Riyad al-Salihin - Al-Nawawi - (1/47)

Riyad al-SalihinAl-Nawawi

The first is that he must immediately cease the sin.

The second is that he must feel remorse for having committed it.

The third is that he must resolve never to return to it for the rest of his life. If any one of these three is missing, his repentance is not valid.

If the sin involves the right of another person, then the conditions become four: these three, plus clearing himself of the other party’s claim. If the wrong concerns property or the like, he must restore it to its owner. If it concerns a fixed legal penalty for slander (ḥadd al-qadhf) or the like, he must submit himself to the penalty or seek the offended person’s pardon. If it is backbiting, he must obtain his forgiveness for it. (1)

A person is required to repent of every sin; if he repents of only some of them, his repentance regarding those particular sins is sound in the view of the people of truth, but the remainder still rests upon him. The proofs found in the Scripture, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the Ummah have all converged to establish that repentance is an obligation.

Allah Most High says: “And all of you, O believers, turn to Allah in repentance so that you may succeed.” (Quran 24:31) He says: “Seek forgiveness from your Lord, then turn to Him in repentance.” (Quran 11:3) And He says: “O you who believe, turn to Allah with a sincere repentance.” (Quran 66:8)

(1) I have said: This ruling applies only when the very act of seeking pardon (istihlal) does not itself lead to some further harm (mafsada); if it would, then one must be content with praying for the person instead. As for the report, “The expiation for one whom you have backbitten is that you seek forgiveness for him,” it is fabricated, as I demonstrated in Silsilat al-ahadith al-daʿifah wa’l-mawduʿah, no. 1519 – N. Shaykh Nasir al-Din al-Albani’s statement—“if no harm results, and so on”—is open to objection, for what he declares obligatory and sufficient may fail to restore the worldly honor of the innocent victim before other people. In that case, the wrongdoer must retract his lie, slander, and disparagement. Besides, who is to assess the “harm”? The wrongdoer, the wronged party, or should they appoint an arbitrator who determines how the apology and request for pardon are to be offered so that no further harm—or harms—ensue? It is true that the oppressed person may benefit from the supplication, but that alone does not amount to an accepted repentance on the part of the oppressor. The hadith relied upon by laypeople who wrong others is, as Shaykh Nasir has shown, fabricated.

أَحَدُهَا : أَنْ يُقْلِعَ عَنِ الْمَعْصِيَةِ . وَالثَّانِي : أَنْ يَنْدَمَ عَلَى فِعْلِهَا . وَالثَّالِثُ : أَنْ يَعْزِمَ أَنْ لَا يَعُودَ إِلَيْهَا أَبَدًا . فَإِنْ فُقِدَ أَحَدُ الثَّلَاثَةِ لَمْ تَصِحَّ تَوْبَتُهُ . وَإِنْ كَانَتِ الْمَعْصِيَةُ تَتَعَلَّقُ بِآدَمِي فَشُرُوطُهَا أَرْبَعَةٌ : هَذِهِ الثَّلَاثَةُ ، وَأَنْ يَبْرَأَ مِنْ حَقِّ صَاحِبِهَا ، فَإِنْ كَانَتْ مَالًا أَوْ نَحْوَهُ رَدَّهُ إِلَيْهِ ، وَإِنْ كَانَ حَدَّ قَذْفٍ وَنَحْوَهُ مَكَّنَهُ مِنْهُ أَوْ طَلَبَ عَفْوَهُ ، وَإِنْ كَانَ غِيبَةً اسْتَحَلَّهُ مِنْهَا (١) . وَيَجِبُ أَنْ يَتُوبَ مِنْ جَمِيعِ الذُّنُوبِ ، فَإِنْ تَابَ مِنْ بَعْضِهَا صَحَّتْ تَوْبَتُهُ عِنْدَ أَهْلِ الْحَقِّ مِنْ ذَلِكَ الذَّنْبِ وَبَقِيَ عَلَيْهِ الْبَاقِي . وَقَدْ تَظَاهَرَتْ دَلَائِلُ الْكِتَابِ ، وَالسُّنَّةِ ، وَإِجْمَاعُ الْأُمَّةِ عَلَى وُجُوبِ التَّوْبَةِ . قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : ﴿ وَتُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ ﴾ [ النور : ٣١ ] . وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ﴿ اسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّكُمْ ثُمَّ تُوبُوا إِلَيْهِ ﴾ [ هود : ٣ ] . وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : ﴿ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا تُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَوْبَةً نَصُوحًا ﴾ [ التحريم : ٨ ] .

(١) قلت : هذا إذا لم يترتب على الاستحلال نفسه مفسدة أخرى ، وإلا فالواجب حينئذ الاكتفاء بالدعاء له ، وأما حديث « كفارة من اغتبته أن تستغفر له » فهو موضوع ، كما بينته في « سلسلة الأحاديث الضعيفة والموضوعة » رقم (١٥١٩) - ن - . قول الشيخ ناصر الدين الألباني : « إذا لم يترتب ... الخ » محل نظر ، لأن ما جعله واجباً يُكْتَفَى به . قد لا يعيد لذلك البريء المظلوم كرامته في الدنيا ، وبين الناس ، وعندها فلا بد من عودة الظالم عن كذبه وافترائه وطعنه . ثم من الذي يقدر « المفسدة » ؟ ! الظالم ، أم المظلوم ، أم يجعلوا بينهما حكماً يقرر طريقة الاعتذار والاستحلال بما لا يؤدي الى مفسدة - أو مفاسد - أخرى . نعم قد ينتفع المظلوم بالدعاء . . . ولكن لا يكون ذلك توبة مقبولة من الظالم . والحديث الذي يفهمه العامة الذين يظلمون الناس (موضوع) كما بينه الشيخ ناصر .