Major Sins Are Expiated by Sincere Repentance
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
His Eminence Shaykh Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz (may Allah preserve him and grant him piety).
Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings. And after that:
Please inform us, may Allah reward you, regarding the issue of declaring a person a disbeliever for committing major sins, and whether repentance is necessary for them, or whether acts of obedience such as prayer and others expiate them without repentance? And may Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings; after that:
The evidence from the Noble Book and the Pure Sunnah all indicates that major sins are only expiated by sincere repentance, and their perpetrator is under the will of Allah if he dies upon them as a Muslim, due to the saying of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) : [Al-Nisa: 31], and His saying (Mighty and Majestic): [Al-Furqan 25:68] his punishment will be doubled on the Day of Resurrection, and he will abide therein in humiliation except for him who repents and believes and does righteous work the verse [Al-Furqan: 68-70], and His saying (Mighty and Majestic): [An-Nisa 4:48] the verse [Al-Nisa: 48], and the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Mishkat al-Masabih 564 narrated by Muslim in his Sahih, and the verses and hadiths in this meaning are numerous.
And by this it is known that the absolute verses and absolute hadiths regarding the expiation of evil deeds by good deeds are restricted by the restricted texts regarding avoiding major sins, and this is a legal principle among the people of knowledge, and success is from Allah.
And may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his companions.
Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz
Grand Mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
His Eminence Shaykh Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz (may Allah preserve him and grant him piety).
Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings. And after that:
Please inform us, may Allah reward you, regarding the issue of declaring a person a disbeliever for committing major sins, and whether repentance is necessary for them, or whether acts of obedience such as prayer and others expiate them without repentance? And may Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings; after that:
The evidence from the Noble Book and the Pure Sunnah all indicates that major sins are only expiated by sincere repentance, and their perpetrator is under the will of Allah if he dies upon them as a Muslim, due to the saying of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) :
If you avoid the major sins which you are forbidden, We will remove from you your lesser sins and admit you to a noble entrance [into Paradise].
إِنْ تَجْتَنِبُوا كَبَائِرَ مَا تُنْهَوْنَ عَنْهُ نُكَفِّرْ عَنْكُمْ سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ وَنُدْخِلْكُمْ مُدْخَلًا كَرِيمًاAnd 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.
وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَدْعُونَ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَهًا آخَرَ وَلَا يَقْتُلُونَ النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ وَلَا يَزْنُونَ وَمَنْ يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ يَلْقَ أَثَامًا Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَنْ يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُThe five [daily] prayers, Friday to Friday and Ramadan to Ramadan make atonement for what has happened since the previous one when major sins have been avoided.
الصلوات الخمس والجمعة إلى الجمعة ورمضان إلى رمضان كفارات لما بينهن إذا اجتنبت الكبائرAnd by this it is known that the absolute verses and absolute hadiths regarding the expiation of evil deeds by good deeds are restricted by the restricted texts regarding avoiding major sins, and this is a legal principle among the people of knowledge, and success is from Allah.
And may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his companions.
Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz
Grand Mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.