Firstly:
Adultery (zina) is a major sin. Allaah says (interpretation
of the meaning):
“And come not near to unlawful sex [zina]. Verily, it is a
Faahishah (i.e. anything that transgresses its limits: a great sin, and an
evil way that leads one to hell unless Allaah Forgives him)”
[al-Isra’ 17:32]
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: “The adulterer is not a believer at the moment when he is committing
adultery; the wine-drinker is not a believer at the moment when he is
drinking wine; the thief is not a believer at the moment when he is
stealing; the robber is not a believer at the moment when he is robbing and
the people are looking on.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2475; Muslim, 57).
It is a major sin, and the one who does it is warned of a
painful torment. In an important hadeeth – the hadeeth of the Mi’raaj – the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “We went on
and we came to something like a tannoor oven.” I [the narrator] think that
he said, that in it there were shouting and voices. “We looked inside and we
saw naked men and women, towards whom flames were coming from the bottom of
the oven. When the flames reached them they made a noise. I said to them
[the two angels], ‘Who are these people?’ … They said to me, ‘We will tell
you… the naked men and women in the structure like a tannoor oven are the
adulterers and adulteresses.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari in Baab Ithm
al-Zunaat, no. 7047).
Allaah also punishes the adulterers severely in this world,
and has prescribed the hadd punishment for that. Allaah says concerning the
unmarried person who commits zina:
“The fornicatress and the fornicator, flog each of them
with a hundred stripes. Let not pity withhold you in their case, in a
punishment prescribed by Allaah, if you believe in Allaah and the Last Day.
And let a party of the believers witness their punishment”
[al-Noor 24:2 – interpretation of the meaning]
With regard to one who is married, the hadd punishment is
execution. It says in a hadeeth narrated by Imam Muslim in his Saheeh
(3199) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: “For a married or previously-married person the punishment is one
hundred lashes and stoning.”
Secondly:
Stealing is also a major sin.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And (as for) the male thief and the female thief, cut off
(from the wrist joint) their (right) hands as a recompense for that which
they committed, a punishment by way of example from Allaah”
[al-Maa'idah 5:38]
It was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with
him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) addressed the people of the Day of Sacrifice and said: “O people,
what day is this?” They said, “A sacred day.” He said, “What land is this?”
They said, “A sacred land.” He said, “What month is this?” They said, “A
sacred month.” He said, “Your blood, your wealth and your honour are as
sacred to you as this day of yours in this land of yours in this month of
yours.” He repeated it several times, then he raised his head and said, “O
Allaah, have I conveyed (the message)? O Allaah, have I conveyed (the
message)?” Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “By the One in
Whose hand is my soul, this was his last advice to his ummah, so let those
who are present convey it to those who are absent.”
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1652)
The punishment for stealing is amputation of the right hand
as is mentioned in the aayah quoted above.
So we advise the one who is asking this question to repent
and seek forgiveness for his sins.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And verily, I am indeed forgiving to him who repents,
believes (in My Oneness, and associates none in worship with Me) and does
righteous good deeds, and then remains constant in doing them (till his
death)”
[Ta-Ha 20:82]
It was narrated that Anas ibn Maalik said: “I heard the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say:
‘Allaah says: “O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I
shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of
Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask
forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you and I would not mind. O son of Adam,
were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you
then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness
nearly as great as it.”’”
(al-Tirmidhi, 3540; classed as hasan by Shaykh al-Albaani in
Saheeh al-Jaami’, 4338)
It was narrated from Abu Dharr that the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said that Allaah says: “… O My slaves,
you commit sin night and day, and I forgive all sins, so ask Me for
forgiveness …”
(Muslim, 2577)
Fourthly:
Repentance that is a matter between a person and his Lord is
better for him than confessing his sin before a qaadi (judge) so that the
hadd punishment may be carried out on him.
In Saheeh Muslim (1695) it is narrated that when
Maa’iz came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) and said, “Purify me,” he said, “Woe to you! Go back and pray
to Allaah for forgiveness and repent to Him.”
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar said:
It may be understood from this case – the case of Maa’iz when
he confessed to having committed zina – that it is mustahabb for the one who
falls into a similar sin to repent to Allaah and conceal his sin and not
mention it to anyone, as Abu Bakr and ‘Umar said to Maa’iz. Whoever
discovers anything of that nature should conceal it according to what we
have mentioned; he should not expose it or refer the matter to the ruler, as
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said in this
story: “If you had concealed it with your garment it would have been better
for you.” Hence al-Shaafa’i (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “If a
person commits a sin and Allaah conceals it for him, I prefer for him to
conceal it too and to repent,” and he quoted as evidence the story of Maa’iz
with Abu Bakr and ‘Umar.
Fath al-Baari,
12/124, 125
And Allaah knows best.
No comments:
Post a Comment