Q : I had a sister who was married and had three children. She was always quarrelling with her husband. She also had a disagreement with her father. The reason was that her husband treated her very harshly, which made her leave the house and go to the house of her mother, who was divorced from his father and was married to someone else. Her mother's husband also treated her badly.
I her brother bought her an apartment where she could live with me, but she often used to go to her mother. One time her mother's husband forced her to go and leave her children with her husband and she did that just to please her mother.
One day there was an argument between her and her mother's husband. She went to her apartment, very upset about the calamities that had befallen her, and the fact that her children had been taken away. She took some pills from the fridge and swallowed them all in an attempt to end her life. I rushed her to the hospital where she was treated. Before she died, she realized that she was about to die and she repented and started to pray a great deal for forgiveness for what she did. She asked us to pray for her forgiveness. She passed away. What is her situation now?
Is it permissible for me to give charity and perform Hajj on her behalf? Please note that I vowed to do these actions all my life InSha'aAllah (if Allah wills). I appreciate your guidance through AlDa`wah magazine.
A : So long as your sister regretted and repented to Allah (Exalted be He) for what she did of trying to commit suicide, there is hope that she would be forgiven. Repentance wipes out what came before it and the one who repents of sin is like one who did not do sin at all, as was narrated in Sahih Hadiths from the Prophet (peace be upon him). If you give in charity on her behalf, pray for her forgiveness or make Du`a' for her, that is good; it will benefit her and you will be rewarded for it. You have to fulfill the vows you made to do those acts of worship, because Allah (Exalted be He) has praised those who fulfill their vows. Praising the righteous, Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) says:
They (are those who) fulfil (their) vows, and they fear a Day whose evil will be widespreading.
Likewise, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Whoever vows that he will be obedient to Allah, should remain obedient to Him; and whoever makes a vow that he will disobey Allah, should not disobey Him."
(Narrated by Imam AlBukhari in his Sahih).