Tawba is the sorry feeling after committing
a forbidden action and then having the fear of Allâhu
ta’âlâ and having a strong resolution not to do it again. Repentance for
fear of a worldly loss that you may incur is not tawba. While one is committing
several different sins, one’s tawba for some of the sins would be valid (sahîh)
while one insists committing the other sins. After tawba, one’s repeating the
same sin again and
then
repenting again would be valid. Repeating this chain of repenting, committing
the sin again, repenting again several times would be valid. Forgiveness of a
grave sin certainly requires tawba. Five daily “salât” prayers, Friday “salât”
prayer, fasting during the month of Ramadân, going for pilgrimage (hajj),
making tawba, avoiding grave sins and all similar acts of worship will cause
forgiveness of venial sins. Tawba for disbelief and other types of sins, when
done in observance of their conditions, will certainly be accepted. A
pilgrimage performed with sincerity and by observing all its conditions is
called “hajj al-mabrűr”. “Hajj al-mabrűr” causes all types of sins to be
forgiven except the sins incurred by omitting those acts of worship which are
farz and sins wherein violation of others’ rights is involved. In order for
these two types of sins to be forgiven, one has to carry out those omitted
obligatory duties and one has to compensate the right owners for their violated
rights. “Hajj al-mabrűr” does not cause forgiveness of the sins incurred by
omitting the obligatory (fard) duties, yet it causes forgiveness of the sins
incurred by not doing the obligatory duties within their prescribed times.
After the pilgrimage, if one does not immediately start to
perform the omitted obligatory duties, the sin of postponing the obligatory
duties will start again and as time passes it will increase many folds.
Postponing the performance is a grave sin. Everybody should understand this
point clearly. The hadîth-i-sherîf, “The sins of a person
who performs “hajj al-mabrűr” will be forgiven. He will be like a new born,”
includes sins other than the sin incurred by omitting the obligatory duties and
sins incurred by violating others’ rights. The invocations which Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ offered at
(the sacred place called) Muzdalifa on the night of (the day previous to ’Iyd
of Qurbân and called) Arefa for the forgiveness of (Muslim pilgrims called)
hadjis is reported to have been of this capacity. There are also scholars who
stated that the sins earned by not performing the obligatory duties and sins
earned by violating others’ rights are also included in the forgiveness. Their
statements concern those who make tawba but who are physically unable to
perform those “fards” or unable to compensate the violated rights of others.
The hundred and fourteenth âyat-i-kerîma of Sűra Hűd of the Qur’ân al-kerîm purports: “... for those things
that are good (hasanât) remove those that are evil: ...”
(11-114) Scholars
explain
this âyat-i-kerîma as: “When the unperformed obligatory duties are performed
then the sin will be forgiven.” When a person hears that someone has backbitten
him, if he becomes sad because of what has been said behind his back, then this
will be an additional grave sin for the backbiter. The good deed (hasanât)
which will cause forgiveness of that grave sin is to get the forgiveness of the
backbitten person.
It is farz to make tawba
immediately after a sin has been committed. It would be another grave sin to
postpone the tawba, and in that case it would be necessary to make an
additional tawba. The sin earned by not doing the obligatory duties will only
be forgiven when the obligatory duty concerned is performed. Forgiveness of any
sin committed requires tawba made with a remorseful heart, (a certain invocation
termed) istighfâr[1] offered verbally, and a physical compensation (when necessary).
Saying, “Subhânallah-il-’azîm
wa bi-hamdihi”, a hundred times, giving alms
and fasting for one day would be very beneficial.
The thirty-first âyat-i-kerîma
of Sűra Nűr of the Qur’ân al-kerîm purports: “... O ye Believers! Turn ye all together towards Allâhu ta’âlâ (make tawba). ...” (14-31). And the eighth
âyat-i-kerîma of Sűra Tahrîm purports: “Turn to Allâhu ta’âlâ with sincere
repentance (tawba-i-nasűkh)...” (66-8). The word “nasűkh” in this âyat-i-kerîma was interpreted
in twenty-three different ways. The most famous interpretation is having the
sorry feeling and saying the repentance through tongue and deciding strongly
not to do it again. The two hundred and twenty-second âyat-i-kerîma of Sűra
Baqara purports: “... For Allâhu ta’âlâ loves those who turn to Him constantly. ...” (2-222).
