Explanation of the author's statement: And his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): "Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His servant than one of you is with his mount" — the hadith is agreed upon.
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The Shaykh : He says: And his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): Sahih Muslim 2747b, c
"Allah" — the "lam" here is the initial particle, and "Allah" is the subject, while "ashadd" (more) is the predicate of the subject, and "firaan" (joy) is the specification. "Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His servant when he repents to Him than one of you is with his mount." The author said "the hadith," meaning he completed the hadith. The hadith is that this man had his mount with him, on which was his food and drink, but it strayed from him. He went looking for it but did not find it, so he despaired of life — he despaired of life — and then he lay down under a tree, waiting
The student: for death.
The Shaykh : for death. Then, lo and behold, the reins of his camel were hanging from the tree. Can you now estimate this joy?
The student: It is immense.
The Shaykh : Yes, I am asking you: can you or cannot? I know it is immense.
The student: No.
The Shaykh : You cannot. No one can describe this joy except one who has experienced it. As you said, by Allah, this is immense joy. It makes one turn to the world after having turned away from it, but we do not feel the taste of this joy unless a person is struck by it. Nothing compares to it. For this reason, this man held onto the reins of the camel and said, "O Allah, You are my slave and I am your Lord" — Allahu Akbar — he made a mistake out of the intensity of the joy, meaning he could not control how he spoke. "O Allah, You are my slave and I am your Lord." Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is more pleased with the repentance of His servant when he repents to Him than this man is with his mount. And does Allah, Mighty and Majestic, need our repentance? No, by Allah. We are in need of Him in all our states, but by His glory, Exalted and Majestic is He, and His love for excellence, generosity, and bounty. O Allah, You are the Forgiver and You love forgiveness. He, Glorified and Exalted is He, rejoices with this joy that has no parallel at the repentance of the human being when he repents to Him. In this hadith is the affirmation of joy for Allah, Mighty and Majestic. So what do we say about this joy? Is it a real joy that Allah rejoices? Yes.
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Fear Allah.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Is it a real joy?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, we say it is a real joy and the greatest joy. So we affirm joy for Allah, Mighty and Majestic, in reality. But is it like the joy of the created beings?
The student: No.
The Shaykh : No, it is not like the joy of the created beings. Joy, for a human being, is a thrill that a person feels from within himself when something that pleases him occurs, and a lightness. For this reason, you feel that when you are joyful about something, it is as if you are walking on air, not on the ground. Yes. But as for Allah, Mighty and Majestic, we do not interpret joy as we know it from ourselves. We say it is a joy
The student: befitting Him.
The Shaykh : befitting Him, Mighty and Majestic, like the rest of the attributes. Just as we say Allah has a Self, but it does not resemble our selves, nor is it like our selves, so He has attributes that do not resemble our attributes, because the discussion of attributes is a branch of the discussion
The student: of the Self.
The Shaykh : of the Self. They are the same. So we affirm and believe that Allah, the Exalted, has joy, just as the one who knows Him best, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), affirmed it, and the one who is most sincere to creation and most eloquent in what he speaks. "Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His servant." What harm is there to us? We are in danger if we say that the meaning of joy is the reward, because the people of distortion say that Allah does not rejoice, and the meaning of His joy is rewarding the one who repents, or the intention of reward. Because they affirm creation, meaning that Allah has a created thing separate from Him, and they affirm the will, do they not?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : They affirm the will and say that the joy is the created reward, or the intention of reward, or the intention of reward. And we say the meaning of joy is joy in reality, just as the meaning of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is His Self in reality, and there is no difference. But we never liken the attributes of Allah to our attributes. From this hadith, in addition to affirming joy for Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is derived the perfection of His mercy, Exalted and Majestic is He, and His compassion for His servants, in that He loves the return of the sinner to Him. This great love: one who flees from Allah, then stops and returns to Allah, and Allah rejoices in him with this great joy, despite His perfect self-sufficiency regarding us and our intense need for Him. From the practical aspect, it benefits us to strive, and what should we strive for?
The student: Repentance.
The Shaykh : To strive for repentance with utmost effort. Whenever we commit a sin, we repent to Allah. Allah, the Exalted, said in describing the righteous:[Ali 'Imran 3:135] They committed a heinous deed. Yes, for example,
The student: What heinous deed?
The Shaykh : What heinous deed? In the Qur'an, there are three heinous deeds: zina (unlawful sexual intercourse), liwat (sodomy), and marriage to those who are prohibited (mahram). Is that correct?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Marriage to those who are prohibited. Allah, the Exalted, said: "And do not marry what your fathers have married. Indeed, it was a heinous deed and hateful, and evil as a way."
The student: Except what has already passed.
The Shaykh : Except what has already passed. Yes.[An-Nisa 4:22] Lot said to his people: Yes, good. So [Ali 'Imran 3:135] means they said "There is no god but Allah" and did not mention Allah, the Exalted, in their hearts. They mentioned His greatness, and they mentioned His punishment, and they mentioned His reward for those who repent. Yes, which one?
The student: The second.
