Quitting the Sin.
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The Shaykh : The third is quitting the sin. If the sin was leaving an obligatory act, he must hasten to perform it. If it was committing a forbidden act, he must hasten to leave it.
If it involves the rights of people, he must hasten to seek their forgiveness for this sin.
Now, a man deals in riba (usury or interest) and consumes riba while knowing that it is forbidden. So he repents and feels remorse. How does he quit it?
He quits it by giving in charity what he earned from riba, either to draw near to Allah or to rid himself of it?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : The second option is to rid himself of it, because if he gave in charity what he earned from riba to draw near to Allah, it would not be accepted from him, and his conscience would not be cleared of the riba. It would not be accepted from him because of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih Muslim 1015 And riba is not good; earnings from riba are not good, and the conscience is not cleared by it, because he gave it in charity on the basis that it was his property, not on the basis that he was absolving himself of it.
Now, how does he give it in charity to rid himself of it? We say: He intends by it that he wants safety from sin, not drawing near to Allah through charity; safety from sin. And in that case, he is safe from the sin.
Now, what do you say if he had a lot of money from riba and he dealt with it while knowing it was riba, then Allah guided him, and he started building mosques with what he earned from riba? He started building mosques to rid himself of this riba. What is the ruling on praying in these mosques?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: Valid.
The Shaykh : Valid.
The student: Permissible.
The Shaykh : Permissible.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : "Valid" and "permissible" mean the same thing. Now, is there a second opinion?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Yes, we say that the prayer in these mosques is valid and permissible, because what is the sin of the mosque? And the man took out this money to rid himself of it so that he would be safe from it?
Now, if he used it to help a person get married. Is it permissible for the person to accept it, while he is poor and in need, and the man said he wants to give this riba in charity to rid himself of it, so he gave it to a person who needs to get married? Is it permissible or not?
Yes, it is permissible, like the first case, exactly like building mosques, because this man has no way to be absolved of the sin of riba except through this path. So he took out the riba in order to rid himself of its sin.
Now, if this man who earned riba earned it before he knew it was riba, then Allah bestowed upon him and he repented, is he obligated to give out what he earned? Yes.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : No, he earned thousands of riyals from riba, but before he knew, then he knew. Is he obligated to give that out? Or not?
The student: He is not required to.
The Shaykh : Is he not obligated?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : By the consensus of the jurists. Now, what is the evidence?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : His saying, the Exalted:[Al-Baqarah 2:275] after the admonition came [Al-Baqarah 2:39].
Now, a man stole money from a person and repented to Allah. What does he do with this money? Does he give it in charity? Or what?
We say: His repentance is not complete except by returning it to its owner. He must return it to its owner. If he does not know the owner, he gives it in charity for the owner, and Allah knows it. Then, if the owner comes one day, he gives him the choice and says: "I gave this in charity on your behalf. If you wish, it is yours; otherwise, this is your money, and the reward of the charity is for me."
Now, a man stole money from a person and repented to Allah, but the one from whom he stole has died. What does he do?
We say: He returns it to his heirs. If he has no heirs, he returns it to the public treasury, because the wealth that is inherited from one who has no heir belongs to the public treasury.
Some people find it difficult, and they say: "I am now repentant from theft, and I stole from so-and-so, and I know that I stole from him, but it is hard for me to go to him and say that I stole from him. I am afraid that if I say, 'I stole a thousand riyals from you, and here are a thousand riyals,' he will say, 'Wait, I lost a million riyals from my money.' Do you understand the question? Now, this man repented; he stole a thousand riyals from a person and repented. We told him he must return it to its owner. He said, 'I am afraid that if I go to its owner and say, "So-and-so, I stole a thousand riyals from you, and I am now repentant," he will say, "Praise be to Allah, I lost a million riyals from my money," meaning that you stole how much from me? A million riyals. So what does this man do?"
The student: He gives it in charity.
The Shaykh : No, he does not give it in charity. It is not valid for him to give it in charity while he knows its owner.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Yes, we say: Look for one of his trustworthy companions and say to him: "So-and-so, during my time of recklessness and ignorance, I stole, for example, a thousand riyals from so-and-so, and I am now repentant to Allah, and here are a thousand riyals." The doer of good and the reconciler goes to the owner of the money and says: "These are coins stolen from you, and the thief has brought them to me while repentant, and these are your coins." And in that way, he is safe from it.
