Repentance (tawbah) - on compensating for acts of worship deliberately neglected in the past

I have neglected many rights of Allah in the past, such as prayers,
fasts, and zakah. Am I required to repeat them or compensate for them?
As far as the five daily prayers are concerned, thepreferred opinion
is that the repetition or compensation (or what is known as qadaa' in
Arabic), is not obligatory for the reason that prayers are obligatory
at a particular time, and once that time has elapsed, there is no way
to offer them. However one ought to seek Allah's forgiveness and offer
as many nawafil (voluntary prayers) as possible.
As for fasting-yes, if a person was a Muslim at the time they became
obligatory and he did not fast, then their performance is required,
accompanied by feeding of a poor Muslim for everyday of fast that was
not observed during previous years. What is required is always a day
for a day-no more, no less.
Example 1: A person did not fast three days of Ramadan of the year
1400 A.H., and five days ofRamadan of the year 1401 A.H., all out of
negligence. He must now fast 8 days, and feed eightpoor Muslims in
compensation.
Example 2: A girl reached puberty in the Ramadan of the year 1400 A.H.
but out of shame and modesty did not inform anyone of her
menstruation, and, rather,continued fasting say for eight days of her
period. Thereafter, she repented. She would then be required to redo
eight days of fasting.
It may also be pointed out here that this is the predominant position.
A minority opinion is that the ruling for fasting is the same as that
for the prayers, i.e., there is no qadaa' (making up) for fasting in
the case of a person who did not fast and did not have a valid reason
for not fasting.
As for he who did not offer the obligatory zakah, it is necessary for
arepentant to them for all previous unpaid years, forit is, from one
angle, Allah's right, while from another, the poor people'sright.

Ruling on praying on clothes that have got cathairs on them

I have a few cats at home and because of that, someof my clothes
happen to have their fur on it(whether I realize it or not).A friend
told me that her religious teacher told her that if we pray when
theres more than 3 cat furon our clothes, our prayer would not be
accepted. Is there any sources (Quran/hadith) talking about this?
Praise be to Allah.
Cats are pure (taahir) and not impure (najis), because of the report
narrated by Abu Dawood (75), at-Tirmidhi (92), an-Nasaa'i (68) and Ibn
Maajah (367) from Kabshah bint Ka'b ibn Maalik, that Abu Qataadahcame
in when she had prepared water for Abu Qataadah to do wudoo'. Acat
came and drank from the water, and he tilted the vessel for it so that
it could drink. Kabshah said: He saw me looking at himand said: Do you
find it strange, O daughter of mybrother? The Messenger of Allaah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "They (cats) are not
impure, they are of those who go around amongst you."
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood and elsewhere.
At-Tirmidhi said, commenting on it:
This is a saheeh hasan hadeeth, and this is the opinion of most of the
scholars of the Companions of the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him), and of the Taabi'eenand those who came afterthem,
such as ash-Shaafa'i, Ahmad and Ishaaq. They did not see anything
wrong with water that a cat has drunkfrom.
End quote.
As-San'aani (may Allah have mercy on him) said: In this explanation
there is an indication that Allah has made them like servants in that
they are very close to the people of the household and spend a lot of
time with them. Therefore Allah has made things easy for His slaves by
ordaining that cats are not impure, so as to avoid hardship. The
hadeeth indicates that cats and water that they have drunk from are
pure (taahir)
End quote from Subul as-Salaam, 1/24
If water from which a cat has drunk is pure, then it is more apt that
its hair should be pure too. Ibn Qudaamah (may Allah have mercy on
him) said:
In the case of all animals, the ruling on their skin, hair, sweat,
tears and saliva is the same as the ruling on water from which it has
drunk, with regard to whether it is pure or impure.
End quote from al-Mughni, 1/46
In fact the correct view is that the hair of all animals, whether they
may be eaten or not, is pure (taahir), as was stated by Shaykh
al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him).
All hair, feathers and woolare pure (taahir), whether they are from
the hide of an animal whose flesh may be eaten or an animal whose
flesh may not be eaten, and whether the animal is alive or dead. This
is the scholarly view that is most correct.
End quote from Majmoo' al-Fataawa, 21/38
He also said:
The way hair lives is comparable to the way plants live, and not the
way animals live; it develops, it is nourishes and grows like plants
thathave no senses and cannot move by free will. It does not die when
the animal dies, therefore it does not become impure (najis) when the
animal dies.
End quote. Majmoo' al-Fataawa, 21/98
It is well known that cats move a great deal, coming and going, so
there can be no doubt that some of their hair is shed, because of
their moving about in the house and rubbing against the furniture and
so on. We know nothing about the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him) takingprecautions to avoid it or instructing others to do
so, in addition to the fact that he said, "They are notimpure." Thus
it is known from the above that cat hairs are pure (taahir) andthat it
does not matter if some of their hairs get onto your clothes, whether
that happens when you are praying or otherwise.
With regard to the teacher saying that if anyone prays with more than
three cat hairs on their clothes, their prayer will not be accepted,
this is an unacceptable statement, because there is no evidence for
it. Rather the evidence is to the contrary, as stated above.
But we should draw your attention to the fact that keeping cats in the
house may lead to transmission of some diseases, according to what
Allah wills, so it is essential to take precautions in that regard and
pay attention to the necessary measures.
And Allah knows best.

Does Allaah accept a person’s repentance every time he sins and repents, even if he does that many times?

