An amazing and insightful letter from a great imaam, the mufti and scholar, Shaykh ‘Abdul-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allah have Mercy on him), to an individual who complained of weakness in faith and expressed remorse over abandoning prayers for a time and other serious forms of religious neglect. His answer is highly beneficial and motivating for all of our brothers and sisters who face similar situations; it addresses and corrects a common misunderstanding – that after abandoning the religion, or falling into severe levels of neglect, the process of returning is embarrassing, or extremely difficult, involving making up many prayers, or maybe even unattainable, assuming that someone cannot return because Allah does not guide the one who has repeatedly fallen into neglect and abandonment of his religion…

From ‘Abdul-‘Azeez ibn ‘Abdillaah ibn Baaz to the respected Mr. [*****] (name removed), may Allah grant him refuge from the devil’s whisperings and give him success in setting aright both his religious and worldly affairs.

To proceed: Your letter reached me, the one in which you explained some things you did and some problems you were facing, fearing their bad consequences. And we did invite you on 1390/7/13 to come visit in person, but that was not easy for you. So at this time we will respond, in shaa’ Allah (if Allah so wills), to the content of your letter:

Firstly, you mentioned that you pray sometimes, and sometimes you do not pray. You become determined to repent sometimes, but then you do not fulfill that. Sometimes, this laxness may have led you into abandonment of all the pillars [of Islam], and you have become determined to genuinely repent and put a complete end to those things, yet will your repentance be accepted [you ask]? Or will you be from those whom Allah has described as: “Verily those who believe, then disbelieve, then believe, then disbelieve, and then are increased in disbelief, Allah does not forgive them,” to the end of that Verse [4:137]? And is it required as part of the repentance that you openly declare your testimony of faith for all to hear? And is it a must to take a bath and pray two units of prayer, etc.?

The answer: Verily, Allah has clarified in His great Book that He, the Exalted One, accepts the repentance of His worshippers no matter how various and numerous their sins are! As Allah, the Lofty, has said [what means]:

Say: O My Worshippers who have transgressed against themselves! Do not give up on the Mercy of Allah! Verily, Allah forgives all sins, and it is He who is the All Forgiving, the Ever Merciful. [39:53]

The scholars are in complete agreement that this Verse is about those who repent. In it, He, the Exalted One, has informed us that He forgives them for all sins, so long as they are honest in their repentance to Him, with true remorse, abandonment of the sins, and determination not to return to them. This is what repentance is. And He forbade them from giving up on His Mercy, meaning to lose hope, no matter how serious or numerous the sins are, as the Mercy of Allah is more expansive, and His Pardon is greater.

Allah, the Lofty One, has said [what means]:

And He is the One who accepts the repentance of His worshippers and pardons evil deeds. And He knows what you do. [42:25]

And He has said about the Christians [what means]:

Would they only repent to Allah and seek His Forgiveness, and Allah is All Forgiving, Ever Merciful. [5:74]

And the Prophet (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) said [what means]:

Islam removes what came before it. [Saheeh Muslim, no. 121]

And repentance also removes what came before it. The Verses and Hadeeth narrations on this topic are many.

So the obligation on you is to abandon all of those sins, to be warned of them, and not to return to them, along with true remorse over what you have done, sincerely for Allah, exalting Him and fearing His Punishment, while you think well of Him, the Exalted One. It has been authentically reported from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) that he said [what means]:

Allah, the Lofty One, has said: I am as My Worshipper thinks of Me, and I am with him when He calls on Me. [Saheeh al-Bukhaaree, no. 7405; Saheeh Muslim, no. 2675]

He also said (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) in another Hadeeth narration [which means]:

None of you should die except while having good thoughts about Allah.

Collected by Muslim in his Saheeh (authentic compilation). [no. 2877]

So have taqwaa of Allah (i.e. fear Him, keep your duty to Him, and be conscious of Him), O worshipper of Allah! Have good thoughts about your Lord, and repent to Him with genuine repentance, seeking His pleasure, the Exalted One, while you subdue the devil. Receive glad tidings that He, the Exalted One, shall accept your repentance and expiate your previous sins if you are genuine in that repentance! He, the Exalted One, is most Truthful in His Promise, the Ever Merciful to His worshippers.

Announcing your testimony of faith in front of the people is not required. Repentance is merely done by affirming what you used to reject and by fulfilling the obligations you had abandoned. So if the disbelief was because of abandoning the prayer, repentance would be to offer the prayers going forward, along with true remorse over what happened and a firm resolve not to fall back into that. You do not need to make up the prayers which you had abandoned, since repentance removes what came before it.

If you had abandoned the two testimonies [of faith], or doubted them, then repentance from that would include saying them, even if you were by yourself. You would say: “I testify that no one deserves any worship other than Allah, and I testify that Muhammad was the Messenger of Allah,” out of faith and genuine sincerity that Allah is your rightful object of worship, not having any partner, and that Muhammad was the worshipful slave and Messenger of Allah, sent to all of the thaqalayn (both Jinn and Mankind). Whoever obeys him goes to Paradise; whoever disobeys Him goes to Hell.

Taking a bath is something legislated, and some of the scholars considered it obligatory for someone who enters into Islam after their previous state of disbelief or apostasy. So you should take a bath, by pouring water over your entire body with the intention of accepting Islam and repenting from the disbelief you had fallen into. Praying two units of prayer after the bath is not necessary, yet it is recommended for every Muslim that he prays two units of prayer after completing an act of religious purification, due to the Hadeeth narrations about that.

