Must One Still Seek Forgiveness After Legal Punishment?
Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick
Question
If someone serves a legal sentence for wronging another, must they still seek the person’s forgiveness to be forgiven by Allah?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
When someone serves a conventional legal sentence, it addresses the legal consequences of one’s actions. This does not necessarily entail fulfilling the Sacred Law requirements of repentance. True repentance (tawba) in Sacred Law encompasses making matters right with Allah and His servants. When a sin involves the rights of another person (huquq al-‘ibad), complete repentance requires:
- Remorse: A sincere feeling of regret for the wrongdoing.
- Cessation: Immediate stopping of the sinful act.
- Resolution: A strong commitment not to revert to the sin.
- Restitution: If the sin involves harming another, one must seek to rectify the wrong, which includes seeking the forgiveness of the person harmed. [Nawawi, Riyad al-Salihin]
The Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) emphasized the gravity of violating others’ rights:
“Whoever has oppressed another person concerning his reputation or anything else, he should beg him to forgive him before the Day of Resurrection when there will be no money (to compensate for wrong deeds), but if he has good deeds, those good deeds will be taken from him according to his oppression which he has done, and if he has no good deeds, the sins of the oppressed person will be loaded on him.” [Bukhari]
Therefore, even after serving a legal sentence, one should seek the forgiveness of the person wronged to ensure complete repentance and hope for Allah’s forgiveness.
Remember, Allah’s mercy is vast, and sincere efforts to rectify wrongs are always accepted by Allah.
And Allah knows best.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan (Allah have mercy on him), where he taught.
Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Shaykh Muhammad Awama, Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Hitu, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.
He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has been the Director of the Discover Islam Centre, and for six years, he has been the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.
Shaykh Irshaad has fifteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town. He is currently building an Islamic podcast, education, and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy Prophetic living and fitness.
