The Ruling on One Who Repents from Immoralities and Abominations and Then Returns to Them
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Question:
This questioner says: And then, to the honorable Shaykh Abdul Aziz, may Allah prolong his life, Lord of the Worlds, and may He make him a treasure for this Ummah. Amen. I have, O honorable Shaykh, three questions for which I seek an answer.
The first is: I am, O honorable Shaykh, a person who believes in the Lord, and praise be to Him for that. I perform the prayer, and I fast as well. I have performed the 'Umrah thirteen times so far, and I am nineteen years old. For about the past six years, I have been doing something that the Lord and His Messenger do not approve of, and that is—may Allah protect us from it—sodomy and the secret habit. In our past year, during the spring break (1404 AH), we went to Makkah to perform 'Umrah, and 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. 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) began, and the mid-year exams started—which have passed about two months ago—I returned—may Allah protect us from it—to the habit of sodomy, and then I left it. I ask your eminence to issue a ruling on this and inform me, may Allah reward you, so that I may repent to Allah with a sincere repentance. And what is the path to that?
Answer:
Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) has forbidden us the immoralities, whether apparent or hidden, and has made it obligatory upon us to repent with sincere repentance from all sins. 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 comes 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 you must be resolute in repentance, and sincere in your repentance, and you must stay away from breaking it, and you must beware of the schemes of Satan. For Satan is a clear enemy, and he has deputies among humans who call to immoralities and abominations and make them attractive. 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 and such," "Allah is such and such," until they cause you to fall into what Allah has forbidden. And perhaps your term of life will come while you are in the sins of Allah ﷺ, and you will be prevented from repenting. There is no power and no strength except with 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 were not preceded by anyone, the people of Lot, no one preceded them to this immorality 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 sound mind; because it is a crime more heinous than the crime of unlawful sexual intercourse, may Allah protect us from it.
So one must beware, and repent with sincere repentance, and stay away from the causes of that, and from mixing with those who call to that, or drag one to that, or with whom the soul desires to do that. 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 to keep the company of the righteous, 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 then, to the honorable Shaykh Abdul Aziz, may Allah prolong his life, Lord of the Worlds, and may He make him a treasure for this Ummah. Amen. I have, O honorable Shaykh, three questions for which I seek an answer.
The first is: I am, O honorable Shaykh, a person who believes in the Lord, and praise be to Him for that. I perform the prayer, and I fast as well. I have performed the 'Umrah thirteen times so far, and I am nineteen years old. For about the past six years, I have been doing something that the Lord and His Messenger do not approve of, and that is—may Allah protect us from it—sodomy and the secret habit. In our past year, during the spring break (1404 AH), we went to Makkah to perform 'Umrah, and 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. 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) began, and the mid-year exams started—which have passed about two months ago—I returned—may Allah protect us from it—to the habit of sodomy, and then I left it. I ask your eminence to issue a ruling on this and inform me, may Allah reward you, so that I may repent to Allah with a sincere repentance. And what is the path to that?
Answer:
Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) has forbidden us the immoralities, whether apparent or hidden, and has made it obligatory upon us to repent with sincere repentance from all sins. 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.
أَفَلا يَتُوبُونَ إِلَى اللَّهِ ويَسْتَغْفِرُونَهُ واللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌSo you, O questioner, must fear Allah, and you must be resolute in repentance, and sincere in your repentance, and you must stay away from breaking it, and you must beware of the schemes of Satan. For Satan is a clear enemy, and he has deputies among humans who call to immoralities and abominations and make them attractive. 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 and such," "Allah is such and such," until they cause you to fall into what Allah has forbidden. And perhaps your term of life will come while you are in the sins of Allah ﷺ, and you will be prevented from repenting. There is no power and no strength except with 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:
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.
إِنَّكُمْ 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 repent with sincere repentance, and stay away from the causes of that, and from mixing with those who call to that, or drag one to that, or with whom the soul desires to do that. 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 to keep the company of the righteous, 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.