Whose Tawbah is not Accepted?

Taken from lectures given by yatullh al-Uzm jj

Shaykh usain Mazher

Translated by Arifa Hudda
((Continued from previous issue))

ontinuing from where we left off in our previous
installment in the last issue of al-aqq Newsletter
entitled, Status of a Repenter in the Qurn, we
now take a look at other ayt of the Qurn and
adt of the Ahl al-Bat c which talk about those groups
of people whose Tawbah (repentance) is not accepted.

In Srah al-Nis, the fourth chapter of the Qurn, verses 17
and 18 sum up the four groups of people who repentance will
be of no avail to them by stating:

` ` _ ,`,` ` ` ,-, .,' .,`, , ' ` `, ` .,`,,`, ` `
`,' .,, ` .. `.,`, : ` ` , `,,`, ` ` ` ` . .,- , ` `
} { , ,`,` .`,, ` ` ` `,` .,`, `` ` _`- . ` ,..-
`.`, `,`-' ` ` ` ` ., .. `.`` ` ` ` ` ` `,.`, .,.`,`, , ` ` ` `
_ .`,' ` . ``' : ` ` `,`, ` ` ,' , } {
Without doubt, Allh will only accept the repentance of those
who commit evil in ignorance and then repent immediately so
then it is towards these people that Allh returns towards and
Allh is All-Knowing, All-Wise. There is no forgiveness for
those who commit sin and do not repent until the last moment of
their lives and (then at this time) say, Verily know I turn back
towards you (O Allh) and (repentance) is not for those who
die as unbelievers. For these people We have prepared a
painful chastisement. (4:17-18)

Repentance is accepted from one who performs a sin out of
ignorance and in this case ignorance is not in the meaning of
not knowing rather, it has a different explanation. For
example, if one falls prey to his inner desires and passions
and looks at a non-Maram woman with a lustful glance,
then it is said that he has committed a sin due to his
negligence. He knows that looking at a non-Maram woman
with that evil intention is arm (forbidden), but because he
was overcome by his low desires he disobeyed the
commandment of Allh i, and thus is considered as a
person who is .,- .,. .,., or a person who
committed an act out of ignorance, and this means that his
repentance will be accepted.

However, if one commits sins out of obstinacy or
stubbornness and not because of being overcome by ones
passions and continues to go against the laws of Allh i due
to his open and persistent rebelliousness, then this verse tells
us that the repentance of these kinds of people will not be
accepted.

Let us take a closer look at this aspect of committing sins due
to stubbornness. If one becomes stubborn or develops
another low quality which overtakes him, then he is no
longer able to perform good actions, and will not even have
the ability to seek repentance.

For example, someone back bites another person but then
feels bad about it and suffers an inner guilt that he has gone
against the commands of Allh i and thus follows this
remorse with repentance his repentance is accepted and he
is forgiven. However, the one who is proud and stubborn
will not even accept that he has committed a sin, and instead
will think to himself that the person that he has backbitten
was deserving of being talked about, and thus, it was
permitted to back bite him this type of person will not even
think about turning back to Allh i to repent for his sin, and
therefore definitely will not be forgiven.

It is similar to a person who is physically sick. If he does not
go to the doctor to get cured, then his illness will increase
and it is possible that it will overtake his entire body.
Sicknesses of the soul are even worse because they are not as
apparent so as to warrant the need to rush to a doctor,
however, they do more harm to one in this world and in the
next. Therefore, we must be very careful that we do not
become overcome by our lower desires; otherwise we will
not be able to realize our shortcomings and will fall into the
category of those whose repentance is not accepted.

The next group of people who seek forgiveness but it is not
accepted from them are those who delay in asking for
pardon.

The verse of Srah an-Nis under discussion says .,,,,
.,, which means that they turn to Allh i immediately.

The man who looked at the non-Maram woman with a
lustful intention must immediately repent to Allh i for
having committed a sin. If he delays it, then his tawbah will
not be accepted.

One may ask why wont he be forgiven? The reason for this
is because it is very likely that one who delays doing tawbah
will forget about it later on, or one may forget the actual grief
that was felt inside when having committed the sin;
meanwhile, it will already have been written in his book of

deeds, however he wont remember what he had to ask
forgiveness for.

