Q603 :If a person netmitted too many sins, including
some of the cardinal ones such as stealing, cheating, gambling, &
adultery, will he ever be forgiven by God? If he wants to benete a good
person, what netpensations he has to make?
A603 : What would stop him from being forgiven? This
is the short answer to your question based on a similar reply that
occurs in a Hadith which is directly related to your question. I will
give you the Hadith first and then speak about your question in more
detail. The Hadith explains that God’s mercy is available to human
beings at all times, no matter how grave the sins they have netmitted.
It gives this message in a symbolic story. The Hadith speaks of a man
who had killed ninety nine people. He then began to think of his
position and feared God’s punishment. So he resolved to mend his ways
and to seek God’s forgiveness, if that was at all possible. He began to
inquire about a priest or a learned man who could help him achieve his
purpose. He was guided to an old priest whom people considered to be
the most learned on earth. He went to him and knocked on his door. The
old man opened the door and inquired what he wanted. The man said: “I
have killed ninety-nine people and I want to repent. Can I have my
repentance accepted?” The old man said: “How do you think your
repentance could be accepted after having killed ninety-nine people?”
That answer filled the man with despair and he killed the priest on the
spot. The man was not to be deterred. Something within him urged him
to try again. He began to ask again about the most learned person.
People told him of another priest who was highly respected among them.
He went to him and knocked on his door. An old man with a long white
beard appeared and asked his purpose. The man said: “I have killed one
hundred people and I want to repent. Do you think my repentance would
be accepted?” The old man said: “What could stop you for having your
repentance accepted It certainly will if God knows that your repentance
is genuine and sincere.” The old man talked to his visitor for a while
and then suggested to him that he had a better chance of making his
repentance sincere if he lived in a town where the people were good and
religious. He also told him that if he were to continue to live in a
city where he netmitted all those killing, he was bound to have all
sorts of diversions which might take him away from his purpose of
genuine repentance. The man left and took his way directly toward the
town renetmended by the priest. While on his way, the man was taken
ill and died. A group of the angels of mercy and a group of the angels
of punishment arrived at the spot where his body lay, each wanted to
take him away. The angels of punishment said: “He had not done a single
good act.” The angles of mercy replied: “He has undertaken this trip
full of repentance, determined to be obedient to God.” They were
disputing his case between themselves, when God sent them an angel.
Both groups agreed to make that angel an arbiter. When they put the
case to him, he said: “I suggest you measure the distance between the
land of evil and the land of goodness. If he is found to be closer to
the land of goodness, then the angels of mercy should take him. But if
he is found to be closer to the land of evil, then the angels of
punishment may have him.” Both groups were happy with this judgment and
they started measuring the distance to each of the two towns. The
Hadith concludes with this statement. “God netmanded the land of
goodness to draw near and netmanded the land of evil to draw further
away. The angels found him closer to the land of goodness and he was
taken by the angels of mercy.” This Hadith tells it all. There is
nothing to stop any person, no matter how grave his past sins, from
turning a new page and starting a new, good life which wins him God’s
forgiveness. The final statement in the Hadith is particularly
revealing. It was by God’s netmand that the man was found closer to the
land of mercy. This means that had he taken only a couple of steps on
the way before his death, he would have still been found closer to the
land of goodness and he would have been forgiven. The measuring of
distances was not the determining factor. That factor was God’s
knowledge that the man was sincere. God’s forgiveness is available to
us all, even the most hardened sinners among us. This is clearly stated
in the Qur’an and in many Hadiths. In the Qur’an God says: “God will
never forgive that partners are associated with Him. He may forgive
anything else to whomever he pleases.” [The Troops: 53] This is a
definitive statement from which we can outline the requirements of
forgiveness of all sins, grave and small. The first condition is that
of faith. God may forgive a believer, but He may not forgive even the
smallest of sins to a person who associates partners with Him. Hence,
before we ask God’s forgiveness, we have to make sure that we truly
believe in His Oneness, recognizing His attributes and believing in
every single one of them. Secondly, our repentance of past sins must be
genuine. This is acnetplished with a sincere resolve that we will not
return to those sins whatever may be the temptations. If we happen to
slip again, we immediately renew our repentance and strengthen our
resolve. Finally, we should take all possible means and measures to
help us fulfill our determination. Just like the old priest who pointed
out to the man in the Hadith when he suggested to him to move to the
land of goodness. There he would find people to welnete him and to be
associates in seeking God’s forgiveness. He would have less temptation
to go back to his past ways. Sins and offenses are of two types; those
which concern our relationship with God and those that concern our
relationship with fellow human beings. If a person repents after having
netmitted sins and offenses of the first type, such as neglecting his
duties toward God, or netmitting offenses which run contrary to what
God requires and then he genuinely repents and seeks God’s forgiveness,
God will forgive him those straightway. Offenses that are netmitted
against the rights of other people have a different approach. In this
category you have offenses such as theft, cheating, usurping other
people’s rights, ill-treatment of people, backbiting, etc. God will not
forgive these offenses till the people who suffered as a result of them
agree to forgive the offender. On the day of judgment, everyone is
brought face to face with every other person who has a claim against
him. God will ask the offender to netpensate the person who had
suffered as a result of the offense until he or she is satisfied. That
takes the form of taking away some of the good deeds of the offender
and crediting them to the offended person. If the offender does not
have such good deeds, then some of the bad deeds or sins netmitted by
the offended person will be taken away from him and added to the
offender. Either way will enhance the offended person’s chances of
being admitted to heaven. A different method of netpensation takes
place if God is satisfied with the repentance of the offender and He
chooses to help him. In this case, God decides to take over the task of
satisfying the offended person, either by giving him some of his sins,
or by increasing his reward for his good deeds until he is satisfied
and forgoes his claim against the offending person. This applies to
any rightful claim by other people against us. As you realize, this
applies to offenses that went unpunished or unnetpensated for in this
life and left to the day of judgment. If a person has netmitted an
offense and got punished for it, according to the Islamic law, as in
the case of a theft, then the punishment is regarded as netpensation
for the crime. The other way is for the offender to go to the person
who has been offended against and return to him what is rightfully his.
Thus, if someone has stolen something from another, and he returns the
stolen thing and sought forgiveness, then he stands a good chance of
being forgiven by God. It is far better to do this than to leave
matters to the day of judgment, when one has to pay out of his reward
for his good deeds in order to pay off what belongs to others. If this
is impossible because one does not know how to get to the people who
have a claim against him, or if he tries to satisfy them for the
offenses, he may run into great problems, then he could leave the
matter to God to settle it on his behalf on the day of judgment,
provided that he tries hard to increase his reward by every means. For
example, if he has unlawful monetary gains from others and he cannot
repay them, either because he does not know them, or because he will be
facing enormous problems, then he should pay to charity what he has
gained from them or even more. He could also improve his worship and be
always available to serve the cause of Islam. He will then stand a good
chance of earning forgiveness.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )