الرئيسية
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العمر : 
المساهمات : 
نقاط التميز
I am in the process of becoming a truly
practicing Muslim and wonder what is said regarding your life previous
to the full
integration of Islam. I wonder whether any experiences that I have
had would limit me from becoming a follower of the straigt path to
Allah?
Please forgive my explicitness...but since men and women are not
allowed to engage in full-blown relationships, how do I resolve the
conflict that prior to it's
integration in my life, I have had different experiences and now
have read repeatedly that it is forbidden...how can I possibly reconcile
the two dichotomous notions? I recognize that you do receive many
questions, please accept my sincere thanks for having this site,
regardless of whether I receive an answer or not.
May peace be with you...:)
Praise be to Allaah.
We cannot conceal our joy and pleasure at the intention expressed in your
question of embracing the true religion, Islam. The confusion and hesitation that you
describe are quite understandable, because when a person has been indulging in forbidden
relationships and then wishes to move to a religion of purity and chastity, it is natural
to feel that his own “nafs” (desires) will defeat him and that he will not be
able to do what Islam requires of him in the way of purity and chastity. But we will tell
you some things here which we hope will help you to overcome any difficulty that you may
be fearing and give a true picture of the situation.
When a person follows the true religion, it is expected to have a
far-reaching effect on his personality and behaviour, so that it re-forms him and gives
him a fresh start and a new direction in life, completely different from the way he was
during his “jaahiliyyah” (days of ignorance before his Islam). This radical
change will produce morals and values that were not there before, which will purify his
heart and fill him with a sense of chastity, so that the new Muslim looks with revulsion
and disgust both at his own former deeds and at the ignorant world of promiscuity,
infidelity, nakedness and utter corruption that exists in the society around him. He will
come back to the sound nature (fitrah – the natural state of man) and purity of heart
of which Shaytaan had robbed him during the days when he was a non-Muslim and sinner. This new
direction in life is undertaken freely, by choice, and is accompanied by contentment and
acceptance stemming from his total submission to the commands and prohibitions of Allaah,
Who revealed this religion of Islam with all its laws. We have two sources of proof to
support what we say here, one from the sharee’ah (Islamic law)and one from history.
The shar’i(textual) evidence is to be found in numerous places in the Qur’aan, for example (interpretation of the meanings):
“Is he who was dead (without Faith by ignorance and by disbelief)
and We gave him life (by knowledge and by faith) and set for him a light (of Belief)
whereby he can walk amongst men, like him who is in the darkness (of disbelief, polytheism
and hypocrisy) from which he can never come out?…” [al-An’aam 6:122]
“And those who invoke not any other god along with Allaah, nor kill
such life as Allah has forbidden, except for just cause, nor commit illegal sexual
intercourse – and whoever does this shall receive the punishment.
The torment will be doubled to him on the Day of Resurrection, and he will
abide therein in disgrace,
Except those who repent and believe, and do righteous deeds, for
those, Allaah will change their sins into good deeds, and Allaah is Oft-Forgiving, Most
Merciful.” [al-Furqaan 25:68-70]
Concerning the phrase “Allaah will change their sins into good
deeds” the mufassireen (commentators) said: their evil deeds will be replaced by good
deeds. ‘Ali ibn Abi Talhah reported that Ibn ‘Abbaas said: “These are the
believers, who before they believed did evil deeds, but Allaah wanted them to do something
else, so He changed their bad deeds into good deeds…”
‘Ataa’ ibn Abi Rabaah said: “This is in this world: a man
may be doing evil but then Allaah replaces it with good.” Sa’eed ibn Jubayr
said: “Allaah changed them from worshippers of idols into worshippers of the Most
Merciful, and changed them from those who fight the Muslims into those who fight the
(polytheists), and from those who marry mushrik (polytheist)women into those who marry
believing women.” Al-Hasan al-Basri said: “Allaah changed them from evil deeds
to good deeds, from shirk (polytheism) to ikhlaas (purity of faith), from promiscuity to
chastity, from disbelief to Islam.” This is the view of Abu ‘Aaliyah, Qutaadah and a
group of others. (Ibn Katheer, Tafseer al-Qur’aan al-‘Azeem).
