How to Repent from Injustices
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Question:
I was a person of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, and Allah granted me the favor of Islam. Before that, I had committed some injustices, which I cannot mention here. I have heard the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in which he says:, to the end of the hadith.
What advice do you offer me, Your Eminence the Shaykh, may Allah preserve and protect you?
Answer:
Allah has prescribed repentance for His servants. Allah the Exalted said: [Surat al-Nur: 31], and He the Exalted said: [Surat al-Tahrim: 8], and He the Glorious and Exalted said: [Surat Ta-Ha: 82]. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sunan Ibn Majah 4250Da’if (Darussalam).
So whoever commits any of the sins must hasten to repent, feel remorse, abandon the sin, be cautious, and resolve not to return to it. And Allah accepts the repentance of the one who repents, as long as he is sincere in his repentance with remorse for what has passed, a resolve not to return to it, and abandoning it out of reverence for Allah and fear of Allah. Then he will be accepted, and Allah will erase from him the sins that have passed, by His grace and kindness .
But if the sin is an injustice against the servants of Allah, this requires fulfilling the right. He must repent from what occurred through remorse, abandoning it, and resolving not to return to it. In addition to that, he must fulfill the right of its owner, or seek his forgiveness, such as saying, "Forgive me, my brother," or "Pardon me," or something similar, or give him his right. This is based on the hadith mentioned by the questioner and other hadiths and verses. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: This is its recompense.
Therefore, the believer should strive to be free and safe from the right of his brother. He must either fulfill it or seek his forgiveness. If it concerns his honor, he must seek his forgiveness if he is able. If he is not able, or if he fears the consequences of it, and that informing him would lead to greater evil, then he should seek forgiveness for him and make du'a' for him. He should mention the good qualities he knows about him, instead of the bad things he mentioned. That is, he washes away the previous bad deeds with the later good deeds. He mentions the good he knows about him, without lying, and spreads his good qualities, in contrast to the bad deeds he spread previously. He seeks forgiveness for him and makes du'a' for him, and by this, the problem is resolved.
I was a person of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, and Allah granted me the favor of Islam. Before that, I had committed some injustices, which I cannot mention here. I have heard the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in which he says:
Whoever has an injustice against his brother, whether regarding his honor or anything else, let him seek his forgiveness today, before there is no dinar or dirham.
من كانت عنده مظلمة لأخيه من عرضه أو من أي شيء فليتحلله منه اليوم قبل ألا يكون دينار ولا درهمWhat advice do you offer me, Your Eminence the Shaykh, may Allah preserve and protect you?
Answer:
Allah has prescribed repentance for His servants. Allah the Exalted said:
And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed.
وَتُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ جميعًا أَيُّهَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَO you who have believed, repent to Allah with sincere repentance.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا تُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَوْبَةً نَصُوحًاBut indeed, I am the Perpetual Forgiver of whoever repents and believes and does righteousness and then continues in guidance.
وَإِنِّي لَغَفَّارٌ لِمَنْ تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا ثُمَّ اهْتَدَىThe one who repents from sin is like one who did not sin.
التائب من الذنب كمن لا ذنب لهSo whoever commits any of the sins must hasten to repent, feel remorse, abandon the sin, be cautious, and resolve not to return to it. And Allah accepts the repentance of the one who repents, as long as he is sincere in his repentance with remorse for what has passed, a resolve not to return to it, and abandoning it out of reverence for Allah and fear of Allah. Then he will be accepted, and Allah will erase from him the sins that have passed, by His grace and kindness .
But if the sin is an injustice against the servants of Allah, this requires fulfilling the right. He must repent from what occurred through remorse, abandoning it, and resolving not to return to it. In addition to that, he must fulfill the right of its owner, or seek his forgiveness, such as saying, "Forgive me, my brother," or "Pardon me," or something similar, or give him his right. This is based on the hadith mentioned by the questioner and other hadiths and verses. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Whoever has an injustice against his brother, let him seek his forgiveness today, before there is no dinar or dirham. If he has a good deed—meaning the wrongdoer—[it will be] taken from the bad deeds of his victim and placed upon him.
من كان عنده لأخيه مظلمة فليتحلله اليوم قبل ألا يكون دينار ولا درهم، إن كان له عمل صالح -يعني الظالم- أخذ من سيئات صاحبه فحمل عليهTherefore, the believer should strive to be free and safe from the right of his brother. He must either fulfill it or seek his forgiveness. If it concerns his honor, he must seek his forgiveness if he is able. If he is not able, or if he fears the consequences of it, and that informing him would lead to greater evil, then he should seek forgiveness for him and make du'a' for him. He should mention the good qualities he knows about him, instead of the bad things he mentioned. That is, he washes away the previous bad deeds with the later good deeds. He mentions the good he knows about him, without lying, and spreads his good qualities, in contrast to the bad deeds he spread previously. He seeks forgiveness for him and makes du'a' for him, and by this, the problem is resolved.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.