How to seek forgiveness.
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
(May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
Asalamualaikum
Warahmatullah I wanted to ask if someone in the past has sinned by stealing
something but is now truly sorry for those sins and ashamed for having ever
commited them and they turn to Allah the most merciful to forgive them what
should he/she do if they still have the items they stole but it`s not possible
to return them to the person they were taken off? what course of action should
one take?
Jazakallah
(There may be some grammatical and spelling
errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in
confidentiality.)
Answer:
How to seek
forgiveness
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His
help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide,
and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear
witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear
witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His
Messengers.
Whatever deeds one might have done, if one turns to Allah Subhanah in sincere
Taubah and seeks forgiveness, Allah
Subhanah has promised in the Holy Quran that He will forgive all the sins of
such a believer, even if one has
committed the gravest sin of all: ‘Shirk’!
Not only that, our Lord is so
Merciful and Generous, that He not only
will forgive the sins of the believer,
He will change his evil deeds done into good deeds!
The conditions or ways to seek sincere Taubah or
Repentance from the Merciful Lord are:
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah
Zumur verses 53-54:
(O Prophet) say: “O My servants who have wronged
their own souls….Do not despair of Allah’s Mercy! Surely,
Allah forgives all sins. He indeed
is the All Forgiving, All Merciful. Return to your Lord and submit to Him before
the scourge overtakes you; for then you
may get no help from anywhere.”
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale
Imraan verse 135-136:
Allah likes such good people very much,
who, if ever they commit a base deed or
wrong their own soul by the commission of a sin, remember Allah instantly, and ask for forgiveness from Him for their
shortcomings. For who, but Allah,
can forgive sins? (And Allah
loves those) who do not knowingly persist in the wrongs they did. These will be rewarded with forgiveness from
Allah, and with Gardens beneath which
canals flow, and they will reside therein
forever! How excellent is the reward of
those who do good deeds!
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 25 Surah
Furqaan verses 63-71:
The (true) servants of the Merciful are those
who walk humbly on the earth. When the
ignorant people behave insolently towards them,
they say, “Peace to you”; (And
those) who pass their nights in prostrating themselves and standing before
their Lord and pray, “O our Lord, save
us from the torment of Hell, for its
torment is killing! It is an evil abode, and an evil resting place”. (And those) who, when they spend are neither extravagant, nor miserly,
but keep the golden mean between the two extremes. (And those) who do not invoke any god but
Allah Alone, nor kill a soul
unjustly, which Allah has forbidden, nor commit adultery… He who does this shall
be punished for his sin, and his torment
shall be doubled on the Day of Resurrection,
and he shall abide in a state of ignominy; EXCEPT THE ONE WHO MAY HAVE REPENTED (AFTER
THOSE SINS), AND HAVE BELIEVED AND DONE
RIGHTEOUS DEEDS. For then, Allah will change his evil deeds into good
deeds, and He is very Forgiving and
Merciful. In fact, one who repents and does righteous
deeds, returns to Allah as one rightly
should!
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah
Anaam verse 54:
When those come to you who believe in Our
Signs, say: "Peace be on you! Your Lord had inscribed for Himself (the rule
of) Mercy. Verily if any of you did evil
in ignorance, and thereafter repented
and amended (his conduct), Lo! He is
Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2357 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Mas'ud
Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "He who
repents of a sin is like him who has committed no sin."
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2338 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar
Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "Allah
accepts a servant's repentance (taubah) till he gives up his spirit in
death."
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2339 Narrated by Abu Sa'id
Allah's Messenger (saws) said that the
Shaytaan said, "By Thy Might, my Lord, I shall continue to lead Thy
servants astray as long as their spirits are in their bodies!" The Lord, Who is Great and Glorious, replied,
"By My Might, Glory and Exalted Station, I shall continue to pardon them
as long as they ask My forgiveness!"
Your
Question: …..what should he/she do if they still have the items they stole but
it`s not possible to return them to the person they were taken off? what course
of action should one take?
If one has stolen
some things or unjustly usurped the rights of another in one’s past, and
subsequently they turned unto their Lord and sought sincere forgiveness….they
should manifest their ‘taubah’ unto their Lord by striving their absolute
utmost to search for the person whose rights they had unjustly taken, return
their goods back to them and also seek their forgiveness.
If the person from whom they stole has died, then they
should strive to return the stolen property to their legal heirs. But in the case where the person from whom
they stole in the past is absolutely unreachable, then the person should either
sell the goods and give the cash unto charity or give the goods which he
unjustly stole to charity with the intention that the reward for the charity is
deposited in the account of the rightful owner of the property…..this would
serve as a manifestation of their sincere ‘taubah’ unto their Lord Most
Gracious, Most Merciful.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only
due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me
alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is
the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan