Sins, their effects and Repentance in Islam

[ColonelHardstone]

http://central-mosque.com/index.php/Soul/repentance.html

 

 

[Acacia]

Brother, mind if I copy/paste the article into your post with a link to the source?

[ummtaalib]

No need to ask Acacia...our respected brother wont mind inshaAllah

 

Taking the liberty and posting it below : )

[ummtaalib]

Sins, their effects and Repentance in Islam

 

 

[5:39] Whoever repents after his transgression and corrects himself, then Allah shall relent towards him. Surely, Allah is Most-Forgiving, Very-Merciful.

 

Devastation of sinning:

 

We (human beings) are spiritual beings in addition to being physical entities. Our Creator (Allah) has placed an innate desire (a homing beacon) within our souls for us to accept goodness and to feel guilty on breaching the commands of our Creator. We have to go against our natural (primordial) nature to become satisfied (or even live) with a state of disobedience. Our natural and upright nature is to accept the commands of our Creator and to be obedient as stated in the Qur’aan:

 

فَأَقِمۡ وَجۡهَكَ لِلدِّينِ حَنِيفً۬ا‌ۚ فِطۡرَتَ ٱللَّهِ ٱلَّتِى فَطَرَ ٱلنَّاسَ عَلَيۡہَا‌ۚ لَا تَبۡدِيلَ لِخَلۡقِ ٱللَّهِ‌ۚ ذَٲلِكَ ٱلدِّينُ ٱلۡقَيِّمُ وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَڪۡثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا يَعۡلَمُونَ

 

[30:30] So, set your face to the Faith uprightly, this (faith) being the nature designed by Allah on which He has created the mankind. There is no change in Allah‘s creation. That is the straight faith, but most of the people do not know.

 

Whenever a sin is committed (a disobedience of the Creator) those who still have a good (uncorrupted sound) nature will become restless and won’t find peace. This is the reason why you find people repenting, crying, being remorseful and constantly reflecting upon the sin. However, the devastation of sins is not just limited to being restless its effects are multifaceted and affect many aspects of our lives. Shaykh (Imam) Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya (RA) has mentioned up to 10 side effects of sin:

 

Deprivation of Knowledge:

 

حرمان العلم ، فإن العلم نور يقذفه الله في القلب ، والمعصية تُطفئ ذلك النور . ولما جلس الشافعي بين يدي مالك وقرأ عليه أعجبه ما رأى من وفور فطنته ، وتوقُّد ذكائه ، وكمال فهمه ، فقال : إني أرى الله قد ألقى على قلبك نوراً ، فلا تُطفئه بظلمة المعصية

 

Being deprived of knowledge for knowledge is light that Allaah causes to reach the heart, and sin extinguishes that light. When Imam Al-Shafi‘i (RA)Al-Shafi‘i (RA)  sat before Imam Malik ibn Anas (RA)Malik ibn Anas (RA) and read to him, he admired him because of the intelligence, alertness and understanding that he saw in him. He said:

 

“I think that Allah has caused light to enter your heart, so do not extinguish it with the darkness of sin.”
 

 

Deprivation of Provisions:

 

حرمان الرزق ففي مسند الإمام أحمد عن ثوبان قال : قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم : " إن الرجل ليُحرم الرزق بالذنب يُصيبه " رواه ابن ماجه

In Musnad Ahmad it is narrated that Sayyidina Thawbaan (RA) said: “The Messenger of Allaah (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) said: "A man is deprived of provision because of the sins that he commits." [ibn Majah]

 

Alienation from Creator

 

وحشة تحصل للعاصي بينه وبين ربه ، وبينه وبين الناس .قال بعض السلف : إني لأعصي الله ، فأرى ذلك في خلق دابتي وامرأتي

 

Sense of alienation that comes between a person and his Lord, and between him and other people. One of the salaf (righteous predecessors) said:

 

“If I disobey Allah, I see that in the attitude of my riding beast and my wife.”

 

Life becomes difficult:

 

تعسير أموره عليه ، فلا يتوجه لأمرٍ إلا ويجده مغلقاً دونه أو متعسراً عليه ، وهذا كما أن من اتقى الله جعل له من أمره يسرا

 

Things become difficult for him, so that he does not turn his attention towards any matter but he finds the way blocked or he finds it difficult. By the same token, for the one who fears Allaah, things are made easy for him as stated in the Qur'aan:

 

وَمَن يَتَّقِ ٱللَّهَ يَجۡعَل لَّهُ ۥ مَخۡرَجً۬  وَيَرۡزُقۡهُ مِنۡ حَيۡثُ لَا يَحۡتَسِبُ‌ۚ وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلۡ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسۡبُهُ

 

[65:2]... Whoever fears Allah, He brings forth a way out for him, [65:3] and provides him (with what he needs) from where he does not even imagine.
 

 

Heart is darkened:

 

 

أن العاصي يجد ظلمةً في قلبه ، يُحس بها كما يحس بظلمة الليل ، فتصير ظلمة المعصية لقلبه كالظلمة الحسية لبصره ، فإن الطاعة نور ، والمعصية ظلمة ، وكلما قويت الظلمة ازدادت حيرته حتى يقع في البدع والضلالات والأمور المهلكة وهو لا يشعر ، كأعمى خرج في ظلمة الليل يمشي وحده ، وتقوى هذه الظلمة حتى تظهر في العين ، ثم تقوى حتى تعلو الوجه، وتصير سواداً يراه كل أحد . قال عبد الله بن عباس : " إن للحسنة ضياءً في الوجه ، ونوراً في القلب ، وسعةً في الرزق ، وقوةً في البدن ، ومحبةً في قلوب الخلق ، وإن للسيئة سواداً في الوجه ، وظلمةً في القلب ، ووهناً في البدن , ونقصاً في الرزق ، وبغضةً في قلوب الخلق " .

 

The sinner will find darkness in his heart, which he will feel just as he feels the darkness of night. So this darkness affects his heart as the physical darkness affects his vision. For obedience is light and disobedience is darkness. The stronger the darkness grows, the greater becomes his confusion, until he falls into innovation, misguidance and other things that lead to doom, without even realizing, like a blind man who goes out in the darkness of the night, walking alone This darkness grows stronger until it covers the eyes, then it grows stronger until it covers the face, which appears dark and is seen by everyone. Sayyidina ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Abbaas (RA) said:

 

“Good deeds make the face light, give light to the heart, and bring about ample provision, physical strength and love in people’s hearts. Bad deeds make the face dark, give darkness to the heart, and bring about physical weakness, a lack of provision and hatred in people’s hearts.”
 

 

Deprivation of Obedience & Worship

 

حرمان الطاعة ، فلو لم يكن للذنب عقوبةٌ إلا أن يُصدَّ عن طاعةٍ تكون بدله ، وتقطع طريق طاعة أخرى ، فينقطع عليه بالذنب طريقٌ ثالثة ثم رابعة وهلم جرا ، فينقطع عنه بالذنب طاعات كثيرة ، كل واحدة منها خير له من الدنيا وما عليها ، وهذا كرجل أكل أكلةً أوجبت له مرضاً طويلا منعه من عدة أكلات أطيب منها والله المستعان

 

If sin brought no punishment other than that it prevents a person from doing an act of worship which is the opposite of sin, and cuts off access to other acts of worship, that would be bad enough. So the sin cuts off a third way and a fourth way and so on, and because of the sin he is cut off from many acts of worship, each of which would have been better for him than this world and everything in it. So he is like a man who eats food that is bound to cause a lengthy sickness, and thus he is deprived of many other foods that are better than that. And Allaah is the One Whose help we seek.

Sin breeds sin:

 أن المعاصي تزرع أمثالها ، ويُولِّد بعضها بعضاً ، حتى يعز على العبد مفارقتها والخروج منها

 

Sin breeds sin until it dominates a person and he cannot escape from it.

 

Weakens willpower:

 

أن المعاصي تُضعف القلب عن إرادته ، فتقوى إرادة المعصية ، وتضعف إرادة التوبة شيئاً فشيئاً إلى أن تنسلخ من قلبه إرادة التوبة بالكلية ، ... فيأتي من الاستغفار وتوبة الكذابين باللسان بشيءٍ كثير ، وقلبه معقودٌ بالمعصية ، مُصرٌ عليها ، عازم على مواقعتها متى أمكنه ، وهذا من أعظم الأمراض وأقربها إلى الهلاك

 

It gradually strengthens his will to commit sin and weakens his will to repent until there is no will in his heart to repent at all… so he seeks forgiveness and expresses repentance, but it is merely words on the lips, like the repentance of the liars, whose hearts are still determined to commit sin and persist in it. This is one of the most serious diseases that are most likely to lead to doom.

 

Desensitisation towards sin and evil:

 

أنه ينسلخ من القلب استقباح المعصية فتصير له عادة ، لا يستقبح من نفسه رؤية الناس له ،ولا كلامهم فيه .

وهذا عند أرباب الفسوق هو غاية التهتك وتمام اللذة ، حتى يفتخر أحدهم بالمعصية ، ويُحدِّث بها من لم يعلم أنه عملها ، فيقول : يا فلان ، عملت كذا وكذا . وهذا الضرب من الناس لا يعافون ، ويُسدُّ عليهم طريق التوبة ،وتغلق عنهم أبوابها في الغالب . كما قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم : " كلُّ أمتي معافى إلا المجاهرون ، وإنَّ من المجاهرة : أن يستر الله العبد ثم يُصبح يفضح نفسه ويقول : يا فلان عملت يوم كذا .. كذا وكذا ، فيهتك نفسه وقد بات يستره ربه "

 

He will become desensitized and will no longer find sin abhorrent, so it will become his habit, and he will not be bothered if people see him committing the sin or talk about him.

 

For the leaders of immorality, this is the ultimate shamelessness in which they find great pleasure, such that they feel proud of their sin and will speak of it to people who do not know that they have done it, saying, “O so and so, I did such and such.” Such people cannot be helped and the path to repentance is blocked for them in most cases.

 

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “All of my ummah (followers) will be fine except for those who commit sin openly, and that includes cases where Allaah conceals a person’s sin, but the following morning he exposes himself and says, ‘O So and so, I did such and such last night, so he shamelessly exposes himself when all night his Lord had concealed his sin.”[bukhari]

 

 

Hearts is stamped/marked:

 

أن الذنوب إذا تكاثرت طُبِعَ على قلب صاحبها ، فكان من الغافلين . كما قال بعض السلف في قوله تعالى : { كلا بل ران على قلوبهم ما كانوا يكسبون } قال : هو الذنب بعد الذنب

 

When there are many sins they leave a mark on the heart of the person who commits them, so he becomes one of the negligent. As one of the salaf said, concerning the aayah (verse):

 

[83:14] No! But that which they used to commit has covered their hearts with rust.

 

 

this means sin after sin.

 

Witnesses of sinning:

 

There is no such thing as a “private sin” in Islam. There are multiple witnesses to every sin as follows:

Earth witnesses sins and its testimony against you:

 

إِذَا زُلۡزِلَتِ ٱلۡأَرۡضُ زِلۡزَالَهَا وَأَخۡرَجَتِ ٱلۡأَرۡضُ أَثۡقَالَهَا   وَقَالَ ٱلۡإِنسَـٰنُ مَا لَهَا  يَوۡمَٮِٕذٍ۬ تُحَدِّثُ أَخۡبَارَهَا

 

 

[99:1] When the earth will be trembled with its quake, [99:2] and the earth will bring forth its burdens, [99:3]and man will say, .What has happened to it?. [99:4] That day it will describe all its happenings

 

 

 

 

ٱلۡيَوۡمَ نَخۡتِمُ عَلَىٰٓ أَفۡوَٲهِهِمۡ وَتُكَلِّمُنَآ أَيۡدِيہِمۡ وَتَشۡہَدُ أَرۡجُلُهُم بِمَا كَانُواْ يَكۡسِبُونَ

 

[36:65] Today We will set a seal on their mouths, and their hands will speak to Us, and their legs will bear witness about what they used to do.