The Shaykh : It appears to be the second: they mentioned Allah and sought forgiveness for their sins. They did so, but they mentioned Allah and sought forgiveness for their sins. Will Allah forgive them? Yes.
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : The evidence:[Ali 'Imran 3:135] Who forgives sins? So if you know that Allah rejoices in your repentance with this joy that has no parallel, you will undoubtedly strive with utmost effort for repentance. And repentance has conditions; five conditions. The first is sincerity to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, such that showing off to people or seeking fame among them or similar worldly aims do not drive you to repent. The second: regret for the sin. The third: abandoning it. And part of abandoning it, if the repentance concerns the rights of human beings, is to return the right to its owner. The fourth: if I said something wrong, correct me. The fourth: that one does not return to it, or the intention not to return?
The student: The intention.
The Shaykh : Ah, the intention not to return. What is the difference between them? The difference is that if one returns after the validity of the repentance, the first repentance is not invalidated. For this reason, we say the intention not to return is the condition, not that one does not return. Good, the intention not to return in the future.
The fifth: that the repentance be in the time of acceptance. The acceptance of repentance is cut off for the general people by the rising of the sun from the west, and for each individual by the arrival of his death. Allah, the Exalted, said:[An-Nisa 4:18] And it is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 38:482 People believe, but the faith of a soul does not benefit it if it did not believe before or earn good in its faith. These are five conditions. If they are met, the repentance is valid. But is it a condition for the validity of repentance that one repents from all sins? Yes.
The student: There is a difference of opinion, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : There is a difference of opinion, but the correct view is that it is not a condition, and that repentance from a sin is valid while persisting in another. But this repentant person is not described as one of the "repentant ones" in an absolute sense. It is not said that he repented with an absolute repentance; rather, it is said he repented with a restricted repentance. So if someone drinks intoxicants, may Allah protect us, and consumes riba (usury or interest), and repents from drinking intoxicants, is his repentance valid or not?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : His repentance is valid.
The student: From the intoxicants.
The Shaykh : From the intoxicants. His repentance from the intoxicants is valid, and his sin in consuming riba remains, but he is not described as one of the "repentant ones" in an absolute sense. The praise of the repentant ones and the station of the repentant ones is not attained by him, because he is still persisting in sin. Good, a man in whom the conditions are met, the five conditions, and he returns to the sin again. Is his first repentance invalidated or not?
The student: No, it is not invalidated.
The Shaykh : It is not invalidated? So
The student: As we said.
The Shaykh : Yes, it is not invalidated, because he intended not to return, but his soul tempted him and he returned. He must repent a second time, and so on. Whenever he sins, he repents. Whenever he sins, he repents. And the bounty of Allah is vast. And Allah knows best.
The student: Shaykh, the evidence...
The Shaykh : In the evidence, yes.
Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His servant than if one of you
لله أشد فرحا بتوبة عبده من أحدكم براحلته"Allah" — the "lam" here is the initial particle, and "Allah" is the subject, while "ashadd" (more) is the predicate of the subject, and "firaan" (joy) is the specification. "Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His servant when he repents to Him than one of you is with his mount." The author said "the hadith," meaning he completed the hadith. The hadith is that this man had his mount with him, on which was his food and drink, but it strayed from him. He went looking for it but did not find it, so he despaired of life — he despaired of life — and then he lay down under a tree, waiting
The student: for death.
The Shaykh : for death. Then, lo and behold, the reins of his camel were hanging from the tree. Can you now estimate this joy?
The student: It is immense.
The Shaykh : Yes, I am asking you: can you or cannot? I know it is immense.
The student: No.
The Shaykh : You cannot. No one can describe this joy except one who has experienced it. As you said, by Allah, this is immense joy. It makes one turn to the world after having turned away from it, but we do not feel the taste of this joy unless a person is struck by it. Nothing compares to it. For this reason, this man held onto the reins of the camel and said, "O Allah, You are my slave and I am your Lord" — Allahu Akbar — he made a mistake out of the intensity of the joy, meaning he could not control how he spoke. "O Allah, You are my slave and I am your Lord." Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is more pleased with the repentance of His servant when he repents to Him than this man is with his mount. And does Allah, Mighty and Majestic, need our repentance? No, by Allah. We are in need of Him in all our states, but by His glory, Exalted and Majestic is He, and His love for excellence, generosity, and bounty. O Allah, You are the Forgiver and You love forgiveness. He, Glorified and Exalted is He, rejoices with this joy that has no parallel at the repentance of the human being when he repents to Him. In this hadith is the affirmation of joy for Allah, Mighty and Majestic. So what do we say about this joy? Is it a real joy that Allah rejoices? Yes.
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Fear Allah.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Is it a real joy?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, we say it is a real joy and the greatest joy. So we affirm joy for Allah, Mighty and Majestic, in reality. But is it like the joy of the created beings?
The student: No.
The Shaykh : No, it is not like the joy of the created beings. Joy, for a human being, is a thrill that a person feels from within himself when something that pleases him occurs, and a lightness. For this reason, you feel that when you are joyful about something, it is as if you are walking on air, not on the ground. Yes. But as for Allah, Mighty and Majestic, we do not interpret joy as we know it from ourselves. We say it is a joy
The student: befitting Him.
