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:

hello,

there are certain aayats in quran and they have certain benefits.

for example if you recite a certain qurani aayat for 100 times after prayers your sins for the day will be forgiven or something of that sort.

you can find various verses you can recite certain number of times that benefit you.

My question is, suppose someone does something bad and then says no problem, i`ll just go home and recite a certain verse several times after prayers and my sins will be forgiven. and he continues to do that. where he does whatever he likes and then recites or does extensive tasbeeh after prayers for the forgiving of his sins. Is this practice right or allowed in Islam ?

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Intentionally commit sin

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.

Your Statement: for example if you recite a certain qurani aayat for 100 times after prayers your sins for the day will be forgiven or something of that sort

Beloved brother, the Messenger of Allah (saws) indeed declared several acts and also the repetition of some phrases in the Glorification of Allah which forgive the sins of the believer, but to the best of our knowledge there is nothing in the authentic and established Sunnah whereby the repetition of a certain Verse from the Quran is specified by the Messenger of Allah (saws) which forgives all sins. And Allah Alone Knows Best.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 8.441 Narrated by Ibn Abbas

I brought water to Uthman bin 'Affan to perform the ablution while he was sitting on his seat. He performed the ablution in a perfect way and said, "I saw the Prophet (saws) performing the ablution in this place and he performed it in a perfect way and said, "Whoever performs the ablution as I have done this time and then proceeds to the mosque and offers a two-Rak'at prayer and then sits there (waiting for the compulsory congregational prayers), then all his past sins will be forgiven."

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 3.125 Narrated by Abu Huraira

The Prophet (saws) said, "Whoever established prayers on the night of Qadr out of sincere faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven; and whoever fasts in the month of Ramadan out of sincere faith, and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven."

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 4012 Narrated by Mu'adh ibn Anas

The Prophet (saws) said: ‘If anyone eats food and then says: "Praise be to Allah Who has fed me with this food and provided me with it through no might and power on my part," he will be forgiven his former and later sins. If anyone puts on a garment and says: "Praise be to Allah Who has clothed me with this and provided me with it through no might and power on my part," he will be forgiven his former and later sins.

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 1282 Narrated by Mu'adh ibn Anas al-Juhani

The Prophet (saws) said: ‘If anyone sits in his place of prayer when he finishes the dawn prayer till he prays the two rak'ahs of the forenoon, saying nothing but what is good, his sins will be forgiven even if they are more than the foam of the sea.

Al-Muwatta Hadith 15.22

Yahya related from Malik from Abu Ubayd, the mawla of Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik, from Ata ibn Yazid al-Laythi that Abu Hurayra said, "Whoever says 'Glory be to Allah' (Subhana'llah) thirty-three times and 'Allah is Greatest' (Allahu akbar) thirty-three times and 'Praise be to Allah' (al-hamdu lillah) thirty-three times, and seals the hundred with 'There is no god but Allah, alone without any partner. The Kingdom and praise belong to Him and He has power over everything' (La ilaha illa'llah, wahdahu la sharika lah, lahu'l mulku wa lahu'l hamd, wa huwa ala kulli shay'in qadir) after every prayer will have his wrong actions forgiven him even if they are abundant as the foam on the sea."

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 2.8 Narrated by Salman Al Farsi

The Prophet (saws) said, "Whoever takes a bath on Friday, purifies himself as much as he can, then uses his (hair) oil or perfumes himself with the scent of his house, then proceeds (for the Jumua prayer) and does not separate two persons sitting together (in the mosque), then prays as much as (Allah has) written for him and then remains silent while the Imam is delivering the Khutba, his sins in-between the present and the last Friday would be forgiven."

Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith 8.414 Narrated byAbu Huraira

Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "Whoever says, 'Subhan Allah wa bihamdihi,' one hundred times a day, will be forgiven all his sins even if they were as much as the foam of the sea."

The scholars in Islam are unanimous in their opinion that whenever the Messenger of Allah (saws) declared an act which forgives ‘all’ sins, they always refer to the minor sins….if one is guilty of a ‘major’ sin in Islam, the only atonement for the forgiveness of that major sin is to seek the sincere repentance of Allah Subhanah.

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."

Your Question: My question is, suppose someone does something bad and then says no problem, i`ll just go home and recite a certain verse several times after prayers and my sins will be forgiven. and he continues to do that. where he does whatever he likes and then recites or does extensive tasbeeh after prayers for the forgiving of his sins. Is this practice right or allowed in Islam ?

Allow us to give you an example to explain the Vastness of the Mercy of the Lord Most Merciful: Say a person happens to be in the company of evil, and swayed by his emotions he drinks some wine. Soon thereafter he realizes the gravity of his sin, feels absolutely ashamed at his transgression of the Law and Command of His Lord, immediately turns back to his Lord seeking sincere repentance, and makes a solemn covenant with Him that he will never ever approach wine again….it is expected that Allah Subhanah will accept his repentance and forgive him his sin.

At a later date, he finds himself in evil company again, and again he is swayed by his emotions and happens to drink wine….soon thereafter he remembers the covenant he made with his Lord, realizes the gravity of his sin, feels absolutely ashamed at his transgression again, and turns back to his Lord seeking sincere repentance…..it is expected that He will find his Lord Merciful and Forgiving again and again.

Regardless of how many times this slave of Allah is swayed by conditions and emotions and as a result falls into sin, provided he is sincere in his repentance each time, it is expected he will find his Lord Oft-Forgiving and Merciful.

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!

But those persistent sinners will not be forgiven who pre-plan to commit sin with the intention that after they have sinned they will seek forgiveness; then pre-plan the sin again with the intent that they will repent later, or persist in their sin with the intent that they will seek repentance just before their death…..such sinners try to make a mockery of the Mercy and Grace of the Lord Most High with their pre-planned sinning and meaningless repentance.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisaa verses 17-18:

17 Allah accepts the repentance of those who do evil in ignorance and repent soon afterwards; to them will Allah turn in mercy; for Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom.

18 Of no effect is the repentance of those who continue to do evil until death faces one of them and he says "Now have I repented indeed"; nor of those who die rejecting faith: for them have We prepared a punishment most grievous.

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

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan