Sometimes we remember that Allaah is watching and sometimes we become negligent. None of us is free of sin, and we will inevitably make mistakes. We are not infallible. Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “By the One in Whose hand is my soul, if you did not commit sin Allaah would do away with you and bring people who would commit sin then pray for forgiveness.” Narrated by Muslim, 2749. And he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Every son of Adam sins, and the best of those who sin are those who repent.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2499; classed as hasan by al-Albaani.
By His mercy towards weak man, Allaah has opened the gate of
repentance to him, and has commanded him to turn to Him, every time sin
overwhelms him. Were it not for that, man would suffer a great deal of
hardship and would not have the drive to draw closer to his Lord; he would
lose all hope of His forgiveness and pardon. Repentance is something that is
necessary as a result of man’s shortcomings and human failings.
Allaah has enjoined repentance on all kinds of people in this
ummah: those who are foremost in good deeds, those who follow a middle
course, and those who wrong their own selves by doing haraam things (cf.
Faatir 35:32).
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And all of you beg Allaah to forgive you all, O
believers, that you may be successful”
[al-Noor 24:31]
“O you who believe! Turn to Allaah with sincere
repentance!”
[al-Tahreem 66:8]
And the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “O people,
repent to Allaah and seek His forgiveness, for I repent one hundred times a
day.” Narrated by Muslim, 2702 from the hadeeth of al-Agharr al-Muzani (may
Allaah be pleased with him).
Allaah has bestowed His mercy and encompassed His slaves with
his kindness. He is Forbearing and does not punish us or destroy us
straightaway, rather He gives us respite, and He commanded His Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to proclaim His generosity:
“Say: O ‘Ibaadi (My slaves) who have transgressed against
themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of
Allaah, verily, Allaah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft‑Forgiving, Most
Merciful”
[al-Zumar 39:53 – interpretation of the meaning].
And He says, out of kindness towards His slaves
(interpretation of the meaning):
“Will they not turn with repentance to Allaah and ask His
forgiveness? For Allaah is Oft‑Forgiving, Most Merciful”
[al-Maa'idah 5:74]
“And verily, I am indeed forgiving to him who repents,
believes (in My Oneness, and associates none in worship with Me) and does
righteous good deeds, and then remains constant in doing them (till his
death)”
[Ta-Ha 20:82]
“And those who, when they have committed Faahishah
(illegal sexual intercourse) or wronged themselves with evil, remember
Allaah and ask forgiveness for their sins; — and none can forgive sins but
Allaah — and do not persist in what (wrong) they have done, while they know”
[Aal ‘Imraan 3:135]
“And whoever does evil or wrongs himself but afterwards
seeks Allaah’s forgiveness, he will find Allaah Oft‑Forgiving, Most
Merciful”
[al-Nisa’ 4:110]
Allaah calls to repentance those who committed the gravest
form of shirk and sin, those who say that ‘Eesa (peace be upon him) is the
son of God – exalted be Allaah far above what the wrongdoers say. Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Will they not turn with repentance to Allaah and ask His
forgiveness? For Allaah is Oft‑Forgiving, Most Merciful”
[al-Maa’idah 5:74]
And He opens the door of repentance to the hypocrites, who
are worse than the kuffaar who openly show their kufr. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“Verily, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depth
(grade) of the Fire; no helper will you find for them.
146. Except those who repent (from hypocrisy), do
righteous good deeds, hold fast to Allaah, and purify their religion for
Allaah (by worshipping none but Allaah, and do good for Allaah’s sake only,
not to show off), then they will be with the believers. And Allaah will
grant the believers a great reward”
[al-Nisa’ 4:145-146]
One of the attributes of the Lord is that He accepts
repentance and rejoices over it by His grace. Allaah says (interpretation of
the meaning):
“And He it is Who accepts repentance from His slaves, and
forgives sins, and He knows what you do”
[al-Shoora 42:25]
“Know they not that Allaah accepts repentance from His
slaves and takes the Sadaqaat (alms, charity), and that Allaah Alone is the
One Who forgives and accepts repentance, Most Merciful?”
[al-Tawbah 9:104]
It was narrated that Abu Hamzah Anas ibn Maalik al-Ansaari
(may Allaah be pleased with him), the servant of the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), said: The Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah
rejoices more over the repentance of His slave than any one of you who finds
his camel after having lost it in a desolate land.” Agreed upon.
According to a report narrated by Muslim (2747): “Allaah
rejoices more over the repentance of His slave than any one of you if he is
on his camel in a desolate land, then it runs away from him and on it is his
food and drink, and he despairs of finding it, so he goes to a tree and lies
down in its shade, having despaired of finding his camel, then while he is
like that, it suddenly appears in front of him and he takes hold of its
reins and says, because of his intense joy, ‘O Allaah, You are my slave and
I am your lord,’ making this mistake because of the intensity of his joy.”
It was narrated from Abu Moosa ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Qays
al-Ash’ari (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah spreads out His hand at night
to accept the repentance of the one who sinned during the day, and He
spreads out His hand by day to accept the repentance of the one who sinned
during the night, (and that will continue) until the sun rises from the
west.” Narrated by Muslim, 2759.
It was narrated from Abu ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ‘Abd-Allaah ibn
‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah will accept the
repentance of His slave so long as the death-rattle has not yet reached his
throat.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 3537; classed as hasan by al-Albaani.
