Would committing major sins be forgiven after returning to Islam?

Question:
Asalam Alaykum how are you doing ? Basically I feel this is a complicated question for me . I know that all non-muslims who convert to Islam all their sins will be forgiven . But would that apply to my case in which my mom is muslim but my dad is an apostate who left Islam when I was born ? However , my father is an apostate who left Islam shortly after he married my mom but my mom during that time was devoted muslim . So all my life I want to say I had a non-muslim apostated father but a devoted muslim mom . My mom brought me and my siste to Islam, we took classes at the masjid and were more involved in praying 5 times a day but with time going past towards I became less religious and then ended up completely leaving Islam and sinning so much until age 16-17 I came back to Islam . Is my coming back to Islam means all my major  sins are forgiven from the time I was 10 years old all the way until age 17 or no ? I was committing so many horriblly major sins .

Answer:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

From the outset, we would like to state that the belief of Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaa’ah is that just committing a major sin does not take a person out of the fold of Islam^[i]. A person will come out of the fold of Islam by his statements, beliefs or actions. If that was the case, then coming back to Islam by reciting the Kalimah Shahaadah would be an expiation of any sins committed before that time. If a person had the wrong beliefs or actions, even then, reciting the Kalimah Shahaadah with the intention of freeing oneself from any erroneous belief or action will expiate these wrongs^[ii].

If, however, you did not do any of the above which puts a person out of the fold of Islam but you committed major sins and left out your religious obligations like Salaah, fasting etc. thinking that this placed you out of the fold of Islam, then you will have to make Qadhaa (make up) for those Salaah and fast which you missed.

There are some things which Allah ﷻ and His messenger ﷺ recommend that will expiate all sins both major and minor sins. One such thing is performing Hajj properlyii.A person may also perform two rakaah of optional Salaah (Salaah Tawbah) where he sincerely repents to Allah for all sins committed, while having the firm intention of not returning to those sins ever again. If a person performs this prayer with the intention mentioned thereafter he sits and make sincere Dua to Allah, In Shaa Allah all his previous sins will be forgiven. However, there are some major sins, part of their expiation is to return people’s rights which were usurped. So if something was stolen from someone and the item is in the possession of the person who stole it, the item will need to be returned in order for the Tawbah to be accepted in the sight of Allah ﷻ.

We hope and pray that Allah keeps you and us steadfast on Islam until our last breath. Ameen.

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Mufti Mujahid Dan Lubrin

04^th April 2023- 13^th Ramadhaan 1444

Darul Iftaa, Jaamia Madinatul Uloom (Trinidad)

www.fatwa-tt.com /www.jaamia.net

[i]    شرح فقه الاكبر: ص 43 – مكتبة الفرقان – الإمارات العربية
لَا يكفر مُسلم بذنب مَا لم يستحله

……..وَلَا نكفر مُسلما بذنب من الذُّنُوب وَإِن كَانَت كَبِيرَة إِذا لم يستحلها وَلَا نزيل عَنهُ اسْم الْإِيمَان ونسميه مُؤمنا حَقِيقَة وَيجوز ان يكون مُؤمنا فَاسِقًا غير كَافِر

[ii]   فتاوى محموديه ج 1 ص 206-203 فاروقيه

  صحيح مسلم

192   حدثنا محمد بن المثنى العنزي، وأبو معن الرقاشي، وإسحاق بن منصور، كلهم عن أبي عاصم واللفظ لابن المثنى، حدثنا الضحاك يعني أبا عاصم، قال: أخبرنا حيوة بن شريح، قال: حدثني يزيد بن أبي حبيب، عن ابن شماسة المهري، قال: حضرنا عمرو بن العاص، وهو في سياقة الموت، يبكي طويلا، وحول وجهه إلى الجدار، فجعل ابنه يقول: يا أبتاه، أما بشرك رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بكذا؟ أما بشرك رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بكذا؟ قال: فأقبل بوجهه، فقال: إن أفضل ما نعد شهادة أن لا إله إلا الله، وأن محمدا رسول الله، إني قد كنت على أطباق ثلاث، لقد رأيتني وما أحد أشد بغضا لرسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم مني، ولا أحب إلي أن أكون قد استمكنت منه، فقتلته، فلو مت على تلك الحال لكنت من أهل النار، فلما جعل الله الإسلام في قلبي أتيت النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، فقلت: ابسط يمينك فلأبايعك، فبسط يمينه، قال: فقبضت يدي، قال: «ما لك يا عمرو؟» قال: قلت: أردت أن أشترط، قال: «تشترط بماذا؟» قلت: أن يغفر لي، قال: «أما علمت أن الإسلام يهدم ما كان قبله؟ وأن الهجرة تهدم ما كان قبلها؟ وأن الحج يهدم ما كان قبله؟» وما كان أحد أحب إلي من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، ولا أجل في عيني منه، وما كنت أطيق أن أملأ عيني منه إجلالا له، ولو سئلت أن أصفه ما أطقت؛ لأني لم أكن أملأ عيني منه، ولو مت على تلك الحال لرجوت أن أكون من أهل الجنة، ثم ولينا أشياء ما أدري ما حالي فيها، فإذا أنا مت فلا تصحبني نائحة، ولا نار، فإذا دفنتموني فشنوا علي التراب شنا، ثم أقيموا حول قبري قدر ما تنحر جزور ويقسم لحمها، حتى أستأنس بكم، وأنظر ماذا أراجع به رسل ربي