The One Who Repents from Sin is Like the One Who Has Not Sinned

A Beneficial Response from Shaykh al-Isl!m, ‘Abd al-’Aziz ibn B!z1

Translated by Ab! al-"asan M#lik $dam al-Akh%ar&Questioner: “I am a married woman, and I did not pray for a period of thirty-seven years. My children came to me and began instructing me regarding the prayer, may All#h reward them with good, but I am at a loss concerning what has occurred in the past. Will All#h hold me accountable for them? Do you advise me to make them up, or how else do you counsel?

al-Shaykh Ibn B#z: “I advise you to&sincerely repent—repentance, repentance: being remorseful for what occurred in the past, having the firm determination not to return to the sin, and preserving your prayers after All#h has guided you. Adhere to them, and pray them in their proper times with reverence. And rejoice, for repentance wipes away what came before it. The Prophet ('allallah alayhi wa sallam) said in an authentic narration, “Repentance wipes out what came before it.”2 Meaning, it destroys what preceded it, wipes it clean. And he said, “The one who repents from sin is like the one who has not sinned.”3 So glad tidings,

The One Who Repents from Sin is Like the One Who Has Not Sinned

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1 This was taken from the o(cial website of the noble Shaykh. Refer to: http://www.binbaz.org.sa/mat/17339

2 Al-Mu)addith, al-Shaykh, Mu)ammad N#'ir al-d*n al-Alb#ni says in Silsilah al-+a’*fah (no. 3446) concerning this narration: “I do not know an origin for it: In opposition to what is perceived by the statement by al-H#fii, Ibn Kath*r in his Tafs*r (3/129) regarding All#h’s Statement: ‘Those will enter Paradise, and they will not be wronged whatsoever.’ [Maryam 19:60] He says: ‘That is because repentance wipes away what came before it, and in another )ad*th, ‘The one who repents is like the one who never sinned.” So his statement, ‘another )ad*th’ gives the impression that the first (wording) preceding it is also a )ad*th. So according to his phrasing, it is the first )adith. And thus al-Shaykh al-Rifa’i became entangled in this speech of his (Ibn Kath*r’s)and collected it in his index al-Had*th al-Shar*f from his Mukhtasir (2/619), and not this alone, rather, he placed beside it the statement: ‘Authentic!’ he did similar to this with the second narration, however this a-air is easy, for indeed it is found in some of the books of Sunnah, and I have graded it !asan in Sa!*! al-J#mi’ al-Sagh*r (no. 3005), in opposition to this one (first narration), for indeed I do not know an origin for it [in the books of "ad*th] whatsoever, and inspite of that, the aforementioned (al-Rifa’* ) graded it authentic, may All#h grant him guidance.And it is my opinion that Ibn Kath*r, in his Tafs"r and Mukhtasir, mixed up the narration with the authentic )ad*th: ‘Verily, Isl#m wipes away what came before it; and al-Hijrah (emigration) erases what preceded it,’ and in another wording, ‘And indeed al-#ajj wipes out what came before it. And it is collected in al-Irw$ (no. 1280).

3 This narration is collected by Ibn M#jah in his al-Sunan (no. 4232) in the book of al-Zuhd on the authority of ‘Abd All#h ibn Mas’!d who said: “The Messenger of All#h said: ‘The one who repents from a sin is like the one who has not commited the wrong.’” This narration is graded !asan by al-Shaykh al-Alb#ni in his Sah*h Ibn M#jah (no. 3446)

repentance, praise be to All#h, is su(cient. And what it means is having regret for what occurred from your abandonment of the prayers in the past, being remorseful concerning it, and firmly resolving not to return to it. Remain steadfast in preserving your prayers, and receive glad tidings; it is not upon you to make up what you have missed. The sin is wiped away by repentance, and all praise is for All#h. May All#h reward you with good.

The One Who Repents from Sin is Like the One Who Has Not Sinned

al-Ra"m!niyyah Publishing

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