Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Salaam Alaikum Burhan Bhai,

I want to know one question; I heard somewhere that after Hajj, you’re all sin or gunha (from past) would be forgiven from Allah subhan and you will be like newborn child with out any sin, but I want to know sins like zina’ or like these kind of big sins will also forgiven from Allah after Hajj or there are some conditions. Please answer my question I will be really thankful.
Your brother of Islam

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Answer:

Hajj forgives all sins

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet (saws) said: "He who performs Hajj for Allah's pleasure and avoids all lewdness and sins will return after Hajj free from all sins as he was the day his mother gave birth to him."

Related by Bukhari and Muslim.

Amr ibn al-'As says: "When Allah guided me to Islam, I went to the Prophet (saws) and said to him: 'O Prophet of Allah (saws)! Stretch out your hand so that I may pledge my allegiance to you.' The Prophet (saws) stretched out his hand to me, but I withdrew my hand. The Prophet (saws) asked: 'O 'Amr! what is the matter with you?' I said: 'I would like to stipulate a condition! ' The Prophet (saws) asked: 'What is it?' I said: 'That all my past sins be forgiven!' The Prophet (saws) said: 'O 'Amr! Do you not know that Islam wipes off all past sins, and hijrah (leaving one’s home and hearth for Allah's cause) wipes off all sins, and (similarly) Hajj wipes off all past sins!"'

Related by Muslim.

Abdullah ibn Mas'ud narrated that the Prophet (saws) said: "Alternate between Hajj and 'Umrah (regularly), for these two remove poverty and sins just as the blacksmith's bellows removes all impurities from metals like iron, gold and silver. The reward for Hajj Mabrur (accepted by Allah) is nothing short of Paradise."

Related by Nasa'i and Tirmidhi.

Your Question: but I want to know sins like zina’ or like these kind of big sins will also forgiven from Allah after Hajj or there are some conditions

Beloved brother in Islam, the Great Pilgrimage of Hajj to the Sacred House of Allah done with the intention for His Pleasure Alone and accepted by the Merciful Lord indeed wipes off all sins; but there is another much easier way to get one’s sins forgiven, no matter how many or however grave one’s sins may be!

Even if one has committed the gravest of sins like shirk (associating others with Allah), kufr (disbelief), murder, zina, disobedience of parents, etc.; no matter how many sins one might have done in one’s days of ignorance, the Lord Most Merciful has promised to forgive them all provided the person does one thing: and that is seek sincere repentance and turn back to his Lord in Taubah before his appointment with death!

Whatever deeds one might have done, if one turns to Allah Subhanah in sincere Taubah and seeks forgiveness, Allah Subhanah has promised in the Holy Quran that He will forgive all the sins of such a believer, even if one has committed the gravest sin of all: ‘Shirk’! Not only that, our Lord is so Merciful and Generous, that He not only will forgive the sins of the believer, He will change his evil deeds done into good deeds!

The conditions or way to seek sincere Taubah or Repentance from the Merciful Lord is:

1. One is aware that he has sinned, and feels sorry and ashamed at his sin.
2. Makes a solemn covenant and promise with Allah that he will not repeat his sin again.
3. Turns to Allah and seeks forgiveness, before he has met with his appointment of death.
4. Is a believer and does righteous good deeds thereafter.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah Zumur verses 53-54:

(O Prophet) say: “O My servants who have wronged their own souls….Do not despair of Allah’s Mercy! Surely, Allah forgives all sins. He indeed is the All Forgiving, All Merciful. Return to your Lord and submit to Him before the scourge overtakes you; for then you may get no help from anywhere.”

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imraan verse 135-136:

Allah likes such good people very much, who, if ever they commit a base deed or wrong their own soul by the commission of a sin, remember Allah instantly, and ask for forgiveness from Him for their shortcomings. For who, but Allah, can forgive sins? (And Allah loves those) who do not knowingly persist in the wrongs they did. These will be rewarded with forgiveness from Allah, and with Gardens beneath which canals flow, and they will reside therein forever! How excellent is the reward of those who do good deeds!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 25 Surah Furqaan verses 63-71:

The (true) servants of the Merciful are those who walk humbly on the earth. When the ignorant people behave insolently towards them, they say, “Peace to you”; (And those) who pass their nights in prostrating themselves and standing before their Lord and pray, “O our Lord, save us from the torment of Hell, for its torment is killing! It is an evil abode, and an evil resting place”. (And those) who, when they spend are neither extravagant, nor miserly, but keep the golden mean between the two extremes. (And those) who do not invoke any god but Allah Alone, nor kill a soul unjustly, which Allah has forbidden, nor commit adultery… He who does this shall be punished for his sin, and his torment shall be doubled on the Day of Resurrection, and he shall abide in a state of ignominy; EXCEPT THE ONE WHO MAY HAVE REPENTED (AFTER THOSE SINS), AND HAVE BELIEVED AND DONE RIGHTEOUS DEEDS. For then, Allah will change his evil deeds into good deeds, and He is very Forgiving and Merciful. In fact, one who repents and does righteous deeds, returns to Allah as one rightly should!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verse 54:

When those come to you who believe in Our Signs, say: "Peace be on you! Your Lord had inscribed for Himself (the rule of) Mercy. Verily if any of you did evil in ignorance, and thereafter repented and amended (his conduct), Lo! He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan