Ramadan Articles - The Month of Repentance- I

The month ofRamadanis a great opportunity for returning to Allaah The
Almighty with repentance. It is the month of mercy, erasing mistakes,
expiatingevil deeds, salvation from Hellfire and attaining Paradise.
The fortunate person is he who knows this and hastens to the actions
that draw him near to His Lord by turning to Him in repentance,
seeking forgiveness and feeling regret for all his slips andsins.
If one does not repent inRamadan, then when will he? If one does not
repent when the gates ofParadise are opened, the gates of Hellfire are
closed and devils are chained up, then when will he repent? When
willhe give up committing sins?
It is the month of repentance, forgiveness, salvation form Hell fire
and the Prophet,, said:"May his nose be rubbed in the dust, a man for
whom Ramadan comes and then goes before he is forgiven!"]At-Tirmithi;
Al-Albaani:Saheeh[
Why do we not repent while Allaah The Almighty stretches out HisHand
to the seeker of repentance and opens the door of His repentance to
those whofeel regret )for their sins(? It was narrated on the
authority of Abu Moosa Al-Ash'arithat the Prophet,, said:"Allaah The
Almighty stretches out His Hand at night to accept the repentance of
those whodid wrong during the day, and He stretches out His Hand
during the day to accept the repentance of those who did wrong during
the night. )This will continue( until the sun rises from the
west.["]Muslim[
It was also reported on the authority of Abu Tharr Al-Ghifaarithat the
Prophet,, said:"Allaah The Almighty says: 'My slaves, you commit sins
by day and by night, and I forgive allsins, so seek forgiveness from
Me and I shall forgive you.'"]Muslim[
Remember that the Mercyof Allaah The Almighty encompasses all things.
Isnot He The Exalted, the One who opens the door of repentance before
thehypocrites? He The Exalted Says )what means(:}Indeed, the
hypocrites will be in the lowest depths of the Fire - and never will
you find for them a helper. Except for those who repent, correct
themselves, hold fast to Allaah, and are sincere in their religion for
Allaah , for those will be with the believers. And Allaah is going to
give the believers a greatreward.{]Quran 4: 145-146[
Allaah The Exalted did not exclude the Jews andthe Christians, who
insulted and slandered Him and says )on their behalf, what means(:}And
the Jews say, "The hand of Allaah is chained." Chained are their
hands, and cursed are they for what they say. Rather, both His hands
are extended.{]Quran 4: 64[
Allaah The Exalted does not exclude them from His mercy that
encompasses all things. He The Exalted Says)what means(:}So will they
not repent to Allaah and seek His forgiveness?And Allaah is Forgiving
and Merciful.{]Quran 5: 74[
He The Exalted Says about the non-Muslims)what means(:}But if they
repent, establish prayer, and give Zakaah, then they are your brothers
in religion; and We detail the verses for a people who know.{]Quran 9:
11[
Is not He The Exalted, the One who calls those who have transgressed
against themselves of thenation of Muhammad,, to humble themselves and
repent to Him saying)what means(:}Say, "O My servants who have
transgressed against themselves ]by sinning[, do not despair of the
mercy of Allaah. Indeed, Allaah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He
who is the Forgiving, the Merciful."{]Quran 39: 53[ And He called the
people ofImaan)faith( to make repentance; He The Exalted Says )what
means(:}O you who havebelieved, repent to Allaahwith sincere
repentance. Perhaps your Lord will remove from you your misdeeds and
admit you into gardens beneath which rivers flow.{]Quran 66: 8[

Ramadan Articles - Reaping the Benefits of Ramadhan

In the month of Ramadaan it is very important that we spent a few
moments to understand some of the wisdoms and lessons thatwe can learn
from this month of fasting.
Unfortunately, many Muslims come in to this month and they are as a
companion of the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Let it not be that
the day that you fast and the day that you break fast be equal."
Meaning, one's behaviour, attitude and outlook are the same whether
one fasts or not,i.e. fasting has no effect upon that person. This is
why we need to reflect on some of these lessons.
LESSON 1: Gaining Taqwaa
Allah legislated fasting for gaining taqwaa,
"O you who believe, fasting has been prescribed upon you as ithas been
prescribed upon those before you, so that you may attain
taqwaa."(meaning of Soraat ul Baqarah (2):183)
Taqwaa in this case means to make a shield between oneself and Allah's
anger and Hellfire.So we should ask ourselves, when we break our
fasts, 'Has this fasting day made us fear Allah more? Has it resulted
that we want to protect ourselves from the hellfire or not?
LESSON 2: Drawing closer to Allah
This is achieved by reciting and reflecting onAl-Qur'aan during night
and day, attending the taraaweeh prayers, remembering Allah, sitting
in circles of knowledge and, for those who can, making `umrah. Also
for those who can, making I`tikaaf (seclusion) in the last ten nights
of Ramadaan, so as to leave all worldly pursuits and seclude oneself
in a masjid just thinking of Allah, so as to bring oneself closer to
Allah (SWT). When one sins, one feels distant from Allah. That is why
one might find it heard to read the Qur'aan and come to the masjid.
However, the obedient worshipper feels closer to Allah and wants to
worship Allah more, because he is not shy from his sins.
LESSON 3: Acquiring patience and strong will
Allah has mentioned patience more than seventy times in the Qur'aan
and has commanded patience in more than sixteen ways in His Book. So
when onefasts, and gives up one's food and drink, and one's marital
sexual relations for those hours, one learns restraint and patience.
This Ummah needs man and women that are strong willed, who can stand
upon the Sunnah and the Book of Allah and not waver in front of the
enemies of Allah. We do not need emotional people, who just raise
slogans and shout, but when the timecomes to stand upon something
firm, they cannot do so, they waver.
LESSON 4: Striving for Ihsaan (righteousness and sincerity) and
staying away from riyaa' (showing off)
Ihsaan means to worship Allah as if one seeks Him, and even though one
does not see Him, He seesall. Hasan al-Basree said,"By Allah, in the
last twenty years, I have not said a word or taken something with my
hand or refrained to take something with my hand or stepped forth or
stepped back, except thatI have thought before I have done any action,
'Does Allah love this action? Is Allah pleased with this action?' So
when one is fasting, one should gain this quality of watching oneself
and also staying away from riyaa' (showing off). Thatis why Allah said
in a hadeeth qudsee,"Fasting is for Me and I reward it."(al-Bukhaaree)
Allah singles out fasting from all other types of worshipsaying,
"Fasting is for Me", because no one knows whether you are fasting or
not, except Allah. For example, when one is praying or giving charity
or making tawaaaf, one can be seenby the people, so one might do the
action seeking the praise of the people. Sufyaan ath-Thawree used to
spend the nights and the days crying and the people used to ask
him,"Why do you cry, is it due to the fear of Allah? He said, 'No.'
They said, "Is it due to the fear of the Hellfire?" He said, 'No. It
is not the fear of Hellfire that makes me cry, what makes me cry is
that I have been worshipping Allah all these years and doing scholarly
teaching, and I am not certain that my intentions are purely for
Allah.'"
LESSON 5: Refinement of manners, especially thoserelated to
truthfulness and discharging trusts.
The Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him)
said,"Whoever does not abandon falsehood in word and action, then
Allah (SWT) has no need that he should heave his food and
drink."(al-Bukhaaree) What we learn from this, is that wemust pay
attention to thepurification of our manners. The Prophet (may Allah
send His blessing and peace upon him) said, "was sent to perfect good
manners." (Maalik) So we must check ourselves, are we following the
behaviour of the Prophet (may Allahsend His blessing and peace upon
him)? For example: Do we give salaam to those we don't know and those
we do know? Do we follow the manners of Islaam, by telling the truth
and only telling the truth? Are we sincere? Are we merciful to the
creation?
LESSON 6: Recognizing that one can change for the better
The Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him)
said,"Every son of Adam sins and the best of the sinners are those who
repent."(Ibn Maajah) Allah provides many opportunities to repent to
Him and seek His forgiveness. If one was disobedient they can become
obedient.
LESSON 7: Being more charitable
Ibn `Abbaas said, "The Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace
upon him) was the most charitable amongst the people, and he used to
be more so in the month of Ramadaan when Jibreel used to meet him on
every night of Ramadaan till the end of the month…" (al-Bukhaaree) The
Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) said, "He who
gives food for a fasting person to break his fast, he will receive the
same reward as him, without nothing being reduced from the fasting
person's reward." (at-Tirmidhee)
LESSON 8: Sensing the unity of the Muslims
The Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) said,"…
Those of you who will live after me will see many differences. Then
you must cling to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly guided
khaleefahs. Hold fast to itand stick to it."(Aboo Daawood) In this
month we sense that there is a possibility for unity, because we all
fast together, we break fast together, we all worship Allah together,
and we pray Salaatul-`Eid together. Therefore we sense that the unity
of Muslims is possible. It is possible for Muslims to bea single body,
but this will only be achieved when obedience is only to Allah and His
Messenger.
