Does Allah forgive the repeated sin that the heart of its doer denies, and what is the meaning of ignorance in the verse: “They do evil out of ignorance”?

The questioner : Does Allah forgive the repeated sin that the heart of its doer denies, and does the word ignorance in the verse mean lack of intention or lack of control over the senses?

The Shaykh : However, the questioner intended something but fell short in his expression, because as we have mentioned to you repeatedly, the difference between practical disbelief and creedal disbelief is something that, unfortunately, the masses of Muslims today do not know. What is it? It is either admitting the sin, in which case his sin and his disbelief are practical disbelief, or not admitting it. And here, when he says, and he is...

The questioner : The heart of its doer denies it

The Shaykh : The heart of its doer denies it... he is not a Muslim. If one commits a wrong and does not deny it, it means he has exited the circle of Islam, as stated in the hadith and in another hadith: if he does not deny it with his heart, then there is nothing beyond that of faith, not even an atom. The sin, if it befalls a Muslim, in order for him to be saved from disbelief, creedal disbelief, he must deny the sin with his heart; otherwise, he is not a Muslim. And thus, the one who falls into a sin while admitting it, admitting that it is contrary to the law and that he is disobedient to his Lord, is left to Allah the Exalted, as He said . The one who committed the sin and admitted that it is a sin and that he is a sinner with Allah, this is up to Allah; if He wills, He will punish him, and if He wills, He will forgive him. But if he does not admit that it is a sin, he is a mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah), and Allah the Exalted does not forgive him. Is there anything else in this question?

The questioner : The interpretation of ignorance?

The Shaykh : Ignorance, of course, does not mean lack of knowledge, but rather contravention of the Shari'ah. The verse is intended to urge promptness in repentance and not to persist in sin under the pretext, as some young people say, and as some adults and elderly people say—and I do not say sheikhs—to their young sons who are growing up in obedience to Allah the Exalted and following the guidance of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). For example, he is keen to perform the five daily prayers in the mosque in congregation, keen to follow not the Sunnah but the fard (obligatory) that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded. You find the fathers who deviate from the Sunnah saying, “It is early for you, my son, you are still in the beginning of your youth,” and so on. This is a very great error. The verse urges that the Muslim not... persist in sins on the excuse that it is early, that there is still time and a period in which he will repent. And who knows? Perhaps he will not reach the morning if he reaches the evening except that he is in his grave, or vice versa. Therefore, the verse urges the Muslim to repent promptly and not to postpone repentance until he falls ill with a fatal illness. And even if there is a respite for the sinner, the wrongdoer, the criminal, that he can repent before the gasping of the soul, the gasping of the spirit, but this is not perfection. This has examples in the Islamic Shari'ah. For example, it is well known that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about the best deeds, he said , meaning at its time first. And then he detailed for us the times of the five daily prayers. For example, what concerns us now is the time of 'Asr. The time of 'Asr is from the end of the time of Zuhr to the entry of the time of Maghrib. This is the time of 'Asr. So if a man delays performing the 'Asr prayer until a few minutes before Maghrib, and says Allahu Akbar and stands for the second rak'ah, and the mu'adhdhin of Maghrib stands and says Allahu Akbar, did he pray or did he not pray? He prayed, because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said . But he caught it barely, meaning... And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said in another hadith . This is the prayer of the hypocrite who delays the 'Asr prayer until the sun is about to set, then he stands to pray it, and he does not remember Allah in it except a little. This is the prayer, but he did not pray the recommended prayer that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) urged. Likewise, the verse commands the disobedient Muslim to hasten to repentance. Repentance is not that he postpones this repentance until the arrival of the term, i.e., the complete repentance. But if he repents before the soul reaches the gasping, Allah the Exalted, from His grace, also accepts this repentance. But this is the repentance of the shortcoming and the incapable, not the repentance of the preceding and the righteous. Anyone else?