Command, Prohibition, Promise and Threat

“The people have been commanded and prohibited. Whoever has an excuse, Allah, the Mighty and High, forgives him.”

Verily, it is stated in the Torah: O Musa! Verily, I have created you, chosen you, strengthened you, commanded you for My Obedience, and prohibited you from disobeying Me. Therefore, if you obey Me I will help you to obey Me and if you disobey Me, I will not help you to disobey me. O Musa! I have favored you in your obedience to Me, and I have evidence over you in your disobedience of Me.

Messenger of Allah (SA) said: “Whoever Allah promises to reward for an action, He will fulfill it. And whoever He threatens with punishment over an action, He may choose (either punishment or pardon).”

4. Abu `Ali al-Husayn ibn Ahmad al-Bayhaqi said in Naysabur year 352 AH that Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Suli reported to us that Ibn Dhukwan said: I heard Ibrahim ibn al-`Abbas say We were in the presence of al-Rida (AS) when the discussion was about the major sins, and the Mu`tazilite belief that they shall not be forgiven. Hence, al-Rida (AS) said: Abu `Abd Allah al-Sadiq (AS) said: “The Qur’an contradicts the belief of the Mu`tazilites. Allah, the Mighty and High, says: Verily, your Lord is the Lord of forgiveness to people despite their injustice. The Compiler of this book says: The tradition is detailed; we have extracted from it the required passage.

5. Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Haytham al-`Ijli; Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Qittan; Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Sinani; al-Husayn ibn Ibrahim ibn Ahmad ibn Hisham al-Mukattab; `Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Sa`igh and `Ali ibn `Abd Allah al-Warraq (may All be pleased with them) all said: Abu al-`Abbas Ahmad ibn Yahya ibn Zakariyyah al-Qittan said: Bakr ibn `Abd Allah ibn Husayn said: Tamim ibn Buhlul said: Abu Mu`awiyah said, on he authority of al-A`mash that Ja`far ibn Muhammad (AS) said the following regarding Islamic law: Verily, Allah does not impose anything on a soul except what it can bear, and does not oblige it to do anything it does not have the strength to do. The actions of the servants are created with decreed [taqdir] creation, not with constitutional [takwin] creation and Allah is the Creator of all Things. We do not believe in determinism or relinquishment. Allah, the Mighty and High, does not hold the innocent to be that guilty, nor does Allah, the Mighty and High, punish children for the sins of their fathers. For verily, He has said in Perfect Book: And no bearer of burden shall bear the burden of another; the Mighty and High says: And that man shall have nothing but what he strives for. Allah, the Mighty and High, forgives and favors. It is not befitting of the Mighty and High to oppress. Allah, the Mighty and High, does not oblige His Servants to obey the one that may lead them astray and misguided them. When He selects His Servants to be His Messengers, he does not select any that disbelieve in Him, and who may serve Satan instead of Him. He never appoints but an infallible person as a Proof over His Creation. The Compiler of this book says: The tradition is detailed; we have extracted from it the required passage. I have transmitted all of it in the book Al-Khisal.

