Question Summary:
I have a couple of issues lately, regarding taking oaths and kassams. I would like to say that a couple months ago I started doing some sins Question Detail:
I have two questions regarded to a related topic:
I have a couple of issues lately, regarding taking oaths and kassams. I would like to say that a couple months ago I started doing some sins that I never did before. I don’t want to mention the sin but it is important to know it has only been a couple of months. As days passed on, I started to commit this sin more often although I regretted, Shaytaan had really got to me. So I decided that if I take a kassam and oath to Allah that maybe I can leave this sin. So I said and promised to myself and Allah in that matter that each time I do that particular sin, I will keep 5 rozas (fasts). After some time I broke it, and kept on breaking it. I know this sin is immoral and highly disliked, I feel ashamed of even doing it. So I have decided that I will never commit this sin again, Inshallah. That being said, from my calculations, I have to keep over 100 fasts. So my question is do I have to keep the 100 fasts, or can I keep the kaffarah for the oath I broke. Also, I should tell you, lately my Imman and my contenment of the heart is slowly dropping. Although I still have the ability and tofik to read Quraan everyday, I feel like I am slowly loosing my Iman for things that are only temporary in this world. This was the path that I was really afraid of.
Alhamdulillah, I have many friends, many friends that are pious and religious. But everyone looks up to me and thinks of me as really pious and religious. Although there was a time I might have been, this has slowly left me. Days in the past I would stay in the Masjid for hours and hours. However, these days I do not get to visit the Masjid very often, even though I don’t live too far away from it. Now I don’t know what to say to people and friends and how to react with them when they call me names that I don’t deserve and that are only used for shaikhs like you. Although I am really much use to that, I have always told them and keep telling them that its not me who the religious person is, its you. So now I am at a point where I am in great difficulty and really need advice. Although there a lot of Ullamahs that I know, I don’t feel comfortable on asking them for their advice.
Answer :
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In the name of Allāh, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Assalāmu ῾alaykum wa Rahmatullāhi Wabarakātuh
There are three aspects to your question:
1) Being troubled by your weak Iman.
2) Compensation for the Qasam.
3) Approach towards your friends.
1) Being human, at some time or the other we are bound to sin. But, the sign of a true Muslim is when he does sin, it perturbs him; he becomes restless, miserable and lives with inner guilt. On the other hand, a sign of a Hypocrite, is that he is content with the sins he commits; it does not agitate him in the least. Understand this in the light of Nabi salallahu alayhi wasalam’s words:
“A Muslim always has concern and fear of his Iman, and his sins are burdensome to him like the weight of a mountain. On the other hand, when a Munafiq (hypocrite) sins, he is so untroubled by the sin just as a fly sitting on his nose.”[1]
(Sunan Tirmizi #2497, Maktabatuth Thaqafiyyah, Beirut)
So, to be troubled by the sin you are committing is indeed proper and commendable. However, now you should have a deep rooted endeavour not to commit this sin again. You should never become despondent and lose hope in Allah Ta’ala. Never feel that Allah has discarded you. Be firm and strong minded. Shaytan, our avowed enemy, is ever observant of our emotions and thrives on opportunities such as when man is despondent and weak hearted to deprive him of Allah’s limitless mercy, amnesty and forgiveness. Despondency is Shaytan’s bait through which he hooks and tangles us in sin over and over again.
Looking on the positive side, Allah Ta’ala out of His compassion always affords us opportunities to draw closer to him via His injunctions. By being regular on the commands of Allah and abstaining from his prohibitions, you will be saved from the temptation of sin and secure from Shaytan’s enticing schemes. Therefore, continue reading your allotted portion of the Quran daily and together with this, try to participate in the various Dini and spiritual programmes held at your Musjid or vicinity. Try committing yourself to the effort of Da’wat and Tabligh and adopt the company of a pious Sheikh, whose spiritual advice you are comfortable with and can trust. Practicing on these will keep your Imani fervour in constant motion and alive giving your mind no chance to pull you to sin. Remember! Allah has promised security for the one who strives towards the straight path and strives to please him.
2) Regarding the Qasam you took, this actually falls under the laws of nazr, vows. Once a person takes a vow, he is now obligated to honour it. Therefore, it will be necessary to keep the 100 fasts and it will not be permissible to merely pay the Kaffarah instead. By being faithful to this injunction of fasting, Allah Ta’ala will surely grant you the courage to refrain from committing this sin in future. Also, note that since you did not make the intention of fulfilling these fasts consecutively, you can keep them on any day (besides the days prohibited for fasting) whether consecutively or not.[2]
(Fatāwā Alamgīriyyah Vol.2, Pg.58, Dārul Kutubul Ilmiyyah)
3) Alhamdulillah! It is in indeed a great bounty of Allah that you consider yourself most unfit and unworthy of praise yet, simultaneously, people hold good opinions of you. This type of feeling is in fact a manifestation of the dua of Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasalam where he would say:
اَللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْنِىْ شَكُوْرًا وَاجْعَلْنِىْ صَبُوْرًا وَاجْعَلْنِىَ فِىْ عَيْنِىْ صَغِيْرًا وَفِىْ أَعْيُنِ النَّاسِ كَبِيْرًا
“O Allah! Allow me to be constantly grateful to You, to be patient (at the time of difficulty) and to consider myself as most insignificant and small (in my eyes), yet be important and worthy in the sight of others (i.e. let others hold good opinions of me).”
[Majmauz Zawāid Vol.10, Pg. 181; Maktabatul Qudsī - Egypt]
This dua teaches us that one should always consider himself as insignificant, unworthy and bad, for this is the reality; man is constantly negligent in obeying Allah Ta’ala. Also, at the same time, in the dua, the seeker implores Allah Ta’ala for others to hold good opinions of him. Remember, this type of dua can never be motivated by self interest and fame. By others taking a liking to you and holding a good opinion of you, this makes it easier to interact, refresh and impart the knowledge and concern of Deen we naturally possess for one another (as Muslims). Therefore, in your case, the good opinion of your friends for you serves an ideal opportunity to make them more receptive to your words of encouragement you may offer them especially so when they are seeking this from you.
Previously you had the interest and fervor of Din, accordingly Allah granted you the tawfīq to sit in the Musjid, etc. that interest is still contained within but just needs to be jolted and “fanned”. This is similar to burning coal which initially gives off immense heat but gradually decreases when the ash settles on the coal. What is required is a mere fanning of the burning coal and the initial diffusion of heat will once again be felt. Similarly, Allah had placed the keenness of Din in you. Now, you just need to fan the ash of sin, laziness, etc. off and you’ll be the same, in fact more progressive, Insha-Allah.
Yes, it is always correct to attribute the goodness to the complimenting party. This is a great antidote to eliminate and curtail pride taking root in one.
May Allah Ta’ala guide us to the straight path and keep us steadfast on it, Aameen.
Should you have any difficulty in the future in this matter or anything else, please feel free to consult the Darul Ifta.
And Allāh Ta῾āla Knows Best
Wassalāmu ῾alaykum
Ml. Zeyad Danka,
Student Dārul Iftā
Checked and Approved by:
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Dārul Iftā, Madrasah In῾āmiyyah
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