Is Repentance Valid After Anonymous Criticism That Caused Harm?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question

Is repentance valid after anonymous criticism that caused harm, and must one reveal their identity?

Answer

I pray you are well.

Yes, repentance is valid. Allah Most High will accept the repentance of anyone.

However, you should look carefully at the situation and assess it properly. If the criticism was anonymous, that is good in a way, because it was anonymous.

In general, when it comes to criticism, a person should ask themselves some honest and fair questions.

Will Private Advice Make Things Better?

The first question is: if I do this privately, will it make things better?

Sometimes open criticism simply does not work.

Is the Criticism Actually Valid?

The second question is: Is my criticism actually valid?

Sometimes criticism is constructive. Other times, it is not. A person may simply have an axe to grind.

At times, it may even be a difference of perspective. You may criticize something from your angle, while the other person is not looking at it from the same angle as you.

In such cases, you may be correct from your perspective, and they may be correct from theirs. In that situation, you should not contribute your criticism.

Checking One’s Intentions

A third question is: Do I have an ulterior motive?

Do I have a grudge against the person? Do I dislike them? Would bringing this criticism to light reveal that my intentions are not sound?

Sometimes, even if the criticism is valid, it may be better to step back to protect your intentions, as long as no active harm is occurring.

Repentance and Making Amends

In this situation, if anonymous criticism caused harm, then one of these factors, or perhaps another factor, was breached.

You should repent.

As for the harm that occurred to the person, Allah knows best. If you can do something anonymously to alleviate the situation, then do so.

You do not need to go and admit, “I am the one who caused you all these problems.” However, if you can step in publicly in a way that helps and alleviates the situation, then you should do so as a way of making amends.

You should ask Allah for forgiveness and not return to anything like this again.

You should also do something to compensate the person, even if it is just doing some good deeds for them.

The Prophetic Way of Correcting Others

Criticism is a serious matter. You will find that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) usually corrected others indirectly.

When his correction was direct, it was because it needed to be direct, such as when it was a public issue.

A person should look at how the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) dealt with such situations and learn from it.

And Allah knows best.
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began studying Arabic Grammar and Morphology whilst studying for a degree in English and History. After graduating, He traveled to Damascus and studied Arabic, Hanafi Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Theology, and Logic with Shaykh Adnan Darwish, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman Arjan al-Binsawi, Shaykh Husayn Darwish, Shaykh Muhammad Darwish, the late Shaykh Rashad Shams, and others. He then moved to Amman to continue his studies in those fields, as well as in Tafsir, Quranic Sciences, Hadith Methodology and Commentary, Prophetic Biography, Prophetic Perfections and Traits, Rhetoric, Arabic Literature, and Tajwid. His teachers include Shaykh Ali Hani, Dr. Hamza al-Bakri, Dr. Salah Abu al-Hajj, Dr. Mansur Abu Zina, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Shaykh Ahmad Jammal, and others.