Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states: “Allah tells us in the Qur’an, “We are not in the habit of punishing a nation until We have sent a messenger (to them).” (Al-Isra’: 15) bidding them of what they must be doing and forbidding them of what they must be refraining from. Based on numerous such verses in the Qur’an, great scholars such as Imam Al-Ghazali have stated that those who have not heard of the message of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, will not be punished for failing to accept his message. To punish people for failing to accept a message that they know nothing about is utterly contrary to the divine justice which is at once immaculate and beyond question.
While it is true that they will not be punished for their failure to accept the message of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, however, one must not conclude from this they are totally free of any accountability for their actions. Allah tells us repeatedly in the Qur’an that He has sent a messenger in every nation with the right guidance, and that each messenger spoke the language of the people he was sent to.
Furthermore, we are also told that Allah has created every human being with an innate knowledge of what is good for it and what is bad for it, and that everyone has a responsibility to foster such virtues that his nature recognizes as good and shun those that are abhorrent. (See Surat Ash-Shams: 7-9 )
To conclude: Those who have not heard of the message of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, will be judged by Allah by the message they have received from earlier prophets and messengers that were sent to them as well as by the innate sense of good and bad embedded in their own nature.”