. J (cont.)

The one who says 1 lbn Uthaimeen, Sharh Riyaadh, vol. 3, p. 1 56. 2 For the most part, the following is based on ibn Uthaimeen, Sharh Riyaadh, vol. 3, pp. 156161. 3 Recorded by Ahmad and others. According to al-Albaani, it is sahih. See al-Albaani, sahih al­ Jaami, vol. 2, p. 1 150. Hadith #24: "O My Servants, I have Forbidden Wrongdoing . . . " he repents and continues to commit the same sin is, says ibn Uthaimeen, lying and ridiculing Allah. Part of repentance is to undo a wrong that someone has committed toward someone else. For example, if a person stole something from someone else, he must return the stolen property to the rightful owner, if possible. If that is not possible, the thief should give the item or a similar amount of wealth away in charity, with the intention that the reward will go to the one from whom he stole. If a person backbit another or fought with another, he must go to that person and ask that person for forgiveness. 1 (4) The person must be determined not to repeat that sin again. If a person claims to repent but he knows that if he could get the opportunity to perform that sin again, he would do so, he has not repented properly. If, however, he should slip in the future and commit that sin again, although he desired never to do so again, this would not affect his original act of repentance. Instead, he must repent anew for the new sin that he has committed. ( 5) The person must repent before it is too late. A person must repent before he starts feeling the pangs of death and knows that he is dying. Allah says in the Quran, J ,, ,,,, ... ,.. ;:;:i ,., ;;:; ::Ii ,., ... JHI «i;_i Ƶ l?I .TI JlK:Lll 0;1::; ೥-:!.ill L.ij:JI MJ \ .. "" \...> ... "--"' .. ,,.. ... / / / ,.. / ... J (. ;;jJ :i,., ..,, ,., J. G:Ci .!.Wji )ub ¬j +; :-:!..:u1 dj : ·KI\ N"/; "·1 Ju  r · u.. ... c:..r-' ೤  "And of no effect is the repentance of those who continue to do evil deeds until death faces one of them and he says, 'Now, I repent,' nor for those who die while they are unbelievers. For them We have prepared a painful torment" (al­ Nisaa 1 8). Every sinner should do his best to tum to Allah and seek forgiveness from Allah. Allah is pleased with the repentance of His servants and is willing to forgive them. Instead of feeling complete despair for past sins, everyone should realize that the door to repentance is open. Furthermore, due to the effects of repentance and the change in one's heart in the process, one may be in a better state after repentance then he was before he committed the sin. This was the case, for example, with Adam. Adam committed a sin. He then felt remorse and his heart turned sincerely to Allah with repentance. Thereafter, his faith and belief were better than before. Allah says, ... ,,.. ,., J. ::Ii i:Uj ::Jc y8 J%J ;.&/-;.1 ઄ ƴ ୤ J'J r;1; oj 1 The exception to this general rule is if the person felt that by doing such, the harm would be much greater than the benefit. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi "Thus did Adam disobey his Lord, so he went astray. Then his Lord chose him, and turned to him with forgiveness, and gave him guidance" (Taha 121-122). "O My servants, you will not be able to harm Me so as bring to Me any harm, and you will not able to benefit Me so as to bring Me any benefit." Allah is not in need of any of His creation. He is self-sufficient and perfect. He is not in need of any assistant, spouse or son to assist Him or benefit Him in any way. All creatures can neither benefit nor harm Allah in any way. Allah has said, J /. .,. J ,,,. Lj J)j ® ଠ 8i L ଡ UJ੾ -;r1 /_;'llj }I ciLlC:j ,.. ... ,,.. \- "' ... ฯ,, ... " u " ,,.. ,, ... ,,,. ... J ,,,. .. ,,.,, .... J .. J J J ;::;;::; ,.,, ... J 4 ..1 /. J 9J t J : 9I :I J; J\j) I _y. 4\ll 0; ੿ 9઀ 01 -4 1 "And I [Allah] created not the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me [alone]. I seek not any provision from them nor do I ask that they should feed Me. Verily, Allah is the All-Provider, Owner of Power, the Most Strong" (al-Dhaariyaat 56-58). Allah also says, ~I !- ' ϧii Y, dlj :ti J/ I Tfoil ϡt . Jul ࢩ ... rs;-- ,,  u · "O mankind! It is you who stand in need of Allah. But Allah is Rich [free of all needs], Worthy of all praise" (F aatir 1 5).