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ୗ ࢀ I 1² |,,_ c \.ࢂࢃࢄࢅ ि , 15.JI 1\ ̴1·J- ी1 J ௱ , B പ r ..r.-- , if , J-1. Y , ,. ,,,. ,,,. ,,,. .!... ,, ,,. ,,. ji "l'• ,,.. ,,. ,.. / / ୕ ,,. ,,. ,.. ,,. u ; ; ; ,.. , ,,. J ,,. .,. \..J ""G I ࢛.:1; "GI T,,..-. .-,; ೘. I '/  .:J\ ࡼࡽ- ..:lाG r, / p " .) (.)y. J-'4. · Ã @ . . ധ ,,. ; ....__.,.; .. ,,.. ,.. / ,,. ,..

" / "::·a1\j 0·\j 0:_1 r .]t.:JI yl[ ୓j 1/;;ǃ i.;..,;.͞ ... i'L / .". ; ,_ Jj\; ୙ _ _ ::stu··'"1\v .] ) ;. _._;__r.஺- . J ୔ ./ "Say: Shall I not inform you of things far better than those [things of this world]? For the pious there are gardens with their Lord, wherein rivers flow. Therein [is their] eternal home and [for them are] pure spouses. And Allah will be pleased with them.

And Allah is All-Seer of the slaves. Those who say, 'Our Lord! We have indeed believed, so forgive us our sins and save us from the punishment of the Fire.' They are those who are patient, those who are true, and obedient with sincere devotion in worship to Allah. Those who spend [in charity] and those who pray and beg for Allah's forgiveness in the also hours of the night" (ali-Imraan 1 5-17). Allah also says, Hadith #42: "O son of Adam, as long as you call on Me . . .

" iJ -- cj d\ aef)::UT C--l 9) r ̠--!)̡ "And those who, when they have committed illicit acts or wronged themselves with evil, remember Allah and ask forgiveness for their sinsand who can forgive sins except Allah? And they do not persist in what [wrong] they were doing while they know it. For such, the reward is forgiveness from their Lord and gardens with rivers flowing through, wherein they shall abide forever. How excellent is this reward for the doers [of good]" (ali-Imraan 1 35-136). Is Seeking Forgiveness Sufficient or Must One Also Repent?

Many times seeking Allah's forgiveness is mentioned along with repentance. For example, Allah says, ,.. ,J f ,.. ,., / ,,. / J.J. ஠ >J J . ...

J ...._ ,, . ". ,,. ., ,,. ,,. "' \ J I / ,, ,, ,,. •. J .... :Ȥ1 ୒J J୓ .i..UIJ .. =J./4--"" U .ui -y.7 J୯ .... ,,. ,,. A "Will they not repent to Allah and ask His forgiveness?

For Allah is Oft­ Forgiving, Most Merciful" (al-Maaidah 74). However, in the hadith under discussion, this particular hadith, there is only mention of seeking Allah's forgiveness and the result is that the act is forgiven. According to some of the commentators on this hadith, the mention of forgiveness here implies its being accompanied by repentance. Al-Nawawi, for example, explicitly states this in his commentary to this hadith. 1 Al-Haitami also seems to support this interpretation. 2 According to ibn Rajah, when seeking forgiveness and repentance are mentioned together, the two have different implications. Seeking forgiveness implies the verbal act of requesting forgiveness while repentance implies both removing oneself from the sin with both the heart and body and the feeling of remorse.

According to lbn Rajah, some say that when seeking forgiveness is mentioned by itself (without mention of repentance), it implies both forgiveness and repentance. Others, however, say it implies asking forgiveness without continually making the sin, as in that case Allah forgives the sins even 1 See al-Nawawi, Sharh al-Arbaeen (Ridha), p. 93. 2 Al-Haitami, Fath, p. 285. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi though the other conditions of repentance have not been met. 1 The last view is based on an understanding of the verse of the Quran quoted above, l/;--=--'" .. Li ;1\ lJfa« ¬f 1:; .. ii; jf R \ \!\ ----: --!.:J\j \. \,J ,,.. ; ..._.; .... .. '"' ' \.'1:-ੱG 1 1¦ \ t ' :-!' ­\ ®1 ._:., '.¯\ ' · ?- .