A hadîth-i-sherîf reads: “The best of you is the one who makes repentance ‘tawba’
immediately after committing a sin.” The gravest
sins are disbelief, hypocrisy, and deserting one’s faith or apostasy (irtidâd).
[A person who has not become a
Muslim, or who refuses to become one, is called a disbeliever (kâfir). The
disbeliever who
---------------------------------
[1] The recommended prayer of invocation is: “Astaghfirullah al’azîm al-lazî lâ ilâha illâ anta Huwa-l Hayy-al Qayyűm wa atűbu ilayh.”
pretends to be Muslim in order to deceive Muslims is called
hypocrite (munâfiq) and (zindiq). A person who becomes a disbeliever while he was a Muslim has committed
apostasy (irtidad). A person who commits apostasy
is called an apostate (murtad). If these three types of
persons believe sincerely with their hearts, they will certainly become
Muslims.
The following observations are
made in the books entitled Berîqa and Hadîqa, in the chapter dealing with the disasters incurred by way of
speech, as well as in the book Majmâ’ul-anhur: “If a Muslim, male and female alike, makes a statement or
commits an act [consciously and without being subjected to duress] which they
know Islamic scholars unanimously define as one of the statements or acts that
will cause one to become a disbeliever, they will lose their îmân and become a murtad (apostate), even if the statement has been made or the act has
been committed for a jocular purpose or without really thinking of its meaning.
This sort of disbelief is termed kufr-i-inâdî. It
causes one to become an apostate, to do so purposely, even if one does not know
that the statement or the act concerned causes a state of unbelief. In this
case the state of unbelief lapsed into is called kufr-i-jahlî. For, it is farz for every individual Muslim to learn those
Islamic facts which they have been enjoined to know. Not to know it, therefore,
is a grave sin, instead of an excuse. People who have lost their îmân by way of
kufr-i-inâdî or kufr-i-jahlî will also lose their nikâh (state of being married
according to Islam’s canonical code). What a male Muslim, who has in this way
lost his nikâh, has to do is, getting a verbal proxy from his wife first, renew
his nikâh through a process termed tajdîd-i-nikâh, which is performed in the presence of two (male Muslim)
witnesses or among the jamâ’at in the mosque. Hulla[1] is not necessary for tajdîd (renewal of nikâh) which a Muslim has
had to perform more than twice. If a Muslim makes a statement causing a state
of unbelief by mistake or in an interpretable way or under duress, he will
neither become an apostate or lose his nikâh. If a person consciously makes a
statement which is a matter of disagreement among the Islamic scholars as to
whether it should be listed with acts causing a state of apostasy, he will
---------------------------------
[1] Please see the twelfth chapter of the fifth fascicle of Endless Bliss for marriage in Islam.
not become an apostate, although he ought to make tawba, say
istighfâr, and perform tajdîd-i-nikâh for a margin of safety.” A mosque-going
Muslim cannot be anticipated to lapse into apostasy by way of kufr-i-inâdî or
kufr-i-jahlî. However, since the finally cited likelihood is only human, and a
Muslim may find himself any time in the quandary of apostasy, (people in charge
of conducting public prayers and who are called) ‘imâms’ in mosques have been
reciting a certain prayer, having the jamâ’at, (i.e. congregation of Muslims,)
repeat after them, thereby executing the commandment enjoined in the hadîth-i-sherîf, “Perform tajdîd-i-îmân
by saying, ‘Lâ ilâha illâ-Allah’.” The prayer
reads as follows: “Allâhumma innî urîdu an ujaddid-al-îmâna wa-n-nikâhu tajdîdan
biqawli Lâ ilâha illâ-Allah Muhammadun rasűlullah.”
