Until the Sun Rises from Its West: Reflections on the Stories of Repentance Al-Ramniyyah Publishing

Until the Sun Rises from Its West: Reflections on the Stories of Repentance1
By Ab al-asan Mlik dam al-Akhar

ver a decade ago, in the course of compiling the benefits from the stories of repentance, I had opportunity to thoroughly research a number of propitious and reassuring traditions from the Messenger of Allah () on the topic of Allhs acceptance of Tawbah. As al-Nawaw () mentions in the opening of his Chapter of Repentance in Riy al-alin: The people of knowledge state: It is obligatory to repent from every sin. Therefore, the necessity of learning, memorizing, and, certainly, realizing these narrations cannot be overstated. From these traditions, the adth collected by Imm Muslim in his a on the authority of Ab Hurayrah () who said: the Messenger of Allah () said: Whoever repents before the sun rises from its west, Allh will accept their repentance.2 Also, his () statement: Hijrah will not be cut off until Tawbah is cut off; and Tawbah will not be cut off until the sun rises from its west.3 Few days have passed since in which these prophetic traditions have not crossed my mindor lips. For like the wayfarer under blanket night, these narrations serve as the light of dawn breaking across the horizon. They are a reminder that the believer must never succumb to the whispers of Shayn in the seemingly overwhelming moments of fear.

Allh () says:

This is an excerpt taken from the introduction to a forth coming publication entitled Until the Sun Rises from its West: Benefits from the Stories of Repentance. May Allh () facilitate its completion. 2 a Muslim (no. 4850) 3 Collected by Ab Dwd in his Sunan (no. 2120) on the authority of Muawiyyah (). The adth has been authenticated by Shaykh al-Albn in Irw al-Ghall (no. 1208)

It is only Shayn (Satan) who suggests to you the fear of his Awliy [supporters and friends (polytheists, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allh and in His Messenger], so fear them not, but fear Me, if you are (true) believers. [li Imrn 3:175] The great scholar of Islm Abd al-Ramn ibn Nir al-Sad () says in his Tafsr of this ayah: And in this verse [we see] the obligation of fearing Allh Alone, and that this is from the exigencies of al-Imn; therefore, the worshippers fear of Allh is dependent upon his level of Imn, and the praiseworthy fear is what prevents the believer from transgressing against Allhs Prohibitions.4 So, in truth, the Muslim lives between hope and fear. He hopes for Allhs Mercy, while balancing it with fear of His Punishment; the fear, a deterrent from actions that will result in his ruin in this life and the next; the hope, a port in the relentless storm. This is the middle course, which Allh () has described in His Statement:

Thus We have made you [true Muslims - real believers of Islmic Monotheism, true followers of Prophet Muammad and his Sunnah (legal ways)], a Wasa (middle-course) nation, that you be witnesses over

Taysr al-Karm al-Ramn (p. 144)

Until the Sun Rises from Its West: Reflections on the Stories of Repentance Al-Ramniyyah Publishing

mankind and the Messenger (Muammad) be a witness over you. [al-Baqarah 2:143] Undoubtedly, from the greatest weapons forged against the whispers of Shayn and his troops is sincere Tawbah to Allh. This fact is further substantiated by the Prophets () statement: All of the children of dam are constant sinners, and the best of those who constantly sin are those repent.5 This narration, and a myriad of others with similar meaning, some of which will be collected and explicated throughout the course of this treatise, serves as an admonition for all who hear, see and give thought, remembering that perfection is for Allh Alone. As for the created nature of the human being, then this narration establishes for us that it is certainly flawed, weak. Allh () says in the Qurn:

And man was indeed created weak. [al-Nis 4:28] Only when the worshipper is mindful of this frailty and the never ending need of his Lords Pardon will he recognize that the only escape from the labyrinth of sin and transgression is to penitently return to Allh. This is the only true success and happiness in this life and the next. Moreover, understanding this is also essential to the spiritual safe-guarding of those who Shayn has deluded and whispered into their breasts that all hope is lost and

Collected by al-Tirmidh in his al-Jmi (no. 2736) and Ibn Mjah in his al-Sunan (no.4233) both on the authority of Anas ibn Mlik () who said that the Messenger of Allh () said: All of the children of dam constantly err, and the best of those who err are those who constantly repent. After narrating this adth, al-Tirmidh says, asan Gharb, we do not know of it (this adth) except from the narration of Al ibn Masadah on the authority of Qatdah. This narration has been graded asan by al-Shaykh al-Albn in a Jmi al-Tirmidh (no. 2497)
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nothing subsists save despondency and despair. This is mere deception, for the promise of Allh () is true:

