It is your duty to repent...

It is your duty to repent; on the other hand, The Holy One Himself has also made it a must for Himself to accept that repentance: ﴿كَتَبَ رَبُّكُمْ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ الرَّحْمَةَ أَنَّهُ مَنْ عَمِلَ مِنْكُمْ سُوءًا بِجَهَالَةٍ ثُمَّ تَابَ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ وَأَصْلَحَ فَأَنَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ﴾ “…your Lord has ordained mercy on Himself, (so) that if anyone of you does evil in ignorance, then turns after that and acts aright, then He is Forgiving, Merciful.” [^4] This is so because He Himself says: ﴿وَأَمَّا السَّائِلَ فَلا تَنْهَرْ﴾ “And as for him who asks, do not chide (him).” [^5] Do not turn away anyone empty handed.

How at all can He turn away a pardon seeker from His Court? God forbid. Such is not our opinion about You. He has made a must for both the parties at dispute to make peace. Whoever may make an advance; it is incumbent on the other one to respond positively. Reconciliation is a must for both the parties. One who goes first in this direction will enter Paradise earlier. One who made an advance did his duty. The other duty is to accept peace effort.

If you were clever, you made an advance for making peace. If you were lazy and he became a dweller of Paradise you should not be a dweller of hell. Islamic brotherhood is general Another meaning, which must be understood well is that is the generality of the command, which is given in the holy verse: ﴿إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَ أَخَوَيْكُمْ﴾ “The believers are but brethren, therefore make peace between your brethren… (49:10)” Here ‘believer’ has its common connotation.

Anyone who said: I believe that God is Only One Allah and Muhammad is His last Prophet and I also give witness that Judgment Day is True and Accounting is True and that Paradise and Hell are True. Anyone who gave witness to these three basic facts and believed in them has also accepted all other essential orders of Islam, that is, all apparent things like prayer, fasts and Hajj, which no one can deny. He becomes a respectable Muslim. Shedding his blood is prohibited; may he belong to any sect.

Apparently he is a Muslim. His body is clean and his life and honor are safe and so also his possessions and marriage with him is also valid. We have nothing to do with his Hereafter. Hereafter is relevant with a special meaning, but all the apparent orders (worldly matters) are based on the above mentioned three basic beliefs, be he a Sunni or a Shia. Sunni and Shia, both are Muslims.

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