Destiny of a Muslim who cried out of fear of Allaah, then died as a disbeliever
23-2-2016 | IslamWeb
Question:
Assalaamu alaykum. The hadith says, "No man who cried out of fear of Allah will enter the Fire until the milk returns to the udder, and dust in the path of Allah (jihad) and the smoke of the Fire cannot go together." (Ahmad, At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasaa'i, and Hakim, who authenticated it. Authenticated by Al-Albaani in Saheeh Al-Jaami' [7778].) according to Dr. As-Sayyid bin Husayn Al-'Affani, this crying out fear of Allaah is a cause for future sins being forgiven. Suppose that someone cries out fear of Allaah but then dies upon shirk (polytheism), what will be his fate then? Or is that impossible? What does it mean? Is that person under special protection perhaps? Wassalaam.
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
The religious texts indicating that the doers of certain actions will not be punished in Hellfire in the Hereafter are interpreted to mean that this will happen if certain requirements are present and certain impediments are absent. In other words, the doer of such acts will not be punished, as stated in the relevant text, provided that the requirements are met and the impediments are missing. One of the most important impediments in this regard is disbelief, as the one guilty of that will be deprived of forgiveness, entering Paradise, and safety from Hellfire. Allaah, The Exalted, says (what means):
- {...Indeed, he who associates others with Allaah – Allaah has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Hellfire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers.} [Quran 5:72]
- {Indeed, they who disbelieved among the People of the Scripture and the polytheists will be in the fire of Hellfire, abiding eternally therein. Those are the worst of creatures.} [Quran 98:6]
- {Indeed, Allaah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And he who associates others with Allaah has certainly gone far astray.} [Quran 4:116]
Moreover, ʻAbdullaah ibn Masʻood 
reported that the Prophet, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, said, "Anyone who dies while associating any partners with Allaah in worship will definitely enter Hellfire."
It has been narrated on the authority of Jaabir that a man came to the Prophet, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, and asked, "O Messenger of Allaah, what are the two things that are inevitable?" He, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, replied, "He who dies without associating partners with Allaah will enter Paradise and he who dies associating partners with Allaah will enter Hellfire." [Muslim]
Ash-Shawkaani 
wrote, "There is no disagreement among the scholars that the person who dies while adhering to disbelief and polytheism will not be forgiven like those upon whom Allaah will confer His forgiveness as He wills. The Muslim sinners, aside from those who associated partners with Him in worship, will be forgiven if Allaah wills; He forgives whom He wills, and punishes whom He wills..." [Fat-h Al-Qadeer]
Whoever dies while associating partners with Allaah in worship denies himself the rewards stated in such texts, as disbelief serves as an impediment to his entitlement to such rewards promised in these texts.
Allaah knows best.