Secondly: The blessings of repentance come in this world and
in the Hereafter, some are visible and some are hidden. The rewards of
repentance are: purity of heart, erasing of sins and increasing of hasanaat
(good deeds). Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“O you who believe! Turn to Allaah with sincere
repentance! It may be that your Lord will expiate from you your sins, and
admit you into Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise)
the Day that Allaah will not disgrace the Prophet (Muhammad) and those who
believe with him. Their Light will run forward before them and (with their
Records
Books of deeds) in their right hands. They will say: ‘Our Lord! Keep perfect
our Light for us [and do not put it off till we cross over the Siraat (a
slippery bridge over the Hell) safely] and grant us forgiveness. Verily, You
are Able to do all things’”
[al-Tahreem 66:8]
The reward of repentance is a good life in the shade of
faith, contentment, peace of mind and tranquility. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“Seek the forgiveness of your Lord, and turn to Him in
repentance, that He may grant you good enjoyment, for a term appointed, and
bestow His abounding Grace to every owner of grace (i.e. the one who helps
and serves the needy and deserving, physically and with his wealth, and even
with good words)”
[Hood 11:3]
The reward of repentance is blessings coming down from
heaven, blessings coming from the earth, an increase in one’s wealth and
offspring, blessings in productivity, good physical health and protection
from diseases. Allaah says of Hood (peace be upon him) (interpretation of
the meaning):
“And O my people! Ask forgiveness of your Lord and then
repent to Him, He will send you (from the sky) abundant rain, and add
strength to your strength, so do not turn away as Mujrimoon (criminals,
disbelievers in the Oneness of Allaah)”
[Hood 11:52]
Thirdly: Everyone who repents to Allaah, Allaah accepts his
repentance. The caravan of those who have repented to Allaah will not be
interrupted until the sun rises from the west.
One repented from banditry, another from adultery, and others
from drinking alcohol, taking drugs, severing the ties of kinship, not
praying or being too lazy to pray in congregation, disobeying parents,
dealing in riba (usury) and bribes, stealing, shedding blood, consuming
people’s wealth unlawfully, or smoking. Anyone who repents to Allaah from
any sin is to be congratulated, because it is as if they have been born anew
through their sincere repentance.
It was narrated from Abu Sa’eed Sa’d ibn Maalik ibn Sinaan
al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There was among the people who came
before you a man who killed ninety-nine people. Then he asked about the most
knowledgeable person on earth, and was directed to a hermit, so he went to
him, told him that he had killed ninety-nine people, and asked if he could
be forgiven. The hermit said, ‘No,’ so he killed him, thus completing one
hundred. Then he asked about the most knowledgeable person on earth and was
directed to a scholar. He told him that he had killed one hundred people,
and asked whether he could be forgiven. The scholar said, ‘Yes, what could
possibly come between you and repentance? Go to such-and-such a town, for in
it there are people who worship Allaah. Go and worship with them, and do not
go back to your own town, for it is a bad place.” So the man set off, but
when he was halfway there, the angel of death came to him, and the angels of
mercy and the angels of wrath began to argue over him. The angels of mercy
said: ‘He had repented and was seeking Allaah.’ The angels of wrath said:
‘He never did any good thing.’ An angel in human form came to them, and they
asked him to decide the matter. He said: ‘Measure the distance between the
two lands (his home town and the town he was headed for), and whichever of
the two he is closest to is the one to which he belongs.’ So they measured
the distance, and found that he was closer to the town for which he had been
headed, so the angels of mercy took him.” (Agreed upon).
According to a version narrated by Muslim (2716): “He was
closer to the righteous town by a handspan, so he was counted among its
people.”
According to a version narrated by al-Bukhaari (3470): “Allaah commanded (the righteous town) to draw closer and (the evil town) to move away, and he said: “Measure the distance between them,’ and he was found to be closer to (the righteous town) by a handspan, so he was forgiven.”
According to a version narrated by Muslim: “He leaned with
his chest towards it”.
What is meant by repentance is returning to Allaah, giving up
sin and hating it, and regretting falling short in obedience to Allaah.
Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
Repentance is essential from every sin, even if it is
something between a person and Allaah and has nothing to do with the rights
of another person. There are three conditions of repentance:
1-
You should give up the sin
2-
You should regret having done
it
3-
You should resolve never to go
back to it.
If one of these three is missing, then your repentance is not
sincere. If the sin has to do with the rights of another person, then there
are four conditions: the three mentioned above and restoring the rights of
that person. If it is money or property, etc, it must be returned to him; if
it had to do with slandering him etc, then you should allow him to insult
him in return, or ask for his forgiveness; if it had to do with backbiting
about him, then you have to ask for his pardon. It is essential to repent
from all sins; if a person repents from some, his repentance from the sins
from which he repented is valid – according to the scholars who follow the
right path – but he must still repent from the rest as well.
Based on the above, if these conditions are met by the person
who is repenting, then there is the hope that his repentance will be
accepted, by Allaah’s leave. After that he should not worry about waswaas
(whispers) suggesting that his repentance is not accepted, because that is
from the Shaytaan and is contrary to what Allaah and His Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) have told us, that repentance is
accepted if it is sincere.
SOURCE:
Islamqa, Fatwa no. 46683
SOURCE:
Islamqa, Fatwa no. 46683
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