Any belief which does not conform to the belief taught by the “Ahl as-sunnat scholars” is called deviation (“bid’at” or “dalâlat”) from the right path. To hold a bid’at is the second gravest sin after unbelief. An activity which multiplies this very grave sin many-fold is to spread a bid’at and to imbue Muslims with it. What should devolve on a government against such a squalid activity is to inflict heavy punishments on the heretics guilty of the iniquity, on the scholarly spheres to provide protective advice, and on the populace to hold them at bay and to avoid reading their publications. One should be very alert in order not to be deceived by their lies, slanders and provocative speeches. At present, the “lâ-madhhabiyyas”, followers of Mawdűdî, Sayyid Qutb, and ignorant heretics who are called Tablîgh al-jamâ’at, and finally sham sufi guides and false shaikhs who appear under various guises are exploiting all kinds of means in order to spread their corrupt and deviated beliefs. They are preparing all kinds of unimaginable and unthinkable tricks and traps in order to deceive Muslims and in order to smash and destroy the “Ahl as-sunnat” with the help of their own nafs and the devil. They are carrying on their cold war against the “Ahl as-sunnat” by expending their personal riches and millions of dollars. Young people ought to learn Islam and the right path (haqq) from the books of “Ahl as-sunnat scholars”. People who do not learn will be caught and drowned in the floods of bid’at (heresy) and dalâlat (aberration), ending up in disasters in the world and perdition in the world to come. Leaders of bid’at-holders are misinterpreting the Qur’ân al-
kerîm,
adducing the purposely distorted meanings as support for their heretical ideas
in the name of “disclosing the truth in the light of âyats and hadîths.”
Leaders of the deviated (Bidat) groups are giving wrong and corrupt
meanings to the Qur’ân. By using these unjustly given meanings they are
asserting that they are proving their deviated ideas through the verses of the
Qur’ân and hadîth. Only those who know the truth (haqq)
will be able to protect themselves from these people. It is almost impossible
for those who do not know the truth not to fall into the traps and whirlpool of
deviation and heresy. These people with heretical belief will become
disbelievers if their deviated belief runs counter to the open credal teachings
of the Qur’ân al-kerîm and hadîth-i-sherîfs, which are unanimously communicated
by (those Islamic scholars called) mujtahid imâms and (which are) commonly
known by Muslims. This type of disbelief is called “ilhâd” and those who fall
into this position are called “mulhid”. Books teaching credal matters state
that “mulhids” are considered as disbelievers with no heavenly books (mushriks).]
Allâhu ta’âlâ will accept also the tawba made by holders of bid’at. For making
tawba, such people should briefly learn (Islam’s true credal teachings termed)
Ahl as-sunnat, rectify their credal attitudes accordingly. and renounce their
former heresies with true repentance.
A person who believes the
importance of the obligatory duties, (which, as we have explained earlier in
the text, are called ‘farz’, pl. faraîz,) but does not perform them due to
laziness, will not become an apostate and will not lose his belief. However, a
Muslim who does not perform an obligatory duty commits two grave sins with that
negligence. The first one is the sin of spending the time allotted for that
obligatory prayer without worship, i.e. postponing an obligatory prayer. In
order for this sin to be forgiven, it is necessary for him to make tawba, i.e.
to repent and feel sorry and decide not to delay it again. The second one is
the sin of not performing the obligatory duty. In order for this grave sin to
be forgiven, he has to make “qadâ”, e.g., perform the omitted obligatory duty
as early as possible. Otherwise, any (inexcusable) delay will add another grave
sin to the guilt.
