In Islaam, there are two kinds of rights and two kinds of sins:
- Huqooqullaah (The Rights of Allaah)
- Huqooq-ul-`Ibaad (The Rights of the Slaves)
The Deen of Islam gives importance to both rights. Not only the Rights of Allaah Sub-haanahu wa Ta`aalaa, but even the rights of people. Islam teaches that when a person sins against Allah Ta`aalaa, then that sin is between him and Allah. Allah Ta`ala will forgive him if he makes Tawbah (repents) for it. On the other hand, if a person has wronged, caused harm to or oppressed another person in any way, then Tawbah alone will not atone for that. This person is not forgiven until the person he has wronged has forgiven him. This is the meaning of “
Huqooq al-`Ibaad” (the rights of the slaves of Allah).
If you have taken the money or Haqq of any person, give it back to them. If you have slandered any person, ask forgiveness from them. If you have spread lies and false rumours about any person, seek forgiveness from them for it. If you have physically hurt any person, seek their forgiveness and pardon. This is a requirement for your Tawbah (repentance) from such sins to be forgiven by Allaah Ta`aalaa.
This is not a matter to be taken lightly. If a person has harmed and oppressed people in his life and dies without having sought their pardon and them having forgiven him, then he will have to pay dearly for it in the Aakhirah (hereafter), by them taking from his good deeds to make up for the wrong he has done them, and if he has no good deeds left, then their sins will be taken from them and piled on him. If the sins of a person are greater than his good deeds, he may be put in Jahannam to atone for them. A person may have come on the Day of Qiyaamah (Judgement) with numerous good deeds to his credit. He had performed so much Salaah in his life. He had fasted so often. He had gone on Hajj and `Umrah so many times. He had read so much Qur’aan and made so much Dhikr. However, he had wronged this person, taken the right of this person, slandered this person, harmed this person, etc. All of these people - on the Day of Qiyaamah - will come and exact their revenge from him. It is possible that he has harmed so many people that, after they have all taken from his good deeds, he himself has absolutely nothing left. Such a person has been described in the Hadeeth of Rasulullah
صلى الله عليه وسلم as a true “
Muflis” (pauper). And if this wretched and unfortunate person has no good deeds left to give away in atonement of the harm he has caused to others, and their sins are thus piled on his shoulders in exchange, and his scale of bad deeds now far outweighs his scale of good deeds, then what will be his destination?
There will be no money on that day to buy good deeds from anybody. There will be nobody to bribe or threaten. Nobody on that day will be willing to give from their good deeds to this miserable individual, to save him from the fate that would await him.
So in summary, we say that of course a person who has ruined the lives of others will not simply get away with it that easily. He will have to earnestly seek the pardon of these people. Do whatever he can to acquire their forgiveness for the wrongs he has done them.