following polytheism, or by doing every kind of evil wicked deed.”

[al-Shams 91:10 – interpretation of the meaning] 

The choice of one of these two ways is something about which
a person will be questioned by the Lord of the Worlds. Hence it is clear
that faith or disbelief, obedience or disobedience, is a matter of personal
choice. Allah has made reward and punishment dependent upon this choice: 

“Whosoever does righteous good deeds, it is for (the benefit
of) his ownself; and whosoever does evil, it is against his ownself. And
your Lord is not at all unjust to (His) slaves.”

[Fussilat 41:46] 

Whoever loves Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) and desires good in this world and in the Hereafter, let
him enter Islam, and whoever turns away from that and is content with this
world and has no interest in the Hereafter and does not submit, then his
abode will be Hell. The individual is the one who will benefit or harm
himself. There is no compulsion to choose either.  Allah says
(interpretation of the meaning): 

“Verily, this (Verses of the Quran) is an admonition, so
whosoever wills, let him take a Path to his Lord (Allah).”

[al-Insan 76:29] 

And Allah knows best.