The Shaykh : befitting Him, Mighty and Majestic, like the rest of the attributes. Just as we say Allah has a Self, but it does not resemble our selves, nor is it like our selves, so He has attributes that do not resemble our attributes, because the discussion of attributes is a branch of the discussion
The student: of the Self.
The Shaykh : of the Self. They are the same. So we affirm and believe that Allah, the Exalted, has joy, just as the one who knows Him best, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), affirmed it, and the one who is most sincere to creation and most eloquent in what he speaks. "Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His servant." What harm is there to us? We are in danger if we say that the meaning of joy is the reward, because the people of distortion say that Allah does not rejoice, and the meaning of His joy is rewarding the one who repents, or the intention of reward. Because they affirm creation, meaning that Allah has a created thing separate from Him, and they affirm the will, do they not?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : They affirm the will and say that the joy is the created reward, or the intention of reward, or the intention of reward. And we say the meaning of joy is joy in reality, just as the meaning of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is His Self in reality, and there is no difference. But we never liken the attributes of Allah to our attributes. From this hadith, in addition to affirming joy for Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is derived the perfection of His mercy, Exalted and Majestic is He, and His compassion for His servants, in that He loves the return of the sinner to Him. This great love: one who flees from Allah, then stops and returns to Allah, and Allah rejoices in him with this great joy, despite His perfect self-sufficiency regarding us and our intense need for Him. From the practical aspect, it benefits us to strive, and what should we strive for?
The student: Repentance.
The Shaykh : To strive for repentance with utmost effort. Whenever we commit a sin, we repent to Allah. Allah, the Exalted, said in describing the righteous:
And those who, when they commit an immorality
والذين إذا فعلوا فاحشةThe student: What heinous deed?
The Shaykh : What heinous deed? In the Qur'an, there are three heinous deeds: zina (unlawful sexual intercourse), liwat (sodomy), and marriage to those who are prohibited (mahram). Is that correct?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Marriage to those who are prohibited. Allah, the Exalted, said: "And do not marry what your fathers have married. Indeed, it was a heinous deed and hateful, and evil as a way."
The student: Except what has already passed.
The Shaykh : Except what has already passed. Yes.
Indeed, it was an immorality and hateful [to Allah] and was evil as a way.
إنه كان فاحشة ومقتا وساء سبيلاAnd do not approach zina. Indeed, it is a shameful act.
ولا تقربوا الزنا إنه كان فاحشةDo you approach the shameful act?
أتأتون الفاحشةAnd those who, when they commit an immorality or wrong themselves [by transgression], remember Allah
الذين إذا فعلوا فاحشة أو ظلموا أنفسهم ذكروا اللهThe student: The second.
The Shaykh : It appears to be the second: they mentioned Allah and sought forgiveness for their sins. They did so, but they mentioned Allah and sought forgiveness for their sins. Will Allah forgive them? Yes.
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : The evidence:
and who can forgive sins except Allah?
ومن يغفر الذنوب إلا اللهThe student: The intention.
The Shaykh : Ah, the intention not to return. What is the difference between them? The difference is that if one returns after the validity of the repentance, the first repentance is not invalidated. For this reason, we say the intention not to return is the condition, not that one does not return. Good, the intention not to return in the future.
The fifth: that the repentance be in the time of acceptance. The acceptance of repentance is cut off for the general people by the rising of the sun from the west, and for each individual by the arrival of his death. Allah, the Exalted, said:
But repentance is not [accepted] of those who [continue to] do evil deeds up until, when death comes to one of them, he says, "Indeed, I have repented now,"
وليست التوبة للذين يعملون السيئات حتى إذا حضر أحدهم الموت قال إني تبت الآنthat repentance is cut off when the sun rises from the west
أن التوبة تنقطع إذا طلعت الشمس من مغربهاThe student: There is a difference of opinion, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : There is a difference of opinion, but the correct view is that it is not a condition, and that repentance from a sin is valid while persisting in another. But this repentant person is not described as one of the "repentant ones" in an absolute sense. It is not said that he repented with an absolute repentance; rather, it is said he repented with a restricted repentance. So if someone drinks intoxicants, may Allah protect us, and consumes riba (usury or interest), and repents from drinking intoxicants, is his repentance valid or not?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : His repentance is valid.
The student: From the intoxicants.
The Shaykh : From the intoxicants. His repentance from the intoxicants is valid, and his sin in consuming riba remains, but he is not described as one of the "repentant ones" in an absolute sense. The praise of the repentant ones and the station of the repentant ones is not attained by him, because he is still persisting in sin. Good, a man in whom the conditions are met, the five conditions, and he returns to the sin again. Is his first repentance invalidated or not?
The student: No, it is not invalidated.
The Shaykh : It is not invalidated? So
The student: As we said.
The Shaykh : Yes, it is not invalidated, because he intended not to return, but his soul tempted him and he returned. He must repent a second time, and so on. Whenever he sins, he repents. Whenever he sins, he repents. And the bounty of Allah is vast. And Allah knows best.
The student: Shaykh, the evidence...
The Shaykh : In the evidence, yes.