For how long does Allaah forgive a person's sin? If he repents and
seeks forgiveness from his sin, then goes and commits the same sin
again, then he seeks forgiveness again then commits the same sin
again, and so on – does Allaah forgive him or does that means that he
is not sincere towards Allaah, especially if he repeats that sin after
a short while, but he does not stop seeking forgiveness?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Allaah says (interpretationof the meaning):
"And those who, when they have committed Faahishah (illegal sexual
intercourse) or wronged themselves with evil, remember Allaah and ask
forgiveness for their sins; — and none can forgive sins but Allaah —
and do not persist in what (wrong) they have done, while they know.
136. For such, the reward is forgiveness from their Lord, and Gardens
with rivers flowing underneath(Paradise), wherein they shall abide
forever. How excellent is this reward for the doers (who do righteous
deeds accordingto Allaah's Orders)"
[Aal 'Imraan 3:135-136]
Ibn Katheer said:
The words "and do not persist in what (wrong) they have done" mean:
they repent from their sins and quickly turn to Allaah, and they do
not persist in their sin, rather they give it up, and if theydo that
again they repent to Him.
Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 1/408.
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: I heard theProphet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: "A person committed a sin and
said: 'My Lord, I have sinned; forgive me.' His Lord said: 'Is My
slave acknowledging that he has a Lord Who forgives sins and punishes
for them? I have forgiven My slave.' Then as much time passed as
Allaah willed, then he committed a sin and said, 'My Lord, I have
sinned; forgive me.' His Lord said: 'Is My slave acknowledging that he
has a Lord Who forgives sins and punishes for them? I have forgiven
Myslave.' Then as much time passed as Allaah willed, then he committed
a sin and said, 'My Lord, I have sinned; forgive me.' His Lord said:
'Is My slave acknowledging that he has a Lord Who forgives sins and
punishes for them? I have forgiven My slave,' – three times…"
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 7507; Muslim, 2758.
Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) included this hadeeth under
the heading: "Acceptance of repentancefrom sins even if the sins and
repentance happen repeatedly."
He said in his Sharh:
We have already discussed this issue at the beginning of the Book of
Repentance. These ahaadeeth clearly point tothat, and even if the sin
is repeated a hundred timesor a thousand times or more, and he repents
each time, his repentance will be accepted and his sin will be erased.
And if he repents once from them all, his repentance will be valid.
Sharh Muslim, 17.75.
Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali said:
'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Azeez said: O people, whoever commits a sin, let
him seek the forgiveness of Allaah and repent, and if he repeats it,
let him seek the forgiveness of Allaah and repent, and if he repeats
it, let him seek the forgiveness of Allaah and repent, for it is like
chains around the neck of man, and doom lies in persisting in it.
What this means is that a person will inevitably commit the sins that
it is decreed he will commit, as the Prophet (peace andblessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: "The son of Adam's share of zina is decreed
for him, and he will inevitably come to that…" But Allaah has given
him a way out fromthe sins that he falls into and He erases them by
means of repentance and seeking forgiveness. If he does that then he
will escape from the evil of sin, but if he persists in hissin he will
be doomed.
Jaami' al-'Uloom al-Hakam, 1/165.
Although Allaah hates sin and warns of punishment for it, He does not
want His slaves to despair of Hismercy. He likes the sinner to seek
His forgiveness and repent to Him, but the Shaytaan likes it
whendespair fills a person's heart and prevents him from repenting and
turning to Allaah.
It was said to al-Hasan al-Basri: Would not any one of us feel ashamed
before his Lord to seek forgiveness from his sin then go back to it,
then seek forgiveness then go back to it? He said: The Shaytaan would
like you to feel that way; never give up seeking forgiveness/

Mullah Nasruddin

As Nasruddin emerged form the mosque after prayers, a beggar sitting
on the street solicited alms. The following conversation followed:
- Are you extravagant? asked Nasruddin.
- Yes Nasruddin. replied the beggar.
- Do you like sitting around drinking coffee and smoking? asked Nasruddin.
- Yes. replied the beggar.
- I suppose you like to goto the baths everyday? asked Nasruddin.
- Yes. replied the beggar.
- ... And maybe amuse yourself, even, by drinking with friends? asked Nasruddin.
- Yes I like all those things. replied the beggar.
- Tut, Tut, said Nasruddin, and gave hima gold piece.
A few yards farther on. another beggar who hadoverheard the
conversation begged for alms also.
- Are you extravagant? asked Nasruddin.
- No, Nasruddin replied second beggar.
- Do you like sitting around drinking coffee and smoking? asked Nasruddin.
- No. replied second beggar.
- I suppose you like to goto the baths everyday? asked Nasruddin.
- No. replied second beggar.
- ... And maybe amuse yourself, even, by drinking with friends? asked Nasruddin.
- No, I want to only live meagerly and to pray. replied second beggar.
Whereupon the Nasruddin gave him a small copper coin.
- But why, wailed secondbeggar, do you give me, an economical and pious
man, a penny, when you give that extravagant fellow a sovereign?
Ah my friend, replied Nasruddin, his needs are greater than yours.
One day Nasruddin went to a banquet. As he was dressed rather
shabbily, no one let him in. So he ran home, put on his best robe and
fur coat and returned. Immediately, the host came over, greeted him
and ushered him to the head of an elaborate banquet table. When the
food was served, Nasruddin took some soup with spoon and pushed it to
the his fur coat and said, - Eat my fur coat, eat! It's obvious that
you're the real guest of honor today, not me!
One hot day, Nasruddin was taking it easy in the shade of a walnut
tree. After a time, he started eying speculatively, the huge pumpkins
growingon vines and the small walnuts growing on a majestic tree.
- Sometimes I just can't understand the ways of God! he mused. Just
fancy letting tinny walnuts grow on so majestic a tree and
hugepumpkins on the delicate vines!
Just then a walnut snapped off and fell smack on Mullah Nasruddin's
bald head. He got up at once and lifting up his hands and face to
heavens in supplication, said:
- Oh, my God! Forgive myquestioning your ways! You are all-wise. Where
would I have been now, if pumpkins grew on trees!