LESSON 9: Learning discipline
The Prophet (ma Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) made us
adhere to discipline and strictness, strictness that does not lead to
fanaticism or going outside the bounds that Allah has laid down. One
cannot knowingly break the fast before the sunset, as this will not be
accepted by Allah. Muslims should learn to be very strict in their
lives, because they are people of an important message, which they
mold their lives around.
LESSON 10: Teaching the young to worship Allah
It was the practice of the people of Madeenah, thatduring the fast of
`Aashooraa (which is now a recommended fastof one day) to get their
children to fast with them. When the children would cry of hunger and
thirst, their parents would distract their attention by giving them
some sort of toy to play with. The children would break their fast
with their parents. (as mentioned in al-Bukhaaree).
So the young should be brought to the masjid and they should pray with
their parents, so that they are able to get into the habit of becoming
worshippers ofAllah. If one does not encourage children to fast when
they are young, they will find it very difficult to fast for thirty
days at the age of puberty. This is why the Prophet (may Allah send
His blessing and peace upon him) said,"Command your children to pray
at the age of seven and spank them at the age of ten (if they do not
pray."(Haakim)
LESSON 11: Caring for one's health
Fasting has many medicalbenefits and it teaches Muslims to take care
of their health and too build strong bodies. The Prophet (may Allah
send His blessing and peace upon him) said,"A strong believer is
better and is more beloved to Allah than a weak believer, and there is
good in everyone."(Muslim)

Ramadan Articles - Repentance in Ramadhan

I praise Allah, Who has brought near to us the means of goodness and
has opened the gate of repentance to His slaves, and I send blessings
and peace upon the Messenger of Allah.
I have put together thesefew words for everyone who wants to change
his situation and his actions so as to earn the pleasureof his Creator
and achieve happiness in this world and in the Hereafter. I ask Allah
to make it of benefit to those who read it and tellothers about it,
and I ask Allah to forgive sins both open and secret.
My dear brothers and sisters,
I congratulate you on theoccasion of this blessed month, the month of
repentance, forgiveness and ransom from the Fire, the month of
goodness and blessing, the month of generosity and kindness. I say to
myself, to you and to everyone who is falling short in his duties
towards his Lord (this Arabic poem):
O you who did not have enough of sin in Rajab,
So he continued to disobey his Lord during the month of Sha'baan,
Now these two months have been followed by the month of patience,
So do not let this be a month of sin too.
Recite the Qur'aan and glorify your Lord during this month, striving
your utmost,
For it is the month of glorification and Qur'aan.
The month of Ramadaan has come
So come to Allah, O seeker of good.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:"When the
first night of Ramadaan comes, the devils and demons are chained up,
and the gates of Hell are closed and not one gate of it is opened. The
gates of Paradise are opened and not one gate of it is closed. And a
caller calls out: "O seeker of good, come to Allah; O seeker ofevil,
desist." Allah will have ransomed some people from the Fire, andthat
happens every night."(Narrated by al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Maajah with a
hasan isnaad).
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,"Ameen,
ameen, ameen."It was said, "Messenger of Allah,you climbed up on the
minbar and said, "Ameen,ameen, ameen." He said,"Jibreel (peace be upon
him), came to me and said, "Whoever witnessesthe month of Ramadaan and
is not forgiven so he enters Hell, may Allah casthim away. Say Ameen."
So I said Ameen.""(This hadeeth was narrated by Ahmad and is saheeh).
Yes! Ramadaan has come,so turn to your Lord Whom you have disobeyed,
beseeching Him and fearing Him, regretting and weeping,and say,
"O God of the Universe, I am returning (to You)."
"O Giver of all good things, give me guidance,
For there is no good without guidance.
Overlook my mistakes with forgiveness, kindness and mercy,
For no one else can bestow forgiveness." [Arabic poetry]
My brothers and sisters, ifyou are not forgiven, if your eyes do not
shed tears and your heart doesnot break before your Lord in this
month, then when?