[Sayyid Abdulhakîm Effendi ‘rahimahullâhu
ta’âlâ’, a great Islamic scholar; the mujaddid (restorer of Islam’s original,
pristine
purity) in the fourteenth (Islamic) century; an expert in Islam’s bâtinî
(spiritual) sciences as well as in zâhirî (physical, outward) sciences; a
professor in the (Academy of Islamic Sciences called) Madrasa-t-ul-mutakhassisîn,
and chairman of the department of Tasawwuf, reiterated the following statement
in his lectures as well as in his preaches and sermons (sohbats) in mosques (in
Istanbul): “It is a grave sin not to perform an obligatory duty without any excuse
within its prescribed time.” It is written in Islamic books that it is a grave
sin not to make qadâ of an omitted prayer as soon as possible. This fact is
written also in the previous paragraph. Once the period of time which Islam has
allotted to a certain obligatory duty has past, with the duty left undone,
every unit of time long enough to perform that duty and yet spent without
performing it will multiply the sin one fold and will be added to the state of
sinfulness. Thus, as time passes in negligence, the sinfulness will double,
reaching an unmeasured and unthinkable amount. Thus, the sin of not performing
the “qadâ” of an obligatory duty increases many folds. For example, in the case
of five daily obligatory “salât” prayers, the sin of an unperformed salât
prayer increases five folds in one day. One should realize graveness of the
situation for a person who did not perform his five daily obligatory “salât”
prayers for months or years. One should look for all sorts of means to save
oneself from this grisly and petrifying sin. Anyone with true belief and common
sense should try to make qadâ of his omitted prayers of salât day and night in
order to save himself from the horrific punishment in Hell for not performing
the obligatory “salât” prayers. We are informed that one will be punished in
the Hell for seventy thousand years for one “salât” prayer which is not
performed due to laziness and without any excuse. When a Muslim ponders the
amount of punishment he would suffer in Hell for not performing innumerable
“salât” prayers as explained above, he will lose his sleep, stop eating and
drinking, and feel great distress. Yes, anyone who does not recognize the
obligatory “salât” prayers as obligations and duties will become a disbeliever
and an apostate. An apostate will be punished in Hell forever. Regardless, such
a person does not believe in Hell or punishment or the importance of obligatory
“salât” prayer. He leads a bestial life in this world. He does not think of
anything other than his pleasures and collecting the money which
provides
the pleasures. His principle in life is to obtain the money irrespective of how
others will be affected or suffer. Were his pleasures obtainable only at the
sacrifice of entire mankind, he would not care. He has neither belief nor
wisdom. This type of person does not have any mercy. He is more dangerous than
beasts and the fiercest of animals. His talking about humanity, mercy, and
goodness is like writing on air. They are traps for others in order for him to
satisfy his appetite and worldly benefits.
Making “qadâ” of the “salât”
prayers which were not performed for years has become almost impossible to
accomplish. There is no blessing (barakat) left
in the world because mankind has turned away from the Sharî’at. In other words,
they have stopped obeying the commandments and dived into committing harâm.
They have departed from the path which Islam teaches and which leads to beauty
and peace. Sustenance (rizq) has become scarce. The hundred and twenty-fourth
âyat-i-kerîma of Sűra Tâhâ purports: “But whosoever turns away from Me (My Message),
verily for him is a life narrowed down, ...”
(20-124) As a matter of fact, there has been decrease in many kinds of
sustenance such as sustenance of îmân, sustenance of health, sustenance of
food, sustenance of humanity, and that of mercy. The saying which goes, “Hudâ (Allâhu ta’âlâ) never torments His slave. What
everyone suffers is his own nemesis,” has been derived from the thirty-third
âyat-i-kerîma of Sűra Nahl[1]. Amidst the present sweeping darknesses of unbelief and the
widespread blight of scantiness and affliction consequent upon a general
insensibility towards Allâhu ta’âlâ, towards His Messenger ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sal-lam’, and towards Islam, a family now can barely
earn a subsistence existence with all its members men and women alike working
round the clock. Unless people have îmân (belief) in Allâhu ta’âlâ, adapt themselves to the
Islamic religion, which He has enjoined on humanity, and festoon themselves with
the beautiful moral traits epitomized on His Prophet, it is out of the question to stop this flood of aberration and
cataclysm. Under the aforementioned difficult conditions, in order to pay back
the “qadâ” of the
---------------------------------
[1] Final part of the âyat-i-kerîma reads:
“... But Allâhu ta’âlâ wronged them
not: nay, they wronged their own nafs.”
(16-33)
unperformed “salât” prayers of the past one should daily perform
“qadâ salâts” instead of the sunnats of four of the five daily prayers of salât
other than the morning prayer. To do that, one should form one’s intention to
perform the earliest salât that one did not perform within its prescribed time.
