Fasting and other worship not accepted if...?

[Aishath]

Assalaamu Alaikum

Is it true that our fasting and worship in Ramadan may not be accepted if there have been people we have hurt and not asked forgiveness from? I mean hurt such as backbiting against a person. Or is it the case that In Shaa Allah the good we do in Ramadan will be accepted but at the same time seeking forgiveness of people is also something that needs to be done but is a separate issue?

[ardianto]

Is it true that our fasting and worship in Ramadan may not be accepted if there have been people we have hurt and not asked forgiveness from?

Waalaikumsalam.

You should not questioning this because it could lead you to attitude "It's okay if I don't ask forgiveness" when you were not in Ramadan.

What you should do is always guard yourself from hurting other people, even when you are not in Ramadan. And if you have hurt other people, although unintentionally, you should ask forgiveness without wait the Ramadan comes.

[greenhill]

In life we will have these doubts and niggling questions. It's good to always seek clarification. Not to always accept the first answer we get.

I always put the questions I have to a benchmark. What can negate our deeds? Not believing in Allah, not in a state of purity (hadas), consumption of alcohol, wrong intentions. Can't think of any others off hand, do you fall into any of the categories? In syaa Allah, your deeds will be accepted.

On forgiveness, I feel we only sin against 3 major areas. To Allah, to human, to nature. But for human, there are categories and most important, your parents (mother especially) and the list goes down to wayfarers. Not to mention orphans and the weak.

What does all this mean? That on the Day of Reckoning, if you can seek forgiveness from all those people (while we are still alive) your passage in the Hereafter will be a lot less stressful (so to speak)

So, Ramadan is a good time as any to clear out your account and better yourself so as not to repeat the errors again (by backbiting etc).

Don't let the clouding of thought push you from the only duty Allah says IS for Him (is the last statement correct? I know there's something special about the fast).

[Hamza Asadullah]

Assalaamu Alaikum

Is it true that our fasting and worship in Ramadan may not be accepted if there have been people we have hurt and not asked forgiveness from? I mean hurt such as backbiting against a person. Or is it the case that In Shaa Allah the good we do in Ramadan will be accepted but at the same time seeking forgiveness of people is also something that needs to be done but is a separate issue?

As Muslims we should always try to balance hope and fear. So we live in hope that our deeds will be accepted but then balance it against fear that it may not be accepted. We should not have more fear or more hope over another. Having too much fear may lead to despair and having too much hope may lead to being negligent. So fear and hope should be equal so they balance once another.

In terms of not fulfilling others rights then it is good practise to ask for forgiveness from people every now and again as we do not know when our time will come so we would not want to depart this world with the burden of not fulfilling others rights. Therefore before Ramadan, Hajj end or beginning of the Islamic year or whenever we have the opportunity we should ask others for forgiveness particularly our family members whom we are in contact with most often but also not forgetting those whom we have not been in touch with for a while.

If we cannot get hold of them then we should make much Dua for them. Apart from that we must keep away from backbiting, slander and gossip and ensure we fulfil the rights of all whom we are in contact with in our lives. We should also always ask of Allah to accept our deeds and strive to keep away from major sins so that our deeds are more likely to be accepted.

And Allah knows best in all matters

[Ridwaan Ravat]

Wa alaikum salaam.

Yes they are both separate but important issues.

Nabee صلي الله عليه و سلم said a real bankrupt person is the one who will have a mountain of good deeds on the day of qiyaamah but will lose all of that on account of backbiting and not treating people well (Or something to that effect).

Hence whilst we are particular of carrying out good deeds we should be more particular of being good to people.

May Allah help and guide us all.