“We found in him no firm resolve”

(1)

Allah created Adam, settled him in Paradise and allowed him to enjoy its delights, fruits and everything within it except one tree, which He forbade him even to approach. Satan came with a wrongdoer’s confidence, trying every entrance to his heart and ears, persuading him that he must at least try it and discover why this particular tree had been forbidden. So Adam, peace be upon him, ate from it.

This scene is repeated in the Qur’an because of its importance in every Muslim’s life, as though the repetition were a reminder not to forget. Although the broad scene recurs, each context offers its own lesson. In Surah Ta Ha, Allah begins: “We had already given a command to Adam before, but he forgot, and We found him lacking a firm resolve[43].” This context is distinguished by “We found him lacking a firm resolve[43].” In زاد المسير, Ibn al-Jawzi gives four interpretations. The third is that Adam, peace be upon him, had no settled intention to eat from the tree: it was an incidental sin he had not planned, but he suddenly weakened and fell into it. The fourth is that he had no intention of returning to eat from it again; after his mistake, he did not harbour a resolve to persist.

(2)

A man deeply loved his female cousin and sought an illicit relationship with her. She refused unless he paid a sum she urgently needed. He gathered the money and gave it to her. When the time came and he was alone with her and approached her, she said: “اتَّقِ الله ولا تفضَّ الخاتم إلا بحقه” He immediately withdrew, leaving both her and the money. See صحيح البخاري and صحيح مسلم, the story of the people in the cave.

The believer’s normal course is to remain committed to obedience and attentive to it, avoiding disobedience and striving to keep away from it. Yet he will inevitably sin, and the sin is an incidental departure from that course.

This man had reached the height of desire for the sin. Nothing remained between him and it except his final decision and firm resolve to act. Yet it seems to me that his decision and resolve were such that a simple admonition could affect him and prevent him from committing it. Hadith commentators note that abandoning the sin erases the effects of its preliminaries, and that repentance wipes away what preceded it. But the story’s clearest point is that something which would have been a sin deserving blame and punishment became an act of obedience and nearness to Allah deserving reward. Indeed, it became so great that he invoked this deed in a crisis, and Allah relieved him in honour of it.

(3)

Ka‘b ibn Malik stayed behind from the expedition of Tabuk, whose force was called the Army of Hardship because the Muslims were in such need of equipment and supplies. Ka‘b was ready with his mount and weapons. He said: “إني لم أكن قط أقوى ولا أيسر حين تخلفت عنه في تلك الغزاة، والله ما اجتمعت عندي قَبْلَه راحلتان قط، حتى جمعتهما في تلك الغزوة” His soul kept telling him there was no need to hurry; he could prepare at any moment. Suddenly he found the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the Companions ready and setting out. He kept saying: “Today I will leave; tomorrow I will leave, and catch them,” until he missed the expedition entirely. When the Muslims returned victorious, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, received those who had stayed behind to hear their excuses. Most were hypocrites, and each offered an excuse, except Ka‘b ibn Malik, Murara ibn al-Rabi‘ and Hilal ibn Umayya. These three admitted they had none. The Prophet ordered that they be disciplined and shunned. They faced a severe trial until, as Allah described them, “until the earth became constrained to them, despite its vastness, and their souls became a burden to them, and they realized that there was no refuge from Allah except in Him.” Then the Qur’an announced the sincerity and acceptance of their repentance, even commanding others to follow their example when they slip: “O you who believe, fear Allah and be with those who are truthful[87].” See صحيح البخاري and صحيح مسلم, the three who were left behind.

(4)

Ma‘iz ibn Malik committed an unlawful act and came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to confess. The Prophet ﷺ told him to return, seek Allah’s forgiveness and repent, but he persisted in confessing until the prescribed penalty was carried out. A woman of Ghamid then came in a separate account, confessing her own sin and asking to be purified. The Prophet ﷺ delayed the penalty until she had given birth and care for her infant’s nursing had been arranged. He explained the greatness of their repentance. The narration does not state that they committed the offence together. (Sahih Muslim 1695)

If a reminder or admonition reaches a believer while he is committing a sin, he stops and withdraws. His heart is sound and always ready to receive good, unlike someone accustomed to wrongdoing, who is not deterred by a thousand reminders because the rust covering his heart has sealed it.

The common ground

Reflecting on these four scenes reveals common points. They concern sins committed by righteous believers, including a prophet, a devoted servant and Companions. Yet they had no settled resolve to disobey or repeat the offence. This is generally the believer’s condition. Faith does not require a person to be immune to sins: error, forgetfulness and heedlessness are human traits, and the believer is human like anyone else. A hadith says: “إنَّ الْمُؤْمِنَ خُلِقَ مُفَتَّنًا تَوَّابًا نَسَّاءً، إِذَا ذُكِّرَ ذَكَر” But he differs from others in matters I summarise as follows:

1. The believer’s normal course is to remain committed and attentive to obedience, avoiding disobedience and striving to keep away from it. Yet he will inevitably sin, and the sin is an incidental departure from that course.

2. Even while committing a sin, the believer does not enjoy it completely. Remembering its consequences creates an inner conflict. The life in his heart pains and troubles him—I repeat—even as he sins.

3. If a reminder or admonition reaches him while he is sinning, he stops and withdraws. His heart is sound and always ready for good, unlike the habitual wrongdoer who is not deterred by a thousand reminders because the rust covering his heart has sealed it.

4. Normally, a believer conceals his sin—publicising it carries great danger—and repents privately before his Lord. Yet he does not refuse to acknowledge it before a scholar or judge if that benefits him or restores another’s rights. He promptly repents, does not persist, does not justify it with corrupt reasoning, and does not seek excuses that help him repeat it or commit another sin.

5. The believer remains patient and endures when Allah tests him because of his sins.

Of course, this is no invitation to commit sins. It is an attempt to identify the right way to deal with them when they occur. Allah has warned us against persisting and following Satan’s footsteps.

The door of repentance is open even to those who have committed the greatest sins, including disbelief in Allah and fighting His prophets—a matter for further detail, God willing. These points are relative in degree and extent. They may be so fully present in a person that he is among the strongest in faith, or so weak that he comes closer to the description of a wrongdoer. The more someone tends his heart and calls himself to account, the more firmly he acquires them; the more pleased with himself and boastful of his worship he becomes, the faster his fall and decline.