O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allh, for Allh forgives all sins: for He is OftForgiving, Most Merciful. [al-Zumar 39:53] Al-Sad () says: Allh has informed His transgressing worshippers (i.e. those who have an abundance of sin) concerning the expansiveness of His Kindness and has encouraged them to atone for their sins before they are unable to do so. He says, (Say) O Messenger, and those who follow him from the callers to the Religion of Allh who inform the worshippers about their Lord (O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls!) who follow what their desires have called them to from sins and who endeavor into shameful vices (Despair not of the Mercy of Allh) meaning, do not lose hope in it; thus, throwing yourselves into destruction, saying, Our sins are too numerous. Our faults are too many; there is no way to remove them all. Thus, because of this, they remain persistent in sinfulness and increase in that which angers al-Ramn. On the contrary, know your Lord by His Names which indicate His Kindness and Generosity, and know that (Allh forgives all sins) including: Shirk, murder, fornication, dealing in interest, oppression and other than these from major and minor sins. (He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful) meaning, He possesses the attributes of Forgiveness and Mercy, two of His Essential Qualities that are inseparable from His Essence,

Until the Sun Rises from Its West: Reflections on the Stories of Repentance Al-Ramniyyah Publishing

and their effects remain all-pervading throughout the creation, encompassing everything in existence. His Two Hands bring forth blessings throughout the day and night, and the bounties and blessings come to the believer in succession, privately and openly. Giving is more beloved to Him than withholding, and His Mercy has superseded His Wrath and overcame it; however, there are means of obtaining His Forgiveness and Mercy, which if the worshipper does not achieve, he shuts the door of Mercy and Forgiveness on himself; and from the greatest and most sublime of these means; rather, the only means is sincere repentance to Allh, supplication and acts of worship. So hasten to the greatest and most sublime path.6 As previously mentioned, it is from the plot of Ibls to deploy his troops to spread fear among the believers, and from the most wanton and diabolical of his deployment are the people of innovation and desires. Those who would have the masses of common folk erringly believe that the door of repentance has been slammed shut in the face of the sinner. The noble, erudite scholars of Sunnah have for centuries struggled to eradicate such distorted ideologies. Al-Qurtub mentions in the Tafsr of Surah alAnm in relation to the Khawrij and Mutazilah and the closing of the door of repentance in the face of sinners: In the a of Imm Muslim (), on the authority of Ab Hurayrah (), the Messenger of Allh () said: There are three that when they appear, no soul will benefit from belief if it was not present beforehand: when the sun rises from its west, the [appearance] of the Dajjl and the coming of the Beast. Also, on the authority of Safwn ibn Assl al-Murd who said, I heard the Messenger of Allh say, Indeed in the west there is an opening for Tawbah that is the distance of

Taysr al-Karm al-Ramn (p. 802-803)

seventy years; it will not be closed until the sun rises from its direction. Sufyn said, [It is] in the direction of al-Shm; Allh created it the day he created the heavens and the earth. It is open, i.e. for Tawbah and will not be closed until the sun rises from it. I say (al-Qurtub): All of this has been rejected by the Khawrij and Mutazilah.7 So it is the deviant methodology of the Khawrij and Mutazilah that would close the door of Tawbah in the face of sinners. Contrarily, it is the firm belief of the people of the Sunnah, in recognition of these authentic narrations, and in spite of these deviant sects, that the door of Tawbah remains open until the sun rises from its west. This is due to the people of the Sunnah remaining steadfast upon the words of the two Revelations and standing in the middle course between the extremes of the people of desires. This is clearly illustrated in the explication of the Prophets () statement: Whoever kills himself with a piece of steel will come with it on the Day of Judgment and will stab himself with it in the Hellfire abiding therein; and whoever kills himself with poison, then the poison will be in his hand, and he will forever drink it in the Hellfire.8 In his classical work, Tufah al-Awadh, the explication of Jmi al-Tirmidh, al-Muaddith Muammad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Mubrakfr () cites in his commentary of this narration: (in the Hellfire forever) al-fi said: The Mutazilah and others, who say the people of sin will dwell in the Hellfire forever, have held to this. However, the people of the Sunnah have responded to this from a number of perspectives; from them: the baselessness of the additional wording forever. After collecting the adth, al-Tirmidh says: It is related by

