Alloh ~ insonlarni ikki toifaga bo'lgan: U Oʻzi ~ga itoat etadigan kishilarni ulugʻ qilgan, Oʻzi ~ga osiy boʻladigan kishilarni esa bu dunyoda ham, oxirat kunida ham xor va past qilgan. U ~ shuningdek, Oʻzi ~ga itoat etadigan kishilarni eng sharafli odamlar, Uning amrlarini rad etadiganlarni esa eng xorlangan odamlar qilgan. Bu haqda Abdulloh ibn 'Amr ~ rivoyat qilgan hadisda aniq bayon etilgan. Unda Payg'ambar ﷺ shunday degan: "Men qiyomat yaqinlashmasdan oldin, to Alloh ~ yagona Oʻzigʻa, hech qanday sherik keltirilmagan holda ibodat qilinmaguncha, qilich bilan yuborildim. Mening rizqim nayzamning soyasi ostida qilib qoʻyildi, mening amrimga qarshi chiqqan har bir qavm uchun xorlik belgilandi. Kim biror qavmning odatini takrorlasa, u oʻsha qavmdandir." Inson qachonki gunoh qilsa, u pastroq darajaga tushiriladi va oxiri eng past tubiga yetguncha tushib boraveradi. Qachonki u yaxshi amal qilsa (Allohning amrlariga itoat etsa va burchlarini ado etsa), u eng yuqori darajalarga yetguncha koʻtarila boradi. Hayoti davomida inson amallarining xarakteriga (yaxshi yoki yomon) qarab koʻtarilish va tushishlarni boshidan kechirishi mumkin, va qaysi tur ustun kelsa, shunga qarab darajasi belgilanadi. Ammo bu gapni notoʻgʻri tushunmaslik kerak, chunki bir gina gunoh tufayli inson sharqdan gʻarbgacha boʻlgan masofadan ham koʻproq pastga tushib ketadigan holatlar boʻladi. Shuning uchun, agar u bir ming daraja koʻtarilsa ham, bu unga yetarli boʻlmaydi. Bu haqda Payg'ambar ﷺ shunday degan hadis rivoyat qilingan: "Allohning bandasi oʻylamasdan bir soʻz aytishi mumkin, u tufayli sharq bilan gʻarb orasidagi masofaga teng ravishda Jahannam oloviga yiqilib tushishi mumkin." Bunday holatda qanday koʻtarilish zarur boʻladi? Insonning hayotida yiqilish muqarrar, ammo shunday odamlar borki, ularning yiqilishi beparvolik holatining natijasidir; shuning uchun ular o'ziga kelgach, uyg'oqlikning o'tkirligiga qarab, tezda o'zlarining yuqori darajasiga yoki undan ham yuqoriroq darajaga qaytadilar. Lekin shunday odamlar ham borki, ularning yiqilishi ataylab, gunoh – kichik yoki katta – sodir etilganda ro'y beradi; shuning uchun bunday odamlarga sof va samimiy tavbaga tezda qaytish zarur. Olimlar gunohidan tavba qilgan kishining darajasi haqida ixtilof qilganlar: gunoh sodir etishdan oldin bo'lgan darajasiga qaytadimi, chunki tavba gunohning barcha izlarini o'chiradi, yoki o'sha darajasiga qaytmaydimi, chunki tavbaning ta'siri gunoh uchun lozim bo'lgan jazoni bekor qilishdan iborat, ammo o'tkazib yuborilgan daraja to'g'ridan-to'g'ri qaytarilmaydi. Olimlar buni ikki kishining ikkita cheksiz narvonga chiqishi misoliga o'xshatganlar. Agar biri bir pog'ona pastga tushib, so'ng yana ko'tarilishda davom etsa, albatta, doimo ko'tarilib borgan kishi ikkinchisidan yuqorida bo'ladi. Shayxul-Islom ikki guruh haqida maqbul hukm berib, shunday degan: "Ba'zilar o'zining oldingi darajasiga qaytishi mumkin, boshqalari esa qaytmasligi mumkin." Men aytaman: bu tavbaning mukammallik darajasiga, gunoh gunohkor qalbida uyg'otgan xo'rlik, itoat va Allohdan qo'rquv hissiyotiga bog'liqdir. Bu ta'sirlar tavba qiluvchini shunchalik yuksaltirishi mumkinki, u tavbadan keyin gunoh sodir etishdan oldingi holatidan ham yuqoriroq darajaga, hatto yaxshiroq holatga erishishi mumkin. Bunday inson gunohdan tavba qilgach katta foyda oladi, chunki bu uni o'z holatini tan olishga va Rabbisi huzurida, Uning rahmati va mag'firatini izlab, imkon qadar kamtarlik bilan itoat etishga yetaklagan. Qanday ne'matlar unga berilgan bo'lmasin, u ularni o'ziga haddan tashqari katta deb biladi; va unga qanday musibat yetmasin, u o'zini o'sha balosiga loyiq deb biladi, chunki u Robbisi unga jinoyatiga teng jazo bermaganini tan oladi. Darhaqiqat, uni kutayotgan jazoni tog'lar ham ko'tara olmas edi, zaif tanasi-ku aytmasa ham bo'ladi. Ahloqsiz yoki uyatsiz ish qilib, so'ngra olijanob kishilar bilan uchrashish katta hurmatsizlik bo'lib, gunohkorni uyat holatiga