After performing Hajj, is the Muslim guaranteed forgiveness of his sins orshould he still feel worried and anxious?

There is a hadith that states if you make haj properly its as if youve
returned sinless as a child( loose translation) and alhamdulillah i
havemade hajj and inshallah it was proper, but from time to time
during my prayer i remember a sin i have made before haj and i feel
tremendous remorse and i ask for forgiveness. should i be so
remorseful or should ibe more hopeful that i have forgiven and not try
to remember my sins.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him)
said: I heard the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
say: "Whoever performs Hajj for the sake of Allah and does not utter
any obscene speech or do any evil deed, will go back (free of sin) as
his mother bore him."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari,1449; Muslim, 1350.
Here we should draw attention to two things:
1.
That this is the reward for an accepted Hajj. Whoever does Hajj
usingharaam money, or whose Hajj is not sincerely for the sake of
Allah, may He be exalted,or who utters any obscene speech or does any
evil deeds, his Hajj will not be accepted andhe will not go back as
onthe day his mother bore him.
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
With regard to the accepted Hajj, it was saidthat it is that in which
there is no showing off or seeking reputation, and in which there is
no obscene speech or evil deeds, and it is done with halaal wealth.
Al-Tamheed lima fi'l-Muwatta' min al-Ma'aani wa'l-Asaaneed, 22/39
Some of the scholars said that the Hajj mabroor is that which is
accepted, and the sign of its acceptance is that the person does not
go back to disobeying his Lord, may He be exalted, and that he
restores rights to those who are entitled to them.
See the answer to question no. 26242
2.
Hajj does not mean that obligations such as expiation (kafaarah)
anddebts are waived, as has been explained previously in the answerto
question no. 138630
Secondly:
The Muslim whom his Lord, may He be exalted, honours by enabling him
to perform the rituals of Hajj should be concerned lest his Hajj has
not been accepted from him. This does not mean that he should despair
of his Lord's mercy; rather it is so thathe will not take it for
granted, and so that he will turn to his Lord, mayHe be exalted, with
sincere du'aa', asking that it be accepted from him, and so that he
will focus on doing righteous deeds that willincrease his balance of
good deeds on the Day when he meets his Lord, may He be exalted.
Allah,may He be glorified and exalted, says, describing the believers
(interpretation of the meaning):
"and those who give (their wealth and other possession) whatever they
gave, in a state thattheir hearts are overwhelmed (with the belief)
that they are to be those who return to their Nourisher-Sustainer —
It is these who race for the good deeds, and they are foremost in them
(e.g. offering the compulsory Salat (prayers) in their (early) stated,
fixed times and so on)"
[al-Mu'minoon 23:60-61].
It was narrated that 'Aa'isha, the wife of the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) said: I asked the Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) about this verse: "and
those who give (their wealth and other possession) whatever they gave,
in a state thattheir hearts are overwhelmed" [al-Mu'minoon 23:60].
'Aa'ishah said: Are they those who drink alcohol and steal? He said:
No, O daughter of as-Siddeeq; rather they are those who fast, pray and
give charity, fearing that it will not be accepted from them. Those
are the ones who race for the good deeds.
Narrated by at-Tirmidhi, 3175; Ibn Maajah, 4198; classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani in Saheeh at-Tirmidhi
This fear of these believers does not make them despair of the mercy
of their Lord; rather they combine with it hope and positive thinking
of theirLord, may He be glorified and exalted, the hope that He will
reward them and honour them. Two things motivate those believing close
friends ofAllah to fear lest their good deeds not be accepted:
thinking negatively of themselveslest they have not done well, and
their great love for their Lord, may He be glorified and exalted.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
If he – i.e. the believer – is afraid, then it is more appropriate for
him to fear that he is not doing good enough and what makes him feel
that he isnot doing good enough is two things:
(i) Seeing his failings and shortcomings
(ii) The sincerity of his love (for Allah), forthe one
who loves sincerely draws close to his Beloved as much as he can,
whilst feeling that he is not doing enough and that he is too
embarrassed to meetHim with his deeds when he feels that He deserves
much more.
Madaarij as-Saalikeen, 2/325
To sum up:
What you have to do is combine two things and do not omit either of them:
1.
Do not think of your sins as being too great in comparison to the
forgiveness and mercy of Allah, may He be exalted. Rather what
thebeliever fears is his shortcomings in repentance and his
shortcomings in doing acts of obedience that expiate sins. So let this
fear of yours motivate you to do more acts of worship and to ask
Allah,may He be glorified and exalted, sincerely to accept your deeds
and make you among those who are close to Him. Beware of despairing of
the mercy of your Lord, may He be glorified and exalted.
2.
Think positively of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, and hope
for Hisforgiveness, blessing, kindness and mercy that encompasses all
things. So long as you persist in obeying your Lord's commands,
respecting His laws and hastening to obey Him, you should also persist
in thinking positively of Him and that He will accept it from you and
make you steadfast in doing so.
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said, commenting on
the hadeeth qudsi, "Allah, may He be exalted, says: 'I am as My slave
thinks I am'" (agreed upon):
Al-Qurtubi said in al-Mufhim: It was said that what is meant by "as My
slave thinks I am" is thinking that one will receive a response
whenoffering du'aa' (supplication), and thinking that it will be
accepted when one repents, and thinking that one will be forgivenwhen
asking for forgiveness, and thinking that one will berewarded when
doing acts of worship, fulfillingall their conditions and believing
sincerely in Hispromise. He said: that is supported by what he said in
another hadeeth:"Call upon Allah when you are certain of receiving a
response." Hence one should strive hard in praying qiyaam with the
certainty that Allah will accept it and forgive one, because He has
promised that and He does not break His promises. If he believes or
thinks that Allah will not accept it and that it is of no benefit,
this is despairing of the mercy of Allah, which is a majorsin. If a
person dies in such a state, he will be left to what he thought, as it
says in some narrations of the hadeeth quoted above: "Let My slave
think of Meas he wishes." As for thinking that one will beforgiven
whilst persisting in sin, that is pure ignorance and delusion, and
leads to the view of the Murji'ah.
Fath al-Baari, 13/386
We ask Allah to accept your righteous deeds from you, and to make your
Hajj accepted, and to grant you the best and greatest reward.
And Allah knows best.

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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