For example, a person who has some alt to make up or
some awm (fasts) which have become due upon him, but he
does not make them up right away. Thus as time passes, he
may forget about them or about the number he needs to make
up and thus, will not perform them (either partially or fully)
or seek forgiveness for them.

There are two loses for the one who delays his tawbah: (1)
He may forget the sin and thus will not even get the change
to seek forgiveness for it and (2) ones sins will add up so
much and become such a burden and overwhelming that
rather than trying to compensate for them, one will start to
defy or not accept them. For example, if one did not pay
Khums and later on ten or twenty years down the road
decided to count how much he has to
pay and realized that the amount due is
too large to give, then because he does
not want to pay it, he will say to
himself, I worked hard for this money
and I saved it up myself so why should I
now pay it to these Marja and end up
broke?

In another verse of the Qurn, Allh i
tells us:

`, ` . ' , ,.' ,`, ' ` . .'
., ,`, ` ,'. . . ., .,, ,` `
.,`,,`,`, ` ` `
Thus, this was the end of those people
who used to do evil acts, for they had
rejected the revelations of Allh and mocked them. (30:10)

One who continues to sin and delays in seeking repentance
for his sins gets to a point where he begins to speak and act
against Islm and thus reaches to a point where he denies the
signs of Allh i due to his intense disbelief (kufr)!

Therefore, we see that this ayah does not say that if they
dont repent immediately it will not be accepted, rather, it
implies that one should seek forgiveness right away before
he no longer has the ability or opportunity to turn back for
his grave sins.

The third group of people whose tawbah is not accepted are
those who seek forgiveness when they are just about to die.
The doors of repentance are open for one during ones entire
lifetime, but if one does tawbah because he realizes that
Isrl (the Angel of Death) has come to take his soul away,
then in this instance, his repentance will not be accepted.

Here too, we see that it is in the same manner as was
previously indicated. There is no dead end in Islm and if
one sincerely repents, he will be forgiven; however at the
time of death things are so difficult for the person about to
die that he may not have the opportunity to remember all of
his sins and repent for them.

It has been narrated that Imm Al ibn Ab lib a must
give the Angel of Death permission to take out the soul of a
Believer and non-Believer, as well, that person will see his
place in heaven or hell. His remorse will be because he is
destined to go to hell but will regret this fact rather than try
to seek sincere repentance for his sins at this late stage.

Khjah Naruddn s - a well-known
mystic (rif), philosopher and faqh
had said in his commentary of the book,
al-Ishrt that if one does tawbah
because he does not want to go to hell
and is simply longing for heaven, then
this sort of repentance will not be
accepted from him, rather, one should
be remorseful in the presence of Allh
i for his sins.

In Srah Ynus, Allh i tells us about
one such person who just seconds
before his death asked the Creator for
forgiveness and what his outcome was -
this person was none other that Firawn
(Pharaoh):

... ,`, ``,``-, .`,`, `,`,`' ` `` `` ` ` ` ` ` ,`., `
_`- ` `_`' ` ` `, ` . ``' `. ` ` ` , `. . . `
,` ,`, ` ` , ', `` ` ` A90B .` .`,.. `, .. ` ` `
., ,` ` A91B `. ., :, :,`-` `,, ` ` ` `
` _ ., , :- ` , ` ` ., A92B
The Pharaoh and his army pursued the Children of Israel with
wickedness and hate until the Pharaoh was drowned. As he was
drowning the Pharaoh said, I believe that there is no god but
the One in whom the Children of Israel believe and I am of the
Muslims (those who have submitted to Allh). (God replied),
Now you declare belief in Me! but before this you were a
disobedient rebel! We will save your body on this day so that
you may become evidence (of Our existence) for the coming
generations; and certainly the majority of people are heedless of
Our signs. (10:90-92)

In this verse we see that Pharaoh, who lived his entire life in
sin and evil was given the opportunity to perform tawbah
before he was killed and he was even able to bear witness to
the Oneness of Allh i and announce that he is a Muslim,
however still, this apparent repentance of his was not
accepted! Instead, Allh i kept his body (which is now in
one of the Museums of Egypt) as an ayh or sign of what the
outcome of those who disobey Allh i is.