The historical evidence includes a number of stories of
Muslims who entered Islam after having been (disbelievers), and how they changed
and became righteous. Among these stories is the following:
“There was a (Muslim) man called Marthad ibn Abi
Marthad who used to
smuggle Muslim prisoners-of-war from Makkah (which was the territory
of the mushrikeen) to
Madeenah (which was the territory of the Muslims). There was also a
woman in Makkah,
called ‘Anaaq, who was a prostitute. She had been a friend of
Marthad’s (before
he became Muslim). Marthad had promised to take one of the prisoners
from Makkah to
Madeenah. He said: “I came to the shade of one of the gardens of
Makkah on a moonlit
night, then ‘Anaaq came and saw my shadow by the garden. When she
reached me, she
recognized me and said: ‘Marthad?’ I said, ‘Marthad.’ She said:
‘Welcome! Stay with us tonight.’ I said, ‘O ‘Anaaq, Allaah has
forbidden zinaa (unlawful sexual relations).’ She called out, ‘O
people of the
camp! This man is stealing away your prisoners!’ (i.e., she wanted
to take revenge on
him because he refused to have unlawful relations with her, so she
called the polytheists to come and seize him). Eight men pursued me (and
he described how Allaah saved him from
them).” This event was the reason for the revelation of the verse
(interpretation of
the meaning): “Let no man guilty of adultery or fornication marry
any but a woman
similarly guilty, or an Unbeliever; nor let any but such a man or an
Unbeliever marry such
a woman; to the Believers such a thing is forbidden.” [al-Noor 24:3 –
Yusuf
‘Ali’s translation] (Reported and classed as hasan by al-Tirmidhi,
3101).
The reason for telling this story is that it illustrates
how this man changed after he embraced Islam, and refused to commit the haraam deed with
which he was tempted. Another story describes a woman who embraced Islam and became
righteous:
‘Abd-Allaah ibn Maghfal reported that there was a woman who had been
a prostitute during the days of ignorance (before Islam). A man passed by her, or she
passed by him, and he touched her. She said: “Stop it! (Mah! A word connoting
a rebuke or denunciation). Allaah has done away with polytheism and had brought
Islam.” So he left her alone and went away. (Reported by al-Haakim, who said
this hadeeth is saheeh according to the conditions of Muslim, although they did not report
it).
If you enter Islam and become a truly practicsing Muslim,
adhering to this pure sharee’ah, worshipping Allaah(God willing) as He wants to be worshipped,
obeying His commands and heeding His prohibitions, then in sha Allaah you will not
encounter or suffer the difficulties you refer to in your question. Moreover, you will
have the means of keeping chaste, such as marriage, which will help you to refrain from
doing unlawful deeds; marriage is enjoined by this sharee’ah. The one who chooses a
pure and clean way has no need to enter the mire (of illicit relationships). We ask Allaah
to guide you and make things easy for you, and to keep evil away from you. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad.
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
practicing Muslim and wonder what is said regarding your life previous
to the full
integration of Islam. I wonder whether any experiences that I have
had would limit me from becoming a follower of the straigt path to
Allah?
Please forgive my explicitness...but since men and women are not
allowed to engage in full-blown relationships, how do I resolve the
conflict that prior to it's
integration in my life, I have had different experiences and now
have read repeatedly that it is forbidden...how can I possibly reconcile
the two dichotomous notions? I recognize that you do receive many
questions, please accept my sincere thanks for having this site,
regardless of whether I receive an answer or not.
May peace be with you...:)
Praise be to Allaah.
We cannot conceal our joy and pleasure at the intention expressed in your
question of embracing the true religion, Islam. The confusion and hesitation that you
describe are quite understandable, because when a person has been indulging in forbidden
relationships and then wishes to move to a religion of purity and chastity, it is natural
to feel that his own “nafs” (desires) will defeat him and that he will not be
able to do what Islam requires of him in the way of purity and chastity. But we will tell
you some things here which we hope will help you to overcome any difficulty that you may
be fearing and give a true picture of the situation.
When a person follows the true religion, it is expected to have a
far-reaching effect on his personality and behaviour, so that it re-forms him and gives
him a fresh start and a new direction in life, completely different from the way he was
during his “jaahiliyyah” (days of ignorance before his Islam). This radical
change will produce morals and values that were not there before, which will purify his
heart and fill him with a sense of chastity, so that the new Muslim looks with revulsion
and disgust both at his own former deeds and at the ignorant world of promiscuity,
infidelity, nakedness and utter corruption that exists in the society around him. He will
come back to the sound nature (fitrah – the natural state of man) and purity of heart
of which Shaytaan had robbed him during the days when he was a non-Muslim and sinner. This new
direction in life is undertaken freely, by choice, and is accompanied by contentment and
acceptance stemming from his total submission to the commands and prohibitions of Allaah,
Who revealed this religion of Islam with all its laws. We have two sources of proof to
support what we say here, one from the sharee’ah (Islamic law)and one from history.
