How to Repent When It Involves Rights of Others?
Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Question: Assalamu alaykum
I am concerned with instances where I may have infringe other’s rights. I am scared my tawbah will not be accepted until I repair everything and I’m not 100% sure as to how to go about doing that.Could you please offer some advices on how to allow for my tawba to be accepted?
Answer: As-salamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh
I pray you’re well. All you need to is make a sincere tawba asking Allah to forgive you for your wrong actions, have a good opinion of Allah, and take some simple steps to compensate those who were wronged.
al-Tawwāb
This is one of Allah’s most hope-inspiring names. It means ‘the one who constantly inspires people to repent, and who constantly accepts their repentance.’ In order to repent in the optimal way you should have a bath, perform two units of prayer and ask Allah sincerely to forgive you. After this be certain that Allah is loving and kind, and that He has forgiven you.
Allah loves it when a servant repents, so if any further doubts come to mind read the chapter of repentance from Riyad al-Salihin and reflect on the story of the man who killed a hundred people only for his repentance to be accepted (Muslim). Your sins are not greater than his.
Returning Rights
As for the things you said about the individual, if informing him and apologising will make matters worse between you then it is better not to tell him (Radd al-Muhtar). You damage of the car is not something you can now take reasonable to steps to compensate. You should stop worrying about it.
The solution, then, to these and other similar situations is to ask for forgiveness, regularly perform a small act of worship – such as sending ten blessings on the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) – daily, and then asking Allah to give the reward of it to everyone you have wronged. Shaykh Abdul-Wahhab al-Sha’rani mentioned that on the Day of Judgement this will be a means of compensating and appeasing those one has wronged (al-Shaʿrani, al-Kawkab al-Shahiq).
May Allah bless us all with continued repentance and protect us from all sins and the avenues which lead to them.
Wassalam,
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat
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 to study and sit at the feet of some of the most erudite scholars of our time.
Over the following eighteen months he studied a traditional curriculum, studying with scholars such as Shaykh Adnan Darwish, Shaykh Abdurrahman Arjan, Shaykh Hussain Darwish and Shaykh Muhammad Darwish.
In late 2008 he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years, in Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Theology, Hadith Methodology and Commentary, Shama’il, and Logic with teachers such as Dr Ashraf Muneeb, Dr Salah Abu’l-Hajj, Dr Hamza al-Bakri, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Dr Mansur Abu Zina amongst others. He was also given two licences of mastery in the science of Qur’anic recital by Shakh Samir Jabr and Shaykh Yahya Qandil.
His true passion, however, arose in the presence of Shaykh Ali Hani, considered by many to be one of the foremost tafsir scholars of our time who provided him with the keys to the vast knowledge of the Quran. With Shaykh Ali, he was able to study an extensive curriculum of Qur’anic Sciences, Tafsir, Arabic Grammar, and Rhetoric.
When he finally left Jordan for the UK in 2014, Shaykh Ali gave him his distinct blessing and still recommends students in the UK to seek out Shaykh Abdul-Rahim for Quranic studies. Since his return he has trained as a therapist and has helped a number of people overcome emotional and psychosomatic issues. He is a keen promoter of emotional and mental health.
