1] Righteous deeds do notexpiate transgressions against the rights of others

1]
I heard that the Prophet (S) said that if one keeps the fasts of
Ramadan withemaan and in order to getreward from Allah, Allah will
forgive all his or her past sins. Does this also include the sins one
may have knowingly committed against the rights of other Muslim
brothers and sisters whichhe or she now deeply regrets doing but
cannot admit his or her guilt to the victims as this may create even
more problems?.
Praise be to Allaah.
There are many things which expiate for sin, including repentance,
seeking forgiveness, doing acts of worship, carrying out hadd
punishments on those who have done acts for which such punishments are
due, and so on.
But righteous deeds such as prayer, fasting, Hajj etc only expiate for
minor sins, according to the majority of scholars, and they only
expiate for transgressions against therights of Allaah.
With regard to sins that have to do with the rightsof other people,
they can only be expiated by repenting from them. Oneof the conditions
of repenting from them is restoring the rights of those who have been
wronged.
Muslim (1886) narrated from 'Abd-Allaah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'Aas (may
Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "The martyr will be forgiven
for all his sins except debt."
Al-Nawawi said in Sharh Muslim:
The words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
"except debt" draw attention to all rights owed to other people.
Jihad, martyrdom and other righteous deeds do not expiate for
transgressions against therights of other people, rather they only
expiate for transgressions against the rights of Allaah. End quote.
Ibn Muflih said in al-Furoo' (6/193):
Martyrdom expiates for everything except debt. Our Shaykh (i.e.,
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah, may Allaah have mercy onhim) said: and
except sins against other people such as murder and oppression. End
quote.
It says in al-Mawsoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah (14/129):
Repentance in the sense of regretting what one has done and resolving
not to do it again is not sufficient to waive the rights that are owed
to other people. Whoever has stolen another person's wealth, or seized
it by force, or has wronged him in any otherway, will not have
finished with the matter by simply regretting it, giving up the sin
and resolving not to do it again. Rather he has to restore those
rights. This is a principle on which thefuqaha' are unanimously
agreed. End quote.
This has to do with material possessions, suchas wealth that has been
taken be force or by deceit. With regard to intangible rights such as
in cases of slander and backbiting, if the person who has been wronged
knows about it, then it is essential to apologize to him and ask for
his forgiveness. If he did not know, then he should not be told;
rather the one who wronged him shouldpray for him and pray for
forgiveness for him, because telling him may upset him and create
enmity and hatred between the two.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
According to the saheeh hadeeth: "Whoever has wronged his brother with
regard to his blood, his wealth or his honour, let him come and set
mattersstraight before there comes a Day on which there will be no
dirhams and no dinars, only good deeds and bad deeds, andif he has
good deeds (theywill be taken and given tothe one whom he wronged),
otherwise some of the bad deeds of the one whom he wronged will be
taken and added to his burden, then he will be thrown into the Fire."
This has to do with cases where the one who was wronged was aware of
it; but if he was gossiped about or slandered and he does not know,
then it was said that one of the conditions of repentance is telling
him, or it was said that this is not essential, which is the view of
the majority; bothviews were narrated fromAhmad, but his view on such
matters is that one should do good deeds for the one who was wronged,
such as praying for him, praying for forgiveness for him and doing
good deeds to be given to him, to take the place of that backbiting
and slander. Al-Hasan al-Basri said: The expiation for gossip is to
pray for forgiveness for the person about whom you gossiped. End
quote.
Majmoo' al-Fataawa, 18/189
The scholars of the Standing Committee said, concerning a man who
stole money from a slave:
If he knows the slave or he knows someone who knows him, he can tell
him to look for him and give him the money in silver or the
equivalent, orwhatever he agrees upon with him. If he does not know
who he is and he thinks that he will never find him, he should give
itor the equivalent in cash money in charity on behalf of its owner.
If he finds him after that, he should tell him what he did; if he
accepts that, :->

Mullah Nasruddin

Once a king consulted Nasruddin. "Daring the Abasis and after, khalifs
used to add the term "Allah" after their names. What title do youthink
I should choose for myself? Nasruddin answered "Nawoozobillah" (God
forbid).
Because of lack of time Nasruddin went to a judge's office to divorce
his wife. The judge asked him, "What is yourwife's name?" He answered.
"I don't know." "For how many years havd you remainedas spouses?" The
judge asked again. He said "More than 20 years". The judge asked him.
"How come you don't know her name?" Nasruddin answered, "Because I did
not have any social relations with her." Once a person slapped
Nasruddin in thestreet. Later he came hack and started to apologize
and said that he had mistaken Nasruddin for some one else. But
Nasruddin was not satisfied and took tight hold of his collar, took
him to the judge and told the judge aboutthe incident. The judge
ordered, "Nasruddin must slap that person to avenge. But Nasruddin
didn't get satisfied. Thus the judge ordered the person to give
Nasruddina gold coin in lieu of the slap. The accused had to go out of
the court to bring the gold coin. Nasruddin waited for sometime. The
accused didn't come hack. Nasruddin stood up and slapped the judge on
hisface and said, "Since I have a lot of work, whenever that person
Comes and brings the coin, You take the moneyfor this slap."

1c] How to be successful in life

1c]
because he knows that these are the result of vulnerable human nature
and of weakness and fear that have no basis. He also knows that Allaah
has guaranteed complete sufficiency to those who put their trust in
Him. So he trusts in Allaah and finds peace of mind in His promise,
and thus his worry and anxiety are dispelled; hardship is turned to
ease, sadness is turned to joy, fear is turned to peace. We ask Allaah
to keep us safe andsound, and to bless us with strength and
steadfastness of heart, and complete trust, for Allaah has guaranteed
all good things to those whoput their trust in Him, andhas guaranteed
to ward off all bad and harmful things from them.
If bad things happen or there is the fear of such, then you should
count themany blessings that you are still enjoying, both spiritual
and worldly, and compare them with the bad things that have happened,
for when you compare them you will see the many blessings that you are
enjoying, andthis will make the bad things appear less serious.
See al-Wasaa'il al-Mufeedah li'l-Hayaat al-Sa'eedah by Shatkh 'Abd
al-Rahmaan ibn Sa'di
Ibn al-Qayyim summed fifteen ways through which Allaah may dispel
worries and regret. These are as follows:
1- Tawheed al-Ruboobiyyah (belief in the Oneness of Divine Lordship)
2- Tawheed al-Uloohiyyah (belief in the Oneness of the Divine nature)
3- Tawheed of knowledge and belief (i.e.,Tawheed al-Asma'
wa'l_Sifaat, belief in the Oneness of the Divine names and attributes)
4- Thinking of Allaah as being above doing any injustice to His
slaves, andabove punishing anyone for no cause on the part of the
slave that would require such punishment.
5- The person's acknowledging that he is the one who has done wrong.
6- Beseeching Allaah bymeans of the things that are most beloved
to Him, which are His names and attributes. Two of His names that
encompass the meanings of all other names and attributes are al-Hayy
(the Ever-Living) and al-Qayyoom (the Eternal).
7- Seeking the help of Allaah Alone.
8- Affirming one's hope in Him.
9- Truly putting one's trust in Him and leaving matters to Him,
acknowledging that one's forelock is in His hand andthat He does as He
wills, that His will is forever executed and that He is just in all
that He decrees.
10-Letting one's heart wander in the garden of the Qur'aan, seeking
consolation in it from every calamity, seeking healing in it from all
diseases of the heart, so that it will bring comfort to his grief and
healing for his worries and distress.
11-Seeking forgiveness.
12-Repentance.
13-Jihad.
14-Salaah (prayer).
15-Declaring that he has no power and no strength, and leaving matters
to the One in Whose hand they are.
We ask Allaah to keep us safe and sound from worries and to relieve
us of distress and anxiety, forHe is the All-Hearing, Ever-Responsive,
and He isthe Ever-Living, Eternal.
See Alhomoom – Dealing with Worries and Stress, in the Books section
of this site.
And Allaah knows best. May Allaah send blessings and peace upon our
Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions.

