I have been stealing for as long as I can remember, I realise this is wrong! There comes few days when I stop doing this, askkk for lots of forgiveness but then I start doing it again, I got many problems due to this with my in-laws, and till that date I decided not to do this again, then I didn’t do it for almost a year but then I started doing this again, started by small stuff leading towards bigger stuff… I just can’t get how to stop this habit, got bitten, got polite lectures, almost tried everything! I don’t even remember whose pencils did I stole, whose money, juice, chocolate. I also remember stealing from my husband’s wallet, bestfriend wallet, mother, father. I don’t even pray salah, fast in ramdhan , broke I don’t know how many of my fast I broke, don’t even have the count Question Im I turning into a kafir? Can I be forgived? How can I get close to Allah?
Praise
be to Allah
You mention a number of unlawful actions that you have
committed, the most serious of which is not praying, because not praying
altogether constitutes kufr (disbelief), according to the more correct of
the views of the fuqaha’. See the answer to question no.
5208.
Stealing is a major sin, as is failing to fast or breaking
the fast deliberately with no excuse.
What you must do is repent to Allah, may He be exalted, offer
the prayers on time, fast Ramadan, and give up stealing.
All of that will be easy, in sha Allah, if you are sincere in
your repentance to the Lord of the Worlds, and you are serious about giving
up these evil actions.
Matters that will help you in that include the following:
1.
Knowing that Allah loves those who repent and accepts the
repentance of those who regret their actions. He calls His slaves to repent,
as He says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And turn to Allah in
repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed”
[an-Noor 24:31].
By His grace, Allah, may He be glorified, will turn the bad
deeds of the one who repents to good deeds, as He says (interpretation of
the meaning):
“And those who do not invoke with Allah another deity or kill
the soul which Allah has forbidden [to be killed], except by right, and do
not commit unlawful sexual intercourse. And whoever should do that will meet
a penalty –
Multiplied for him is the punishment on the Day of
Resurrection, and he will abide therein humiliated –
Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work.
For them Allah will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever is Allah
Forgiving and Merciful”
[al-Furqaan 25:68-70].
So do not hesitate to repent, and do not think of the
magnitude of the sin, for no sin is too great for Allah to forgive; He, may
He be glorified, is the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful, the Acceptor of
repentance. He forgives kufr (disbelief) and shirk (association of others
with Him) and lesser sins; He forgives a few sins and many sins, great sins
and insignificant sins.
2.
Looking at the blessing that Allah has granted you by causing
you to live until you can repent; he did not take your soul in death up till
now, so hasten to repent and turn to Him.
3.
Looking at the evil of disobedience and its inherent
abhorrent nature. It is evil and abhorrent in the sense that it is
ingratitude for the blessing of Allah, and responding to His kindness by
disobeying Him. How can a believing woman by happy that Allah sees her
committing sin and not doing her religious duties towards Him?
4.
Looking for righteous company, and spending your time in
doing acts of obedience and beneficial deeds. There is nothing more harmful
to a person than bad company and wasting time in idle pursuits.
5.
Calling upon Allah a great deal in supplication and asking
Him to guide you, to open your heart and to make you steadfast in obeying
Him. You should understand that you do not have to make up what you missed
of prayers and fasts, but you should do a lot of naafil (supererogatory)
acts of worship.
With regard to the money and property that you took, you have
to return it if you are able to do so. So try to figure out what you took,
and return it by any means you can, without telling anyone about that.
If you are unable to do any of that, then it is a debt that
you owe, and if Allah causes you to die before you return it to its owners,
then if you have repented sincerely, there is the hope that Allah will
pardon you and will compensate the owners of that property for their loss.
As this problem is one that is deeply rooted in your case, we
advise you to consult a trustworthy psychologist to find out whether you
need cognitive or behavioural therapy, or even medicinal treatment, if
required.
We ask Allah to forgive you and pardon you, to rectify your
condition and help you to obey Him.
And Allah knows best.
