My brother has cast off the yoke of acting upon the laws of Islam, and when I advise him, he says: "I am a murderer and I know that I will enter the Fire." So what should I advise him?
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The Shaykh : Please go ahead.
The questioner : I brought you a brother of mine who has reached an advanced age, and he does not pray, nor does he observe any of the teachings of Islam.
The Shaykh : Allahu Akbar.
The questioner : So I say to him, "My brother, you have reached an age, and Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has bestowed upon you health, wealth, and everything else. Why do you not pray?" He said, "How can I pray when I am a murderer? I killed during my duty, and this is a constant recurrence for him. How can I pray when I am a murderer and I know my fate is the Fire?" So enlighten me on what I should answer him.
The Shaykh : May Allah forgive him. This is the problem of ignorance. Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Furqan 25:63-70] So this person must repent to Allah, Mighty and Majestic. And as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the authentic hadith: If this is as you report from him, that he regrets killing that man, then this is repentance. So why does he not pray? I fear, and I fear greatly, that he will take the sin that occurred once in his life as an excuse for his repeated sins and transgressions, which is his persistence in abandoning prayer.
The questioner : I asked him how the killing happened.
The questioner : He said: "I was at the front line, visiting some sites where there was a main base. I felt, as a soldier does, that we had become targeted by enemy shells. I asked the company commander present to order the members of the company to disperse, but he refused. It was only moments before the shells fell on them, and the result was that sixteen men from the company were killed. The company commander and his assistant were unharmed. So he said to him, 'This is the consequence of your disobedience to orders,' given the critical situation they were in. The company commander insulted him, so when he insulted him..."
The Shaykh : He shot at him.
The questioner : He finished him off and killed him. This is the story he narrated...
The Shaykh : It is fine, but this is a picture that does not save you from the sin of killing. Even if the killing was of a type other than direct aggression, yes, but in any case, I hope you have understood the answer. If a person kills another unjustly, oppressively, and aggressively, without any interpretation like the one you report from your friend, if he kills in this manner intentionally and with premeditation and determination, then if he repents to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, Allah will accept his repentance. I hope you will convey what you have heard. I fear, and I fear greatly, that he will take this killing, even in this form, as a means for him not to pray, so that he takes the sin as a means for sins piling up upon him. As for repenting to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and Allah, Mighty and Majestic, accepts repentance:[Az-Zumar 39:53] So convey this to him, if Allah wills.
The questioner : I brought you a brother of mine who has reached an advanced age, and he does not pray, nor does he observe any of the teachings of Islam.
The Shaykh : Allahu Akbar.
The questioner : So I say to him, "My brother, you have reached an age, and Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has bestowed upon you health, wealth, and everything else. Why do you not pray?" He said, "How can I pray when I am a murderer? I killed during my duty, and this is a constant recurrence for him. How can I pray when I am a murderer and I know my fate is the Fire?" So enlighten me on what I should answer him.
The Shaykh : May Allah forgive him. This is the problem of ignorance. Allah the Exalted said:
(63) And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth easily, and when the ignorant address them [harshly], they say [words of] peace, (64) And those who spend [part of] the night to their Lord prostrating and standing [in prayer] (65) And those who say, "Our Lord, avert from us the punishment of Hell. Indeed, its punishment is ever adhering; (66) Indeed, it is evil as a settlement and residence." (67) And [they are] those who, when they spend, do so not excessively or sparingly but are ever, between that, [justly] moderate (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.
وعباد الرحمن الذين يمشون على الأرض هونا وإذا خاطبهم الجاهلون قالوا سلاما * والذين يبيتون لربهم سجدًا وقياما * والذين يقولون ربنا اصرف عنا عذاب جهنم إن عذابها كان غراما * إنها ساءت مستقرًا ومقاما * والذين إذا أنفقوا لم يُسرفوا ولم يقتروا وكان بين ذلك قواما * والذين لا يدعون مع الله إلهًا آخر ولا يقتلون النفس التي حرم الله إلا بالحق ولا يزنون ومن يفعل ذلك يلقى أثاما * يضاعف له العذاب يوم القيامة ويخلد فيه مهانا * إلا من تاب وآمن وعمل عملاً صالحًا فأولئك يبدل الله سيئاتهم حسنات وكان الله غفورًا رحيماRegret is repentance
الندم توبةThe questioner : I asked him how the killing happened.
The questioner : He said: "I was at the front line, visiting some sites where there was a main base. I felt, as a soldier does, that we had become targeted by enemy shells. I asked the company commander present to order the members of the company to disperse, but he refused. It was only moments before the shells fell on them, and the result was that sixteen men from the company were killed. The company commander and his assistant were unharmed. So he said to him, 'This is the consequence of your disobedience to orders,' given the critical situation they were in. The company commander insulted him, so when he insulted him..."
The Shaykh : He shot at him.
The questioner : He finished him off and killed him. This is the story he narrated...
The Shaykh : It is fine, but this is a picture that does not save you from the sin of killing. Even if the killing was of a type other than direct aggression, yes, but in any case, I hope you have understood the answer. If a person kills another unjustly, oppressively, and aggressively, without any interpretation like the one you report from your friend, if he kills in this manner intentionally and with premeditation and determination, then if he repents to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, Allah will accept his repentance. I hope you will convey what you have heard. I fear, and I fear greatly, that he will take this killing, even in this form, as a means for him not to pray, so that he takes the sin as a means for sins piling up upon him. As for repenting to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and Allah, Mighty and Majestic, accepts repentance: