It is beneficial to remind each other about what is required to avoid causing harm or being harmed. For example, some people believe that engaging in corruption or crime can be excused by giving to charity.
Suppose a person benefits from corruption or criminal activities, accumulating enough profit to establish a business like a hardware store or petrol station. When the business becomes successful, they decide to give to charity and build a place of worship to gain respectability in the community.
According to the teachings of Muhammad the Envoy, on Judgment Day, the person’s charity and efforts will be in vain, as they will be cast into hell by the Creator. This is because everything was built upon the original illicit money gained. In other words, illegal money cannot be cleansed through simple charity.
If a person finds themselves in such a situation and desires genuine redemption, they must give up everything, including all profits accrued, and return to the condition before they gained from corruption or crime. This is a powerful lesson for those who believe they can negotiate or bargain with God using charity. If a person is unwilling to return illegal wealth, including all profits, their repentance is considered insincere.
The lesson here is that a sin or error committed that harms others carries long-term costs that can`snot simply vanish. However, sins committed against oneself, which do not impact others, remain between oneself and the Creator.
Additionally, Islam teaches that we should hate the sin but not the sinner. Many are unaware, but Muslims are encouraged to resist, despise, and hate the sin of homosexuality while not hating the homosexual as a person. Everyone has a chance for salvation until their last breath.
The Creator’s mercy outweighs His punishment, and this message is reiterated throughout all Abrahamic religious scriptures. Therefore, we must always maintain hope and never succumb to despair.
* Cape Muslim Congress councillor Yagyah Adams.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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