Dought & clear, - Ruling on the things that lead to zina – kissing, touching and being alone together.

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What is the ruling on one who is intimate with women but does not commit zina, i.e. kissing etc?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Zina (adultery, fornication) does not refer only to penetration, rather there is the zina of the hand, which is touching that which is forbidden, and the zina of the eyes, which is looking at that which is forbidden, even though zina that is committed with the private parts, is the zina which is punishable with the hadd punishment.
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah has decreed for every son of Adam his share of zina, which he will inevitably commit. The zina of the eyes is looking, the zina of the tongue is speaking, one may wish and desire, and the private parts confirm that or deny it.”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5889; Muslim, 2657.
It is not permissible for the Muslim to long for the things that lead to zina, such as kissing, being alone, touching and looking, for all these things are haraam and lead to the greater evil which is zina.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And come not near to unlawful sex. Verily, it is a Faahishah (i.e. anything that transgresses its limits: a great sin, and an evil way that leads one to hell unless Allaah Forgives him)”
[al-Isra’ 17:32]
Looking at that which is forbidden is one of the arrows of the Shaytaan, which leads a person to doom, even if he did not do it intentionally at first. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Tell the believing men to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts). That is purer for them. Verily, Allaah is All‑Aware of what they do.
And tell the believing women to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts)”
[al-Noor 24:30-31]
Think about how Allaah connects the issue of lowering the gaze with the issue of protecting the private parts (guarding one’s chastity) in these verses, and how lowering the gaze is mentioned first, before protecting the private parts, because the eye influences the heart.
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
In these two verses, Allaah commands the believing men and women to lower their gaze and guard their chastity, which is because of the serious nature of zina and what it leads to of great corruption among the Muslims. Letting one's gaze wander freely is one of the causes of sickness in the heart and the occurrence of immoral actions, whereas lowering the gaze is one of the means of keeping oneself safe from that. Hence Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Tell the believing men to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts). That is purer for them. Verily, Allaah is All‑Aware of what they do.”
[al-Noor 24:30]
Lowering one’s gaze and guarding one’s chastity is purer for the believer in this world and in the Hereafter, whereas letting one’s gaze wander freely and not guarding one's chastity are among the greatest causes of doom and punishment in this world and in the Hereafter. We ask Allaah to keep us safe and sound.
Allaah tells us that He is All-Aware of what people do, and that nothing is hidden from Him. This is a warning to the believer against doing that which Allaah has forbidden and turning away from that which Allaah has prescribed for him, and it is a reminder to him that Allaah sees him and knows all that he does, whether it is good or otherwise. As Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Allaah knows the fraud of the eyes, and all that the breasts conceal”
[Ghaafir 40:19]
End quote. Fromal-Tabarruj wa Khataruhu.
The Muslim has to fear his Lord in secret and in public, and keep away from that which Allaah has forbidden of being alone with a member of the opposite sex, looking, shaking hands, kissing and other haraam actions which lead to the immoral action of zina.
The sinner should not be deceived into thinking that he will not commit zina and that he will stop at these haraam actions and not go that far, for the Shaytaan will never leave him alone. There is no hadd punishment for these haraam actions, such as kissing etc., because the hadd punishment is only for intercourse (zina), but the judge may punish him with a ta’zeer punishment to deter him and others like him from committing these sins.
Ibn al-Qayyim said:
Ta’zeer punishments may be prescribed for every sin for which there is no hadd punishment or specific expiation (kafaarah), for sins are of three kinds: those for which there is a hadd punishment but no kafaarah is required; those for which kafaarah is required but there is no hadd punishment; and those for which there is neither a hadd punishment nor kafaarah. The first type includes such crimes as stealing, drinking alcohol, zina and slander. The second includes having intercourse during the day in Ramadaan, or when in ihraam. The third type includes having intercourse with a slave woman who is owned jointly with someone else, kissing a non-mahram woman and being alone with her, entering the public baths without a waist wrapper, eating dead meat, blood and pork, and so on.
I’laam al-Muwaqqa’een, 2/77
The person who has committed any of these actions has to repent to Allaah, for whoever repents Allaah will accept his repentance, and the one who repents is like one who did not sin.
One of the greatest means of expiation for such sins is offering the five daily prayers regularly and on time. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The five daily prayers, and from one Jumu’ah to the next, and from one Ramadaan to the next, expiates for the sins that come in between, so long as you avoid major sins.” Narrated by Muslim, 1/209
And Allaah knows best.

- PUBLISHERNajimudeeN M

Dought & clear, - Ruling on one who apostatises repeatedly.

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Soorat al-Nisa’ states that Allah will not accept the Islam of one who commits kufr three times, and will never guide him. Does that include not praying three times, for example?.
Praise be to Allaah.
The important principle that Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, confirms in His revelation and states that it is the foundation of reckoning and the criterion of reward and punishment, is that repentance wipes out whatever came before it, and that Islam erases all that came before it; the gate of repentance is open to every individual, even if he falls into sin and kufr time after time. The grace and mercy of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, towards His slaves decrees that He should accept the repentance of the one who repents and forgive him his sins.
Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):“Say to those who have disbelieved, if they cease (from disbelief), their past will be forgiven” [al-Anfaal 8:38].
The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Do you not know that Islam destroys whatever came before it, and that hijrah destroys whatever came before it, and that Hajj destroys whatever came before it?” Narrated by Muslim, 121.
There are also verses which indicate that the repentance of the apostate, if he comes back to Islam and repents sincerely, is accepted. Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“How shall Allaah guide a people who disbelieved after their Belief and after they bore witness that the Messenger (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) is true and after clear proofs had come unto them? And Allaah guides not the people who are Zaalimoon (polytheists and wrongdoers).
They are those whose recompense is that on them (rests) the Curse of Allaah, of the angels, and of all mankind
They will abide therein (Hell). Neither will their torment be lightened, nor will it be delayed or postponed (for a while).”
And yet after all that, Allah, may He be glorified, says:
“Except for those who repent after that and do righteous deeds. Verily, Allaah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful”
[Aal ‘Imraan 3:86-88, 89].
But if a person apostatises and then goes further in disbelief and wrongdoing, and he does not repent or come back to Islam, this is the one to whom the verse in Soorat al-Nisa’ –which the questioner mentioned – refers, and the verses from Aal ‘Imraan also indicate that his repentance will not be accepted.
Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Verily, those who disbelieved after their Belief and then went on increasing in their disbelief (i.e. disbelief in the Qur’aan and in Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) — never will their repentance be accepted (because they repent only by their tongues and not from their hearts). And they are those who are astray.
91. Verily, those who disbelieved, and died while they were disbelievers, the (whole) earth full of gold will not be accepted from anyone of them even if they offered it as a ransom. For them is a painful torment and they will have no helpers”
[Aal ‘Imraan 3:90-91].
And He says:
“Verily, those who believe, then disbelieve, then believe (again), and (again) disbelieve, and go on increasing in disbelief; Allaah will not forgive them, nor guide them on the (right) way”
[al-Nisa’ 4:137].
Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said inTafseer al-Qur’aan al-‘Azeem(1/753):
Here Allah tells us about the one who enters Islam and then recants, then comes back to it, then recants and persists in his misguidance, and increases in it until he dies: there is no repentance after his death and Allah will not forgive him or grant him any way out from what he is in, and there is no way he could be guided. Hence He says: “Allaah will not forgive them, nor guide them on the (right) way.” Ibn Abi Haatim said: … It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) said concerning the verse, “and go on increasing in disbelief”: They persist in their disbelief until they die. This was also the view of Mujaahid. End quote.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa (16/28-29):
Concerning these whose repentance will not be accepted, there were several opinions:
It was said that it is because of their hypocrisy, or because they repented from sins less grave than shirk but did not repent from shirk, or it was said that their repentance would never be accepted after death. But the majority, such as al-Hasan, Qataadah, ‘Ata’, al-Khorasaani and al-Suddi said: Their repentance will never be accepted when death comes to them. So this is like the verse in which Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):“And of no effect is the repentance of those who continue to do evil deeds until death faces one of them and he says: ‘Now I repent;’ nor of those who die while they are disbelievers” [al-Nisa’ 4:18].
And the same applies to the verse in which Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):“Verily, those who believe, then disbelieve, then believe (again), and (again) disbelieve, and go on increasing in disbelief; Allaah will not forgive them, nor guide them on the (right) way”
[al-Nisa’ 4:137].
Mujaahid and other mufassireen said: “and go on increasing in disbelief” means, they remain steadfast in that until they die.
I [Ibn Taymiyah] say: That is because the one who repents is giving up kufr, whereas the one who does not repent is persisting in it and adding kufr to kufr. The words “and go on increasing in disbelief” are like saying, they persisted in kufr and continued in kufr and remained in kufr. So they became disbelievers after becoming Muslim, then their kufr increased and did not grow less. The repentance of these people will not be accepted, referring to their repentance when they are dying, because the one who repents before death comes has repented soon enough and recanted his kufr, so it did not increase; rather it decreased, unlike the one who persisted in kufr until the time of death. End quote.
There is no difference of opinion among the scholars that if the apostate repents sincerely and comes back to Islam, Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, will accept him and forgive him for what is past, even if he has apostatized repeatedly.
This is with regard to Allah in the Hereafter.
As for the rulings in this world, some of the scholars said that if a person apostatises repeatedly he should be executed and his repentance not accepted. The difference of opinion among the scholars about accepting repentance has to do with rulings in this world only and does not have to do with a person’s standing before Allah in the Hereafter, may He be glorified and exalted.
Ibn Qudaamah said inal-Mughni(12/271):
To sum up, the difference of opinion among the imams concerning the acceptance of their repentance has to do with rulings in this world, not executing them, and affirming that they should be treated as Muslims.
As to whether Allah accepts their repentance and forgives the one who repents and gives up (apostasy) both inwardly and outwardly, there is no difference of opinion concerning that. End quote.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said inMajmoo‘ al-Fataawa, 30/16:
When the fuqaha’ differed concerning the acceptance of the repentance of one who apostatises repeatedly and the acceptance of the repentance of the heretic, that only has to do with the ruling on outward appearances, because the repentance of such people cannot be trusted. But if he is sincere in his heart towards Allah in his repentance then he is included in the words of Allah (interpretation of the meaning):“Say: “O ‘Ibaadi (My slaves) who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allaah, verily, Allaah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft‑Forgiving, Most Merciful” [al-Zumar 39:53].
According to the correct scholarly opinion, the repentance of one who has apostatised repeatedly is to be accepted with regard to rulings in this world too, and he comes under the same rulings as any other Muslim. This is the view of the majority of Hanafi and Shaafa‘i scholars and is the well-known view among the Maalikis, and is the second of the two views of Ahmad ibn Hanbal.
SeeHaashiyat Tabyeen al-Haqaa’iq, 3/284;Fath al-Qadeer, 6/68;al-Insaaf, 10/332-335;Tuhfat al-Muhtaaj, 9/69;Kashshaaf al-Qinaa‘, 6/177-178;al-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah, 14/127-128. Inal-Mabsoot(10/99-100) it is attributed to ‘Ali and Ibn ‘Umar that they did not accept the repentance of one who had apostatised repeatedly.
Based on that, the repentance of one who had given up prayer is acceptable if he is sincere, even if he repeatedly gave up prayer, but he should beware, because death may come before he is able to repent and Allah may cause his punishment to come in this world before the Hereafter.
We ask Allah to bestow upon us and you His great mercy.
And Allah knows best.

- PUBLISHERNajimudeeN M

For children, - Bohlool sits on Abbasid Caliph Harun Al-Rashid's Throne, Bohlool and Serious Advice

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One day Bohlool arrived at Abbasid Caliph Harun Al-Rashid's palace and saw that the throne was empty. There was no one to stop him, so he unhesitatingly and fearlessly went and sat in Abbasid Caliph Harun Al-Rashid's place. When the court slaves saw this, they immediately started whipping him and took him off the throne. Bohlool started crying.
Abbasid Caliph Harun Al-Rashid came and saw this; he asked those nearby why Bohlool was crying. A slave told him the whole story. Abbasid Caliph Harun Al-Rashid scolded them and tried to cheer Bohlool up.
Bohlool said he was not crying at his condition, but at Abbasid Caliph Harun Al-Rashid's condition. "I sat on the seat of Caliphate wrongfully for a few seconds and received such a beating and endured such misfortune; but you have been sitting on this throne all your life! What troubles you must receive, yet you still don't fear the consequence."

- PUBLISHERNajimudeeN M