What is the method of repentance from sodomy and the secret habit?
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Question:
This questioner says: And after that, to the virtue of Shaykh Abdul Aziz, may Allah prolong his life, Lord of the Worlds, and may He make him a storehouse for this Ummah. Amen. For me, O virtuous Shaykh, there are three questions I wish to have answered.
The first: That I, O virtuous Shaykh, am a person who believes in the Lord, and praise is due to Him for that, and I perform the prayer, and fasting likewise, and I have performed the 'Umrah thirteen times so far, and my age is nineteen years. And for about six years that have passed, I have been doing something that the Lord does not approve of, nor His Messenger, and it is—seeking refuge in Allah—sodomy and the secret habit. So in our past year, and during the spring break (1404 AH), we went to Makkah to perform 'Umrah, so I resolved to repent to Allah from these two bad habits, so I repented, and praise be to Allah for that. When Ramadan came in the same year, I performed 'Umrah again, and the problem is that when Ramadan ended, I returned to the secret habit only, and I did not return to sodomy. And when our year (1405 AH) entered, and the mid-year exams began, which have passed since about two months ago, I returned—seeking refuge in Allah—to the habit of sodomy, and I left it. And I wish from your virtue to issue a ruling on that, and to benefit me, may Allah reward you, so that I repent to Allah with a sincere repentance, and what is the path to that?
Answer:
Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) has forbidden for us the shameful deeds, whether apparent or hidden, and has made obligatory upon us sincere repentance from all sins. So He said ﷺ: [An-Nur: 31], and He said, Exalted is He: [At-Tahrim: 8], and He said, Exalted is He: [Al-Ma'idah: 74]. These verses, and what came in their meaning, all indicate the obligation of repentance, and that He ﷺ has opened its doors and made it easy for His servants. So you, O questioner, must fear Allah, and be resolute in repentance, and be sincere in repentance, and stay away from breaking it, and beware of the schemes of Shaytan, for Shaytan is a clear enemy, and he has deputies from among humans who call to shameful deeds and wrongs and make them attractive, and they make breaking repentance attractive, and they say: Allah is Forgiving and Merciful, Allah is the One who accepts repentance and is Wise, Allah is such, Allah is such, until they cause you to fall into what Allah has forbidden. And the term of your life may come upon you while you are in the sins of Allah ﷺ, so you will be prevented from repentance, and there is no power nor strength except by Allah.
So it is obligatory upon you to be resolute in repentance, and to be sincere in repentance from sodomy, and from the secret habit. These two are forbidden, and sodomy is greater and more heinous; because sodomy is among the major sins, and among the greatest crimes. It came in the hadith:As-Sunan al-Kubra lil-Nasa'i 52:204, and Allah said in His great Book regarding the people of Lot: [Al-'Ankabut: 28]. So He informed that the people of Lot, no one preceded them to this shameful deed from those before them. We ask Allah for safety. And in the hadith: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1456Hasan (Darussalam), and the scholars of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) agreed that the one who commits sodomy and the one with whom it is committed are to be killed if they are of age and sane; because it is a crime more heinous than the crime of unlawful sexual intercourse, seeking refuge in Allah.
So one must beware, and have sincere repentance, and stay away from the causes of that, and from mixing with those who call to that, or drag to that, or the soul desires to do that with them. One must beware of those, for the company of the wicked is among the greatest causes of evil, and among the greatest incitements to evil; so one must stay away from the company of the wicked, and one must strive for the company of the good, along with asking Allah for steadfastness, and success in standing firm on repentance, and not breaking it.
And likewise, the secret habit is a bad and wrong habit. Allah said about it and what is in its meaning:[Al-Mu'minun 23:5] EXCEPT WITH THEIR WIVES OR WHAT THEIR RIGHT HANDS POSSESS, THEN THEY ARE NOT BLAMABLE BUT WHOEVER SEEKS BEYOND THAT, THEN IT IS THEY WHO ARE THE TRANSGRESSORS [Al-Mu'minun: 5-7], meaning: the wrongdoers. And the secret habit is not the wife, and not what the right hand possesses, so it is among the transgression and wrong. And in it are many harms as the people of knowledge have explained, and the people of medicine have explained.