Al-Jmi' li Akm al-Qur'n (7/145) Collected by al-Tirmidh in his al-Jmi (no. 2043). It has been authenticated by Imm alAlbn in a al-Tirmidh (no. 2043)
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Until the Sun Rises from Its West: Reflections on the Stories of Repentance Al-Ramniyyah Publishing

Muammad ibn Ijln from Sad al-Maqbar on the authority of Ab Hurayrah without the mention of [of the word] forever, and similarly, what is related by Ab Zind from al-Araj on the authority of Ab Hurayrah, indicating the narration of Ab Hurayrah that is collected by al-Bukhr at the end of al-Janiz with the wording: Whoever strangles himself [to death], will strangle himself in the hellfire; and whoever stabs himself, will stab himself in the Hellfire. He said that this [wording] was the strongest because of the authentic narrations which establish that the people (i.e. sinners) of Tawd will be punished and then be removed from the Hellfire and will not abide therein forever. Also, some have responded saying that what is understood here are those who deem it (i.e. suicide) permissible; thus, because of this, become disbelievers; and the disbeliever, without doubt, will abide therein forever. It is also said that this was mentioned as a severe censure and caution and that its actuality is not intended. It is also said that it means its [just] recompense; however, out of Allhs Beneficence to the people of Tawd, He will remove them from the Hellfire due to their worship of Him Alone. It is also said that what is intended by abiding therein in the narration is for as long as Allh wills, and it is also said that what is intended by abiding therein is a long period of time, not eternally; as if to say for such and such amount of time, but this is the more improbable of the responses.9 Let us examine just a few of the many benefits found in this citation: First: The belief that the sinners from the people of Tawdhere those who commit suicidewill dwell in the Hellfire forever is from ideology of such deviant sects such as the Mutazilah, Khawrij and others.

See Tufah al-Awadh (6/156)

Second: That the people of the Sunnah have responded to these doubts; thus, carrying out the task of refuting the people of innovation in sincere advice to the Ummah of Muammad (). Third: The keen insight of the scholars of the Sunnah in understanding the narrations of punishment in conjunction with the narrations of pardon. Fourth: Allhs Beneficence to the people of Tawd, and no matter how grave the sin, even the taking of ones own life, Allh will remove them from the Fire due to them singling Him out for worship Alone.

Our Shaykh, Muaddith of the lands of Yemen, Muqbil ibn Hd al-Wdi () also refuted this corrupt ideology on his recording Al-iwr maa Jamaah al-Takfr. He mentions that the Khawrij, the people of Takfr, erroneously argue that by the Shaykh and others (here they intend the people of Ahl al-Sunnah) mentioning the narrations of Allh's Forgiveness and Pardon of wrongdoers and the people of transgression, they belittle the evil of sin and inadvertently encourage people to act disobediently. This, of course, is preposterous, and our Shaykh confuted it by clarifying that the believer who is upon the correct creed, the creed of Salafiyyah, reconciles the texts of punishment and pardon found in the Qurn and Sunnah by understanding them in conjunction, as we saw in the statement of al-Mubrakfr. Thus, the one who dies upon a major sin from the people of al-Tawd is under Allhs Decree. If He wills, He will forgive him without reckoning or punishment, or, if He wills, He will punish in the Fire for a period and then remove him from the fire and place him in Paradise, as nothing outweighs the word of alTawd. So it is clear from all of this that the people of the Sunnah remain consistent in their sojourn upon the middle path. Shaykh al-Islm Ibn Taymiyyah () writes in al-Wsiiyyah: So indeed the saved sectthe people of the Sunnah and Jamaahbelieve in this, as they believe in what Allh has related in His Book without any distortion or denial and without questioning how or making any comparison. Rather, they are in the middle course between the sects of the

Until the Sun Rises from Its West: Reflections on the Stories of Repentance Al-Ramniyyah Publishing

