Evil life compared to a good life

Question

Salam,

My question is imagine person A has committed sins all their life and major sins but is muslim still and person B is God fearing, sincere, does all the islamic obligations.

So the good deeds will be pilling up for person B but if person A repents sincerely after doing everything and his sins are forgiven then I dont quite understand how its fair.

If someone had been saving themselves from evil all their life compared to someone who has done all the evil and enjoyed commmiting haram but decides to change sincerely after everything and actually does but he still did everything and then was forgiven compared to someone who never went that path anyway.

Please explain

Answer 1

First of all, good question. I think many of us have pondered about this at some point in his or her life, myself included.

We may see as though people 'enjoy committing the haram', but in reality anything haram is a poison for the soul. There is a hadith that says every time we commit sin, a black spot appears on our heart.

Abu Hurairah (raa) narrated: Allah’s Messenger May peace be upon Him said :

“When a slave (a person) commits a sin (an evil deed) a black dot is dotted on his heart. Then if that person gives up that evil deed (sin), begs Allah to forgive him, and repents, then his heart is cleared (from that heart covering dot); but if he repeats the evil deed (sin), then that covering is increased till his heart is completely covered with it. And this is Ar-Ran that Allah mentioned (in the Quran),

“Nay! but on their hearts is the Ar-Ran (covering of evil deeds and sins) which they used to earn” (83:14)”

Source: At-Tirmidhi, Vol 5 , Hadith No: 3334

I don't know about you, but honestly whenever I commit something haram, I would feel like s**t on the inside. I may 'enjoy' doing it at the time, but that feeling of s*** will haunt me for days on end. I am convinced that one can never 'enjoy committing the haram.' It is nothing more than a constant lie that we tell to ourself.

To answer your question, let us use being healthy as an analogy for being a good Muslim. B has been taking care of health all his life while A has wasted years binging, smoking, etc. before finally quitting. Now both of them are trying to lead healthy lifestyle. But is A's level of health nowhere close to B's. No way. A has to first undo years of damage done to his body. B, on the other hand, may look forward to active life even in the golden years.

Similarly, someone who has spend years obeying Allah will accumulate far more rewards than someone who has just repented. A, the guy who just repented may have 'enjoyed' the haram, but he will suffer in at least two ways. One, his sins may not be totally forgiven and therefore he still has to be punished. Two, he will experience a world of regret when he sees all the wonderful rewards that B has accumulated all the while he spent in obedience.

Allah is fair and He knows best.

Answer 2

Good question. We can take it even further: In the Qur'an, Allah SWT says:

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-Furqan:70)

So why is this? The reason is that the more one is immersed in and attached to a sin, the harder it is for them to give it up. And so if one musters the willpower to give it up despite how ensconced they are in it, this is what Allah SWT rewards them with.

Each one of us is given different trials. We shouldn't be comparing our trials and our progress with other people's. It's just not comparable and can lead us to draw incorrect conclusions.

Finally, just because someone gives up evil at the end of their life doesn't mean that they are equal in status to the one who remained God-fearing their entire lives. Paradise is wider and more varied than the visible universe - there are hundreds of levels in Paradise. Here is an amazing hadith:

It was narrated from Talhah bin ‘Ubaidullah that two men from Bali came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). They had become Muslim together, but one of them used to strive harder than the other. The one who used to strive harder went out to fight and was martyred. The other one stayed for a year longer, then he passed away.

Talhah said: “I saw in a dream that I was at the gate of Paradise and I saw them (those two men). Someone came out of Paradise and admitted the one who had died last, then he came out and admitted the one who had been martyred. Then he came back to me and said: ‘Go back, for your time has not yet come.’” The next morning, Talhah told the people of that and they were amazed. News of that reached the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and they told him the story. He said: “Why are you so amazed at that?” They said: “O Messenger of Allah, the first one was the one who strove harder, then he was martyred, but the other one was admitted to Paradise before him. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Did he not stay behind for a year?” They said: “Yes.” He said: “And did not Ramadan come and he fasted, and he offered such and such prayers during that year?” They said: “Yes.” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “The difference between them is greater than the difference between heaven and earth.”

Sunan Ibn Majah 3925

So there is a tremendous difference in the eyes of Allah.

Answer 3

Good question. What you have mentioned is what it is visible from outside. You may feel a man is very pious doesn't engage in any vices. But you don't know what he does at the back. His state of heart and his niyah. May be he illtreats someone, breaks someone's heart, is not fair in dealings etc.Just because a person looks pious it doesn't mean he is pious. Same is true about the other person. You may feel a person is a sinner if he engages in vices like drinking , gambling, adultery etc. But he may be good at heart. He goes the extra mile to help others. So we cannot take one's purity on face value. Generally most people are not totally good or totally bad. It is very difficult to judge one's standing in the eyes of Allah. Why others, it is really difficult to evaluate ourselves. However much we try to be God fearing we still may commit some act which we feel as minor issue or part of life, but it may be a serious crime in the eyes of Allah. That's the reason we should always be asking for forgiveness. Now coming to your question and assuming it as an ideal condition, the first person has earned the God's pleasure by his actions. Regarding the second person, first of all his repentance should be genuine. Secondly he should never repeat the sin again all his life. And if he does, his pardon will be withdrawn, and his further repentances will not be accepted. Needless to say God may test his repentance by creating situation where he will be strongly tempted to repeat it. It is easy to ask for repentance, but it is very difficult to control oneself after that. Don't you think a man can do this only when his repentance is genuine and he really fears God.