1b] How to be successful in life

1b]
One of the most effective ways of dealing with worries about the
future is to recite this du'aa' which the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) used to recite:
"Allaahumma aslih li deeni alladhi huwa 'ismatu amri, wa aslih li
dunyaaya allati fiha ma'aashi, wa aslih li aakhirati allati ilayha
ma'aadi, waj'al al-hayaataziyaadatan li fi kulli khayr,wa'l-mawta
raahatan li min kulli sharr (O Allaah, correct my religious commitment
which is the foundation of my life, andcorrect my worldly affairs in
which is my livelihood, and grant me good in the Hereafter to which is
my return. Make my life a means of accumulating good, and make death a
respite for me from all evil)." (Narrated by Muslim, 2720).
And he said, "Allaahummarahmataka arju fa la takilni ila nafsi tarfata
'aynin wa aslih li sha'ni kullahu, laa ilaaha illa anta (O Allaah, for
Your mercy I hope, so do not abandon me to myself even for a moment.
And correct all my affairs. There is no god but You)."(Narrated by Abu
Dawoodwith a saheeh isnaad, no. 5090; classed as hasan by al-Albaani
in Saheeh al-Kalim al-Tayyib, p. 49).
If a person utters these du'aa's, which ask that hisspiritual and
worldly affairs may be set right or corrected, with proper presence of
mind and sincerity of intention, whilst striving to achieve that,
Allaah will grant himwhat he has prayed for, hoped for and striven
for, and He will turn his worryinto joy and happiness.
7 – If a person experiences anxiety and distress because of a
disaster, then one of the most effective means of relieving himself of
that isto think of the worst scenario to which that may lead, and try
to accept that. When he has done that, then he should try to alleviate
it as much as possible. By means of this acceptance and these efforts,
he will relieve himself of his worries and distress, and instead of
worrying he will strive to bring about good things and to deal with
whatever he can of the bad things. If he is faced with things that
cause fear or the possibility of sickness or poverty, then he should
deal with that by striving to make himself accept that, or something
even worse, with contentment, because by making himself accept the
worst-case scenario, he lessens the impact of the thing and makes it
seem less terrible, especially if he occupies himself with efforts to
ward it off as much as he can. Thus as well as striving to
achievesomething good which will distract him from his worries about
calamity, he will also renew his strength to resist bad things, and
put his trust and reliance in Allaah. Undoubtedly these matters are of
great benefit in attaining happiness and peace of mind, as well as
bringing the hope of reward in thisworld and in the Hereafter. This is
something which is well known from the experience of many who have
tried it.
8 – Steadfastness of heart and not being disturbed about the imaginary
things that bad thoughts may bring to mind. For when a person gives in
to his imagination and lets his mind be disturbed by these thoughts,
such as fear of disease and the like, or anger and confusion stirred
up by some grievous matter, or the expectation of bad things and the
loss of good things, that will fill him with worries, distress,mental
and physical illness and nervous breakdowns, which will have a bad
effect on him and which causes a great deal of harm, as many people
have seen. But when a person depends on Allaah and puts his trust in
Him, and does notgive in to his imagination or let bad thoughts
overwhelm him, and he relies on Allaah and has hope of His bounty,
that wards off his worries and distress, and relieves him of a great
deal of mental and physical sickness. It gives indescribable strength,
comfort and happiness to the heart. How many hospitals are filled with
the mentally sick victims of illusions and harmful imagination; how
often have these things had an effect upon the hearts of many
strongpeople, let alone the weak ones; how often have they led to
foolishness and insanity.
It should be noted that your life will follow your train of thought.
If your thoughts are of things that will bring you benefitin your
spiritual or worldly affairs, then your life will be good and happy.
Otherwise it will be the opposite.
The person who is safe from all of that is the one who is protected by
Allaah and helped by Him to strive to achieve that which will benefit
and strengthen the heart and ward off anxiety. Allaah says
(interpretation of themeaning):
"And whosoever puts his trust in Allaah, then He will suffice him"
[al-Talaaq 65:3]
i.e., He will be sufficient for all that is worrying him in his
spiritual and worldly affairs. The one who puts his trust in Allaah
will have strength in his heart and will not be affected by anything
he imagines or be disturbed by events,:->