The Treatise on the Good Manners of the Spiritual Disciple’s Wayfaring.
Author of the Book: Imam Abdallah ibn Alawi al-Haddad
One of Imam al-Haddad’s students asked him for advice and this is what he gave i.e. the treatise.
Chapter Two : Repentance, its Conditions and Protecting Oneself from Sins
First step on the path to Allah is sound repentance from all sins i.e. those you know, you don’t know and those you’ve forgotten about. This includes sins committed against Allah and sins committed against God’s creation i.e. humans (Muslim and non-Muslim), animals, insects, the earth etc. Sins committed against Allah take a default position that Allah will forgive but sins committed against another human take a default position that they won’t forgive.
Repentance requires:
- Feel sincere remorse for the sin;
- Determination not to repeat the sin; and
- Refraining from the sin at the time of repentance.
- Asking forgiveness (if against another human being)
The wayfarer should protect himself against small sins (let alone major ones) more so than he would protect himself against a lethal poison.
The heart of a wayfarer is more important to him than his body, the body is a means for the dunya whereas the heart is a means for the everlasting hereafter. If a believer commits a sin it is like a mountain, but if a hypocrite does a sin it is like a fly, he waves it away.
Lote Tree 