'' '" '·ࡺ °J .r--- r...sJ± rJ ; · 'Y ొif J ऻJ-' , ,,, . _'_I:-. -:._.JÝ "And those who, when they have committed illicit acts or wronged themselves with evil, remember Allah and ask forgiveness for their sinsand who can forgive sins except Allah? And they do not persist in what [wrong] they were doing while they know it" (ali-Imraan 135). The Conditions for Repentance In conclusion, this hadith which refers to seeking forgiveness either implies seeking the forgiveness while repenting or only seeking forgiveness while discontinuing the wrong deed. It seems that the first view, wherein repentance is also implied, is the most popular with many scholars. In his monumental work on the terminology of the Quran, al-Isfahaani pointed out that repentance is not simply a matter of stopping one's sins but is also to refrain, in the most beautiful manner, from sinning and to amend for one's deeds in the best way possible.2 So, in order to repent properly, it is important to realize the conditions for a sound repentance.

(These conditions were given earlier, but due to their importance they shall be reiterated here in a slightly different manner.) They are: (1) The repentance must be sincerely and solely for the sake of Allah and to please Him. (2) The repentant person must feel remorse for the sin he committed and should wish that he had never done that act. (3) The person must immediately stop performing the wrong act that he was doing. If the act was an obligatory act that he failed to perform, he must perform it immediately. If the wrong he did violated the rights of any other person, he must fulfill that person's right, seek his forgiveness and settle the matter with the other person.

Concerning the rights of others, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) stated, 1 Ibn Rajab, Jaami, vol. 2, pp. 407-408. Cf., al-Haitami, Fath, p. 285; al-Bugha and Mistu, pp. 361-362. 2 Al-Raaghib al-Isfahaani, Mufradaat Aljaadh al-Quran (Damascus: Dar al-Qalam, 1997), p. 169. Hadith #42: "O son of Adam, as long as you call on Me . . . " ,; J. o ,; ,,.. ,; Ol!P o,... ,; ,. .... o ,; ,; . स " . • , Ji·- , हI J 0 J 1 1 ' ୘-1 , 0 , 0 ., • 0 c., " , 1 1· , J I 0 ୗ. ,.... 0 , u J u i ത ഥ i:. • J - ) ദ .o.; ..:....r u . . .... - . - , - I.,?"" ,, J, u- ,., u ' "Whoever has wronged another person concerning his honor or anything else should beg him for forgiveness now before there comes a time when there will be neither dinars or dirhams. [Otherwise,] if he has good deeds, they will be taken from him according to the amount of wrong that he did. If he does not have any good deeds, some of the evil deeds of his companion will be taken and loaded upon him." (Recorded by al-Bukhari.) (4) The person must be of resolute intention not to perform that sin again in the future.

(5) The act of repentance must be done before it is "too late" for the person, such as when his time of death has come or when the sun rises from the West as a sign of the Day of Judgment. Allah says in the Quran, J ., ,., / ,.. ::; ,.,,, ;:;I :;I ,.,, ,... uj.:JI «:G-i Ƶ \?\ .T঺ ..::_.,\;:-"'I\ 0;1::7 n -.!..W ࡹj:JI ऺJ \ T " '-.:> ,... ...._,,; .. ,... .... ; ; ; .... ,... ... .J. t. ::; ,... ,.,,, ., ,., J Ll:C.i .!..Wji )ા ¬) s;;.;. :-:!.:J1 2) : ,;11 ,- ,._Ji ࢙-1 Ju ; \. . u .. ,,, (_) rs-:; "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 of those who die while they are disbelievers. For them We have prepared a painful torment" (al­ Nisaa 18).1 "if you were to come to Me with ... and you would then meet Me without ascribing any partners with Me ... " This portion of the hadith implies that forgiveness will only come to those who meet Allah (die) while adhering to tauheed. The key to forgiveness has been given: adhering to tauheed and avoiding any form of shirk.

Whoever is missing this key will not achieve Allah's forgiveness. Allah says in the Quran, (. !}̟ 2j :L::.; E ²,³ wdž c Ǎ ୣii੷§ư J ࡸ :; 2 Ŷ1 01 - 1 Cf., ibn Muhammad, p. 229; Sultaan, pp. 366-368. 131 7 Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi "Verily, Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with him in worship, but He forgives whatever is less than that for whomever He wills. And whoever sets up partners with Allah has indeed invented a tremendous sin" (al-Nisaa 48). In another passage, Allah has stated virtually the same thing: (. ,.. ,,,. !1!"§ư 2.J @Li; A B·? o.,