Now, if he stole a specific item from a person, let us say he stole a watch from him and repented to Allah. What does he do?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Yes
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : He returns it to him. If he says, "I am afraid that if I return it to him, he will file a lawsuit against me," we say, as we said in the first case: Go to one of his companions and inform him of the reality. The reconciler and the sincere advisor returns it to its owner and says: "This was stolen from you, and now the thief has repented, so it is yours."
Now, if the stolen item decreased in value with the thief. The watch was new when he stole it, and now it has become old and decreased in value through use. Does the thief have to compensate for its decrease?
Yes, and his repentance is not complete except if he compensates for the decrease, because it decreased under his hand, and his hand is a stealing hand, not a respected one. So he must compensate for what decreased under his hand. The important thing is that repentance from the rights of humans is not valid except if the right reaches its rightful owner.
Now, if the sin is not money but a human right, such as a man backbiting a person in a gathering. Whether he backbit a scholar from the scholars, or an imam from the imams of the mosques, or a merchant from the merchants, or a caller from the callers, the important thing is that he backbit a person. And backbiting is an encroachment on the rights of others. So what does he do? Regarding absolving himself from this man?
We say: Yes, we say he speaks to him. If the one who was backbited has learned of the backbiting, he goes to him and says: "You must have heard about me, that I am such-and-such, and I am now coming to apologize and repent." We say to his companion: "It is good that you forgive him, because the repentant man who came to apologize should be met with kindness and goodness, and you should forgive him."
As for if he did not know, and you know that he did not know of your backbiting him, it is sufficient that you make du'a for him, seek forgiveness for him, and speak well of him with the descriptions he had in the gathering where you backbit him.
And there is no need to go to him, because if you went to him, something might remain in his heart, and he did not know now that you backbit him, so there is no need to go to him.
How many conditions have we mentioned now?
The student: Three.
The Shaykh : Three.
If it involves the rights of people, he must hasten to seek their forgiveness for this sin.
Now, a man deals in riba (usury or interest) and consumes riba while knowing that it is forbidden. So he repents and feels remorse. How does he quit it?
He quits it by giving in charity what he earned from riba, either to draw near to Allah or to rid himself of it?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : The second option is to rid himself of it, because if he gave in charity what he earned from riba to draw near to Allah, it would not be accepted from him, and his conscience would not be cleared of the riba. It would not be accepted from him because of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
Allah is Good and He therefore, accepts only that which is good
إن الله طيب لا يقبل إلا طيباًNow, how does he give it in charity to rid himself of it? We say: He intends by it that he wants safety from sin, not drawing near to Allah through charity; safety from sin. And in that case, he is safe from the sin.
Now, what do you say if he had a lot of money from riba and he dealt with it while knowing it was riba, then Allah guided him, and he started building mosques with what he earned from riba? He started building mosques to rid himself of this riba. What is the ruling on praying in these mosques?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: Valid.
The Shaykh : Valid.
The student: Permissible.
The Shaykh : Permissible.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : "Valid" and "permissible" mean the same thing. Now, is there a second opinion?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Yes, we say that the prayer in these mosques is valid and permissible, because what is the sin of the mosque? And the man took out this money to rid himself of it so that he would be safe from it?
Now, if he used it to help a person get married. Is it permissible for the person to accept it, while he is poor and in need, and the man said he wants to give this riba in charity to rid himself of it, so he gave it to a person who needs to get married? Is it permissible or not?
Yes, it is permissible, like the first case, exactly like building mosques, because this man has no way to be absolved of the sin of riba except through this path. So he took out the riba in order to rid himself of its sin.
Now, if this man who earned riba earned it before he knew it was riba, then Allah bestowed upon him and he repented, is he obligated to give out what he earned? Yes.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : No, he earned thousands of riyals from riba, but before he knew, then he knew. Is he obligated to give that out? Or not?
The student: He is not required to.
The Shaykh : Is he not obligated?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : By the consensus of the jurists. Now, what is the evidence?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : His saying, the Exalted:
So whoever has received an admonition from his Lord and desists may have what is past, and his affair rests with Allah. But whoever returns
فمن جاءه موعظة من ربه فانتهى فله ما سلف وأمره إلى الله ومن عادthose will be companions of the Fire; they will abide therein eternally."
فأولئك أصحاب النار هم فيها خالدونNow, a man stole money from a person and repented to Allah. What does he do with this money? Does he give it in charity? Or what?
We say: His repentance is not complete except by returning it to its owner. He must return it to its owner. If he does not know the owner, he gives it in charity for the owner, and Allah knows it. Then, if the owner comes one day, he gives him the choice and says: "I gave this in charity on your behalf. If you wish, it is yours; otherwise, this is your money, and the reward of the charity is for me."
Now, a man stole money from a person and repented to Allah, but the one from whom he stole has died. What does he do?
We say: He returns it to his heirs. If he has no heirs, he returns it to the public treasury, because the wealth that is inherited from one who has no heir belongs to the public treasury.
Some people find it difficult, and they say: "I am now repentant from theft, and I stole from so-and-so, and I know that I stole from him, but it is hard for me to go to him and say that I stole from him. I am afraid that if I say, 'I stole a thousand riyals from you, and here are a thousand riyals,' he will say, 'Wait, I lost a million riyals from my money.' Do you understand the question? Now, this man repented; he stole a thousand riyals from a person and repented. We told him he must return it to its owner. He said, 'I am afraid that if I go to its owner and say, "So-and-so, I stole a thousand riyals from you, and I am now repentant," he will say, "Praise be to Allah, I lost a million riyals from my money," meaning that you stole how much from me? A million riyals. So what does this man do?"
The student: He gives it in charity.
The Shaykh : No, he does not give it in charity. It is not valid for him to give it in charity while he knows its owner.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Yes, we say: Look for one of his trustworthy companions and say to him: "So-and-so, during my time of recklessness and ignorance, I stole, for example, a thousand riyals from so-and-so, and I am now repentant to Allah, and here are a thousand riyals." The doer of good and the reconciler goes to the owner of the money and says: "These are coins stolen from you, and the thief has brought them to me while repentant, and these are your coins." And in that way, he is safe from it.
Now, if he stole a specific item from a person, let us say he stole a watch from him and repented to Allah. What does he do?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Yes
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : He returns it to him. If he says, "I am afraid that if I return it to him, he will file a lawsuit against me," we say, as we said in the first case: Go to one of his companions and inform him of the reality. The reconciler and the sincere advisor returns it to its owner and says: "This was stolen from you, and now the thief has repented, so it is yours."
Now, if the stolen item decreased in value with the thief. The watch was new when he stole it, and now it has become old and decreased in value through use. Does the thief have to compensate for its decrease?
Yes, and his repentance is not complete except if he compensates for the decrease, because it decreased under his hand, and his hand is a stealing hand, not a respected one. So he must compensate for what decreased under his hand. The important thing is that repentance from the rights of humans is not valid except if the right reaches its rightful owner.
Now, if the sin is not money but a human right, such as a man backbiting a person in a gathering. Whether he backbit a scholar from the scholars, or an imam from the imams of the mosques, or a merchant from the merchants, or a caller from the callers, the important thing is that he backbit a person. And backbiting is an encroachment on the rights of others. So what does he do? Regarding absolving himself from this man?
We say: Yes, we say he speaks to him. If the one who was backbited has learned of the backbiting, he goes to him and says: "You must have heard about me, that I am such-and-such, and I am now coming to apologize and repent." We say to his companion: "It is good that you forgive him, because the repentant man who came to apologize should be met with kindness and goodness, and you should forgive him."
As for if he did not know, and you know that he did not know of your backbiting him, it is sufficient that you make du'a for him, seek forgiveness for him, and speak well of him with the descriptions he had in the gathering where you backbit him.
And there is no need to go to him, because if you went to him, something might remain in his heart, and he did not know now that you backbit him, so there is no need to go to him.
How many conditions have we mentioned now?
The student: Three.
The Shaykh : Three.