Allah will not make the Hell eternal for anyone except for those who disbelieved and denied, and those who went astray and rejected monotheism. Believers who refrained from major sins will not be asked about the minor sins they may have committed. Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, says: If you shun the great sins which you are forbidden, We will do away with your small sins and cause you to enter an honorable place of entering. The reporter says: I asked him, “O son of the messenger of Allah (SA)! To which sinners does intercession [shafa`at] apply?” He (AS) replied, “My father (AS) related to me, on the authority of his forefathers (AS) the authority of `Ali (AS) that: The Messenger of Allah (SA) said: “Verily, my intercession applies to the members of my Ummah who committed major sins. As for the good-doers, they should not be concerned.” Ibn Abu `Umayr says: I asked him, O son of the Messenger of Allah! How can intercession apply to those who commit major sins, when Allah, exalted be His Remembrance, says: And they do not intercede except for him whom He approves and for fear of Him they tremble; and whoever commits major sins cannot be the approved one, Thus, he (AS) responded, O Abu Ahmad! There is not a believer who commits a sin but that it grieves him, and he regrets it. The Prophet (SA) has said: “Regret is sufficient for repentance.” He (AS) has also said: Whoever is pleased by his good deeds and grieved by his bad deeds is a believer.” Therefore, he who commits a sin, and does not regret it, is not a believer, and intercession will not apply to him because he is unjust. Allah, exalted be His Remembrance, says: The unjust shall not have nay compassionate friend nor any intercessor who should be obeyed. I asked him, “O son of the Messenger of Allah! Why is a person an unbeliever is he does not feel any remorse for his sins?” He (AS) replied, O Abu Ahmad! If someone knows that he has committed a major sin, and knows that he will be punished for it, he will surely regret his action. If feels remorse, he has repented, and deserves intercession. If he does not regret his action, he will persist in his sin. Persistent, habitual sinners are not forgiven, because they do not believe that they will be punished for their actions. If they believed in the punishment then surely they would regret their action. The Prophet (SA) said: No major sin remains after repentance. And no sin remains minor if one engages in it habitually. As for the Word of Allah, the Mighty and High: And they do not intercede except for him whom He approves; then he will not receive intercession unless Allah approves his belief. Belief is the confirmation of reward for good deeds and punishment over bad deeds. If Allah accepts a person’s faith as sincere, it is because the person regrets the sins he has committed, and fears their punishment on the Day of Judgment.

He who intends to accomplish a good deed, and does not do so, one good deed is written down for him. However, if he accomplished the good deed, then ten good deeds are written down for him. Allah multiplies good deeds for anyone He wished up to seven hundred times. Whoever intends to accomplish a bad deed, and does not do it, no bad deed will be written down for him unless he does it. If he does not accomplish the bad deed, then one good deed is written down for him because he avoided the bad deed. Even if he does a bad deed, it is only recorded nine hours after it was done. In the event hat he repents within this period, it will not be recorded. However, if he fails to repent for his sin or express any remorse over it, a single offence will be recorded against him.

There is not a verse in the Qur`an more beloved to me that the Word of the Mighty and High: Surely Allah does not forgive that anything should be associated with Him, and forgives what is beside that to whomsoever He pleases.

“Come here, O Abu Dharr!” So I walked with him for some time. He said: Verily, the ones with much will be the ones with less. On the Day of Resurrection with the exception of those Allah has favoured. His Favour will spread to them from right to left, and from front to back. It will fill them with good. Abu Dharr says: I continued to walk with him for a while. Then he (SA) said: “Sit down here. He made me sit down in some low ground around which was stones.” He said to me, “Sit down until I return to you.” He (Abu Dharr) said: He went to a stony area until I could no longer see him. His delay was prolonged. Then I heard him coming, while saying, “Even if he fornicated and eve if he stole?” He said: When he came back, I immediately asked him, “O Prophet of Allah! May Allah make me your ransom! Who are you talking to in the stony area for I did not hear anyone answer you?” He replied, “It was Jibra’il who appeared to me in that stony area and said: `Glad tidings to your Ummah that anyone who dies without associating anything with Allah, the Mighty and High, will enter Heaven.” He (SA) added, “I asked Jibra’il: `Even if he fornicated and even if he stole?’ He replied: `Yes, and even if he drank wine.’” The Compiler of this book says: What he means by this is that he will succeed in repentance so that he may enter Paradise.

Messenger of Allah (SA) said: Jibra`il (AS) said: Allah, great be His Glory said: Whoever commits a sin, major or minor, and he does not believe that I have a right to punish him over it or to forgive for it, then I will never forgive him for that sin ever. Whoever commits a sin, whether be it minor or major, believing that I have a right to punish him over it or forgive for it, I forgive him.