It is for this reason that ones tawbah will not be accepted at
the time of death, due to the fact that one will regret that he is
going to be punished for his sins, but he will not develop the
inner remorse and guilt for having gone against the
commandments of Allh i even though he is living in His
kingdom and eating from the sustenance that He has
provided for His servants.

The last group of people mentioned in this verse whose
tawbah will not be accepted are those non-Muslims (open
disbelievers) - meaning those who die as Kuffr or Mushriks
(polytheists). In Srah al-Nis verse 48, it states:

. . `,`, ` ` `,`,, , ,``, .' ` ` ` ` .,` ` . :
, , `,``, , . ` ` ` , ,=
Verily Allh does not forgive that partners be set-up with
Him and he forgives (all) other than this for whomsoever He
pleases. And whoever sets up partners with Allh, verily he
has spoken a great falsehood. (4:48)

Many people, when they go into the grave and see the
punishment that they had prepared for themselves during
their lifetime, will regret the time spent on Earth and will ask
for forgiveness. As well, they will ask to return to the Earth
so that they have a second chance to do good deeds. It will
be told to them that, There is no return and you must remain
here until you are resurrected. Verse 99 and 100 of Srah
al-Mominn clearly tells us this:

_`- ` - . `.`, `,`-' ` ` ` ` `._ ` ' .,.`-`_ ` ` } '' { .
. `' ` - , `., ` ,` ` ,.` ` ., .,
_, .,``, `,, _ __`,, ,, ` ` ` ` .
Until when death approaches one of them, he says, Lord,
send me back again so that perhaps I shall act righteously
for the rest of my life. Although he will say so but his wish
will never come true. After death they will be behind a
barrier until the day of their resurrection. (23:99-100)

One who dies as a disbeliever and or a hypocrite his place
is in the hell fire because he will never have felt the need to
seek forgiveness for having gone against the commandments
of Allh i.

A Muslim on the other hand even if sinful will slowly get
purified of his evil deeds either in the squeezing of the grave,
or in the Barzakh or on the Day of Judgment, and this
purification will then enable him to go to heaven and
appreciate the great blessings and bounties found therein.

Heaven is a place of being near to Allh i and one can only
be worthy of going there if he or she is cleansed of all sins.

In conclusion, we see that these two verses of Srah al-Nis
are like a warning for us to be careful of our deeds and not
fall into the trap of our lower desires and if we do commit a
sin out of ignorance, then we must immediately seek
forgiveness for it before it is too late and our souls are
removed from our bodies, and the chance no longer exists.


, ,`.-, : `,``' . : :.`
_` ' .:'' `` . `_ `` -_ _ ,` , ,
,` , _ _ ` ,`,' .. _ `` . , ._.
`, _ ``,' , ..,' .`, `, ``,.` .' ..
,`- _ _`- `,`,,`- . :`, `, `' , .
, .' `_, ` ,``,. :`, .,, ,- ``,` , .
- ` .' ` `.,` .`-' _ . ,`-
,`-, ., _`- . `- ,`,, '`, , ,=, ,- ,`- , .
, .' ` ,' ,`- . . .- `.' ,
,.` ` . , : : `,``' .
Amr al-Momnn (Peace be upon him) said to a person who,
while in his presence said Astaghfirullh: May your mother
lose you! Do you know what it means to repent? Repentance is
the level of people of a high position. It is a word that comes
for six meanings. The first is to repent over the past; the second
is to make a firm determination never to revert to it; the third is
to discharge all the rights of people so that you may meet Allh
clean with nothing to account for; the fourth is to fulfill every
obligation which you ignored (in the past) so that you may now
do justice to it; the fifth is to aim at the flesh that grew as a
result of unlawful earning, such that you may melt it by grief (of
repentance) till the skin touches the bone and new flesh grows
on top of it; and the sixth is to make the body taste the pain of
obedience as you (previously) made it taste the sweetness of
disobedience. At that time you may say: Astaghfirullh. (Bir
al-Anwr, Volume 6, Page 37)