As for the Statement of the Exalted One [which means]:

Verily those who believe, then disbelieve, then believe, then disbelieve, and then are increased in disbelief… [4:137]

This does not mean that someone who increases in disbelief or commits it repeatedly cannot have his repentance accepted by Allah. Rather, as understood by the scholars, this refers to someone who persists in disbelief until he dies, as Allah, the Exalted One, has said in another Verse in Soorah al-Baqarah [what means]:

Verily those who disbelieve and then die whilst being disbelievers, upon such people is the curse of Allah, the angels, and all of mankind. Remaining under that [curse] forever, the punishment is never lightened up for them, nor are they given any respite. [2:161-162]

And He, the Exalted One, has said in Soorah Aal ‘Emraan [what means]:

Verily, those who disbelieve and then die whilst being disbelievers, Allah would not accept from any of them the entire earth full of gold, if they were to offer that as a ransom. Such people have a painful punishment, and they shall have no one to support them. [3:91]

He also said in Soorah al-Baqarah [what means]:

They continue to fight against you until they turn you away from your religion if they could. Whoever of you turns back from his religion and then dies whilst being a disbeliever, the deeds of such people are null and void in this life and the Next, and such people are the residents of Hell, abiding therein forever.” [2:217]

So Allah, the Exalted One, has clarified in these three Verses that the punishment, curses, and the refusal and rejection of deeds are all relative specifically to those who have died on disbelief.

The scholars -may Allah have Mercy on them- have unanimously agreed that any disbeliever, no matter how many types of disbelief he fell into, and no matter how many times he fell into apostasy, his repentance will still be accepted by Allah if he repents with genuine repentance, which consists of stopping the sin, resolving not to return to it, and having true remorse over what happened. They only differed over someone who falls into apostasy multiple times and what the worldly ruling on him should be. Should that be accepted from him and thus he is excused from capital punishment? Or is not acceptable and he must face capital punishment? This is a point of differing. Yet, as it relates to what is between him and Allah, the Exalted One, there is no differing about the acceptability of repentance which is genuine, as mentioned.

I hope what we have mentioned here is convincing and sufficient. The obligation on you is to hasten to genuinely repent, turn with your needs to Allah, the Exalted, and dutifully beg Him in your supplications that He accept it from you. Also, ask Him to grant you stability upon the Truth and refuge from the suggestions and whisperings of the devil, as he is a plain enemy who only wants to lead you and others into ruin, as Allah, the Exalted One, has said [what means]:

Verily, the devil is an enemy to you, so take him as an enemy. He only invites his party [of followers] to become among the residents of the blazing fire. [35:6]

So hasten to overpower him by offering genuine repentance. Receive glad tidings of goodness, praiseworthy consequences, safety from Hell, and accepted repentance, so long as you are honest within it. I further advise you to increase in your remembrance of Allah, exalting Him, praising Him, and seeking His Forgiveness much, as well as asking Him to raise the rank of the Messenger of Allah and to grant him peace. From the best ways of doing that is to say the word of towheed much:

No one has the right to be worshipped other than Allah alone, no partner does He have. For Him is the sovereign dominion, and to Him belongs all praise. He is over all things with Power and Capability.

And also the following phrases:

• Exalted is Allah; all praise is due to Allah; no one has the right to be worshipped other than Allah; Allah is the greatest; there is no power or ability except through Allah.
• Exalted is Allah and the praise is His; exalted is Allah, the Great.
• I seek the Forgiveness of Allah, none deserve worship other than Him, the Ever Living, the Sustainer of all, and I repent to Him.
• No one deserves worship other than You, exalted You are; I have certainly been among the wrongdoers.
• Allah! I have surely wronged myself with much wrongdoing, and no one forgives the sins other than You, so forgive me, with forgiveness from Yourself, and have Mercy on me. Indeed, it is You Who is the All Forgiving, Ever Merciful.

Likewise, we advise you also to increase your reading of the Noble Quran and contemplation over its Verses. There surely is guidance to all goodness in that, as well as warnings from all types of evil. We further advise that you read whatever is easy from the well-known books of Hadeeth, like Riyaadh as-Saaliheen and Buloogh al-Maraam. There are matters which will benefit you therein and aid you in attaining goodness, in shaa’ Allah. And fasting optional days, like Mondays and Thursdays, and three days every month, is worship which draws you near [to Allah] and obedience, along with great rewards and expiation of evil deeds. However, if your mother is not pleased with that, then do not upset her, as the mother’s right must be highly regarded, and dutifulness to her is from the most important obligations. Perhaps she fears that that you might become lethargic if you fast and thus fail to uphold your duty to provide for the family and take care of their needs. It is well-known that working for permissible earnings in order to provide for one’s family and household members is from the best things which draw one near [to Allah]. It is actually from the most important obligations, which is more virtuous than putting aside time for optional fasting and optional prayers.

In any case, what I advise you with is that you listen to what she says and obey her in these kinds of things. If you see an opportunity in the future to ask her permission to fast [optional days], then ask her permission, so long as such a fast does not disable or weaken you, keeping you from fulfilling those important duties that have been mentioned.

It is Allah who I ask to grant you understanding in the religion, to guide you to His straight path, to bless us and you with genuine repentance, and to grant us and you, as well as all the Muslims, refuge from the whisperings of the devil and from the evil of our own souls and the evil results of bad deeds. He is certainly Most Kind and Generous.

May Allah raise the rank of His worshipful slave and Messenger, Muhammad, and grant him and all of his family, followers, and companions peace.

Written by: Shaykh ‘Abdul-‘Azeez ibn Baaz, Vice-Dean of the Islamic University of al-Madeenah (as found in his Fataawaa collection, 10/316-322).

Translation: Moosaa Richardson (1444/7/10)

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Additional Resources:

PDF of the Arabic Original: Read the original Arabic letter written by Shaykh Ibn Baaz. | الأصل العربي

MP3: Listen to a Friday sermon by the translator, based on this letter: https://www.spreaker.com/user/radio1mm/khutbah-1444-7-12-mr