Repentance (Tawba) is the sorry feeling after committing a forbidden action and then having the
fear of Allahu ta’ala and having a strong resolution (Azm) not to do it again. One's repentance
due to the fear that he might be punished by worldly disasters would not be repentance. While
one is committing several different types of sins, one's repentance for some types of sins would
be valid (Sahih) while one insists committing some other types of sins. After repentance, one's
repeating the same sin again and then repenting again would be valid. Repeating this chain of
repenting, committing the sin again, repenting again several times would be valid. Forgiveness of
a grave sin certainly requires repentance. Five daily "salat" prayers, Friday "salat" prayer, fasting
during the month of Ramadan, going for pilgrimage (Hajj), making repentance, avoiding
committing grave sins and all similar worships would be a reason for the forgiveness of small
sins. Repentance for disbelief and other types of sins, when done according to their conditions,
would surely be accepted. A pilgrimage carried out by sincerity and by observing all of its
conditions is called "Hajj al-Mabrur". "Hajj al-Mabrur" causes all types of sin to be forgiven
except the sin earned due not performing the obligatory duties on their prescribed times and sins
earned due violating others' rights. In order for these two types of sins to be forgiven, one has to
carry out those omitted obligatory duties and one has to compensate the right owners for their
violated rights. "Hajj al-Mabrur" does not cause forgiveness of the sins earned due not
performing the obligatory (Fard) duties but, it causes forgiveness of the sins earned by not doing
the obligatory duties on their prescribed times. After the pilgrimage, if he does not immediately
start to perform the omitted obligatory duties, the sin of postponing the obligatory duties will
start again and as time passes it will increase many folds. Postponing is a grave sin. Everybody
should understand this point clearly. The hadith, "The sins of a person who performs "Hajj al-
Mabrur" will be forgiven. He will be like a newly borned," points out that the sins other than
the sin earned due not performing the obligatory duties and sins earned due violating others’
rights will be forgiven. We are also informed that the prayers done by Rasulullah, peace be upon
him, on the night of "Arifa" and at the place of "Muzdalifah" for the forgiveness of the sin of the
pilgrims are of this kind. There are also some scholars who stated that the sins earned due not
performing the obligatory duties and sins earned by violating others’ rights are also included in
the forgiveness. Their statements are for those who make the repentance but who are physically
unable to carry out those "Fards" or unable to compensate the violated rights of others. The114th verse of "Hud" chapter of Qur'an states, "Good deeds 'Hasanat' will annihilate sins."
Scholars interpreted this verse as when the unperformed obligatory duties are performed then the
sin will be forgiven. When one hears that someone has backbitten him, if he becomes sad
because of what has been sad then this will be an additional grave sin for the backbiter. The good
deed (Hasanat) which will cause forgiveness of that grave sin is to get the forgiveness of the
backbitten person.
Repenting as soon as comitting a sin is obligatory. Postponing the repentance for that sin is a
grave sin. Repentance for the postponement is also necessary. The sin earned by not doing the
obligatory duties will only be forgiven when the respective obligatory duty is carried out. For all
kinds of sins, repenting through spiritual heart, repenting by tongue and compensating through
the body is necessary. Saying "Subhanallah-il-azim wa bi-hamdihi" hundred times, giving
alms and fasting for one day is very beneficial.
Thirty first verse of the "Nur" chapter of the Qur'an states, "Oh believers! Turn (repent)
towards Allah." Eighth verse of the "Tahrim" chapter of the Qur’an states, "Do perform
'tawba al-nasuh' to Allah." The word "nasuh" in this verse was interpreted twenty-three
different ways. The most famous interpretation is having the sorry feeling and saying the
repentance through tongue and deciding strongly not to do it again. 222th verse of the "Baqara"
chapter of the Qur’an states, "Allah loves those who do repentance 'Tawba'."
Following hadith states, "The best of you is the one who do repentance 'Tawba' immediately
after committing a sin." The biggest sins are disbelief, hypocrisy, and losing one's faith or
apostasy (Irtidad).
[A person who did not become or refuses to become a Muslim is called a disbeliever (Kafir). The
disbeliever who pretend to be Muslim in order to deceive Muslims is called hypocrite (Munafiq)
and (Zindiq). A person who becomes a disbeliever while he was a Muslim is said to be
committed apostasy (Irtidad). A person who commits apostasy is called an apostate (Murtad).
If these three categories of persons believe from their hearts sincerely, certainly they will become
Muslims.
The following is written in the section of disasters of the tongue in the books Barika and Hadika
and in the Majma'ul-anhur: a man or woman Muslim will lose his or her belief and will become
an apostate if he or she willingly says a word or does a deed, even without thinking the meaning
of it, without being coerced to say it or to do it, e.g., just to make a joke, while he or she knows
that saying or doing it will cause disbelief according to the unanimity of scholars. This is called
disbelief due stubbornness (Kufr-i inadi). If he or she willingly says a word or does a deed
without being coerced and without knowing that doing or saying will cause disbelief, he or she
still becomes an apostate. This is called disbelief due to ignorance (Kufr-i Jahli). Because, it is
obligatory (Fard) for every Muslim to learn those things that he or she must know. Not knowing
is not an excuse and it is a grave sin. Those who become an apostate (Murtad) due to "Kufr-i
jahli" or "Kufr-i inadi" will lose their marriage contract (Nikah). He should first get a proxy
(Wakalat) from his wife and then he should renew the marriage contract (Tajdid an-nikah) by
either in the presence of two witnesses or in the mosque (Masjid) together with the congregation
(Jama’at). It is not necessary to make "Hulle" after more than two renewals (Tajdid an-nikah).
If he says the word which causes disbelief by mistake or by metaphoric language which can be
interpreted differently or by coercion then he will not become an apostate and it will not be
necessary to renew the marriage contract. If the word which is used by a person willingly
without any coercion is not decided by the unanimity of the scholars as a word which causes
disbelief then the person does not become an apostate. But, as a precautionary measure he shouldmake repentance and renew his marriage contract. We cannot think that those Muslims who go
to the mosques will ever become apostates through "Kufr-i jahli" or "Kufr-i inadi" (see above)
but we can only think that they may lose their belief due to this last described state. For this
reason, the "Imams" of the congregation (Jama’at) should direct the congregation to read the
following prayer in order to make repentance and to renew their marriage contract (Nikah):
"Allahuumma inni uridu an ujaddidal-imana wannikaha tajdidan bi-kawli la-ilaha illallah
Muhammmadun Rasulullah." By doing this, the commandment ordered in the hadith, "By
saying la ilaha illallah renew your belief." will be carried out.
