What is the meaning of the hadith: “A group of people will wish they had committed more sins. They said: Who are they, O Messenger of Allah? He said: Those whose sins Allah replaced with good deeds”?
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The questioner : Well, the hadith Al-Mustadrak lil-Hakim 38:43 , what is the meaning of this hadith, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : The hadith, of course, does not mean that if we imagine two men of the same age who reached the age of accountability at the same age, one of whom continued in obedience to Allah and the other in disobedience to Allah, the first died in obedience to Allah, and the other repented to Allah before his death, and he was a sinner against himself, and if this sinner’s sins were more than the good deeds of his companion, and he repented so that his sins were turned into good deeds, he would be better than that one. The meaning is clear, so after we have laid the groundwork for this negation, what is the meaning of the hadith you asked about? What I understand is that this is what the person who was immersed in the sins of Allah the Exalted wishes for, and he repented to Allah, so Allah did not hold him accountable, but rather He made the sins that were sins, in the practical sense concerning him, into good deeds, not that He turned them into good deeds in his scale. So, by virtue of his humanity and his desires, he wished that he had committed more sins, so that even at the end he would repent and Allah would erase them because of his repentance. Is the answer clear? It is clear, but it is not convincing. This is what I have.
The questioner : Our Shaykh, I mean, I say that when the mercy of Allah the Exalted was found, His mercy encompassed him and He overlooked his sins and replaced them with good deeds, if he had committed more sins, his good deeds would have increased.
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
The questioner : In the end, his good deeds would increase.
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
The questioner : I mean, this indicates the favor of Allah and the mercy of Allah.
The Shaykh : Yes, but we must keep in mind that his sins themselves do not turn into good deeds.
The questioner : Not themselves.
The Shaykh : No, rather they are good deeds that issue from him afterwards because of his repentance.
The questioner : I mean, the good deeds he did after repentance.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : They are what opened the door... .
The Shaykh : I mean, what can we call this replacement in terms of legal terminology? It is a cosmic replacement, meaning he was a sinner and he becomes an obedient one, he was a sinner by his multiplication of sins, and he becomes an obedient one by his multiplication of good deeds, meaning he was a sinner and he becomes an obedient one.
The questioner : I mean, it is not said that he gets reward for the zina he committed or the alcohol he drank.
The Shaykh : No, I seek refuge in Allah, if it were so, that would be a greater deterrent and motivator for committing more sins.
The questioner : And the first clarification is correct, it clarifies the issue, that the obedient and the doer of good is the better one.
The Shaykh : Yes, without a doubt.
The questioner : One of the brothers, before you came, was discussing this hadith and said, and the good deeds, as long as good deeds are the opposite of sins, what is done with them? So one of them said, Allah the Exalted multiplies them, thinking that the sins turn into good deeds, without detailing the issue.
The questioner : I mean, is this the meaning of the verse?
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
A group of people will wish they had committed more sins. They said: With what, O Messenger of Allah? He said: Those whose sins Allah replaced with good deeds.
ليتمنين أقوام لو أكثروا من السيئات قالوا بم يا رسول الله ، قال الذين بدل الله سيئاتهم حسناتThe Shaykh : The hadith, of course, does not mean that if we imagine two men of the same age who reached the age of accountability at the same age, one of whom continued in obedience to Allah and the other in disobedience to Allah, the first died in obedience to Allah, and the other repented to Allah before his death, and he was a sinner against himself, and if this sinner’s sins were more than the good deeds of his companion, and he repented so that his sins were turned into good deeds, he would be better than that one. The meaning is clear, so after we have laid the groundwork for this negation, what is the meaning of the hadith you asked about? What I understand is that this is what the person who was immersed in the sins of Allah the Exalted wishes for, and he repented to Allah, so Allah did not hold him accountable, but rather He made the sins that were sins, in the practical sense concerning him, into good deeds, not that He turned them into good deeds in his scale. So, by virtue of his humanity and his desires, he wished that he had committed more sins, so that even at the end he would repent and Allah would erase them because of his repentance. Is the answer clear? It is clear, but it is not convincing. This is what I have.
The questioner : Our Shaykh, I mean, I say that when the mercy of Allah the Exalted was found, His mercy encompassed him and He overlooked his sins and replaced them with good deeds, if he had committed more sins, his good deeds would have increased.
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
The questioner : In the end, his good deeds would increase.
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
The questioner : I mean, this indicates the favor of Allah and the mercy of Allah.
The Shaykh : Yes, but we must keep in mind that his sins themselves do not turn into good deeds.
The questioner : Not themselves.
The Shaykh : No, rather they are good deeds that issue from him afterwards because of his repentance.
The questioner : I mean, the good deeds he did after repentance.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : They are what opened the door... .
The Shaykh : I mean, what can we call this replacement in terms of legal terminology? It is a cosmic replacement, meaning he was a sinner and he becomes an obedient one, he was a sinner by his multiplication of sins, and he becomes an obedient one by his multiplication of good deeds, meaning he was a sinner and he becomes an obedient one.
The questioner : I mean, it is not said that he gets reward for the zina he committed or the alcohol he drank.
The Shaykh : No, I seek refuge in Allah, if it were so, that would be a greater deterrent and motivator for committing more sins.
The questioner : And the first clarification is correct, it clarifies the issue, that the obedient and the doer of good is the better one.
The Shaykh : Yes, without a doubt.
The questioner : One of the brothers, before you came, was discussing this hadith and said, and the good deeds, as long as good deeds are the opposite of sins, what is done with them? So one of them said, Allah the Exalted multiplies them, thinking that the sins turn into good deeds, without detailing the issue.
The questioner : I mean, is this the meaning of the verse?
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.