My brothers and sisters, why do you not shed tears for fear of your
Lord even once? Do you not feel that your heart isclose to your Lord
during this month? Do you not think that this is an opportunity for
you to draw closer to your Lord and increase in humility, repentance
and submission, so that it maybe the true beginning of your returning
to your Lord so that you may be more closely connected with Allah?
"While as for those who accept guidance, He increases their guidance and
bestows on them their piety"[Muhammad 47:17]
O man!
Allah rebukes us and tells us (interpretation of the meaning):
"O man! What has made you careless about your Lord, the Most
Generous?"[al-Infitaar 82:6]
Indeed, O man, what has made you careless about your Lord, so that you
have become so audacious in disobeying Him and transgressing
Hislimits? Is it because you are ignoring His blessings? Or because
youforget that He is always watching over you, and that He is
almighty?
"I am the one who closes the doors, striving in sin (in secret),
Although the eye of Allah is watching me.
How patient Allah is with me, when He lets me off
Although I persist in my sin, and He covers me." [Arabic poetry]
My brothers and sisters! Do not look at how small your sin is, but
look at how great is the One Whom you are disobeying. My brothers and
sisters! Do not let Allah be the one whom you care the least about of
all those who are watching you.
Good news for you
Here I bring you good news from your Lord andHis Messenger (peace
andblessings of Allah be upon him). Allah says (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
Allah, verily, Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving,
Most Merciful"[al-Zumar 39:53]
And,
"And those who invoke not any other ilaah (god) along with Allah, nor
kill such person as Allah has forbidden, except for justcause, nor
commit illegal sexual intercourse and whoever does this shall receive
the punishment.
The torment will be doubled to him on the Day of Resurrection, and he
will abide therein in disgrace;
Except those who repent and believe (in Islamic Monotheism), and do
righteous deeds; for those, Allah will change their sins into good
deeds, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful"[al-Furqaan 25:68-70]
This is a great blessing and a great deal, for Allah will change your
sins into good deeds! Allah is Most Great. No one misses out on such a
great deal except one who is ignorant or who does not care about this
blessing.
So repent! my dear brothers and sisters, if you want this great deal,
Allah will change your sins into good deeds.
And listen to what your beloved Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) said to encourage people to repent:
"Allah is more delighted with the repentance of His slave than one of
you who suddenly finds his camel laden with supplies after losing it
in a barren land."(Agreed upon)
And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
"Allah says: "O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and put your
hope in Me, I will forgive you no matter what you have done, and I do
not mind. O son of Adam, if your sins were to reach up to the clouds
of the sky, then you were to ask Me for forgiveness, I will forgive
you and I do not mind."
And he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:"Allah says, "O
My slaves, you commit sins by night and by day, but I forgive all
sins. So ask Me for forgiveness and I will forgive you."
And he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:"Allah
stretches forth His hand by night to accept the repentance of those
who sinned during the day, and He stretches forth Hishand by day to
accept the repentance of those who sinned during the night. (This will
continue)until the sun rises from the west."
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saw
a woman looking for her young son among the prisoners of war. When she
found him, she embraced him and gave him her breast. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,"Do you think that she
could throw her child into the fire?"They said, "No." He said,"Allah
is more merciful towards His slaves than this woman istowards her
child."
Allah is Most Great! After knowing of this generosity, can we ignore
the matter of repentance? Can we delay repenting?O Allah, glory be to
You, how merciful You are. Glory beto You, how kind You are.Glory be
to You, how generous You are.
"When my heart grew hard and I did not know where to turn,
I made the hope of Your forgiveness my way out.
I thought that my sin was so great, but when I compared it
To Your forgiveness, my Lord, Your forgiveness was greater.
You never cease to forgive sin, and You never cease
To be generous, out of Your bounty and kindness." [Arabic poetry]
Be frank with yourself
What is keeping you from repenting and following the path of
righteousness? I can imagine you saying, "My family, community and
friends. I am afraid of repenting then going back to my sin. My sins
are so many, how can I be forgiven? I am worried about my family and
my wealth." I say to you: Do you think that you will say that to your
Lord on the Day when you meet Him? No, by Allah! These are imaginary
obstacles which can only be overcome by one who fears his Lord.
"If the soul had great ambitions,
The body would be exhausted by trying to fulfil the desires of the
soul." [Arabic poetry]
Be proud of your religion, and sincerely resolve to do good and to
continue doing so, putting your trust in Allah. And remember the mercy
of your Lord and the vast extent of His forgiveness.
My brother, if the Angel of Death were to come toyou at this moment,
would you be content to meet your Lord in this state? My brother,
please do not run away from yourself or try to avoid checking on
yourself. If you do not check on yourself today, then in your grave
you will regret it, at the time when regret will be of noavail.
A new beginning
Know that repentance is not limited only to this month it may take
place during this or any other month. But why should your new
beginning not take place in the month of goodness and blessing? A man
may be born twice, on the day when he emerges from the darkness of his
mother's womb into the light of this world, and on the day when he
emerges from the darkness of sin into the light of obedience. So be
like this.
I advise you, my friend, to catch up with good people who will benefit
you even after you die byAllah's Leave by making du'aa for you. Catch
up with them and keep company with them wherever they come and go; be
patient with them until you meet your Lord,then it may be said to you
and to them:
"Salaamun 'Alaykum (peace be upon you) for you persevered in patience!
Excellent indeed is the final home!"[al-Ra'ad 13:24 interpretation of
the meaning]
A story and an attitude
There was a man who was with the righteous, then he left them and
started to fall short in his religious commitments. One day he was
going ona trip, and his car overturned on the road. He was
resuscitated, thenhe died.
The sad news came. We prayed over him, and he was taken and placed in
his grave. His grave was filled with bricks and earth, and he would
never come back. Tears flowed and hearts were filled with grief. One
of the righteous people, I think he was righteous, but Allah knows
best and I do not praise anyone before Allah, who was one of his
former friends,sat by his grave with his head bowed, making du'aa for
him.
Thus I knew what kind offriends could benefit a man after his death.
My brother, beware lest you become one of thoseof whom Allah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"And (remember) the Daywhen the Dhaalim (wrongdoer, oppressor,
polytheist) will bite at hishands, he will say:
"Oh! Would that I had taken a path with the Messenger (Muhammad).
"Ah! Woe to me! Would that I had never taken so and so as a Khaleel
(an intimate friend)!
He indeed led me astray from the Reminder (this Qur'aan) after it had
come to me."
And Shaytaan (Satan) is to man ever a deserter in the hour of need"
[al-Furqaan 25:27-29]
Before the door is closed
My dear brother, before the door is closed, decidefrom now, and do not
delay, the path that you want to follow, which will be your path in
this world and in the Hereafter.
What great joy and happiness is to be found when a person comes back
to his Lord, regretting (his sin) and joining the caravan of the
righteous. By Allah it is joy which no one tastesexcept those who
experience this.
My brother in Allah, if youhave resolved to repent and turn back to
your Lord, then know that there are conditions which must be met
whenrepenting:
1- Regret for what is past.
2- Giving up the sin.
3- Resolving not to go back to it. But if you do itagain, then repent
to Allah again but your resolve must be genuine.
4- The repentance must come before the death-rattle reaches the throat
and before the sun rises in the west.

Those who openly sin – I

It is from the Sunnah of the Prophetthat we take the light of guidance
regarding this crucial issue, which is one that requires urgent
attention due to it being one of the most important matters that will
assist in preserving the Muslim community with regards to its religion
and chastity.
Abu Hurayrahreported: "The Messenger of Allaahsaid:"Every member of my
nation will be forgiven, except those who expose their wrongdoings. An
example of this is that of a man who commits a sin at night which
Allaah then conceals, but, the next morning, he goes and says )to
people(: 'I committed such and such a sin last night' - while Allaah
had kept it secret. During the night Allaah had concealed it, but in
the morning he tore up the cover provided by Allaah
Himself."]Al-Bukhaari & Muslim[
Those who openly expose their sins to others will be deprived from the
forgiveness of Allaah. Imaam An-Nawawisaid: "It is permissible to
speak openly about those who openly expose the sins that they commit,
or innovations they propagate."
Such a person would sit in a gathering and say: "I committed such and
such a sin last night" and then give details, whilst the Messenger of
Allaahsaid:"Refrain from these filthy matters)i.e. sins( that Allaah
has forbidden, and if one of you is tried by committing any of them,
then let him conceal them as Allaah has concealed them for
him."]Al-Haakim[
Why is this? It is because openly exposing one's sins is a way of
slighting the rank of Allaah; it is Allaah who forbade such sins to be
committed and who informedus of this through His Messenger. Thus, the
one who openly exposes his disobedience is expressing indifference
regardingthe legislation of Allaah, the rank of His Messengerand the
feelings of the righteous within the Muslim community. To do this is
therefore nothing except dogged arrogance.
Openly exposing sins and bragging about them is a common practice
amongst people nowadays, and has replaced repenting from them and
concealing them from others. If one sins, he should not even inform a
single person, and must repent and resolve never to commit the same
sin again. One may, however, inform a scholar or a wise friend in
order to seek his help and receive advice on how to refrain from and
resist such sins, as well as to receive guidance on matters that would
protect him from being tempted again and to inform him of deterrents
that would prevent him from falling into the same mistake again.
Another specific permissible reason for one exposing his sin isto do
so in order to seek the Islamic ruling regarding what he has
committed; the proof for thisis the story of the man who had sexual
intercourse with his wife during the daytime one Ramadanduring the
lifetime of the Messenger of Allaah. The man then went and informed
theProphetof what he had done so that he would know what the ruling
was and what he should therefore do regarding this sin. The Prophetdid
not condemnhim for telling him what he had done and instructed him as
to what to do for expiation.
Exposing sins and bragging about them encourages others tocommit them
and imitate the sinners. The prohibition of openlycommitting sins is a
great wisdom, because Allaah knows that such acts move others and
motivate them to indulge in the same evil; it also makes sinning more
attractive to people, decorating it in their eyes. This is why openly
exposing one's sins isso perilous.
The Islamic scholarsmentioned many rulings related to those who openly
expose theirsins to others, such as the prayer behind such people to
be disliked)i.e., such people may not lead congregational prayers(.
Some scholars even went as far as to state that one must repeat his
prayer if he prays behind such a person. Ibn Abu Zaydwas asked whether
or not a sinner can lead people during congregational prayers, to
which he answered: "If he is one who openly and persistently exposes
his sins to others, then he may not." This means that he should not be
given the opportunity to lead to begin with, and if he is already
leading, then people must strive to remove and replace him, because
this person is unfit for leadership.
On the other hand, if one openly exposes a sin of his unintentionally
then he is pardoned due to it occurring accidentally. Imaam Maalikwas
asked about this and answered: "This is something that anyone could
)accidentally( do … )but( nothing is similar to the evil of he who
persistently and openly exposes his sins."
An issue related to this is that of visiting such a person when he is
sick; visiting a sick Muslim is highly rewardable by Allaah, and it is
a right that a Muslim has over other Muslims, but the Islamic
scholarssaid regarding the one who openly exposes his sins: "He is not
to be visited, so that this )shunning( acts as a means of making him
repent from such evil, and in order for others to refrain from such an
act when they see how badly he is treated; but, )one mayvisit him( if
the intention is to admonish and advise him."
Another ruling regarding such a person is concerning praying the
funeral prayer over him; the Islamic scholarsstated thathe is not to
be prayed over as a deterrent for others, so that they will not follow
in his footsteps. Inthis regard, Imaam Ibn Taymiyyahsaid: "People
should refrain from praying over the dead person who was knownto
openly expose his sins to others as a means to prevent others from
acting like him." Onlythe common people should pray over such a
person, because he was still a Muslim, but people of piety and
knowledge should be absent.
What is the ruling of backbiting such people and revealing their sins?
Generally, it is recommended to conceal the sinsof others because the
Prophetsaid:"Whoever covers up the fault of a Muslim, Allaah will
cover up his fault)s( on the Day ofResurrection."]Al-Bukhaari &
Muslim[
The exception to this narration applies only for the one who openly
exposes his sins, as the scholars stated; this is because it becomes
recommended for others to expose him to people so that they can avoid
dealing with him. Concealing the faults ofsuch a person could
encourage him to commit more evil.
As for backbiting such people, Imaam Ahmadsaid: "He whoopenly exposes
his sins to others has no protection against backbiting )i.e. it is
not prohibited to backbite him(." On the other hand, Imaam
An-Nawawistated that it is permitted, but only regarding thesins he
exposed to others and nothing else, so that people can be warned
against him.
Additionally, if he is likely to take heed as a result of people
boycotting him, then people should boycott him by not talking to him,
not visiting him, not responding to him when he salutes with Salaam
and so on. This is because exposition of sins is a matter taken very
seriously inIslam.
One is obliged Islamically to respond to invitations to wedding feasts
because the Prophetsaid:"He who does not respond to and honour the
dinner invitation of a wedding has disobeyed Allaah and His
Messenger."Nonetheless, this obligation does not apply to the
invitations of those who openly expose their sins.