Topics/Points covered in the Article:
►A Muslim’s faith overwhelmed by desires
► Realization that Humans are bound to Make mistakes
►Allaah accepts the repentance
►Allaah is Forgiving and Generous
►The gate of repentance is open until the sun rises from the west
►The Main Key: Sincere repentance + Giving up the sin
►Allaah calls sinners to repent so that He might forgive them
►Allaah is Kind to His slaves and loves those who repent
►Importance of perfecting your Tawbah / Repentance
► Prophets of Allah also Repented and seek Allah’s forgiveness.
► Lets re-evaluate ourselves
►A Muslim’s faith overwhelmed by desires:
A Muslim’s faith may become weak and he may be overwhelmed by his desires. The Shaytaan may make sin attractive to him, so he wrongs himself (commits sin) and falls into that which Allaah has forbidden.
But Allaah is Kind to His slaves, and His mercy encompasses all things. Whoever repents after doing wrong, Allaah will accept his repentance, for Allaah is Forgiving and Merciful.
► Realization that Humans are bound to Make mistakes:
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: “If you were to Stop Committing Sins, Allah swt would get Rid of you and bring forth a Group of People who commit sins, so that they would ask Allah’s Forgiveness & so that Allah could then Forgive them.
Allah does not love sins, but he loves to Forgive. Allah does not love the sinner but he loves the Repenter.
► Allaah accepts the repentance:
“But whosoever repents after his crime and does righteous good deeds (by obeying Allaah), then verily, Allaah will pardon him (accept his repentance). Verily, Allaah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful [al-Maa’idah 5:39]
►Allaah is Forgiving and Generous:
He commands all His slaves to repent sincerely so that they may gain the mercy of Allaah and His Paradise. Allaah says :
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)” [al-Tahreem 66:8]
►The gate of repentance is open to His slaves, until the sun rises from the west:
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah spreads out His Hand at night to accept the repentance of those who did wrong during the day, and He spreads out His Hand during the day to accept the repentance of those who did wrong during the night. (This will continue) until the sun rises from the west.” (Narrated by Muslim, no. 2759)
►The Main Key: Sincere repentance + Giving up the sin:
Sincere repentance is not merely the matter of words spoken on the tongue. Rather, the acceptance of repentance is subject to the condition that the person gives up the sin straight away, that he regrets what has happened in the past, that he resolves not to go back to the thing he has repented from, that he restores people’s rights or property if his sin involved wrongdoing towards others, and that he repents before the agony of death is upon him.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Allaah accepts only the repentance of those who do evil in ignorance and foolishness and repent soon afterwards; it is they whom Allaah will forgive and Allaah is Ever All-Knower, All-Wise.
And of no effect is the repentance of those who continue to do evil deeds until death faces one of them and he says: ‘Now I repent;’ nor of those who die while they are disbelievers. For them We have prepared a painful torment” [al-Nisaa’ 4:17-18]
►Allaah calls sinners to repent so that He might forgive them:
Allaah accepts repentance and is Merciful. He calls sinners to repent, so that He might forgive them:
“…your Lord has written (prescribed) Mercy for Himself, so that if any of you does evil in ignorance, and thereafter repents and does righteous good deeds (by obeying Allaah), then surely, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful” [al-An’aam 6:54 – interpretation of the meaning]
► Allaah is Kind to His slaves and loves those who repent:
a) He accepts their repentance, as Allaah says:
“Truly, Allaah loves those who turn unto Him in repentance and loves those who purify themselves”[al-Baqarah 2:222]
b) The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Our Lord comes down to the lowest heaven when one-third of the night remains, and says, ‘Who will call upon Me so that I may answer him? Who will ask Me so that I may give to him? Who will seek My forgiveness so that I may forgive him?’” (Narrated by Muslim, no. 758)
c) When a kaafir becomes a Muslim, Allaah turns his bad deeds (sayi’aat) into good deeds (hasanaat), and forgives him all his previous sins, as He says:
“Say to those who have disbelieved, if they cease (from disbelief), their past will be forgiven” [al-Anfaal 8:38]
d) Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“When a person repents ,Allaah rejoices more than one of you who found his camel after he lost it in the desert.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, no. 6309)
Allaah is Forgiving and Merciful, and He loves the repentance of His slaves. He commands them to repent so that He might forgive the mankind.
►Importance of perfecting your Tawbah / Repentance:
1. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: ” The one who repents from a sin, it is as if he has never committed the sin in the first place”.
2. When you sin and you repent, Allah substitutes your Evil with a Good Deed. you will get rewarded for committing the sin, not because of the sin but for your Tawbah/repentance.
3. Allah (swt) promises the one who Repents with extra Blessings & Good of this World along with the hereafter. (you can read in the story of Nuh(a.s))
4. Repentance is a cause for entering Paradise. Allah swt mentions in the Quran ” the only people who will enter Paradise are those who have done Tawbah.
► The Prophets of Allah also Repented and seek Allah’s forgiveness:
1.Adam (a.s) the first human bieng,our Father,did something Allah forbid him to do, he disobeyed the command(he ate of the tree), but adam (as) repented,he said o Allah i have committed a sin & if you dont forgive me or have mercy on me then i will be of those who will be destroyed.
2. Nuh (a.s) also asked Allah what he was not suppose to ask, to save his son (who was not a muslim),when Allah said clearly “do not ask to save anyone who is not a muslim” , then Nuh (a.s) Repented, “Oh Allah , if you don’t forgive me & do not have mercy on me ,I will be of those who are destroyed.
3.Ibraheem & Ismael ( PBUT) ,when they were building the kaaba, they make a dua to Allah, “Forgive us and accept our repentence”.
4.Musa (a.s) when he asked to see Allah, he should not have asked this , as he knew like other prophets too Allah cannot be seen, when he awoke from the coma he fell into, he said” oh Allah Subhanak, how exalted are you, I am Guilty , I turn to you in Repentance.
5.Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), is someone whose each and every sin is forgiven by Allah swt.(Quran), but he still repented.
a) The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “By Allaah, I seek the forgiveness of Allaah and I turn to Him in repentance more than seventy times each day.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, no. 6307)
b) Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “I ask Allaah for forgiveness one hundred times a day.” (Muslim (2702) narrated from al-Agharr al-Muzani (may Allaah be pleased with him))
c) Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: We used to count when the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said in one sitting one hundred times: Rabb-ighfir li wa tubb ‘alayya, innaka anta al-tawaab al-raheem (Lord forgive me and accept my repentance, for You are the Accepter of repentance, the Most Merciful). (Narrated by Abu Dawood (1516), Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood)
► Lets re-evaluate ourselves:
Lets reevaluate ourselves and think who is in more need of Repentance these noble men mentioned above or us? Who have committed more sins, them or Us? The Muslim is vulnerable to making mistakes and sins. So he has to repent and seek forgiveness repeatedly.
O Muslims! Turn to the Ghaffar, turn to the Ghafoor, turn to the Rahman turn to the Raheem & when you do so Allah swt will accept your Repentance and Bless you in this world & Hearafter. that is the True Courageous man that is the real the Sinner.
May Allah swt Bless us to be among those who Repent for our Sins & Accept that Repentance and Resurrect us from the Day of Judgement in the company of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
Ameen
by- Abeer Fatima