I entered into several of the various paths and then left them. My question is: Is the time of my life wasted in this period, and the sins that occurred during it, recorded against me?
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The questioner : The listener says: He entered into several of the various paths and then left them. His question is: Is the time of my life wasted in this period, and the sins that occurred during it, recorded against me, or are they erased from me by my repentance?
Second, he asks: Was everything that happened to me regarding entering these false paths before this written for me from eternity, and did Allah know about it? We ask for guidance on this.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
Before answering this question, I would like to congratulate the brother whom Allah has blessed with steadfastness and adherence to the straight path after he was deviating in the mazes of religious innovation and misguidance. Indeed, this is among the blessings of Allah; rather, it is the greatest blessing that Allah the Exalted bestows upon a servant: that Allah accepts his repentance, so he repents to his Lord and abandons his error for his guidance. Allah Mighty and Majestic says, expressing His favor upon the believers with such a thing:[Al-Ma'idah 5:3] And He the Exalted says: [Ali 'Imran 3:164] And He Glorious and Exalted says: [Al-Hujurat 49:17] So guidance to faith is among the greatest blessings; rather, it is the greatest blessing that Allah has bestowed upon the servant. So I ask Allah the Exalted to keep me and my Muslim brothers firm upon His straight religion, for He is Generous and Bountiful.
As for the answer to his question, I say to him: If a person repents from any sin, then Allah accepts his repentance and erases his sins from him, because Islam demolishes what came before it, and repentance annuls what came before it. Allah Mighty and Majestic says:[Az-Zumar 39:53] And He the Exalted says: [Al-Ma'idah 5:39] And He the Exalted says: [Al-Furqan 25:68-70] The texts on this are numerous from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), all of which indicate that if Allah bestows sincere repentance upon a servant, then Allah accepts his repentance and replaces his bad deeds with good deeds if he repents, believes, and does a righteous deed. So everything that happened to you regarding adopting the destructive paths and schools, deviation, and misguidance is erased by your return to the truth.
As for the second part of the question, which is whether what he did was written for him in eternity and with the knowledge of Allah Mighty and Majestic?
We say: Yes, it is written for him in eternity. The previous bad deed is written for him, and the final repentance that Allah bestowed upon him is written for him, and all of this is with the knowledge of Allah, Exalted is He. Allah Mighty and Majestic says:[Al-Hajj 22:70] And He Glorious in Mention says: [Al-An'am 6:59] So the knowledge of Allah, Exalted is He, encompasses everything in general and in detail. This is a matter agreed upon by the scholars of the Muslims, and praise be to Allah. It is one of the levels of faith in divine decree and destiny. Faith in divine decree and destiny has four levels:
The first is: Faith in the knowledge of Allah of everything in general and in detail, meaning that you believe that Allah the Exalted is aware of everything in general and in detail, what has happened and what has not happened.
The second level is: That you believe that Allah has written in the Preserved Tablet the measures of everything until the Hour occurs, for Allah, Exalted is He, says:[Al-Hajj 22:70].
When Allah created the Pen, He said to it: Write. It said: What shall I write? He said: Write what is to be. So it wrote in that moment what is to be until the Day of Resurrection.
As for the third level, it is faith in the comprehensiveness of the will of Allah, meaning that you believe that everything in the universe occurs by the will of Allah, and nothing escapes His will, neither from His actions nor from the actions of His servants. The texts on this are numerous, among them is His saying, the Exalted:[Al-Baqarah 2:253] So Allah Mighty and Majestic made clear that the fighting of these differing people was by His will. And He, Exalted is He, said: [At-Takwir 81:28-29] And the Muslims agreed upon this great word: "What Allah wills comes to be, and what He does not will does not come to be" So there is nothing in the universe that occurs in non-existence or existence except that it is by the will of Allah, Exalted is He.
As for the fourth level, it is faith in the comprehensiveness of the creation of Allah, meaning that you believe that everything in the universe is created by Allah Mighty and Majestic, whether in their entities or in their attributes, as Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Furqan 25:2] And He the Exalted said: [Az-Zumar 39:62] Even the servant is created by Allah the Exalted in his entity and his person, and in his attributes and his apparent and hidden powers, and in what arises from those powers. So the actions of the servant, for example, are created by Allah in the sense that these actions arise from a power in the servant and a will, and power and will are among the attributes of the servant. The servant is created by Allah, so his attributes are also created by Him, meaning by Allah. Just as the apparent physical attributes are created by Allah, so too the hidden moral and intellectual attributes are created by Allah.
And these four levels are believed in by all the people of the Sunnah and the community, so we must believe in them. We must believe in them and affirm them, but at the same time, we know with certainty that the human being has a will and a power. So he wills a thing in action and in leaving, meaning he wills to do it and does it if he has the power, and he wills to leave it and leaves it. But the Creator of the power and the Creator of the will is Allah Mighty and Majestic. So any action of the servant is attributed to Allah the Exalted as creation and will, and to the servant as action and acquisition, even though it is within the will and power of the servant. For if Allah the Exalted had not empowered the servant to the action, he would not have done it due to his inability to do so. And if Allah had not created the will in him, he would not have done it due to the absence of the will.
Second, he asks: Was everything that happened to me regarding entering these false paths before this written for me from eternity, and did Allah know about it? We ask for guidance on this.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
Before answering this question, I would like to congratulate the brother whom Allah has blessed with steadfastness and adherence to the straight path after he was deviating in the mazes of religious innovation and misguidance. Indeed, this is among the blessings of Allah; rather, it is the greatest blessing that Allah the Exalted bestows upon a servant: that Allah accepts his repentance, so he repents to his Lord and abandons his error for his guidance. Allah Mighty and Majestic says, expressing His favor upon the believers with such a thing:
This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion.