The shar’i(textual) evidence is to be found in numerous places in the Qur’aan, for example (interpretation of the meanings):
“Is he who was dead (without Faith by ignorance and by disbelief)
and We gave him life (by knowledge and by faith) and set for him a light (of Belief)
whereby he can walk amongst men, like him who is in the darkness (of disbelief, polytheism
and hypocrisy) from which he can never come out?…” [al-An’aam 6:122]
“And those who invoke not any other god along with Allaah, nor kill
such life as Allah has forbidden, except for just cause, nor commit illegal sexual
intercourse – and whoever does this shall receive the punishment.
The torment will be doubled to him on the Day of Resurrection, and he will
abide therein in disgrace,
Except those who repent and believe, and do righteous deeds, for
those, Allaah will change their sins into good deeds, and Allaah is Oft-Forgiving, Most
Merciful.” [al-Furqaan 25:68-70]
Concerning the phrase “Allaah will change their sins into good
deeds” the mufassireen (commentators) said: their evil deeds will be replaced by good
deeds. ‘Ali ibn Abi Talhah reported that Ibn ‘Abbaas said: “These are the
believers, who before they believed did evil deeds, but Allaah wanted them to do something
else, so He changed their bad deeds into good deeds…”
‘Ataa’ ibn Abi Rabaah said: “This is in this world: a man
may be doing evil but then Allaah replaces it with good.” Sa’eed ibn Jubayr
said: “Allaah changed them from worshippers of idols into worshippers of the Most
Merciful, and changed them from those who fight the Muslims into those who fight the
(polytheists), and from those who marry mushrik (polytheist)women into those who marry
believing women.” Al-Hasan al-Basri said: “Allaah changed them from evil deeds
to good deeds, from shirk (polytheism) to ikhlaas (purity of faith), from promiscuity to
chastity, from disbelief to Islam.” This is the view of Abu ‘Aaliyah, Qutaadah and a
group of others. (Ibn Katheer, Tafseer al-Qur’aan al-‘Azeem).
The historical evidence includes a number of stories of
Muslims who entered Islam after having been (disbelievers), and how they changed
and became righteous. Among these stories is the following:
“There was a (Muslim) man called Marthad ibn Abi
Marthad who used to
smuggle Muslim prisoners-of-war from Makkah (which was the territory
of the mushrikeen) to
Madeenah (which was the territory of the Muslims). There was also a
woman in Makkah,
called ‘Anaaq, who was a prostitute. She had been a friend of
Marthad’s (before
he became Muslim). Marthad had promised to take one of the prisoners
from Makkah to
Madeenah. He said: “I came to the shade of one of the gardens of
Makkah on a moonlit
night, then ‘Anaaq came and saw my shadow by the garden. When she
reached me, she
recognized me and said: ‘Marthad?’ I said, ‘Marthad.’ She said:
‘Welcome! Stay with us tonight.’ I said, ‘O ‘Anaaq, Allaah has
forbidden zinaa (unlawful sexual relations).’ She called out, ‘O
people of the
camp! This man is stealing away your prisoners!’ (i.e., she wanted
to take revenge on
him because he refused to have unlawful relations with her, so she
called the polytheists to come and seize him). Eight men pursued me (and
he described how Allaah saved him from
them).” This event was the reason for the revelation of the verse
(interpretation of
the meaning): “Let no man guilty of adultery or fornication marry
any but a woman
similarly guilty, or an Unbeliever; nor let any but such a man or an
Unbeliever marry such
a woman; to the Believers such a thing is forbidden.” [al-Noor 24:3 –
Yusuf
‘Ali’s translation] (Reported and classed as hasan by al-Tirmidhi,
3101).
The reason for telling this story is that it illustrates
how this man changed after he embraced Islam, and refused to commit the haraam deed with
which he was tempted. Another story describes a woman who embraced Islam and became
righteous:
‘Abd-Allaah ibn Maghfal reported that there was a woman who had been
a prostitute during the days of ignorance (before Islam). A man passed by her, or she
passed by him, and he touched her. She said: “Stop it! (Mah! A word connoting
a rebuke or denunciation). Allaah has done away with polytheism and had brought
Islam.” So he left her alone and went away. (Reported by al-Haakim, who said
this hadeeth is saheeh according to the conditions of Muslim, although they did not report
it).
If you enter Islam and become a truly practicsing Muslim,
adhering to this pure sharee’ah, worshipping Allaah(God willing) as He wants to be worshipped,
obeying His commands and heeding His prohibitions, then in sha Allaah you will not
encounter or suffer the difficulties you refer to in your question. Moreover, you will
have the means of keeping chaste, such as marriage, which will help you to refrain from
doing unlawful deeds; marriage is enjoined by this sharee’ah. The one who chooses a
pure and clean way has no need to enter the mire (of illicit relationships). We ask Allaah
to guide you and make things easy for you, and to keep evil away from you. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad.
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
