Pilgrimage: Repeated pilgrimage,
repeated sins
Q437 :Pilgrimage: Repeated pilgrimage, repeated
sins
A437 : The main and clear aspect of pilgrimage is
that we hasten to respond to Allah's call, wearing nothing of the
ornaments which are part of our custom. When we feel our dedication in
this way and when our submission is truly genuine, Allah rewards us
generously for our pilgrimage. He wipes off our sins. When we have
finished, we start with our slate clean. We know that when we committed
those sins, we wronged ourselves and we disregarded our duty to obey
Allah. When we respond to Him with dedication and submission as we do
in pilgrimage, He accepts our submissions and erases our past sins.
This is confirmed by numerous Hadiths. The Prophet is quoted to have
said: "The only proper reward for pilgrimage offered with dedication is
paradise." He also says that every time we do the Umrah, we have our
sins which we have committed since our last Umrah, forgiven. There is
no doubt that forgiveness is the reward Allah has promised for those
who offer the pilgrimage and the Umrah to emphasize their submission to
Allah. This is not surprising because Allah forgives anyone who turns
to Him in genuine repentance, even when the sins he had committed are
grave indeed. The Prophet is reported to have said : "A person who
repents having committed his sins is like one who has committed no
sins." Every time we turn to Allah in repentance, He turns to us with
forgiveness. But the stress is always on our attitude being genuine.
Our dedication must be complete; our submission must be total; our
repentance should be sincere. A person who declares that he has
repented having done a particular sin, while at the same time he knows
that if a chance offers itself again, he will not hesitate to do the
same sin again, will not be forgiven that sin. His repentance is merely
verbal. He does not mean it because a good believer always regards his
sins as something totally undesirable, even though at the time of
committing them, he might have enjoyed them. People commit adultery or
fornication in order to satisfy their desires. This indulgence may
provide them, at the time of committing these actions, with pleasure,
enjoyment and ecstasy. However, when they reflect on what they have
done, they are genuinely sorry for having exceeded the limits set by
Allah. That genuine regret, combined with a prayer for forgiveness,
ensures that Allah looks compassionately on us and forgives us that
sin. Pilgrimage is the greatest act through which we demonstrate our
submission to Allah, regret for having committed sins of any sort and
type, and resolve to do better in our future days. Therefore, the
reward for pilgrimage is total forgiveness and heaven. But the Prophet
speaks of a pilgrimage offered with total dedication. That involves a
firm resolve to abide by Islamic rules and teachings. We cannot just
say to Allah that we are responding to His call and we are certainly
sorry for our past mistakes, but this is merely for the present. As for
tomorrow, we go back to the same old practices. This is no
demonstration of our submission to Allah. It does not show that we have
really repented what we did in the past. On the contrary, it shows that
we still do not have the necessary respect for Allah's teachings. How
can that be rewarded with forgiveness? Such an attitude is similar to
that of a person, having committed a sin, that he is sorry for it but
will go back to it the next minute, if the chance offers itself. This
is playing games with the great concept of repentance and forgiveness.
Allah accepts no such verbal declarations, because they are devoid of
any real substance. Having said that, I must explain that what counts
is ones feelings at the time when one declares one's repentance. If at
that particular moment a person is genuine in his repentance, then he
is forgiven his past sins. If nevertheless he commits the same sin
later because he is too weak to resist the temptation, his weakness is
not taken against him except in as far as the new sin is recorded
against him. That is because at the time when he declared his
repentance, he was sincere. This is indeed a mark of Allah's grace
which He bestows on us in abundance. He knows beforehand that we will
be going back to our sins, but He also knows that at the time we
declare our repentance, we are genuine. He, therefore, accepts our
genuineness and responds to it accordingly. When He forgives us
something, He does not record it against us again. A person may commit
the same sin many times, but if he genuinely repents it every time he
commits it, then he is forgiven that sin every time. Eventually, he is
surely to acquire the necessary resolve and strength to be able to
resist any temptation. If the attitude is one of playing games,
thinking that one can commit all the sins one wants and then have slate
wiped clean because one offers Umrah or pilgrimage, then the attitude
is one of carelessness and disregard to Allah's teachings. It is very
doubtful that Allah will accept such an act of worship in which one
declares repentance when one has not actually repented. The fact that
one intends to go back to it shows that the repentance is only verbal.
The Umrah and the pilgrimage cannot be approached in such a casual
manner. They are very serious acts of worship, the importance of which
cannot be over-emphasized. A casual attitude cannot earn Allah's
forgiveness. It is imperative to resolve to make a clean break with the
past and make the act of worship a genuine beginning of a life of
obedience to Allah and proper observance of His commandments.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News - Jeddah )