The belief which does not conform to the belief taught by the "Ahl as-sunnat scholars" is called
deviation ("Bidat" or "Dalalat") from the right path. The greatest sin after the disbelief is to
become performer of "Bidat" ("Ahl-i Bidat" or or man of "Bidat".) Among the "Ahl-i Bidat",
those who try to spread their "Bidat" among the Muslims will be committing many folds of sins.
The followings would be necessary to deal with these people: the government officials should
strike them with heavy punishments; the scholars should advise them through speeches or
through their writings; and the lay Muslims should avoid associating with them or reading their
books and magazines. One should be very alert in order not to be deceived by their lies, slanders
and provocative words. At present, the "la-madhhabiyyas", the followers of Mawdudi, Sayyid
Qutb, and ignorants who are called Tabligh al-Jama’at and finally those who surface under the
name of pseudo shaikhs and pseudo leaders of Sufi paths (Tariqats) are using all kinds of means
in order to spread their corrupt and deviated beliefs. They are preparing all kinds of
unimaginable and unthinkable tricks and traps in order to deceive Muslims and in order to smash
and destroy "Ahl as-sunnat" through their souls (Nafs) and through the help of the devil. They
continue their cold war against the "Ahl as-sunnat" by spending their properties and millions of
dollars. It is necessary for the youngsters to learn the religion of Islam and the right path (Haqq)
from the books of "Ahl as-sunnat scholars". Who does not learn will get caught and drawn in the
corruption floods of "Bidat" and "Dalalat" and will be lead to worldly and other-worldly
disasters. Leaders of the deviated (Bidat) groups are giving wrong and corrupt meanings to the
Qur'an. By using these unjustly given meanings they are asserting that they are proving their
deviated ideas through the verses of the Qur'an and hadith. Only those who know the truth
(Haqq) would be able to protect themselves from these people. It is almost impossible for those
who do not know the truth not to fall into the traps and whirlpool of deviation and corruption
(Dalalat). These people with corrupt belief will become disbelievers if their deviated beliefs do
not conform to the belief-knowledge which is clearly recited in the Qur'an and in the hadith and
with the information related by the unanimity of the "Mujtahid" Imams and with the knowledge
which is widespread among the community of Muslims (Ummat). This type of disbelief is called
"Ilhad" and those who fall into this position is called "Mulhid". Books teaching faith (Aqaid)
write that the "Mulhids" are considered as disbelievers with no books (Mushriks).]
Repentances of the persons who deviated from the right path (ahl al-bidat) are also accepted. In
order for them to have repentance, they have to learn the "Ahl as-sunnat knowledge" and believe
accordingly as well as feel sorry for their previous corrupt beliefs.
A person who believes the importance of the obligatory duties but does not perform them due to
laziness does not become an apostate (Murtad) and does not lose his belief. But, a Muslim who
does not perform an obligatory duty commits two types of grave sin. The first one is passing the
duration of that obligatory duty without praying or in other words the sin due to delaying the
performance of the obligatory duty. In order for this sin to be forgiven, it is necessary for him to
make repentance or in other words he has to repent and feel sorry and decide not to delay itagain. The second one is the sin due not performing the obligatory duty. In order for this grave
sin to be forgiven, he has to make "Qada", e.g., perform the missed obligatory duty immediately
after its due time. Delaying performance of the missed obligatory duty would be another grave
sin.
[Great Islamic scholar (Alim), renewer (Mujaddid) of the fourteenth century, the specialists of
external knowledge (Ilm al-zahir) and internal knowledge (Ilm al batin), the professor of
sufism (Tasawwuf) at the university which gave PHD degrees (Madrasat-ul-mutahassisin),
namely, Sayyid Abdulhakim Effendi, may Allahu ta’ala be pleased with him, in his lectures or in
his preaching at the mosques or in his conversations (Sohbats) has often said, "It is a grave sin
not to perform an obligatory duty without any excuse on its due time." It is also written in the
books that it is a grave sin not to perform its "Qada" right after its due time. As a matter of fact,
this is written in the previous paragraph as such. After an obligatory duty’s due time passes, if
one does not perform its "Qada" without any excuse, in a time period which is equal to the time
period which takes to perform the obligatory duty, the sin of delaying increases one fold. After
this, if one does not perform it again in the next time period which is equal to performing the
obligatory duty, the sin of delaying increases another fold. In this manner, when each time period
which is equal to performing the obligatory duty passes, the sin of delaying increases by folding
over and over again and reaches to an amount unthinkable and uncountable. Thus, the sin of not
performing the "Qada" of an obligatory duty increases many folds. For example, for the fivedaily
obligatory "salat" prayers, the sin of an unperformed salat prayer increases five folds in one
day. One should realize gravity of the situation for a person who did not perform his five-daily
obligatory "salat" prayers for months or years. One should look for all sorts of means to save
himself from this terrible and awesome sin. Anyone who has belief and who has his senses
altogether should try to perform "Qada-salat" prayers day and night in order to save himself from
the terrible hell-punishment of not performing the obligatory "salat" prayers. We are informed
that one will be punished in the hell for 70,000 years for one "salat" prayer which is not
performed due to laziness and without any excuse. When a Muslim ponders the amount of
punishment one will suffer in hell for not performing innumerable "salat" prayers as explained
hereinabove, he will lose his sleep. He will stop eating and drinking and feel great distress. Yes,
anyone who does not recognize the obligatory "salat" prayers as obligations and duties will
become a disbeliever and an apostate. An apostate will be punished in hell forever. Anyway,
such a person does not believe in hell or punishment or importance of the obligatory "salat"
prayer. He lives in this world like an animal. He does not think anything other than his pleasures
and collecting the money which provides the pleasures. His principle in life is to obtain the
money irrespective of how others will be affected or suffer. He does not think for a second, how
others may sacrifice for his pleasures. He has neither belief nor intellect (Aql). This type of
person would not have any mercy. He would be more dangerous than the monsters and wild
animals. His talks about humanity, mercy, and goodness are nothing but like writing into the air.
They are traps for others in order for him to satisfy his appetite and worldly benefits.
Making "Qada" of the "Salat" prayers which were not performed for years became like an
impossible task to accomplish. There is no blessing (Barakat) left in the world because human
beings left the "Shari’at". In other words, they stopped obeying the commandments and dived
into committing the prohibited actions. They departed from the beautiful and comfortable path
shown by Islam. Sustenance became scarce. The meaning of the verse in the "Taha" chapter of
the Qur'an is the following, "If you forget Me, I will decrease your sustenance 'Rizq'." For
this reason, the iman-rizq, health-rizq, foods-rizq, humanity and mercy-rizq, and many othersustenances have been decreased. The saying, "Huda never makes oppression 'Zulm' to His
slaves. Everyone suffers because of their own doings," is taken from the meaning of "Nahl"
chapter, thirty-third verse of the Qur'an. Today, in many households, man and woman both work
day and night just to obtain sustenance ("Nafaka") for their family. Even both of them work day
and night but they still have difficulty of providing themselves a comfortable way of living. This
difficulty in obtaining sustenance is due to the darkness of disbelief, and the ignoring of Allahu
ta’ala and His Prophet, peace be upon him, and the lessening blessings due ignoring Islam in
general. It is impossible to stop the flood of disasters and wrong doings (Dalalat) unless they
live according to Islam, unless they practice the beautiful moral character of His beloved
Prophet, peace be upon him. Under these afaromentioned difficult conditions, in order to pay
back the "Qada" of the unperformed "salat" prayers of the past, every day, one should perform
"Qada-salats" while one is performing the "Sunnat-salats" of the four daily "fard-salat" prayers
other than the morning "salat" prayer. In order to do that, one should form his intention to
perform the very first "Qada-salat" that one did not perform at its due time. By following this
methodology, every day, one would be able to perform one day’s "Qada-salat" prayers and also
one would be performing "Sunnat-salat" prayers. This matter is explained in detail in the book
Se’adet-i Ebediyye.
Centuries ago when the "Fiqh" books were written, Muslims had strong belief and had fear of
Allahu ta’ala and fear of hell-punishment in their hearts. No one could ever imagine, not
performing the "salat" prayers at their due times. It was unthinkable that there could be a person
who would deliberately not perform the "salat" prayers. At those times, only a few "salat"
prayers could be missed due to an excuse. This would be an occasion of distress and worry for
the person who missed the "salat" prayers. The following were the reasons for missing the "salat"
prayers: not being able to wake up from the sleep; forgetting; not being able to find an
opportunity to perform the "salat" prayer even by sitting during the war or travel. Missing the
"salat" prayer due to one of these excuses is not a sin. But, when the excuse is over, it becomes
obligatory to perform the missed "salat" prayer immediately. It is permissible to delay the
performance of the "Qada" prayer of the missed "salat" prayer as much as to earn enough money
to support one's family. It is not necessary to perform the "Qada" prayer of the missed "salat"
prayers in place of the "Muakkad-Sunnat" prayers. The writings in the "Fiqh" books which
state that it is better not to make "Qada" prayers in place of the "Muakkad Sunnats" are for the
"salat" prayers that were missed due to an excuse. It is obligatory to perform the "Qada" of the
"salats" immediately that were not performed without any excuse. It is necessary to perform
these in place of the "Sunnat-salat" prayers. Imam ar-Rabbani, may Allahu ta’ala be pleased with
him, in his 123rd letter of his book Maktubat says, "If the ‘Nafila’ prayer becomes a cause for
missing a ‘Fard’ prayer then the nafila prayer does not become a worship but becomes a nonbeneficial
act ‘Ma-la-ya'ni’ and becomes a harmful act."]
[ Great Islamic scholar Ibni Abidin, may Allahu ta’ala be pleased with him, says, "Praying two
rakats of namaz upon entering to a mosque is sunnat. This is called ‘Tahiyyatul-masjid’. Praying
any one of the Farz, sunnat or kada prayers is considered as accomplishing the ‘Tahiyyatulmasjid’
namaz. It is not necessary to intend for the these prayers by specifying that they are also
for "Tahiyyatul-masjid" prayer. The namaz prayer which is specified with two intentions, i.e., the
"Fard" and "Sunnat" prayers of the present time (Waqt) namaz is different. In this case only the
"Fard" namaz prayer would be acceptable (Sahih). Because the "Fard" and "Nafila" are two
different types of prayers. When one of those prayers mentioned above was prayed the
"Tahiyyatul-masjid" was considered as prayed. For that reason the "Tahiyyatul-masjid" was thesame type of prayer. {Reader’s attention is drawn to the weight given to the "type of prayer" in
this context.} While praying any type of prayer, one is considered as performing any other
prayers which are the same type without making any other extra specific intention for performing
them. But in order to get rewards (Thawab) for it one must perform intention for it. Because,
there won’t be any rewards for a prayer without making an intention for that prayer." The sunnat
namaz means any performed namaz other than the fard namaz. Since the description of the kada
namaz which is prayed before or after the fard prayer fits into the description of the sunnat
prayer, it is considered as being the same type of prayer as the sunnat prayer. According to Ibni
Abidin, may Allahu ta’ala be pleased with him, when one performs the kada namaz, he also
performed the sunnat namaz. It is apparent from these writing that when a person performs kada
namaz instead of sunnat namaz, he will not be considered as disserting the sunnat namaz. When
kada and sunnat intention formed simultaneously, one will be getting rewards for the sunnat
namaz too.]
If a person who intends to pray the "Qada-salat" prayers as described above starts to pray them
and then becomes very ill, he should make a will (Wasiyyat) saying that after his dead there
should be a "salat-kaffarat" performed for him. His executer of the will should carry out his will.
The executer (Wali) is either designated by him or he is one of his heirs. In case, one misses one
of the "Wajibs" of the "salat" prayer or commits a disliked action (Makruh) during the "salat"
prayer, it becomes necessary (Wajib) to reperform that "salat" prayer during its prescribed due
time. It is also necessary to reperform a "Nafila-salat" prayer within its prescribed time if
something happens to annul the "salat" prayer during the performance of the "salat" prayer. It is
always necessary to perform "Qada", i.e., make-up for the unpaid obligatory almsgiving (Zakat),
"Sadaqa-i fitr", and unperformed "Nazr" and "Qurban" animal sacrifice. A person who becomes
poor later on in life should perform "Qada" of them through a process called "Hila-i shar'iyya". If
he does not become poor, it is "Makruh" for him to use the "Hila-i shar'iyya" process.
Repenting secretly is enough for the sins that involve only Allahu ta’ala and the person who
committed the sin. In other words, the sin should not involve violating others' rights. It is not
necessary to inform others, e.g., the imam of the community. Giving money to the clergy in
order to get forgiveness is a custom of Christians. There are no such things in Islam. The
following are types of sin which does not involve violating others' rights: one's reading Qur'an
while he is "Junub" or sitting in the mosque or speaking worldly affairs, eating, drinking and
sleeping in the mosque or holding Qur'an without spiritual washing (Wudu); playing musical
instruments; drinking wine; committing adultery; women folks going out to the street without
covering their heads, hair, arms and legs. It is very difficult to get forgiveness for the sins which
involve animal rights. The following constitute animal rights and they are sin: killing an animal
without a proper cause or beating or hitting it at its face, forcing to walk beyond its strength,
loading extra heavy loads, not giving its food or water at its due time. One has to make
repentance for it as well as repent and beg for its forgiveness.
There are five types of violations of others' rights: pertaining to property, pertaining to soul
(Nafs), pertaining to honor, pertaining to "Mahrams", and pertaining to religion. Rights
pertaining to property are as follows: stealing, wrongful seizure, selling some property by
deceiving and by lying, giving counterfeit money, harming others' property, harming someone's
property by giving false testimony or by informing the oppressor (Zalim) or by giving bribe.
Repenting and getting the consent and forgiveness of the person involved even if it involves only
one penny is necessary. For property rights, it is also necessary for the children to pay back and
get the consent and forgiveness of the right owner. If one does not get the consent andforgiveness in this world, in the next world (Akhirat), they will make justice by giving the
violating-person’s rewards to the right owner. If the owner of the right is passed away, the
payment should be given to his heirs. If there is no heir or one does not know the owner of the
property then the payment should be given to the poor and the reward of it should be sent to the
right owner. If there are no pious (Salih) poor Muslims then it should be paid to the trusts
(Waqf) and societies which perform services to Muslims. Giving to his pious (Salih) relatives or
to his poor mothers, fathers, and children as present is also permissible (Jaiz). Anything which is
given to the poor as a present would constitute alms giving and will produce rewards (Thawabs).
If one is not able to do these, one should pray for the forgiveness of the rights owner and himself.
Geting the consent and forgiveness of the disbeliever for his violated property rights is also
necessary. If his consent and forgiveness is not obtained, it will be very difficult to get the
forgiveness in the next world.
Others' rights pertaining to soul (Nafs) or life is murdering or destroying a part of a person. One,
first of all, has to make repentance and then he should go and resign himself to the executer
(Wali) of the dead person. The executer may forgive him if he desires or may make peace with
him for a certain amount of money or property or alternately he may apply to the court and ask
for his punishment. It is not permissible (Jaiz) for the executor to punish him on his own. [There
is no blood-fued in Islam.] Violation of others' rights with respect to honor is backbiting (Gibat),
slandering, making fun of or swearing and cursing at someone. It is necessary to make
repentance and get the consent and forgiveness of the person involved. In this type of rights
violation there is no paying back to the heir of the dead person.
Violation of others' rights with respect to "Mahram" is to be malicious to someone's wife and
children. One performs repentance and "Istigfar". If there is no possibility of raising instigation
(Fitna), he should ask forgiveness from her husband. If there is a possibility of instigation, in
that case, he should pray for him and give alms for his sake. Violation regarding to the religious
rights is not performing the duty of teaching religious knowledge to his relatives and to his
family members. Also, prohibiting these or all other human beings from learning their religious
knowledge or doing their religious duties constitute violation of their religious rights. Calling
others as disbeliever or sinner (Fasik) is also considered as violation of religious rights. It is
permissible (Jaiz) to say, "please forgive me for the rights that I owe you" or some similar
phrases which reflect a meaning of generality instead of specifically telling him which right of
his one has violated.
It is very rewarding (Thawab) to forgive the debt of a poor person.
Rasulullah, peace be upon him, said, "One who repents (Tawba) resembles the one who
never committed the sin," and "The one who makes istigfar with his speech but who never
feels sorry for the sin he committed is the one who will continue committing sin. He is
teasing Allahu ta’ala." Making "Istigfar" means is to say the word "Astagfirullah". Muhammad
Osman Hindi, may Allahu ta’ala be pleased with him, [He passed away 1314 Hijri or 1896 A.D.]
