Is It Kufr to Think It’s Okay to Commit a Sin and Then Regretting It Later?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question

It’s kufr to think something haram is halal, but is it kufr to think it’s okay to commit a sin while doing it at the moment and then regretting it later.

My parents told me not to use one of our sinks without wiping it down due to possible germs on it, but that was a few months back, and I was tired and did not want to wipe down the sink, so I thought to myself that it’s been a while and there might not be any germs on it so it’ll be okay for me to disobey them this one time. 

The next morning I remembered and I immediately regretted disobeying them and for thinking a sin was permissible to do. Did I commit kufr? I asked for forgiveness and retook my shahada.

Answer

I pray you are well. 

Sinning in Ignorance

Convincing yourself a sin is okay whilst doing it and then regretting it later is not kufr. Rather, it is a form of ignorance which Allah willingly overlooks if one makes a sincere tawba from it. 

Allah Most High said, “Clearly, repentance is for only for those who do what is vile enveloped in ignorance and then repent soon after [before death comes]. Those – Allah accepts their repentance. Allah has always been all-knowing, perfectly wise.” (Qur’an, 4:17)

Disobeying Parents

No, you did not commit kufr by not wiping the sink. There is some difference amongst the scholars regarding obedience to parents – does one have to obey them in everything?

Many scholars have outlined situations where one does not have to obey them, but the consensus is that one must treat them with kindness, and not deliberately cause them pain, except in matters where that would lead to doing something haram or causing oneself harm. (al Mawsu’a al Kuwaitiyya, Ibn Hajar, al Zawajir)

Your not wiping the sink did not take you out of Islam. Being tired might even be a valid excuse to have not done it. Relax and be kind to you parents as much as you can.

Only denying one of the fundamentals of faith or an act which expresses disdain and insult towards Islam takes one out of Islam. This is a deliberate life choice, and not something that one does accidentally. (Ibn Hajar, al I’lam bi Qawati’ al Islam, Tahawi, Bayan ‘Aqida Ahl al Sunna)

May Allah grant you the best of both worlds.

[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began his studies in Arabic Grammar and Morphology in 2005. After graduating with a degree in English and History, he moved to Damascus in 2007, where, for 18 months, he studied with many erudite scholars. In late 2008 he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years in Sacred Law (fiqh), legal theory (Usul al-fiqh), theology, hadith methodology, hadith commentary, and Logic. He was also given licenses of mastery in the science of Quranic recital. He was able to study an extensive curriculum of Quranic sciences, tafsir, Arabic grammar, and Arabic eloquence.