Benefits From the Stories of Repentance

7/29/2019 Benefits From the Stories of Repentance

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Benefits from the Stories of Repentance:Giving Glad Tidings to those Who Repent1

By Abū al-Ḥasan Mālik Ādam al-Akhḍar

Shaykh al-Isl ā m Ibn Taymiyyah (!ا #$%ر ) stated: “There is consensus among

the people that it is not permissible to blame the one who has repented.”2

It is clear from this statement that it is not from the way of the people of truthto revile or insult a person after atonement for their sins; rather, it was the

methodology of the Messenger of Allāh and the Companions to welcome

those who repented and give them glad tidings and good news. After narrating

the story of his absence from the Tabūk expedition, and the subsequent boycott

he and his two companions endured, the noble companion Ka’b ibn Mālik

relates the glad tidings and bright faces he received from the Prophet and

Companions after his repentance had been accepted by Allāh . He says:

“Then on the morning after the fiftieth night, I prayed Fajr on the rooftop of one of our houses. While I was sitting in the condition that Allāh mentioned

regarding us, my soul felt constricted and the earth seemed narrow to me after

it had been spacious; I heard someone shouting at the top of his voice f rom the

top of Mount Sal’ : ‘O Ka’b ibn Mālik, rejoice!” I fell down in prostration and

knew that relief had come. The Messenger of Allāh had announced our

forgiveness at the Fajr prayer. The people came to bring us the glad tidings;

they also went to my two companions to bring them the good news. A rider

Benefits from the Stories of Repentance:Giving Glad Tidings to those Who Repent

Al-Raḥmā niyyah Publishing

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1 This brief benefit is an excerpt from the upcoming publication Until the Sun Rises from theWest: Benefits from the Stories of Repentance. May Allāh facilitate its completion.

2 Majmū’ al-Fat ā w ā (8/179)



hastened towards me on horseback, and a man from [Banu] Aslam raced

towards me, climbing the mountain; the voice reached me faster than the

horse. When the one whose voice I had heard came to me to give me the goodnews, I removed my garments and put them on him because of the good news

he had brought. By Allāh, that day I had no other garments besides those. I

borrowed two garments and wore them and went to go before the Messenger

of Allāh. Crowds of people met me to congratulate me on Allāh’s acceptance

of my Tawbah. They were saying to me: ‘We congratulate you on Allah’s

acceptance of your Tawbah!’”

He continues later: “When I greeted the Messenger of Allāh his face wasshining with joy and he said: ‘Rejoice on the best day of your life since your

mother gave birth to you!’ I said: “Is it from you, Messenger of All āh, or from

Allāh?” He said: ‘Indeed it is from Allāh!’ When the Messenger of Allāh was

happy, his face would shine as if it were a part of the moon…”

Reflection on the narration:

Anyone familiar with those arduous fifty days related by Ka’b ibn Mālik in

this narration are aware of the difficulty of his loved ones—including his wifeand cousin, who describes as the most beloved of mankind to him—separating

from him as well as his companions leaving him off to the point of not moving

their lips to return his salutations. However, after the Prophet’s announcement that Allāh had accepted his repentance, he was received with

love and openness from kith and kin. If one reflects on this story, he discovers

just how far those who revel at the news—or the rumors—of their brothers and

sisters falling into sin are from the way of the Believers, the path of the

Companions of Allāh’s Messenger who were saddened when a person fell

into transgression, while at the same time were overjoyed when they repented

and turned in penitence to al-Raḥmā n. May Allāh guide us to all that He

loves and pleases Him.



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Benefits from this narration:

First: Feelings of remorse and regret: we have already elaborated upon thispoint in the story of the man who killed ninety-nine people as well as the

Ḥad īth of the Messenger of Allāh : “Remorse is repentance.” This remorse

can be seen in Ka’b’s statement: “While I was sitting in the condition that

Allāh mentioned regarding us, my soul felt constricted and the earth seemed

narrow to me after it had been spacious…”

Second: Rushing to give the people of repentance glad tidings. This can be

found in his statement: “A rider hastened towards me on horseback, and a

person of [Banu] Aslam raced towards me, climbing the mountain; the voice

reached me faster than the horse.”

Third: Greeting the one who repents with glad tidings and joyfulness. This can

be seen in Ka’b’s statements: “I heard someone shouting at the top of his voice

from the top of Mount Sal :̒ ‘O Ka’b ibn Mālik, rejoice!’ and his statement:

“The people came to bring us the glad tidings; they also went to my two

companions to bring them the good news”; also his statement: “Crowds of

people met me to congratulate me on Allāh’s acceptance of my Tawbah. Theywere saying to me: “We congratulate you on Allah’s acceptance of your

Tawbah!” As for the Prophet, then his joyfulness can be witnessed in his

greeting Ka’b with a bright face. Ka’b says: “When I greeted the Messenger of

Allah, his face was shining with joy and he said: ‘Rejoice on the best day of

your life since your mother gave birth to you!’”

Fourth: Performing acts of worship in thanks to Allāh , especially

prostration; this is found in Ka’b’s statement: “I heard someone shouting at



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the top of his voice from the top of Mount Sal’ : ‘O Ka’b ibn Mālik, rejoice!’ I

fell down in prostration and knew that relief had come.”3

Fifth: Charity and generosity in thanks for good news, as found in his

statement: “When the one whose voice I had heard came to me to give me the

good news, I removed my garments and put them on him because of the good

news he had brought. By Allāh, that day I had no other garments than those.”

Sixth: That the one who repents is like the one who never committed the sin.4This is present in the Prophet’s statement: “Rejoice on the best day of your

life since your mother gave birth to you!”

Seventh: That Tawbah brought great joy to the Messenger of Allāh. This is

found in Ka’b’s statement: “When I greeted the Messenger of Allah, his face

was shining with joy… When the Messenger of Allāh was happy, his face

would shine as if it were a part of the moon.”5



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3 Al-Imā m Ibn Bāz (!ا #'$''''''''''''''''''%ر ) stated: “Suj ūd al-Shukr (the prostration of thankfulness) is similar to

one prostration in prayer. In it a person supplicates with the same supplication for prayer: ‘SubḥanaRabbi al-‘Al ā (Glory to my Lord, the Most High); he praises Allāh and extols Him for blessings hehas received. He supplicates to Allāh and thanks Him.” See http://www.binbaz.org.sa/mat/17271

4 This refers to the Ḥad īth collected by Ibn Mā jah in his al-Sunan (no. 4232) in the book of al-Zuhd on the authority of ‘Abd Allāh ibn Mas’ūd who said: “The Messenger of Allāh said:‘The one who repents from a sin is like the one who has not committed the wrong.’” Thisnarration is graded Ḥ asan by al-Shaykh al-Albān ī in his Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn M ā jah (no. 3446)

5 It has also been established that Allāh is happy with the Tawbah of His servants. Anas ibn Malik

reported that the Prophet said: “Truly, Allāh is happier with the repentance of His slave thanone of you who is on his mount in a desolate land, and upon his mount is his drink and food; thenhe loses his mount in the desert, and he searches for it until he loses hope; so he sleeps and thenwakes up to find that his mount is beside him. He takes hold of the a nimal’s muzzle and says, ‘O’Allāh, you are my slave and I am your Lord.’ He misspoke as a result of extreme happiness.” ThisḤad ī th is collected by Muslim in his Ṣ aḥīḥ (no. 4910)

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Benefits From the Stories of Repentance