olib kelishi mumkin; unda esa osmonlar va yerning Egasi, Hukmron va Robbi bo'lgan Allohning huzuriga qanday chiqish mumkin? Agar Allohning Rahmati Uning G'azabidan ustun bo'lmaganida va Uning Mag'firati Uning Jazosidan oldin kelmaganida, bandalarining gunohlari tufayli osmonlar va yer parchalanib ketgan bo'lardi. Alloh ta'olo aytadi: {Albatta, Alloh osmonlarni va yerni o'z o'rinlaridan qimirlab ketmasligi uchun ushlab turadi; agar ular o'z o'rinlaridan qimirlab ketsalar, Undan keyin ularni hech kim ushlab tura olmas. Darhaqiqat, U Halim, G'afur-dir}. Alloh ta'olo bu oyatni Uning ikki sifati bilan yakunlaydi: Halim va Mag'firatli. Biz shuni tushunishimiz kerakki, Uning hilmi va mag'firatisiz osmonlar va yer o'z o'rinlarida qolmas edi. Alloh ta'olo bizga bandalarining ba'zilarining nomaqbul va shirk yo'llari haqida xabar bergan: {Osmonlar ustidan parcha-parcha bo'lib ketay deyishadi, yer yorilib ketay deyishadi va tog'lar qulab tushay deyishadi}. Alloh ta'olo ota-onamiz Odam va Havvo ~ni, ular Unga itoatsizlik qilib, qilgan gunohlari sababli jannatdan chiqargan. U Iblisni (shaytonni) la'natlagan va u qilgan gunoh (Odamga sajda qilmagani) sababli uni osmonlar va yerdan hamda Rahmatidan quvgan. Biz, nodon insonlar, gunohlardan tog' qurib olamiz-u, shunga qaramay, Jannatdagi abadiy ne'matlardan bahramand bo'lishni umid qilamiz; holbuki, ota-bobolarimiz bitta gunoh uchun Jannatdan chiqarilganini bilamiz. Tavba qilgan inson gunoh qilishdan oldingi holatidan yuqoriroq martabaga ko'tarilishi mumkin; lekin ba'zi hollarda uning gunohi uni pastga tushirishi va qat'iyatini susaytirishi mumkin, shunda tavbasining shifosi uni oldingi martabasini qaytarib olish uchun yetarli darajada kuchaytirishi mumkin. Bu faqat gunohkor darajaga tushish holatiga taalluqlidir; ammo bu pasayish insonning imonining asoslarini buzadigan narsaga, masalan, shubha, gumon yoki munofiqlikka bo'lsa, bundan ustun bo'lish uchun imonni (Islomni) yangilash talab etiladi. Gunohkor kishi shaytonlarning har xil yomonliklariga duchor bo'ladi, chunki uning gunohkor hayoti shayotinlarni uni turli azoblar bilan hujum qilishga rag'batlantiradi; ular uni aldab, vasvasaga solib va shaytoniy pichirlashlari bilan qo'zg'atib, to uning gunohkor ishlariga sadoqatli bo'lib qolguncha harakat qiladilar. Uning ustiga, u odamzot shayotinlaridan ham ko'proq zarar ko'radi, ular uning oldida ham, orqasida ham uni tuhmat qilib yuradilar va uning jirkanch hamda uyatli hayoti tufayli ijtimoiy hayotidagi har bir kishi uni past nazar bilan qaraydi. Bir kishi bir paytlar shunday degan edi: "Men Allohga itoat qilmaganimda, buni xotinimning va hayvonimning menga bo'lgan munosabatida ko'raman." (Hatto hayvonlar ham gunohkorga bo'lgan munosabatini o'zgartiradi, to u tavba qilguncha!) Gunohkor kishi hokimning jazosiga ham duchor bo'ladi; agar hokim adolatli bo'lsa, u Alloh ~ belgilagan tegishli huquqiy jazoni beradi. Gunohkor kishi o'zini bo'ysundiruvchi nafsi tomonidan o'zini halokatga yetkazadigan holatga yetaklanadi, chunki u uning yomon buyruqlariga itoat qilishga majbur bo'ladi; holbuki, Allohga ~ itoat qilish esa Uning mustahkam qal'asiga kirish yo'lidir. Haqiqatan, Allohni zikr qilish, sadaqa berish, yaxshilikka buyurish va yomonlikdan qaytarish orqali inson har qanday yomon vasvasadan himoyalanadi. Bu xuddi immunitet tizimiga o‘xshaydi: u tanaga kirib keladigan har qanday narsaga qarshi turadi. Yaxshi amallar va yomon amallar bir-biriga qarama-qarshi bo‘lib, doimiy kurashda bo‘ladi; shuning uchun yaxshilik tomoni kuchayganda, insonning qarshilik ko‘rsatish qobiliyati ham mustahkamlanadi. Chunki Alloh ~ iymon keltirganlarni himoya qiladi; iymon esa so‘z va amal bilan namoyon bo‘ladi. Shuning uchun insonning qarshilik ko‘rsatish darajasi uning iymoni kuchiga qarab beriladi.

