Repentance from Religious Innovations and Sins
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The first question of Fatwa No. ( 2017 ):
Q1: What is your opinion regarding an innovator who commits innovations involving shirk (associating partners with Allah), calls for aid from the awliya (close friends of Allah), and prays at their shrines hoping they will extend their blessing to him? He married a woman who had been divorced by her last husband, and he secretly had intercourse with her repeatedly until she became pregnant, after which he hastened to write the marriage contract for her once her pregnancy became apparent. This marriage took place without guidance from Allah. She gave birth to a daughter who is now two years old. Then he repented to Allah from the innovations, committed himself to the Sunnah of our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and read the book *Fath al-Majid Sharh Kitab al-Tawhid* and other books of the people of the Sunnah. He repented from zina (unlawful sexual intercourse) and other sinful acts. His wife is currently pregnant. He asks: What should he do? Is he required to perform kaffarah (expiation) for the zina? And what should he do regarding his relatives who are still upon their shirk-based innovations? Please issue a ruling for us?
A1: First: There is no doubt that shirk is the greatest of major sins, that innovations introduced into the religion are among the ugliest of crimes, and that zina is among the major sins and heinous acts. It is obligatory for anyone afflicted with any of these to rid himself of it and avoid it, to seek forgiveness from Allah, and to repent to Him for the crimes he has committed, hoping that Allah will accept his repentance. If he has repented to Allah and sought His forgiveness, we hope that Allah will accept his repentance, forgive his sin, preserve him in his future affairs, and replace his bad deeds with good ones. He must increase in regret, repentance, seeking forgiveness, and righteous deeds, for good deeds erase bad deeds.
He must not follow the footsteps of Satan, for he commands obscenity and what is wrong. Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Furqan 25:68-71] And He the Exalted said: [An-Nur 24:21] He must praise and thank Allah for guiding him to the right path after error, and to guidance after misguidance. Second: He must strive with his relatives and the rest of his people to call them to pure tawhid (the oneness of Allah), to abandon innovations and superstitions, and to encourage them to adhere to the Book and the Sunnah and act upon them, hoping that the call will be effective with them so that they respond to it and repent to Allah from their shirk and other innovations, becoming a strength with him in supporting the call to the truth. And Allah is the One to be asked for help. Third: If the reality of his previous state was as described, namely that he followed the path of the first jahiliyyah (the pre-Islamic age of ignorance) before the sending of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and committed what they committed of
major shirk, and that he contracted marriage with the aforementioned woman during his period of jahiliyyah, then his repentance from that is considered a return from shirk and immorality and the beginning of a new Islamic life. He is to be confirmed in the marriage contract that was performed with this woman during their period of jahiliyyah, provided that she was like him at the time of the contract and then repented from what was on her part of shirk and immorality. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to confirm the marriage contracts of those who embraced Islam from among the disbelievers, as they had been in the jahiliyyah, without asking them for details of how the contract was performed or renewing their marriage contracts. He considered any offspring they had previously to be their children. Therefore, there is nothing required of them beyond following up a bad deed with a good one, increasing in doing good deeds, and avoiding what Allah has forbidden of wrongs. And success is from Allah. And may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q1: What is your opinion regarding an innovator who commits innovations involving shirk (associating partners with Allah), calls for aid from the awliya (close friends of Allah), and prays at their shrines hoping they will extend their blessing to him? He married a woman who had been divorced by her last husband, and he secretly had intercourse with her repeatedly until she became pregnant, after which he hastened to write the marriage contract for her once her pregnancy became apparent. This marriage took place without guidance from Allah. She gave birth to a daughter who is now two years old. Then he repented to Allah from the innovations, committed himself to the Sunnah of our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and read the book *Fath al-Majid Sharh Kitab al-Tawhid* and other books of the people of the Sunnah. He repented from zina (unlawful sexual intercourse) and other sinful acts. His wife is currently pregnant. He asks: What should he do? Is he required to perform kaffarah (expiation) for the zina? And what should he do regarding his relatives who are still upon their shirk-based innovations? Please issue a ruling for us?
A1: First: There is no doubt that shirk is the greatest of major sins, that innovations introduced into the religion are among the ugliest of crimes, and that zina is among the major sins and heinous acts. It is obligatory for anyone afflicted with any of these to rid himself of it and avoid it, to seek forgiveness from Allah, and to repent to Him for the crimes he has committed, hoping that Allah will accept his repentance. If he has repented to Allah and sought His forgiveness, we hope that Allah will accept his repentance, forgive his sin, preserve him in his future affairs, and replace his bad deeds with good ones. He must increase in regret, repentance, seeking forgiveness, and righteous deeds, for good deeds erase bad deeds.
He must not follow the footsteps of Satan, for he commands obscenity and what is wrong. Allah the Exalted said:
(68) And those who do not invoke with Allah another deity or kill the soul which Allah has forbidden [to be killed], except by right, and do not commit unlawful sexual intercourse. And whoever should do that will meet a penalty. (69) Multiplied for him is the punishment on the Day of Resurrection, and he will abide therein humiliated - (70) Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work. For them Allah will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful. (71) And he who repents and does righteousness does indeed turn to Allah with [accepted] repentance.
وَالَّذِينَ لاَ يَدْعُونَ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَهًا آخَرَ وَلاَ يَقْتُلُونَ النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلا بِالْحَقِّ وَلاَ يَزْنُونَ وَمَنْ يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ يَلْقَ أَثَامًا (68) يُضَاعَفْ لَهُ الْعَذَابُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَيَخْلُدْ فِيهِ مُهَانًا (69) إِلا مَنْ تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلا صَالِحًا فَأُولَئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ حَسَنَاتٍ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا (70) وَمَنْ تَابَ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَإِنَّهُ يَتُوبُ إِلَى اللَّهِ مَتَابًاO you who have believed, do not follow the footsteps of Satan. And whoever follows the footsteps of Satan - indeed, he enjoins immorality and wrongdoing
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لاَ تَتَّبِعُوا خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ وَمَنْ يَتَّبِعْ خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ فَإِنَّهُ يَأْمُرُ بِالْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنْكَرِmajor shirk, and that he contracted marriage with the aforementioned woman during his period of jahiliyyah, then his repentance from that is considered a return from shirk and immorality and the beginning of a new Islamic life. He is to be confirmed in the marriage contract that was performed with this woman during their period of jahiliyyah, provided that she was like him at the time of the contract and then repented from what was on her part of shirk and immorality. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to confirm the marriage contracts of those who embraced Islam from among the disbelievers, as they had been in the jahiliyyah, without asking them for details of how the contract was performed or renewing their marriage contracts. He considered any offspring they had previously to be their children. Therefore, there is nothing required of them beyond following up a bad deed with a good one, increasing in doing good deeds, and avoiding what Allah has forbidden of wrongs. And success is from Allah. And may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.