Ibn al-Qayyim said:
Sin may be more beneficial for a person, if it leads him to repent, than doing a lot of acts of worship. This is what is meant by the words of one of the salaf: A person may commit a sin & enter Paradise because of it, or he may do an act of worship & enter Hell because of it.
They said: How is that?
He said: He may commit a sin & continues to think about it, & when he stands or sits or walks he remembers his sin, so he feels ashamed & repents & seeks forgiveness & regrets it, so that will be the means of his salvation.
And he may do a good deed & continue to think about it, & when he stands or sits or walks he remembers it & it fills him with self-admiration & pride, so it is the cause of his doom.
So the sin may be the factor that leads him to do acts of worship & good deeds & to change his attitude so that he fears Allah & feels shy before Him & feels humiliated before Him, hanging his head in shame & weeping with regret, seeking forgiveness of his Lord.
Each of these effects is better for a person than an act of worship that makes him feel proud & show off & look down on people.
Undoubtedly this sin is better before Allah & is more likely to bring salvation than one who admires himself & looks down on others, & who thinks that he is doing Allah a favour.
Even if he says words that indicate something other than that, Allah is the Witness over what is in his heart. Such a person may feel hatred towards people if they do not hold him in high esteem & humiliate themselves before him. If he were to examine himself honestly, he would see that clearly.
(Ref: Madarij as-Salikeen)
Sin may be more beneficial for a person, if it leads him to repent, than doing a lot of acts of worship. This is what is meant by the words of one of the salaf: A person may commit a sin & enter Paradise because of it, or he may do an act of worship & enter Hell because of it.
They said: How is that?
He said: He may commit a sin & continues to think about it, & when he stands or sits or walks he remembers his sin, so he feels ashamed & repents & seeks forgiveness & regrets it, so that will be the means of his salvation.
And he may do a good deed & continue to think about it, & when he stands or sits or walks he remembers it & it fills him with self-admiration & pride, so it is the cause of his doom.
So the sin may be the factor that leads him to do acts of worship & good deeds & to change his attitude so that he fears Allah & feels shy before Him & feels humiliated before Him, hanging his head in shame & weeping with regret, seeking forgiveness of his Lord.
Each of these effects is better for a person than an act of worship that makes him feel proud & show off & look down on people.
Undoubtedly this sin is better before Allah & is more likely to bring salvation than one who admires himself & looks down on others, & who thinks that he is doing Allah a favour.
Even if he says words that indicate something other than that, Allah is the Witness over what is in his heart. Such a person may feel hatred towards people if they do not hold him in high esteem & humiliate themselves before him. If he were to examine himself honestly, he would see that clearly.
(Ref: Madarij as-Salikeen)
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