Allah~ created mankind two categories: He~ made those people who obey Him highly exalted, and made those who disobey Him lowly degraded both in this world and the Hereafter. He ~ also made those people who obey Him the most honoured people, but those who reject His Commandments the most disgraceful people. This is highlighted in the Hadith reported by Abdullah bin 'Amru ~ in which the Prophet ~ said: "I was sent with a sword, before the Hour, until Allah ~ is worshipped Alone, without associating any partners with Him. My provision was made under the shade of my lance, and disgrace was set up on any people who should oppose my command; and whoever copies the manner of a people, is one of them." Whenever a person commits a sin, he/she is cast to a lower level, and he/she would keep on descending until he/she reached the lowest bottom; but whenever he/she does a good deed ( obeying Allah's Commandments, and fulfilling his obligations), he/she would keep on rising until he/she reached the highest grades. During the course of his/her life, a person might experience ups and downs, with regards to the nature of his/her deeds (good or bad), so he/she would be cast according to the domination of one type over the other. However, one should not misunderstand this statement, because there are situations when a person might go down a distance larger than that between the east and the west, because of one single misdeed; therefore, even if he rises one thousand grades up, it would not be sufficient for him; as reported in the Hadith, in which the Prophet ~ said: "A Servant of Allah may utter a word, without thinking whether it is right or wrong; he may fall down into the Fire a distance equal to that between the east and west. " 2 What kind of rising is necessary in such a situation? Falling is inevitable in the life of man, yet there are people whose falling is the result of a state of carelessness, so once they come around, they quickly return to their high level, or to an even higher one, according to the sharpness of their wakefulness. But there are also people whose falling is made intentionally, when committing a sin, whether a minor or major one; therefore, such people need a quick return to a pure and truthful repentance. The scholars have differed regarding the level of a person after one repents from his sin; whether one returns to the level in which one was before committing a sin, by virtue of the fact that repentance wipes away all traces of the sin; or that one does not return to one's previous level, by virtue of the fact that the effect of repentance is in cancelling the punishment due for committing the sin; as for the level that one missed, one would not return to it directly. The scholars have said it is like the example of two men climbing up two never-ending ladders. If one goes down one step, and then carried on rising up, surely the one who kept on ascending would always be above the other. Shaikh Al-Islam gave an acceptable judgment regarding the two groups , saying: "Some may return to his previous grade, but others may not." I say: This is according to the degree of perfection of the repentance, and the feeling of disgrace, submission and fear of Allah, which the sin has caused in the mind of the sinner. These effects may influence the repentant enough to allow him/her to reach a higher level, and even be in a better position, after his repentance, than his/her previous position, before committing the sin. Such a person benefits a great deal after repenting from the sin, as it made him/her acknowledge his/her status, and helped him/her to submit before his/her Master, seeking His Mercy and Forgiveness, in the most humble way possible. Whatever blessings were bestowed upon him/her, he/she would then regard it as being too good for him/her (i.e. he /she is not worthily of receiving such a blessing); and whatever misfortune had occurred to him/her, he/she would see him/herself worthily of that affliction, because he/she would admit that his/her Master had not given him/her a punishment equal to his/her crime. In fact , the punishment he/she deserves could not be carried by the mountains, let alone his/her weak body. Meeting noble people after having committed an immoral or obscene act is very disrespectful but could lead the sinner to a state of shame; so what about having to meet Allah, the Supreme, Owner and Lord of the Heavens and earth? If it were not for the fact that Allah ' s Mercy precedes His Anger, and that His Forgiveness precedes His Punishment, the heavens and earth would have been shaken to pieces because of the sins of His Servants. Allah ~ has said: ( Verily, Allah grasps the heavens and the earth lest they should move away from their places, and if they were to move away from their places, there is not one that could grasp them after Him. Truly, He is Most Forbearing, Oft-Forgiving.) 1 Allah ~ concluded this Verse by mentioning two of His Attributes: The Most Forbearing, and Oft-Forgiving; and we should understand that without His Forbearance and Forgiveness, the heavens and the earth would not have remained in their places. Allah ~ has informed us about the ungrateful and polytheistic ways of some of His Servants: ( Whereby the heavens are almost torn, and the earth is split asunder, and the mountains fall in ruins)2 Allah ~ removed our forbears (Adam and Eve ~ \) from Paradise because of the sin they had committed, in disobeying Him. He ~ cursed Iblis (Satan) and expelled him from the heavens and the earth, and from His Mercy, because of the sin he committed (in not prostrating to Adam). As for us, foolish people, we build up a mountain of sins, and still hope to benefit from the eternal blessings in Paradise, despite being aware of the fact that our forbears were removed from Paradise for a single sin. A repentant person could ascend to a better position than when he/she was before he/she had committed a sin; but in some cases, his/her sin could degrade him/her and weaken his/her determination, and so the healing from his repentance could strengthen him/her enough to regain his previous position. This only applies to the case where there is a descent to a sinful level; however, if this descent is to a matter which violates the basics of his faith, such as suspicion, doubt or hypocrisy, then, in order to rise above this, a renewal of one's faith (Islam) is required. A sinner is subject to all kinds of evil from devils because if his/her sinful life Demons are encouraged to assault a sinner with different kinds of suffering; by deceiving, tempting, and provoking him/her with their devilish whispering, until he/she becomes devoted to his/her sinful activities. He/she would also be subjected to more harm from the devils of mankind, who would keep on slandering him/her in his/her presence and absence, and everyone in his/her social life would look down upon him/her, because of his/her despicable and shameful life. One man once said: "When I disobey Allah, I see it in the conduct of my wife and my animal towards me." (Even animals change their conduct towards a sinner, until he/she repents!) A sinner would also be subjected to the punishment of the ruler, who if he were just, would give the appropriate legal punishment, ordained by Allah ~. A sinner is guided by his/her domineering self to reach a state of self-destruction, because he/she feels compelled to obey its evil instructions; whereas obeying Allah ~ is the way to enter into His Safe Fortress. Indeed, by remembering Allah ~ ' giving Sadaqah, enjoining good and forbidding evil one would be shielded from any evil inspiration. It is like the immune system, resisting any invading the body. Good deeds and misdeeds are two opposites in constant conflict, so whenever the good side increases in power, one's resistance becomes stronger; for Allah ~ defends those who believe; and belief (faith) is expressed in both words and actions. Therefore, the degree of one's resistance is given according to the power of one's faith.