 

Angels witness sins and their testimony against you:

وَإِنَّ عَلَيۡكُمۡ لَحَـٰفِظِينَ كِرَامً۬ا كَـٰتِبِينَ يَعۡلَمُونَ مَا تَفۡعَلُونَ

 

[82:10] while (appointed) over you there are watchers, [82:11] who are noble, writers (of the deeds), [82:12] who know whatever you do

 

Sin is recorded in your book of deeds:

وَإِذَا ٱلصُّحُفُ نُشِرَتۡ

 

[81:10] and when the scrolls (of deeds) will be unrolled

 

I have sinned, what now?

 

You need to understand that Allah (SWT) has created human weak and perfection is not an attribute of our creation. Our Creator knows that we are weak and He (SWT) intends to then make things easy for us when we make mistakes, Allah (SWT) declares in the Qur’aan:

 

يُرِيدُ ٱللَّهُ أَن يُخَفِّفَ عَنكُمۡ‌ۚ وَخُلِقَ ٱلۡإِنسَـٰنُ ضَعِيفً۬ا

 

[4:28] Allah intends to make things easy on you. And man has been created weak

.

 

It is understood as part of our (weak) nature that we will commit sins from time to time. It is expected from him to occasionally slip up but then we are advised to acknowledge our weakness, acknowledge our error, repent and turn to Allah (SWT). Those of us who acknowledge our weakness and errors with humility and then turn to our Creator seeking forgiveness are considered the best. Seeking forgivnes is what sets apart the humble and the haughty, the submissive from the arrogant and the modest from the proud.

 

كل ابن آدم خطاء وخير الخطائين التوابون

 

Nabi (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) said, "Every son of Adam sins, and the best of those who sin are those who repent" [Tirmidhi]

 

Allah (SWT) is the Most Merciful of those who show Mercy and every ready to shower and immerse us in Mercy. He (SWT) looks for opportunities to shower his Mercy upon those who have turn to him in sincerity seeking forgiveness.

 

عن أبي هريرة ، عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال :  إن لله مائة رحمة ، أنزل منها رحمة واحدة بين الجن والإنس والبهائم والهوام ، فبها يتعاطفون ، وبها يتراحمون ، وبها تعطف الوحش على ولدها ، وأخر الله تسعا وتسعين رحمة ، يرحم بها عباده يوم القيامة

 

 

Sayyidina Abu Hurayrah (RA) narrated that Nabi (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) said: “Allah has one hundred parts of mercy, of which He sent down one between the jinn, mankind, the animals and the insects, by means of which they are compassionate and merciful to one another, and by means of which wild animals are kind to their offspring. And Allah has kept back ninety-nine parts of mercy with which to be merciful to His slaves of the Day of Resurrection.” [Muslim]
 

In fact, Allah (SWT) is so eager to forgive that he (SWT) has declared that if we didn’t commit sins (thus for Allah (SWT) to forgive) then he would replace us by those who sin so Mercy can be showered upon them!

 

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لَوْ لَمْ تُذْنِبُوا لَذَهَبَ اللَّهُ بِكُمْ وَلَجَاءَ بِقَوْمٍ يُذْنِبُونَ فَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ اللَّهَ فَيَغْفِرُ لَهُمْ

 

 

Sayyidina Abu Hurayrah (RA) narrated that Nabi (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) said: “By Him in whose hand is my soul, if you did not sin Allah would replace you with people who would sin and they would seek the forgiveness of Allah and He would forgive them.” [Muslim]

 

So what do I have to do to seek forgiveness from Allah (SWT)?