Islmic nation, just as the Islmic nation is in the middle course between the other nations. The place of the people of the Sunnah and Jamaah is between the [extremes] of the sects. So they are in the middle course regarding the issue of Allh's Attributes, between the denial of the Jahmiyyah and the comparisons drawn by the Mushabbihah. And they are in the middle course concerning the matter of Allh's Actions between [the excesses] of the Jabriyyah and Qadariyyah and others besides them. In the issue of the Wad of Allh, they are in the middle course between the Murjiah and the Waidiyyah and the Qadariyyah. Concerning the names of Imn and Dn, they are between the ururiyyah and Mutazilah, as well as the Murjiah and Jahmiyyah. Concerning the companions of the Messenger of Allh, they are between the Rfiah and the Khawrij.10 So as adherents to the Book and the Sunnah, we unequivocally affirm these texts and stand rank upon rank in opposition of those who reject them from the people of innovation. In the previous quote, Ibn Taymiyyah clarifies that we are between the extremes of the Khawrij and Murjiah. This is why you will not find the sinners from the people of Sunnah, who understand even the most basic tenets of the belief of Ahl al-Sunnah, stating, explicitly or implicitly, that sins do not harm their Imn. Rather, their reply in most cases is one of embarrassment, if not contrition. Our Shaykh, the carrier of the banner of al-Jar wa al-Tadl in this era, Rab ibn Hd al-Madkhal ( ) states: My brothers, the sinners respect the scholars and the people of religion; they wish to be among their company and to rid themselves of their vices, but perhaps they are unable; however, they desire redemptionGenerally, the fsiq respects the people of knowledge, virtue and uprightness and wishes to attach himself to them; on the contrary, the innovator fights with them, harms them, displays enmity towards them and belittles them; without a doubt he [i.e. the innovator] is more evil.11

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p. 82 See: http://www.sahab.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=116149

Along these same lines, our Shaykh Muammad ibn Hd ( ) states: You witness the fsiq smoking, and you approach him and say: O brother, smoking is harmful to your health and your religion. He will respond: Supplicate to Allh to guide us. He will not say to you that it is all (permissible). You approach him after drinking intoxicants, and he will say: Supplicate to Allh to guide us. You approach him while listening to music, and we have witnessed this many times, and this has occurred with those to whom we have addressed: My son, music is arm, impermissible. He responds: Supplicate for us. We are youth; pray that Allh guides us. He acknowledges that it is an error; however, the person of innovation, he is the one who calls you and sees you to be upon misguidance. So there is a difference between the innovator and the fsiq. The fsiq will not oppose you in that which is considered arm, but the innovator will see you to be upon other than what he is upon, and he sees that which he is upon as the true Religion. We seek refuge in Allh from that.12 And we have witnessed with our own eyes and ears what our scholars have cited here. For how many times has a common person from Ahl al-Sunnah fallen into the snare of al-Shayn, been found out and uttered: Make dua for me, akh. I am going through something right now. This is because, generally, the people of sin commit their acts under the cover of night and away from the eyes of the creation for fear of being discovered; and even if they are heedless enough to do so in plain view, rarely will they openly call to it; and even if they did so, it is even rarer for a people to take that as Religion. This is due, in part, to years of hearing sermons filled with texts from the Book and the Sunnah warning from the evils of sin; years of lessons and admonitions taken from works such as al-Kabir (Book of the Major Sins) by al-Dhahab and Muammad Abd al-Wahhb, al-D wa al-Daw (The

Taken from his class of Shar al-Ibnah al-Sughr by Ibn Baah (lesson no. 4). Refer to http://ar.miraath.net/book/3520
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Until the Sun Rises from Its West: Reflections on the Stories of Repentance Al-Ramniyyah Publishing

Sickness and the Cure) by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, Riy al-alin of alNawaw, etc. being taught in our Salaf masjid. As for any person who is haughty enough to openly excuse sin, with whatever argument, then little can be done with the obstinate. Nevertheless, we remain steadfast in our admonition that remorse is repentance and that nothing comes between the slave of Allh and Tawbah, no matter how grave the sin: murder, fornication, theft, bribery, etc. It is therefore our sincere supplication and hope that the forthcoming stories of repentance serve as an admonition as well as an encouragement for all to turn to al-Ramn in penitence, as Allh () states:

O you who believe, Turn to Allh with sincere repentance. It may be that your Lord will remit from you your sins, and admit you into Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise). [al-Tarm 66:8] Written by one in need of his Lords Pardon, Ab al-asan Mlik dam al-Akhar Sharqiyyah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

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