This epistle is taken from the “Summa theologique” of Ibn Taymiyya (Majmu' al-fatawa... Read More

This epistle is taken from the “Summa theologique” of Ibn Taymiyya (Majmu' al-fatawa ). The illustrious Damascene Sheikh addresses here the question of absolution and repentance ( tawbah ) in Islam based on the prophetic words and verses of the Koran. Repentance, he says, consists of “regretting what has been done and resolving never to be guilty of it again.” This regret in turn implies three dispositions: the conviction that this action was bad, feeling repulsion about it and associating it with a negative feeling. »

But beyond the simple definition to which other authors have devoted themselves, Ibn Taymiyya reviews here all the delicate questions raised by this concept, because repentance, he explains, applies at more or less profound of transgression and sin, depending on whether it is a deficiency of “will or belief”. Finally, the author looks at the bad conceptions of repentance developed by the different doctrines of Islam. To do this, he returns to the errors in understanding “sin” and categorically refutes the concept of infallibility attributed, according to the doctrines, to saints, imams or even simple believers.