Salams, Actually that's not the position of the Ahl as-Sunnah wal Jammah (i.e. the Sunnis). Belief is a gift from Allah (swt) and one that He can take away at any moment.If He doesn't will for a person to believe than they won't. Hence, for those people who live in ignorance of Islam or the truth concerning it, not out of their own willing, then they will not be punished. For instance, there are people who have never heard of Islam or were told lies from childhood about the Prophet (saws). Will they be held accountable for things that are not their fault? No, they will not. However, if a person were to hear the truth of Islam and be presented with the best evidence for its truth and accept that, but reject it out of some reason like stinginess (i.e. they didn't want to pay zakat) or some other prejudice, than yes, they'd be considered a rejecter of the truth and not fall into the categories of people who were granted excuses...nor would they be Muslims (obviously). Here's my source: http://www.shadhiliteachings.com/tar...=article&id=28 Wa Salam, Tempest Desh