in his book Fawaid-i Osmaniyya which is written in Persian says the following, "You are asking
me to write some prayer (Dua) which would be recited for healing (Shifa). Make repentance and
repeat "Istigfar" often to receive healing (Shifa). [In other words, recite the following:
"Astagfirullahal'azim al-lazi la ilaha illa huw al hayyal kayyuma wa atubu ilaih!"] It is good for
all kinds of troubles and distress. This dua is written at length in the 344th page of the Turkish
book "Hak Sozun Vesikalari." The meaning of the "Hud" chapter, 52nd verse of the Qur'an is,
"Say Istigfar! I will attend your problems." Repentance (Istigfar) will make one to attend all
kinds of happiness and desires.The followings are stated in the hadiths, "Allahu ta’ala would forgive a person even before he
makes 'Istigfar' if he commits a sin and then feels sorry for the sin," and "Even if your sin
is so much to reach to the skies, when you repent, Allahu ta’ala will accept your
repentance." These hadiths are for those repentances which do not involve violating others'
rights. In another hadith, it is communicated, "Three types of sin are: the sin that will not be
forgiven in the last Judgement day (Qiyamat); the sin that is not discontinued; and the sin
which will be forgiven if Allahu ta’ala wishes." The sin surely which will not be forgiven in
the last Judgement day is, "Shirk". "Shirk" in this context is all kinds of disbelief. Sins that are
not discontinued are the sins which involve violating others' rights. The sins which will be
forgiven if Allahu ta’ala wishes are the sins which do not involve violating others' rights
fear of Allahu ta’ala and having a strong resolution (Azm) not to do it again. One's repentance
due to the fear that he might be punished by worldly disasters would not be repentance. While
one is committing several different types of sins, one's repentance for some types of sins would
be valid (Sahih) while one insists committing some other types of sins. After repentance, one's
repeating the same sin again and then repenting again would be valid. Repeating this chain of
repenting, committing the sin again, repenting again several times would be valid. Forgiveness of
a grave sin certainly requires repentance. Five daily "salat" prayers, Friday "salat" prayer, fasting
during the month of Ramadan, going for pilgrimage (Hajj), making repentance, avoiding
committing grave sins and all similar worships would be a reason for the forgiveness of small
sins. Repentance for disbelief and other types of sins, when done according to their conditions,
would surely be accepted. A pilgrimage carried out by sincerity and by observing all of its
conditions is called "Hajj al-Mabrur". "Hajj al-Mabrur" causes all types of sin to be forgiven
except the sin earned due not performing the obligatory duties on their prescribed times and sins
earned due violating others' rights. In order for these two types of sins to be forgiven, one has to
carry out those omitted obligatory duties and one has to compensate the right owners for their
violated rights. "Hajj al-Mabrur" does not cause forgiveness of the sins earned due not
performing the obligatory (Fard) duties but, it causes forgiveness of the sins earned by not doing
the obligatory duties on their prescribed times. After the pilgrimage, if he does not immediately
start to perform the omitted obligatory duties, the sin of postponing the obligatory duties will
start again and as time passes it will increase many folds. Postponing is a grave sin. Everybody
should understand this point clearly. The hadith, "The sins of a person who performs "Hajj al-
Mabrur" will be forgiven. He will be like a newly borned," points out that the sins other than
the sin earned due not performing the obligatory duties and sins earned due violating others’
rights will be forgiven. We are also informed that the prayers done by Rasulullah, peace be upon
him, on the night of "Arifa" and at the place of "Muzdalifah" for the forgiveness of the sin of the
pilgrims are of this kind. There are also some scholars who stated that the sins earned due not
performing the obligatory duties and sins earned by violating others’ rights are also included in
the forgiveness. Their statements are for those who make the repentance but who are physically
unable to carry out those "Fards" or unable to compensate the violated rights of others. The114th verse of "Hud" chapter of Qur'an states, "Good deeds 'Hasanat' will annihilate sins."
Scholars interpreted this verse as when the unperformed obligatory duties are performed then the
sin will be forgiven. When one hears that someone has backbitten him, if he becomes sad
because of what has been sad then this will be an additional grave sin for the backbiter. The good
deed (Hasanat) which will cause forgiveness of that grave sin is to get the forgiveness of the
backbitten person.
Repenting as soon as comitting a sin is obligatory. Postponing the repentance for that sin is a
grave sin. Repentance for the postponement is also necessary. The sin earned by not doing the
obligatory duties will only be forgiven when the respective obligatory duty is carried out. For all
kinds of sins, repenting through spiritual heart, repenting by tongue and compensating through
the body is necessary. Saying "Subhanallah-il-azim wa bi-hamdihi" hundred times, giving
alms and fasting for one day is very beneficial.
Thirty first verse of the "Nur" chapter of the Qur'an states, "Oh believers! Turn (repent)
towards Allah." Eighth verse of the "Tahrim" chapter of the Qur’an states, "Do perform
'tawba al-nasuh' to Allah." The word "nasuh" in this verse was interpreted twenty-three
different ways. The most famous interpretation is having the sorry feeling and saying the
repentance through tongue and deciding strongly not to do it again. 222th verse of the "Baqara"
chapter of the Qur’an states, "Allah loves those who do repentance 'Tawba'."
Following hadith states, "The best of you is the one who do repentance 'Tawba' immediately
after committing a sin." The biggest sins are disbelief, hypocrisy, and losing one's faith or
apostasy (Irtidad).
[A person who did not become or refuses to become a Muslim is called a disbeliever (Kafir). The
disbeliever who pretend to be Muslim in order to deceive Muslims is called hypocrite (Munafiq)
and (Zindiq). A person who becomes a disbeliever while he was a Muslim is said to be
committed apostasy (Irtidad). A person who commits apostasy is called an apostate (Murtad).
If these three categories of persons believe from their hearts sincerely, certainly they will become
Muslims.
The following is written in the section of disasters of the tongue in the books Barika and Hadika
and in the Majma'ul-anhur: a man or woman Muslim will lose his or her belief and will become
an apostate if he or she willingly says a word or does a deed, even without thinking the meaning
of it, without being coerced to say it or to do it, e.g., just to make a joke, while he or she knows
that saying or doing it will cause disbelief according to the unanimity of scholars. This is called
disbelief due stubbornness (Kufr-i inadi). If he or she willingly says a word or does a deed
without being coerced and without knowing that doing or saying will cause disbelief, he or she
still becomes an apostate. This is called disbelief due to ignorance (Kufr-i Jahli). Because, it is
obligatory (Fard) for every Muslim to learn those things that he or she must know. Not knowing
is not an excuse and it is a grave sin. Those who become an apostate (Murtad) due to "Kufr-i
jahli" or "Kufr-i inadi" will lose their marriage contract (Nikah). He should first get a proxy
(Wakalat) from his wife and then he should renew the marriage contract (Tajdid an-nikah) by
either in the presence of two witnesses or in the mosque (Masjid) together with the congregation
(Jama’at). It is not necessary to make "Hulle" after more than two renewals (Tajdid an-nikah).
If he says the word which causes disbelief by mistake or by metaphoric language which can be
interpreted differently or by coercion then he will not become an apostate and it will not be
necessary to renew the marriage contract. If the word which is used by a person willingly
without any coercion is not decided by the unanimity of the scholars as a word which causes
disbelief then the person does not become an apostate. But, as a precautionary measure he shouldmake repentance and renew his marriage contract. We cannot think that those Muslims who go
to the mosques will ever become apostates through "Kufr-i jahli" or "Kufr-i inadi" (see above)
but we can only think that they may lose their belief due to this last described state. For this
reason, the "Imams" of the congregation (Jama’at) should direct the congregation to read the
following prayer in order to make repentance and to renew their marriage contract (Nikah):
"Allahuumma inni uridu an ujaddidal-imana wannikaha tajdidan bi-kawli la-ilaha illallah
Muhammmadun Rasulullah." By doing this, the commandment ordered in the hadith, "By
saying la ilaha illallah renew your belief." will be carried out.
The belief which does not conform to the belief taught by the "Ahl as-sunnat scholars" is called
deviation ("Bidat" or "Dalalat") from the right path. The greatest sin after the disbelief is to
become performer of "Bidat" ("Ahl-i Bidat" or or man of "Bidat".) Among the "Ahl-i Bidat",
those who try to spread their "Bidat" among the Muslims will be committing many folds of sins.
The followings would be necessary to deal with these people: the government officials should
strike them with heavy punishments; the scholars should advise them through speeches or
through their writings; and the lay Muslims should avoid associating with them or reading their
books and magazines. One should be very alert in order not to be deceived by their lies, slanders
and provocative words. At present, the "la-madhhabiyyas", the followers of Mawdudi, Sayyid
Qutb, and ignorants who are called Tabligh al-Jama’at and finally those who surface under the
name of pseudo shaikhs and pseudo leaders of Sufi paths (Tariqats) are using all kinds of means
in order to spread their corrupt and deviated beliefs. They are preparing all kinds of
unimaginable and unthinkable tricks and traps in order to deceive Muslims and in order to smash
and destroy "Ahl as-sunnat" through their souls (Nafs) and through the help of the devil. They
continue their cold war against the "Ahl as-sunnat" by spending their properties and millions of
dollars. It is necessary for the youngsters to learn the religion of Islam and the right path (Haqq)
from the books of "Ahl as-sunnat scholars". Who does not learn will get caught and drawn in the
corruption floods of "Bidat" and "Dalalat" and will be lead to worldly and other-worldly
disasters. Leaders of the deviated (Bidat) groups are giving wrong and corrupt meanings to the
Qur'an. By using these unjustly given meanings they are asserting that they are proving their
deviated ideas through the verses of the Qur'an and hadith. Only those who know the truth
(Haqq) would be able to protect themselves from these people. It is almost impossible for those
who do not know the truth not to fall into the traps and whirlpool of deviation and corruption
(Dalalat). These people with corrupt belief will become disbelievers if their deviated beliefs do
not conform to the belief-knowledge which is clearly recited in the Qur'an and in the hadith and
with the information related by the unanimity of the "Mujtahid" Imams and with the knowledge
which is widespread among the community of Muslims (Ummat). This type of disbelief is called
"Ilhad" and those who fall into this position is called "Mulhid". Books teaching faith (Aqaid)
write that the "Mulhids" are considered as disbelievers with no books (Mushriks).]
Repentances of the persons who deviated from the right path (ahl al-bidat) are also accepted. In
order for them to have repentance, they have to learn the "Ahl as-sunnat knowledge" and believe
accordingly as well as feel sorry for their previous corrupt beliefs.
A person who believes the importance of the obligatory duties but does not perform them due to
laziness does not become an apostate (Murtad) and does not lose his belief. But, a Muslim who
does not perform an obligatory duty commits two types of grave sin. The first one is passing the
duration of that obligatory duty without praying or in other words the sin due to delaying the
performance of the obligatory duty. In order for this sin to be forgiven, it is necessary for him to
make repentance or in other words he has to repent and feel sorry and decide not to delay itagain. The second one is the sin due not performing the obligatory duty. In order for this grave
sin to be forgiven, he has to make "Qada", e.g., perform the missed obligatory duty immediately
after its due time. Delaying performance of the missed obligatory duty would be another grave
sin.
[Great Islamic scholar (Alim), renewer (Mujaddid) of the fourteenth century, the specialists of
external knowledge (Ilm al-zahir) and internal knowledge (Ilm al batin), the professor of
sufism (Tasawwuf) at the university which gave PHD degrees (Madrasat-ul-mutahassisin),
namely, Sayyid Abdulhakim Effendi, may Allahu ta’ala be pleased with him, in his lectures or in
his preaching at the mosques or in his conversations (Sohbats) has often said, "It is a grave sin
not to perform an obligatory duty without any excuse on its due time." It is also written in the
books that it is a grave sin not to perform its "Qada" right after its due time. As a matter of fact,
this is written in the previous paragraph as such. After an obligatory duty’s due time passes, if
one does not perform its "Qada" without any excuse, in a time period which is equal to the time
period which takes to perform the obligatory duty, the sin of delaying increases one fold. After
this, if one does not perform it again in the next time period which is equal to performing the
obligatory duty, the sin of delaying increases another fold. In this manner, when each time period
which is equal to performing the obligatory duty passes, the sin of delaying increases by folding
over and over again and reaches to an amount unthinkable and uncountable. Thus, the sin of not
performing the "Qada" of an obligatory duty increases many folds. For example, for the fivedaily
obligatory "salat" prayers, the sin of an unperformed salat prayer increases five folds in one
day. One should realize gravity of the situation for a person who did not perform his five-daily
obligatory "salat" prayers for months or years. One should look for all sorts of means to save
himself from this terrible and awesome sin. Anyone who has belief and who has his senses
altogether should try to perform "Qada-salat" prayers day and night in order to save himself from
the terrible hell-punishment of not performing the obligatory "salat" prayers. We are informed
that one will be punished in the hell for 70,000 years for one "salat" prayer which is not
performed due to laziness and without any excuse. When a Muslim ponders the amount of
punishment one will suffer in hell for not performing innumerable "salat" prayers as explained
hereinabove, he will lose his sleep. He will stop eating and drinking and feel great distress. Yes,
anyone who does not recognize the obligatory "salat" prayers as obligations and duties will
become a disbeliever and an apostate. An apostate will be punished in hell forever. Anyway,
such a person does not believe in hell or punishment or importance of the obligatory "salat"
prayer. He lives in this world like an animal. He does not think anything other than his pleasures
and collecting the money which provides the pleasures. His principle in life is to obtain the
money irrespective of how others will be affected or suffer. He does not think for a second, how
others may sacrifice for his pleasures. He has neither belief nor intellect (Aql). This type of
person would not have any mercy. He would be more dangerous than the monsters and wild
animals. His talks about humanity, mercy, and goodness are nothing but like writing into the air.
They are traps for others in order for him to satisfy his appetite and worldly benefits.
Making "Qada" of the "Salat" prayers which were not performed for years became like an
impossible task to accomplish. There is no blessing (Barakat) left in the world because human
beings left the "Shari’at". In other words, they stopped obeying the commandments and dived
into committing the prohibited actions. They departed from the beautiful and comfortable path
shown by Islam. Sustenance became scarce. The meaning of the verse in the "Taha" chapter of
the Qur'an is the following, "If you forget Me, I will decrease your sustenance 'Rizq'." For
this reason, the iman-rizq, health-rizq, foods-rizq, humanity and mercy-rizq, and many othersustenances have been decreased. The saying, "Huda never makes oppression 'Zulm' to His
slaves. Everyone suffers because of their own doings," is taken from the meaning of "Nahl"
chapter, thirty-third verse of the Qur'an. Today, in many households, man and woman both work
day and night just to obtain sustenance ("Nafaka") for their family. Even both of them work day
and night but they still have difficulty of providing themselves a comfortable way of living. This
difficulty in obtaining sustenance is due to the darkness of disbelief, and the ignoring of Allahu
ta’ala and His Prophet, peace be upon him, and the lessening blessings due ignoring Islam in
general. It is impossible to stop the flood of disasters and wrong doings (Dalalat) unless they
live according to Islam, unless they practice the beautiful moral character of His beloved
Prophet, peace be upon him. Under these afaromentioned difficult conditions, in order to pay
back the "Qada" of the unperformed "salat" prayers of the past, every day, one should perform
"Qada-salats" while one is performing the "Sunnat-salats" of the four daily "fard-salat" prayers
other than the morning "salat" prayer. In order to do that, one should form his intention to
perform the very first "Qada-salat" that one did not perform at its due time. By following this
methodology, every day, one would be able to perform one day’s "Qada-salat" prayers and also
one would be performing "Sunnat-salat" prayers. This matter is explained in detail in the book
Se’adet-i Ebediyye.
Centuries ago when the "Fiqh" books were written, Muslims had strong belief and had fear of
Allahu ta’ala and fear of hell-punishment in their hearts. No one could ever imagine, not
performing the "salat" prayers at their due times. It was unthinkable that there could be a person
who would deliberately not perform the "salat" prayers. At those times, only a few "salat"
prayers could be missed due to an excuse. This would be an occasion of distress and worry for
the person who missed the "salat" prayers. The following were the reasons for missing the "salat"
prayers: not being able to wake up from the sleep; forgetting; not being able to find an
opportunity to perform the "salat" prayer even by sitting during the war or travel. Missing the
"salat" prayer due to one of these excuses is not a sin. But, when the excuse is over, it becomes
obligatory to perform the missed "salat" prayer immediately. It is permissible to delay the
performance of the "Qada" prayer of the missed "salat" prayer as much as to earn enough money
to support one's family. It is not necessary to perform the "Qada" prayer of the missed "salat"
prayers in place of the "Muakkad-Sunnat" prayers. The writings in the "Fiqh" books which
state that it is better not to make "Qada" prayers in place of the "Muakkad Sunnats" are for the
"salat" prayers that were missed due to an excuse. It is obligatory to perform the "Qada" of the
"salats" immediately that were not performed without any excuse. It is necessary to perform
these in place of the "Sunnat-salat" prayers. Imam ar-Rabbani, may Allahu ta’ala be pleased with
him, in his 123rd letter of his book Maktubat says, "If the ‘Nafila’ prayer becomes a cause for
missing a ‘Fard’ prayer then the nafila prayer does not become a worship but becomes a nonbeneficial
act ‘Ma-la-ya'ni’ and becomes a harmful act."]
[ Great Islamic scholar Ibni Abidin, may Allahu ta’ala be pleased with him, says, "Praying two
rakats of namaz upon entering to a mosque is sunnat. This is called ‘Tahiyyatul-masjid’. Praying
any one of the Farz, sunnat or kada prayers is considered as accomplishing the ‘Tahiyyatulmasjid’
namaz. It is not necessary to intend for the these prayers by specifying that they are also
for "Tahiyyatul-masjid" prayer. The namaz prayer which is specified with two intentions, i.e., the
"Fard" and "Sunnat" prayers of the present time (Waqt) namaz is different. In this case only the
"Fard" namaz prayer would be acceptable (Sahih). Because the "Fard" and "Nafila" are two
different types of prayers. When one of those prayers mentioned above was prayed the
"Tahiyyatul-masjid" was considered as prayed. For that reason the "Tahiyyatul-masjid" was thesame type of prayer. {Reader’s attention is drawn to the weight given to the "type of prayer" in
this context.} While praying any type of prayer, one is considered as performing any other
prayers which are the same type without making any other extra specific intention for performing
them. But in order to get rewards (Thawab) for it one must perform intention for it. Because,
there won’t be any rewards for a prayer without making an intention for that prayer." The sunnat
namaz means any performed namaz other than the fard namaz. Since the description of the kada
namaz which is prayed before or after the fard prayer fits into the description of the sunnat
prayer, it is considered as being the same type of prayer as the sunnat prayer. According to Ibni
Abidin, may Allahu ta’ala be pleased with him, when one performs the kada namaz, he also
performed the sunnat namaz. It is apparent from these writing that when a person performs kada
namaz instead of sunnat namaz, he will not be considered as disserting the sunnat namaz. When
kada and sunnat intention formed simultaneously, one will be getting rewards for the sunnat
namaz too.]
If a person who intends to pray the "Qada-salat" prayers as described above starts to pray them
and then becomes very ill, he should make a will (Wasiyyat) saying that after his dead there
should be a "salat-kaffarat" performed for him. His executer of the will should carry out his will.
The executer (Wali) is either designated by him or he is one of his heirs. In case, one misses one
of the "Wajibs" of the "salat" prayer or commits a disliked action (Makruh) during the "salat"
prayer, it becomes necessary (Wajib) to reperform that "salat" prayer during its prescribed due
time. It is also necessary to reperform a "Nafila-salat" prayer within its prescribed time if
something happens to annul the "salat" prayer during the performance of the "salat" prayer. It is
always necessary to perform "Qada", i.e., make-up for the unpaid obligatory almsgiving (Zakat),
"Sadaqa-i fitr", and unperformed "Nazr" and "Qurban" animal sacrifice. A person who becomes
poor later on in life should perform "Qada" of them through a process called "Hila-i shar'iyya". If
he does not become poor, it is "Makruh" for him to use the "Hila-i shar'iyya" process.
