And Allah, Exalted is He, also says: “Indeed good deeds wipe away bad deeds” (Hud 11:114). Thus, when a person performs a righteous deed it erases the sin—provided that sin is minor; as for major sins, nothing removes them except sincere repentance.

In any case, fisq (open sin) is one of the reasons Allah’s pleasure departs from a servant, whereas obedience is a cause of His good pleasure. So hold fast to obeying Allah if you truly seek His approval. And if you long for people’s approval, then please Allah first; once He is pleased with you, He will spare you the burden of the people and cause them to be pleased with you as well. But should you anger Allah in order to satisfy the people, then be prepared for the people’s anger together with Allah’s wrath—Allah’s protection is sought.

The author—may Allah have mercy on him—also mentioned that the Prophet ﷺ once left Madinah on a Thursday, and he liked to set out on Thursdays. That was not invariable, however; at times he would depart on a Saturday, as he did on his last journey—the Farewell Pilgrimage—and on occasion he would set out on other days, though most often he travelled on a Thursday.

He further related that the Prophet ﷺ returned to Madinah in the forenoon, entered the mosque, and prayed two rakʿahs there. This was his Sunnah: whenever he arrived home, he would begin with nothing before the mosque.

These two rakʿahs may be performed at any time, even during the prohibited times for prayer, because they are prayers with a specific cause; whenever their cause is present, it is lawful to perform them.

Hence, when a person comes back to his hometown, he should begin—before anything else—with the mosque. This has already been mentioned earlier.