 

In Islam, repentance has to fulfil 3 conditions and a 4th additional condition if the sin was committed towards another human, Imam Nawawi (RA) enumerates them are as follows:

Disconnect and detach yourself from the sin:

أحدها أن يقلع عَنْ المعصية

 

Feel remorseful over the sin:

 

والثاني أن يندم عَلَى فعلها

Commit to not repeating the sin, permanently:

 

والثالث أن يعزم أن لا يعود إليها أبدا

 

Absolve yourself from the rights of another human:

 

وإن كانت المعصية تتعلق بآدمي فشروطها أربعة: هذه الثلاثة وأن يبرأ مِنْ حق صاحبها. فأن كانت مالا أو نحوه رده إليه، وإن كان حد قذف ونحوه مكنه مِنْه أو طلب عفوه، وإن كانت غيبة استحله مِنْها

 

But if the sin involves a human's right, it requires a fourth condition, i.e., to absolve onself from such right. If it is a property, he should return it to its rightful owner. If it is slandering or backbiting, one should ask the pardon of the offended.
 

 

What should I do after I have repented? And what happens when I commit the sin, again?

 

The conditions of repentance (above) have to be valid at the time of seeking forgiveness. A sound (firm) intention is needed. Once you have turned to Allah (SWT) with sincerity and repented then don’t dwell on the matter! It is part of human nature to slip up then you need to seek forgiveness again. Don’t be despondent of the Mercy of Allah (SWT) and don’t be tricked by the Shaytaan into thinking that your repentance is futile!  We must try our human best to resist and leave the sin and this doesn’t mean that the person should continue to sin (willing and voluntarily) and also keep seeking repentance. There has to be a genuine effort to break the cycle of sin.

 

قال [ عمر بن عبد العزيز ] : " أيها الناس مَن ألمَّ بذنبٍ فليستغفر الله وليتب ، فإن عاد فليستغفر الله وليتب ، فإن عاد فليستغفر وليتب ، فإنما هي خطايا مطوَّقة في أعناق الرجال ، وإن الهلاك في الإصرار عليها "

 

Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azeez (RA) said: O people, whoever commits a sin, let him seek the forgiveness of Allah and repent, and if he repeats it, let him seek the forgiveness of Allah and repent, and if he repeats it, let him seek the forgiveness of Allah and repent, for it is like chains around the neck of man, and doom lies in persisting in it.

 

 

قيل للحسن البصري : ألا يستحيى أحدنا من ربه يستغفر من ذنوبه ثم يعود ، ثم يستغفر ثم يعود ؟ فقال : ود الشيطان لو ظفر منكم بهذا ، فلا تملُّوا من الاستغفار

 

It was said to al-Hasan al-Basri (RA): Would not any one of us feel ashamed before his Lord to seek forgiveness from his sin then go back to it, then seek forgiveness then go back to it? He said: The shaytan would like you to feel that way; never give up seeking forgiveness.

 

What do you mean by perpetual repentance?
 

A sincere believer is someone who is full of servitude and humility. He accepts that despite his best efforts he can never fulfil the rights of Allah (SWT) as they ought to be fulfilled, his best in devotion and exertion in performing acts of worship will fall short of when compared to the grandeur and rights of Allah (SWT). Importantly, he never regards his efforts to be exemplary, rather relies solely on the Mercy of Allah (SWT). Our Nabi (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) despite being (the highest) of the Prophets still turned to Allah (SWT) hundred times a day so where are we?

 

وعن الأَغَرِّ بْن يَسار المُزنِيِّ رضي الله عنه قال : قال رسول الله صَلّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وسَلَّم :  يا أَيُّها النَّاس تُوبُوا إِلى اللَّهِ واسْتغْفرُوهُ فإِني أَتوبُ في اليَوْمِ مائة مَرَّة

 

Sayyidina Al-Agharr bin Yasar Al-Muzani (RA) narrated that: The Messenger of Allah (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) said: "Turn you people in repentance to Allah and beg pardon of Him. I turn to Him in repentance a hundred times a day". [Muslim]

 

قَالَ اللَّهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ إِنَّكَ مَا دَعَوْتَنِي وَرَجَوْتَنِي غَفَرْتُ لَكَ عَلَى مَا كَانَ فِيكَ وَلَا أُبَالِي يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ لَوْ بَلَغَتْ ذُنُوبُكَ عَنَانَ السَّمَاءِ ثُمَّ اسْتَغْفَرْتَنِي غَفَرْتُ لَكَ وَلَا أُبَالِي يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ إِنَّكَ لَوْ أَتَيْتَنِي بِقُرَابِ الْأَرْضِ خَطَايَا ثُمَّ لَقِيتَنِي لَا تُشْرِكُ بِي شَيْئًا لَأَتَيْتُكَ بِقُرَابِهَا مَغْفِرَةً

 

Allah, Blessed and Exalted, says: O son of Adam, however much you call upon Me and place your hopes in Me, I will forgive you without any reservation. O son of Adam, if you have sins piling up to the clouds and then ask My forgiveness, I will forgive you without any reservation. O son of Adam, if you come to me with enough sins to fill the earth, and meet Me without associating anything as a partner with Me, I will come to you with enough forgiveness to fill the earth. [Tirmidhi]

 

Therefore a daily schedule should be organised and sometime set aside for Astaghfaar (daily recitation of (أستغفر الله) astaġfiru l-lāh i.e. "I seek forgiveness from Allah". This can be recited any number of time but for the sake of consistency and developing a perpetual habit a count of 100 should be set and this should be recited 100 times daily.

 

We have recorded some daily recitations in this article for anyone to benefit and formulate their own schedule and routine.

 

Should I tell others about my sin?

 

Absolutely not!

 

If Allah (SWT) has been Merciful to you and your wrongdoing has been hidden from people then you should not disclose and publicise your sin. If you wish to ask people to make dua for you to remain steadfast then you can say in general terms that I made a mistake and I request that you make dua for Allah (SWT) to prevent me from making the same (or similar) mistake again.

 

The disclosure of sins is strictly forbidden under normal circumstances.

 

أبي هريرة ـ رضي الله عنه ـ أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: كل أمتي معافى إلا المجاهرين، وإن من المجاهرة أن يعمل الرجل بالليل عملاً، ثم يصبح وقد ستره الله عليه فيقول: يا فلان عملت البارحة كذا كذا، وقد بات يستره ربه ويصبح يكشف ستر الله عنه

 

Sayyidina Abu Hurayra (RA) reports that the Messenger of Allah (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) said, “All my Community will be excused except those who are blatant. And it is from blatancy for one to perform an act at night and to wake up and tell something that they did such-and-such, while Allah had concealed it for them. They slept under the cover of Allah, and they rended Allah’s covering from themselves in the morning.” [bukhari]

 

Conclusion:

 

We conclude this brief treatise with the dua for Allah (SWT) to give us and all Muslims the ability to repent (sincerely), routinely and perpetually (Ameen) and end this piece with this beautiful narration about the Mercy of Allah (SWT).

 

إذا تاب العبد أنسى الله الحفظة ذنوبه و أنسى ذلك جوارحه و معالمه من الأرض حتى يلقى الله و ليس عليه شاهد من الله بذنب

 

 

When a servant repents then Allah (SWT) makes the Angels (Kiraman Katibeen) forget his sin and makes the limbs (which committed the sin) forget them and the Earth (where the sin was committed) forget them until he will meet Allah (SWT) on the day of judgement in a state that there will be no witness upon his sin [Jam’e As-Sagheer]

 

 

The ordeal of sincere repentance Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadhul-Haq (HA)

AUDIO at CENTRA-MOSQUE

[ColonelHardstone]

Brother, mind if I copy/paste the article into your post with a link to the source?

 

 

No need to ask Acacia...our respected brother wont mind inshaAllah

 

Taking the liberty and posting it below : )

 

More imortant is to please inform of errors or improvments or stuff which has been missed.

 

Please feel free to say what needs to be added...

 

While doing research I found that many Salafi sites translate Mujahireen as Muhajireen in the Hadeeth about disclosing sins which is pretty hilarious :P The best translation (used) is from Shaykh Faraz Rabbani (HA)'s Canadian site.

 

Google that Hadeeth and enjoy the DIY translation (butchering of the Hadeeth)  :)

 

المجاهرين as Muhajireen...Hmm