Repenting secretly is enough for the sins that involve only Allahu ta’ala and the person who
committed the sin. In other words, the sin should not involve violating others' rights. It is not
necessary to inform others, e.g., the imam of the community. Giving money to the clergy in
order to get forgiveness is a custom of Christians. There are no such things in Islam. The
following are types of sin which does not involve violating others' rights: one's reading Qur'an
while he is "Junub" or sitting in the mosque or speaking worldly affairs, eating, drinking and
sleeping in the mosque or holding Qur'an without spiritual washing (Wudu); playing musical
instruments; drinking wine; committing adultery; women folks going out to the street without
covering their heads, hair, arms and legs. It is very difficult to get forgiveness for the sins which
involve animal rights. The following constitute animal rights and they are sin: killing an animal
without a proper cause or beating or hitting it at its face, forcing to walk beyond its strength,
loading extra heavy loads, not giving its food or water at its due time. One has to make
repentance for it as well as repent and beg for its forgiveness.
There are five types of violations of others' rights: pertaining to property, pertaining to soul
(Nafs), pertaining to honor, pertaining to "Mahrams", and pertaining to religion. Rights
pertaining to property are as follows: stealing, wrongful seizure, selling some property by
deceiving and by lying, giving counterfeit money, harming others' property, harming someone's
property by giving false testimony or by informing the oppressor (Zalim) or by giving bribe.
Repenting and getting the consent and forgiveness of the person involved even if it involves only
one penny is necessary. For property rights, it is also necessary for the children to pay back and
get the consent and forgiveness of the right owner. If one does not get the consent andforgiveness in this world, in the next world (Akhirat), they will make justice by giving the
violating-person’s rewards to the right owner. If the owner of the right is passed away, the
payment should be given to his heirs. If there is no heir or one does not know the owner of the
property then the payment should be given to the poor and the reward of it should be sent to the
right owner. If there are no pious (Salih) poor Muslims then it should be paid to the trusts
(Waqf) and societies which perform services to Muslims. Giving to his pious (Salih) relatives or
to his poor mothers, fathers, and children as present is also permissible (Jaiz). Anything which is
given to the poor as a present would constitute alms giving and will produce rewards (Thawabs).
If one is not able to do these, one should pray for the forgiveness of the rights owner and himself.
Geting the consent and forgiveness of the disbeliever for his violated property rights is also
necessary. If his consent and forgiveness is not obtained, it will be very difficult to get the
forgiveness in the next world.
Others' rights pertaining to soul (Nafs) or life is murdering or destroying a part of a person. One,
first of all, has to make repentance and then he should go and resign himself to the executer
(Wali) of the dead person. The executer may forgive him if he desires or may make peace with
him for a certain amount of money or property or alternately he may apply to the court and ask
for his punishment. It is not permissible (Jaiz) for the executor to punish him on his own. [There
is no blood-fued in Islam.] Violation of others' rights with respect to honor is backbiting (Gibat),
slandering, making fun of or swearing and cursing at someone. It is necessary to make
repentance and get the consent and forgiveness of the person involved. In this type of rights
violation there is no paying back to the heir of the dead person.
Violation of others' rights with respect to "Mahram" is to be malicious to someone's wife and
children. One performs repentance and "Istigfar". If there is no possibility of raising instigation
(Fitna), he should ask forgiveness from her husband. If there is a possibility of instigation, in
that case, he should pray for him and give alms for his sake. Violation regarding to the religious
rights is not performing the duty of teaching religious knowledge to his relatives and to his
family members. Also, prohibiting these or all other human beings from learning their religious
knowledge or doing their religious duties constitute violation of their religious rights. Calling
others as disbeliever or sinner (Fasik) is also considered as violation of religious rights. It is
permissible (Jaiz) to say, "please forgive me for the rights that I owe you" or some similar
phrases which reflect a meaning of generality instead of specifically telling him which right of
his one has violated.
It is very rewarding (Thawab) to forgive the debt of a poor person.
Rasulullah, peace be upon him, said, "One who repents (Tawba) resembles the one who
never committed the sin," and "The one who makes istigfar with his speech but who never
feels sorry for the sin he committed is the one who will continue committing sin. He is
teasing Allahu ta’ala." Making "Istigfar" means is to say the word "Astagfirullah". Muhammad
Osman Hindi, may Allahu ta’ala be pleased with him, [He passed away 1314 Hijri or 1896 A.D.]
in his book Fawaid-i Osmaniyya which is written in Persian says the following, "You are asking
me to write some prayer (Dua) which would be recited for healing (Shifa). Make repentance and
repeat "Istigfar" often to receive healing (Shifa). [In other words, recite the following:
"Astagfirullahal'azim al-lazi la ilaha illa huw al hayyal kayyuma wa atubu ilaih!"] It is good for
all kinds of troubles and distress. This dua is written at length in the 344th page of the Turkish
book "Hak Sozun Vesikalari." The meaning of the "Hud" chapter, 52nd verse of the Qur'an is,
"Say Istigfar! I will attend your problems." Repentance (Istigfar) will make one to attend all
kinds of happiness and desires.The followings are stated in the hadiths, "Allahu ta’ala would forgive a person even before he
makes 'Istigfar' if he commits a sin and then feels sorry for the sin," and "Even if your sin
is so much to reach to the skies, when you repent, Allahu ta’ala will accept your
repentance." These hadiths are for those repentances which do not involve violating others'
rights. In another hadith, it is communicated, "Three types of sin are: the sin that will not be
forgiven in the last Judgement day (Qiyamat); the sin that is not discontinued; and the sin
which will be forgiven if Allahu ta’ala wishes." The sin surely which will not be forgiven in
the last Judgement day is, "Shirk". "Shirk" in this context is all kinds of disbelief. Sins that are
not discontinued are the sins which involve violating others' rights. The sins which will be
forgiven if Allahu ta’ala wishes are the sins which do not involve violating others' rights