So you must beware of it; because it is a bad and wrong habit. Beware of it and beware of it, and beware of it, and beware of one who points to it, or calls to it.
We ask Allah for us and for you guidance and steadfastness upon the truth and sincerity in repentance.
This questioner says: And after that, to the virtue of Shaykh Abdul Aziz, may Allah prolong his life, Lord of the Worlds, and may He make him a storehouse for this Ummah. Amen. For me, O virtuous Shaykh, there are three questions I wish to have answered.
The first: That I, O virtuous Shaykh, am a person who believes in the Lord, and praise is due to Him for that, and I perform the prayer, and fasting likewise, and I have performed the 'Umrah thirteen times so far, and my age is nineteen years. And for about six years that have passed, I have been doing something that the Lord does not approve of, nor His Messenger, and it is—seeking refuge in Allah—sodomy and the secret habit. So in our past year, and during the spring break (1404 AH), we went to Makkah to perform 'Umrah, so I resolved to repent to Allah from these two bad habits, so I repented, and praise be to Allah for that. When Ramadan came in the same year, I performed 'Umrah again, and the problem is that when Ramadan ended, I returned to the secret habit only, and I did not return to sodomy. And when our year (1405 AH) entered, and the mid-year exams began, which have passed since about two months ago, I returned—seeking refuge in Allah—to the habit of sodomy, and I left it. And I wish from your virtue to issue a ruling on that, and to benefit me, may Allah reward you, so that I repent to Allah with a sincere repentance, and what is the path to that?
Answer:
Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) has forbidden for us the shameful deeds, whether apparent or hidden, and has made obligatory upon us sincere repentance from all sins. So He said ﷺ:
And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed.
وَتُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَO you who have believed, repent to Allah with sincere repentance.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا تُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَوْبَةً نَصُوحًاSo will they not repent to Allah and seek His forgiveness? And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
أفَلا يَتُوبُونَ إِلَى اللَّهِ ويَسْتَغْفِرُونَهُ واللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌSo it is obligatory upon you to be resolute in repentance, and to be sincere in repentance from sodomy, and from the secret habit. These two are forbidden, and sodomy is greater and more heinous; because sodomy is among the major sins, and among the greatest crimes. It came in the hadith:
May Allah curse the one who does the deed of the people of Lot, may Allah curse the one who does the deed of the people of Lot, may Allah curse the one who does the deed of the people of Lot
لعن الله من عمل عمل قوم لوط، لعن الله من عمل عمل قوم لوط، لعن الله من عمل عمل قوم لوطIndeed, you commit such immorality as no one has preceded you with from among the worlds.
إنَّكُمْ لَتَأْتُونَ الْفَاحِشَةَ مَا سَبَقَكُمْ بِهَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِنَ الْعَالَمِينَWhomever you find doing the actions of the people of Lut then kill the one doing it, and the one it is done to.
من وجدتموه يعمل عمل قوم لوط، فاقتلوا الفاعل والمفعول بهSo one must beware, and have sincere repentance, and stay away from the causes of that, and from mixing with those who call to that, or drag to that, or the soul desires to do that with them. One must beware of those, for the company of the wicked is among the greatest causes of evil, and among the greatest incitements to evil; so one must stay away from the company of the wicked, and one must strive for the company of the good, along with asking Allah for steadfastness, and success in standing firm on repentance, and not breaking it.
And likewise, the secret habit is a bad and wrong habit. Allah said about it and what is in its meaning:
And they who guard their private parts
وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِفُرُوجِهِمْ حَافِظُونَ So you must beware of it; because it is a bad and wrong habit. Beware of it and beware of it, and beware of it, and beware of one who points to it, or calls to it.
We ask Allah for us and for you guidance and steadfastness upon the truth and sincerity in repentance.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.