I enacted the Christian prayer. Have I committed kufr and is there any kaffarah for it?

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Q: 305 ? Title: I enacted the Christian prayer. Have I committed kufr and is there any kaffarah for it?

Question

Previously, I might have prayed for the forgiveness of the soul of a Christian.? I was told this was har?m by one person and hal?l by another.? I remember sitting in the funeral not knowing whether I had just prayed or stopped myself before I do so.? Later, when talking to a group of people, I said, ?Each one of you pray according to his religion so that whoever is right, it will rain no doubt.?? Later, I found out that these might be statements of kufr. I was tormented by the idea and was devastated for days.? Then, I retook my shah?dah in front of some Muslims who did not understand why I did that, since I did not want to confess my sin openly.

Later, I did the Christian prayer (touching the forehead and shoulders with my hand) to better visualize a story I was coming up with.? Now, whenever I go to sleep, I am afraid that the angel of death will not return my soul and I will die as a k?fir never to leave Jahannam. The thought petrifies me so much that I am afraid to go to bed.? What I want to know is:

1.? Have I committed kufr?
2.? If yes, what steps should I go through to regain my Islam?? Should I pay any money or something?

Answer

In the Name of All?h, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-sal?mu ?alaykum wa-rahmatull?hi wa-barak?tuh.

Indeed, human beings, by their nature, are prone to committing sins.? The Prophet of All?h ??? ???? ???? ???? said,

????? ???? ?? ??????? ??? ??? ?? ????? ??????? ??? ????? ?? ??? ??? ??? ???? ???? ??? ???? ???? ? ??? ?? ??? ??? ???? ???? ???????? ???????? (??? ???????? ???? ??????? ??? ??????: 2/392? ??????)

All of the children of ?dam commit mistakes, but the best of those who commit mistakes are those who repent to All?h (D?ram?)

Hence, as soon as a person commits a sin, he/she should turn to All?h Ta??l? and sincere repent to Him.? In addition to begging All?h Ta??l? for forgiveness, one should make a firm intention of never committing the same mistake again.? When mentioning the God-fearing individuals (muttaq?n), All?h Ta??l? describes one of their qualities by saying,

And those who, when they commit lewd acts or have wronged themselves, remember All?h and ask forgiveness for their sins - and none can forgive sins but All?h- and do not persist in what (wrong) they have committed while they know.? For such, the reward is forgiveness from their Lord, and Gardens with rives flowing underneath wherein they shall abide forever.? How excellent is this reward for the doers (of righteous deeds) (Qur?an 3:135-136)

Hence, once you have repented from your sins and made a firm commitment to refrain from it in the future, you should expect that All?h Ta??l?, in His infinite mercy, will forgive you for your sin.? While one should always be conscious and worried about his/her death and the afterlife, you should not let it traumatize you such that it prevents you from carrying out your daily necessary activities, such as sleep.? In order to console the believers, even those who had committed the worst of sins in their past, All?h Ta??l? says,

???? ??? ????????? ????????? ?????????? ????? ???????????? ??? ?????????? ???? ???????? ??????? ????? ??????? ???????? ?????????? ???????? ??????? ???? ?????????? ?????????? (?????: 53)

Say, ?O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair from the mercy of All?h, for, verily, All?h forgives all sins.? Surely, He is the Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful (Qur?an 39:53)

With that in mind, regarding your previous acts, it is not permissible for pray for the forgiveness of a non-Muslim.? Since you heard conflicting rulings on the matter, you would have most likely prevented yourself from making the prayer.? Even if you would have prayed for a non-Muslim, it would have been har?m, but it would not have taken you out of the fold of Islam.

Furthermore, when you stated, ?Each one of you pray according to his religion so that whoever is right, it will rain no doubt,? you did not have any doubt in your heart about what was the true and correct religion, even if your statement was sinful.? Hence, since you never had any doubt nor questioned the validity of Islam in any manner, your statement would not have amounted to kufr, as you knew that only the Muslim was on the correct religion, as opposed to the non-Muslims, and you never acknowledged the validity of any other religion.

Regardless of the issues above, you had already retaken your shah?dah.

As for your touching of the head and shoulders in prayer as the Christian do, this would amount to imitating the disbelievers in their salient features (tashabbuh bi al-kuff?r) and it is absolutely har?m. You should make sincere repentance to All?h Ta??l? and seek His forgiveness.? However, this would not tantamount to kufr, as you never believed in the trinity or other non-Muslim beliefs when touching the head and shoulders in prayer, but instead did it to visualize a story in your head.

You should exercise extreme caution in the matters of creed, both in your words and in action.? When you commit a sin, you should repent to All?h Ta??l?, ask for His forgiveness, and make a commitment to never repeat the act again.? Thereafter, you should be hopeful of the mercy of All?h Ta??l? and not let it stop you from continuing with your life.? Furthermore, it is recommended to recite the following du??? in the morning and evening to avoid falling into such a predicaments.

????????? ????? ???????? ???? ???? ???? ???????? ???? ??????? ?????? ???????? ???????????????? ???? ?? ????????

O All?h, I seek protection with You from associating anything with You while I am aware, and I seek forgiveness for that which I am unaware.

And All?h knows best.

(?? ???????? ???? ??????? ??? ??????: 4/224? ????)

(??????? ???????????? ???? ????? ????????: 5/458? ?????)

(?????? ??????? ? 458-459)

?? ??? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ?? ??? ????? ???????? ??? ??? ??? ?? ??????? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ??? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ?? ??????? ???? ???? ????? ???? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ??? ????? ??? ?? ??????? ?? ???????? ??? ??? ??? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ????? ??????? ????? ??? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ????? ???? ???? ??????? ??? ???? ??? ???? ???? ????? ???? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ??????? ??????? ?? ??? ??????? ?????? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ?? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ??? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ???? ???? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ??? ???? ?? ?? ?? ???? ?? ???? ???? ???? ???????? ??? ?? ???? ??? ?? ???????

(??????? ???????????? ???? ?????? ????? ??????? ???? ?????? ?????: 2/283? ??????)

??? ?????? ??? ?????? ?? ??????:

???? ( ??? ?? ????? ??? ) ??? ??? ?? ???? ???? ????? ??? ???? ???????? ??? ??????? ?? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ?? ??????? ??? ???? ?? ????? ??? ?? ?? ???? ??? ??? ???? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ?? ???? ??? ?? ??????? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ?? ?? ??????? ???? ?????? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ??? ?? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ??? ????? ?? ??????? ???? ?? ??? ?? ????? ??? ??? ?? ??? ?? ???? ??? ???? ??? ??????? ??????? ?? ?? ?? ???? ???????? ??? ??????? ?????? ????? ??? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ??? ???? ????? ??? ?? ???? ?? ??? ??????? ?????? ??? ??? ?? ??????? ???? ???? ??????? ???? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ????? ???? ???? ??????? ?????? ???? ??????? ??? ?? ???????? ??? ??? ??? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ????? ??????? ? ??? ??????????? ?? ???? ???????? ??? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ??????? ????? ?? ??????? ??? ???????? ?? ????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ?? ???? ???? ???? ???? ??? ????? ??? ???? ??? ?? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ????? ???? ??? ????? ????? ??????? ???????? ?? ???? ???????? ???? ??? ????? ???? ?? ?? ???? ???? ???? ?? ???? ????? ???????

(?? ???????? ???? ??????? ??? ??????: 4/223-224? ????)