By following this methodology, every day, one will be able to perform one day’s
“qadâ salât” prayers and also one will be performing “sunnat-salât” prayers. This matter is dealt with in more detail later in
the text. Also, please see the fourth fascicle of Endless Bliss.
Centuries ago when “fiqh” books
were written, Muslims had strong belief and had fear of Allâhu ta’âlâ and fear of Hell punishment in
their hearts. No one could ever imagine not performing the “salât” prayers
within its prescribed times. It was unthinkable that there could be a person
who would deliberately not perform the “salât” prayers. In those times, only a
few “salât” prayers could be missed due to an excuse. This would be a source of
distress and worry for the person who missed the “salât” prayers. The following
were the reasons for missing the “salât” prayers: Not being able to wake up
from sleep; forgetting; not being able to find an opportunity to perform the
“salât” prayer even by sitting during a war or travel. Missing a prayer of
salât for one of these reasons is not a sin. However, as soon as the reason
(’udhr) ceases to exist, it becomes obligatory to perform the missed “salât”
prayer immediately. It is permissible to delay the performance of the “qada”
prayer of a missed “salât” prayer as much as to earn enough money to support
one’s family. It is not necessary to perform the “qada” prayer omitted for
acceptable reasons in place of the “muakkad-sunnat” prayers. The statement, “It is better not to perform (omitted
farz prayers) instead of prayers that are sunnat muakkad[1],” in books of Fiqh,
means, “farz prayers omitted for (reasons which Islam accepts and calls)
’udhr.” If a prayer of salât (which is farz) is omitted without an ’udhr, it is
farz to perform it immediately. Prayers of this sort must
---------------------------------
[1] Prayers of salât which our blessed Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ performed in addition to each of the obligatory (farz) five daily prayers, are termed ‘sunnat’. Islamic scholars categorize the sunnats in two groups: ‘sunnat muakkad’, which means, ‘sunnat which is emphatic and close to being farz (obligatory); and ‘sunnat ghyr-i-muakkad’ which means ‘sunnat which is not emphatic’.
therefore be performed instead the prayers that are sunnat.
Imâm-i-Rabbânî ‘quddisa sirruh’ states in the hundred and twenty-third letter:
“If supererogatory (nâfila) worship retards an act of worship which is farz, it
is no longer worship; it is harmful passtime (mâ-lâ-ya’nî).”]
[Great Islamic scholar Ibni
Âbidîn ‘rahmatullâhi ’aleyh’ says, It is an act of sunnat to perform two
rak’ats of salât when you enter a mosque. This is called ‘tahiyyatul-masjîd’.
Any category of salât, e.g. farz, sunnat, or qadâ, which you perform upon
entering a mosque, will also stand for tahiyyat-ul-masjîd. As you perform one
of these kinds of salât, you do not have to also make your niyyat, (i.e.
intend,) that you are to perform tahiyyat-ul-masjîd. Not so is the case with a
salât performed (within its prescribed time and) with a double niyyat, i.e.
both as the farz and as the sunnat of the time, in which case only the salât
which is farz will be sahîh (valid). For, a salât which is farz (obligatory)
and that which is nâfila (supererogatory) are two different categories of namâz
(salât). Since any sort of salât performed (upon entering a mosque) stands also
for tahiyyat-ul-masjîd, the salât called tahiyyat-ul-masjîd takes on the nature
of the salât performed in its place. Any salât performed will also stand for
another in the same category without an additional niyyat. However, an
additional niyyat is required for the generation of thawâb (reward in the
Hereafter), for an act of worship performed without a niyyat will not be given
any thawâb.” ‘Salât which is sunnat’ means ‘one which is performed in addition
to the salât which is farz’. Because a salât of qadâ performed before or after
the salât which is farz fits in with the definition of a ‘salât which is
sunnat’, salâts of qadâ and those which are sunnat fall into the same category.
According tohadrat Ibni Âbidîn, when a salât of qadâ is performed the (time’s)
sunnat also will have been performed. Hence, to perform salâts of qadâ instead
of salâts of sunnat does not mean to omit the sunnats. When a niyyat is made
both for the qadâ and for the sunnat, thawâb for the sunnat will also be
attained.]