اليوم أكملت لكم دينكم وأتممت عليكم نعمتى ورضيت لكم الإسلام ديناCertainly did Allah confer [great] favor upon the believers when He sent among them a Messenger from themselves, reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom, although they had been before in manifest error.
لقد من الله على المؤمنين إذ بعث فيهم رسولاً من أنفسهم يتلوا عليهم آياته ويزكيهم ويعلمهم الكتاب والحكمة وإن كانوا من قبل لفي ضلال مبينRather, Allah has conferred favor upon you that He has guided you to the faith, if you should be truthful."
بل الله يمن عليكم أن هداكم للإيمان إن كنتم صادقينAs for the answer to his question, I say to him: If a person repents from any sin, then Allah accepts his repentance and erases his sins from him, because Islam demolishes what came before it, and repentance annuls what came before it. Allah Mighty and Majestic says:
Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful."
قل يا عبادي الذين أسرفوا على أنفسهم لا تقنطوا من رحمة الله إن الله يغفر الذنوب جميعاً إنه هو الغفور الرحيمBut whoever repents after his wrongdoing and reforms, indeed, Allah will turn to him in forgiveness. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
فمن تاب من بعد ظلمه وأصلح فإن الله يتوب عليه إن الله غفور رحيم(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.
والذين لا يدعون مع الله إله آخر ولا يقتلون النفس التي حرم الله إلا بالحق ولا يزنون ومن يفعل ذلك يلقى أثاماً يضاعف له العذاب يوم القيامة ويخلد فيه مهاناً إلا من تاب وآمن وعمل عملاً صالحاً فأولئك يبدل الله سيئاتهم حسنات وكان الله غفوراً رحيماًAs for the second part of the question, which is whether what he did was written for him in eternity and with the knowledge of Allah Mighty and Majestic?
We say: Yes, it is written for him in eternity. The previous bad deed is written for him, and the final repentance that Allah bestowed upon him is written for him, and all of this is with the knowledge of Allah, Exalted is He. Allah Mighty and Majestic says:
Do you not know that Allah knows what is in the heaven and earth? Indeed, that is in a Record. Indeed that, for Allah, is easy.
ألم تعلم أن الله يعلم ما في السماء والأرض إن ذلك في كتاب إن ذلك على الله يسيرAnd with Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them except Him. And He knows what is on the land and in the sea. Not a leaf falls but that He knows it. And no grain is there within the darknesses of the earth and no moist or dry [thing] but that it is [written] in a clear record.
وعنده مفاتح الغيب لا يعلمها إلا هو ويعلم ما في البر والبحر وما تسقط من ورقة إلا يعلمها ولا حبة في ظلمات الأرض ولا رطب ولا يابس إلا في كتاب مبينThe first is: Faith in the knowledge of Allah of everything in general and in detail, meaning that you believe that Allah the Exalted is aware of everything in general and in detail, what has happened and what has not happened.
The second level is: That you believe that Allah has written in the Preserved Tablet the measures of everything until the Hour occurs, for Allah, Exalted is He, says:
Do you not know that Allah knows what is in the heaven and earth? Indeed, that is in a Record. Indeed that, for Allah, is easy.
ألم تعلم أن الله يعلم ما في السماء والأرض إن ذلك في كتاب إن ذلك على الله يسيرWhen Allah created the Pen, He said to it: Write. It said: What shall I write? He said: Write what is to be. So it wrote in that moment what is to be until the Day of Resurrection.
As for the third level, it is faith in the comprehensiveness of the will of Allah, meaning that you believe that everything in the universe occurs by the will of Allah, and nothing escapes His will, neither from His actions nor from the actions of His servants. The texts on this are numerous, among them is His saying, the Exalted:
If Allah had willed, those [generations] succeeding them would not have fought each other after the clear proofs had come to them. But they differed, and some of them believed and some of them disbelieved. And if Allah had willed, they would not have fought each other, but Allah does what He intends.
ولو شاء الله ما اقتتل الذين من بعدهم من بعد ما جاءتهم البينات ولكن اختلفوا فمنهم من آمن ومنهم من كفر ولو شاء الله ما اقتتلوا ولكن الله يفعل ما يريد(28) For whoever wills among you to take a right course. (29) And you do not will except that Allah wills - Lord of the worlds.
لمن شاء منكم أن يستقيم وما تشاؤون إلا أن يشاء الله رب العالمينAs for the fourth level, it is faith in the comprehensiveness of the creation of Allah, meaning that you believe that everything in the universe is created by Allah Mighty and Majestic, whether in their entities or in their attributes, as Allah the Exalted said:
and has created each thing and determined it with [precise] determination.
وخلق كل شيء فقدره تقديراًAllah is the Creator of all things, and He is, over all things, Disposer of affairs.
الله خالق كل شيء وهو على كل شيء وكيلAnd these four levels are believed in by all the people of the Sunnah and the community, so we must believe in them. We must believe in them and affirm them, but at the same time, we know with certainty that the human being has a will and a power. So he wills a thing in action and in leaving, meaning he wills to do it and does it if he has the power, and he wills to leave it and leaves it. But the Creator of the power and the Creator of the will is Allah Mighty and Majestic. So any action of the servant is attributed to Allah the Exalted as creation and will, and to the servant as action and acquisition, even though it is within the will and power of the servant. For if Allah the Exalted had not empowered the servant to the action, he would not have done it due to his inability to do so. And if Allah had not created the will in him, he would not have done it due to the absence of the will.