Repent and withdraw ad, Jais tells FB account holder offering RM20 repentance package

SHAH ALAM - The Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) says it had contacted the Facebook account owner who had uploaded an RM20 repentance package poster.

The individual, who has since admitted his mistake, has been asked to take down the misleading poster, Jais director Datuk Mohd Shahzihan Ahmad said.

He said the department had taken note of the statement by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Senator Datuk Idris Ahmad who had asked state religious departments to investigate the repentance package for a RM20 fee on social media platforms.

"Following this, Jais carried out an investigation and found that the Facebook account owner had uploaded the poster on June 26, 2021. We then contacted the individual who admitted his mistake and had asked him to immediately take down the wakaf (endowment) Quran campaign poster,” he said in a statement on Thursday.

Mohd Shahzihan said this was because the offer was misleading and had given the impression that any Muslim who wanted to repent need only pay RM20 token to the organiser, adding that this clearly was a contradiction of the meaning of repentance in Islam.

"Repentance is an action between Allah and his servant who asks for forgiveness for his mistakes. Allah SWT is most forgiving and who requires no intermediary or a certain amount of money for repentance to be accepted,” he said.

Jais would also like to remind Muslims, especially those living in Selangor to be careful in their choice of words when touching on religious principles.

"Any mistake or error will cause confusion and create anxiety or slander to Islam and Muslims,” he said.

He said in Selangor, such action was an offence that could be investigated under Section 8 of the Syariah Criminal Offences (Selangor) Enactment 1995.

Those found guilty shall be liable to a fine not exceeding RM5,000 or imprisoned for a term not exceeding three years, or both. - BERNAMA