Sins between a servant and his Creator are forgiven by Allah, but the sin owed to another person requires that I go to him and ask for his forgiveness and pardon, but I
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The questioner : Sins between a servant and his Creator are forgiven by Allah, but the sin owed to another person requires that I go to him and ask for his forgiveness and pardon, but I am unable to approach him and unable to face this person for whatever reasons, because I am in the utmost embarrassment before him, and my reputation with him is good, yet I have wronged him and caused him some trouble. What should I do? Please advise us; may Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : It is obligatory for you to seek the pardon of the one you have wronged in his honor, his wealth, or his body, in this world before the Hereafter, because if you do not seek his pardon in this world, he will take from your good deeds on the Day of Resurrection in proportion to your wronging of him. If the wrong was great, he will take many of your good deeds; if it was small, he will take a corresponding amount. Therefore, you must seek his pardon. However, if you are unable to face him, you may write to him a letter not in your own handwriting, but typed, saying: "A man who is remorseful and sad about the harm he has done to your honor or your wealth or the like asks for your excuse, and his reward is with Allah." And in itself, if such a letter reaches him, what he should do is forgive and excuse, due to the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He:[Al-Baqarah 2:237] and His saying, the Exalted: [Ash-Shuraa 42:40] This remorseful man is undoubtedly one for whom forgiveness is a reform. If he forgives him, his reward is with Allah, and having his reward with Allah is greater than having his reward taken from the wrongdoer's good deeds. Then a question arises: Must I specify what I wronged him in, or is it sufficient for him to grant me a general pardon for all wrongs? What appears to me is that if the wrong has reached him, he must specify it. But if it has not reached him, there is no harm in asking for his pardon in a general way.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh, and may Allah bless you and your knowledge.
The Shaykh : It is obligatory for you to seek the pardon of the one you have wronged in his honor, his wealth, or his body, in this world before the Hereafter, because if you do not seek his pardon in this world, he will take from your good deeds on the Day of Resurrection in proportion to your wronging of him. If the wrong was great, he will take many of your good deeds; if it was small, he will take a corresponding amount. Therefore, you must seek his pardon. However, if you are unable to face him, you may write to him a letter not in your own handwriting, but typed, saying: "A man who is remorseful and sad about the harm he has done to your honor or your wealth or the like asks for your excuse, and his reward is with Allah." And in itself, if such a letter reaches him, what he should do is forgive and excuse, due to the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He:
And to forego it is nearer to righteousness
وَأَنْ تَعْفُوا أَقْرَبُ لِلتَّقْوَىbut whoever pardons and makes reconciliation - his reward is [due] from Allah
فَمَنْ عَفَا وَأَصْلَحَ فَأَجْرُهُ عَلَى اللَّهِThe questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh, and may Allah bless you and your knowledge.