If a person who intends to make qadâ of the
omitted salât prayers as described above starts to do so and then falls gravely
ill, he should make a will (wasiyyat) saying that after
his
death there should be a “salât-kaffârat” performed for him.[1] His executer of the will should carry out
his will. The executer (walî) is either designated by him or he
is one of his heirs. In case, one misses one of the “wâjibs” of the “salât”
prayer or commits a disliked action (makrűh) during the
“salât” prayer, it becomes necessary (wâjib) to reperform that
“salât” prayer within its prescribed time. It is also necessary to reperform a
“nâfila-salât” prayer within its prescribed time if something happens to annul
the “salât” prayer during the performance of the “salât” prayer. It is always
necessary to perform “qadâ”, i.e., make up for the unpaid obligatory almsgiving
(zakât),
“sadaqa-i fitr”, and unperformed “nazr” and “qurbân” (animal sacrifice). A
person who becomes poor later in life should perform “qadâ” of them through a
process called “hîla-i shar’iyya”. If he does not become poor, it is “makrűh”
for him to use the “hîla-i shar’iyya” method.[2]
Sins between Allâhu ta’âlâ and the slave, i.e. those which
do not involve violation of others’ rights, merely require a tawba made
secretly. It is not necessary to inform a third person, e.g. the imâm of the
region. Redemption, i.e. buying freedom from sins from a priest, is practised
among Christians. Islam does not accommodate anything of that nature. Examples
for sins which do not involve violation of others’ rights are: To read (or
recite) the Qur’ân al-kerîm in a state (which requires a canonical washing and termed) junub;
to sit in a mosque (in such a state); to talk about worldly affairs or to eat
and drink or to sleep in a mosque; to hold the Qur’ân
al-kerîm without having an ablution (wudű); to play musical
instruments; to consume wine; to commit fornication; for women to go out
without covering (those parts of their body which Islam calls ‘awrat’ and
---------------------------------
[1] Please see the twenty-first chapter
of the fifth fascicle of Endless Bliss for detailed information; and how to make qadâ of omitted prayers
of salât is explained at length in the twenty-third chapter of the fourth
fascicle.
[2] Hîla-i-shar’iyya is a method taught
by Islamic scholars and which a Muslim can utilize in case of a quandary, e.g.
to save himself from a difficult situation rendering it impossible for him to
perform a religious duty or to avoid a religious prohibition. It is explained
in detail in the three hundred and first, eight hundred and forty-fourth, and
eight hundred and fifty-ninth pages of the Turkish book Se’âdet-i-ebediyye.
commands them to cover, such as) their head, arms, legs and hair.
Sins involving violation of animals’ rights are extremely difficult to get
absolved from. It is sinful to kill an animal unjustly, to beat it, to slap it
on the face, to make it walk beyond its energy, to overload it, and/or not to
feed it or water it when it needs. Such sins necessitate both tawba and
istighfâr, and remorseful and lamenting invocations.
There are five types of violation of others’
rights: Mâlî (pertaining to property, financial); nafsî (pertaining to nafs);
irzî (pertaining to honour); mahramî (pertaining to mahrams); dînî (religious).
Examples for human rights violations pertaining to property are: Theft, extortion;
selling something by way of fraud or lying; paying counterfeit money; causing
damage to someone’s property; false testimony; treachery; bribery. Tawba and
getting the wronged person’s forgiveness are necessary for this type of
violation even if it is a matter of one cent or a seed of grain. Violations
pertaining to property, (if they have not been compensated for,) should be
compensated for by (the wrongdoer’s) children (inheriting from him). If worldly
life is over before the compensation (or somehow getting forgiveness from the
sufferer), it will be executed in the world to come (âkhirat) by way of
bartering the wrongdoer’s thawâbs, (i.e. the rewards he is to be given in the
Hereafter for his pious deeds in the world,) for the harm given (in the world).
