Oppressor seeking forgiveness
Q: In the light in these few ahadith, what is the method of the zaalim in order to be forgiven with Allah and also with the person he has abused? Can the mazlum person ask forgiveness from Allah and that the zaalim without asking forgiveness with Allah can be forgiven? If my question does not make sense where it is wrongly asked can you please tell me what is the attitude of an zaalim in order to no longer be mean?
1. "When the people see a zaalim and they do not stop him from doing wrong then soon Allah Ta’ala will punish them all” Imam Tirmidhi (rahimahullah) has recorded this narration on the authority of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr As Siddiq (radiyallahu ‘anhu) and has declared the Hadith authentic. (Sunan Tirmidhi, Hadith: 2168 and 3057)
2. Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (radiyallahu ‘anhu) reports that Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “Whoever has oppressed another person concerning his reputation/honour or anything else should seek to be absolved by him before there will be neither dinar nor dirham. If he has right actions, they will be taken from him to balance the injustice he did, and if he does not have any good actions, the bad deeds of mazlum will be loaded onto him.” (Sahih Bukhari, Hadith: 2449).
3. Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (radiyallahu ‘anhu) reported that Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “Do you know who is a bankrupt person?” They said: “A poor man among us is one who has neither Dirhams nor any goods.” Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “The pauper from my Ummah would be he who will come on the Day of Qiyamah with Salah, fasts and Zakah but he had hurled abuses upon someone, slandered others, unlawfully consumed the wealth of someone, shed the blood of another and struck others. So his good deeds will be credited to these people. If his good deeds get depleted before he can settle, then their sins will be flung onto him and he would be thrown in the Fire. (Sahih Muslim, Hadith: 2581)
A: He should ask the abused person to forgive him. If there are any outstanding rights then he should fulfil the outstanding rights of the mazloom.
Allah Ta`ala has got no limitations, but obviously it is right for the servants to follow procedures that Allah Ta`ala has structured. To bypass the procedures or to request the procedures to be bypassed is not right, for Allah has asked us to follow procedures i.e. to ask the oppressed for forgiveness and ask Allah Ta`ala as well.
And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
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