If the wronged person is dead, the payment should be done to his inheritors. In
case there are no inheritors or the wronged person is not known, the payment
should be done to poor people as a gift and the thawâb which the gifting
produces should be sent to the wronged person’s soul. If there are no poor and
pious Muslims, then the payment should be done to institutions of charity that
serve Muslims or to pious foundations (waqf). It is also permissible to do the
payment as a gift to one’s own pious relatives, i.e. to parents or children who
are poor. Something gifted to a poor person falls into the category of
almsgiving and produces thawâb for almsgiving. In case none of the aforesaid
alternatives is practicable, then the person guilty of the violation should
pray for the forgiveness of (sins of) the person he has wronged and for the
forgiveness of his own sins. Even if the person wronged is a disbeliever, it is
necessary to (compensate or to) please him somehow so as to get yourself
forgiven. Otherwise, great trouble will be awaiting you in the world to
The second type of violation,
nafsî, or pertaining to life, involves a homicide or mutilation. Absolution
from this sin requires tawba and the guilty person’s resigning himself to the
walî (executor) of the murdered or mutilated person. The walî has the choice to
forgive him, to make peace in return for property, or to start a legal case
against him and sue for his punishment. However, it is not permissible for him
to retaliate on his own. [Islam does not have a place for vendettas of any
sort.] An irzî violation of a right, (i.e. a violation of honour,) involves
acts like backbiting, slander, mockery, and abusing. Forgiveness of this sin
requires tawba and reconciliation with the wronged person (either by
compensation or by apology or by pleasing him in one way or other.) This type
of violation does not become rectified by any form of reconciliation with the
(wronged person’s) inheritors.
A mahramî violation of a right
involves a perfidy perpetrated against a person via his wife or children. The
offender has to make tawba and say istighfâr. If there is no likelihood of
fitna, he ought to have himself forgiven by the person wronged. In case of any
likelihood of fitna, he should pronounce a blessing over the wronged person in
his absence or give alms on behalf of him, instead of attempting a direct
confrontation. Violation of a religious right is, for instance, to be remiss in
teaching one’s relatives or household their religious responsibilities, or to
prevent them or other people from acquiring religious information or from
worship, or to call other people disbelievers or sinners. To get their
forgiveness, it is permissible to offer a mere apology instead of specifying
the violation perpetrated.
It is a very meritorious act
(which produces plenty of thawâb) to forgive the debt of a poor person.
It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “A person who makes
tawba becomes as (clean as) if he had never sinned.” And in another: “A person who makes istighfâr with his speech
but never feels sorry for the sin he committed is one who continues sinning. He
is teasing Allâhu ta’âlâ.” Making
istighfâr means saying the word “Astaghfirullah”. Muhammad ’Uthmân Hindî
‘quddisa sirruh’[1] states as follows in the Fârisî
---------------------------------
[1] Muhammad ’Uthmân passed away in 1314
hijrî [1896 A.D.]
language in his book Fawâid-i-’Uthmâniyya: “You want me to write specific prayers for health for you. For
health, (make tawba all the time and) say the prayer of istighfâr every now and
then, [that is, say, ‘Astaghfirullah al’azim wa atűbu ilayh’]! It is very
effective against cares and afflictions. The fifty-second âyat of Sűra Hűd
purports: “Say (the prayer of) istighfâr! (If you do so) I shall come to thy rescue.” Istighfâr will make one attain all sorts of wishes as well as
good health.
It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “If a slave commits a
sin and then repents, Allâhu ta’âlâ will forgive him even before he says (the prayer of) istighfâr.” And
in another: “Make tawba even if your sins
(make up piles which) reach skies. Allâhu ta’âlâ will accept your tawba.” These hadîth-i-sherîfs concern those sins which do not involve violating others’
rights. It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf: There are three kinds of sins: “Three types of sin are: The sin
that will not be forgiven in the last Judgement day (Qiyâmat); the sin that is
not discontinued; and the sin which will be forgiven if Allâhu ta’âlâ wishes.” The sin which will absolutely not be forgiven in the last
Judgement day is, “shirk”. “Shirk” in this context is all kinds of disbelief.
Sins that are not discontinued are the sins which involve violating others’
rights. The sins which will be forgiven if Allâhu ta’âlâ wishes are the sins which do not involve violating others’
rights.