What is Sincere Repentance-(Tauba) a Question & Answer?
Question: How do you know if you are truly repentant? Because I always
feel bad for my sins & ask forgiveness - (all past sins) but then I
think 'am I only saying I'm sorry so I don't go to hell or because I'm
really sorry for it??'
Walaikum assalam,
Allah Most High says, "Turn towards Allah, O believers, every one of
you, so that you may be successful." (24:31)
And He says, "Ask your Lord for forgiveness and then turn in
repentance to Him," (11:3) and He says, "O you who believe! Turn in
sincere repentance to Allah." (66:8)
The Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace) said, "The one who
repents from sin is like the one who never sinned." [Ibn Maja (3240)]
He also said, "Remorse is repentance." [Ibn Maja (4242) and Ahmad (3387)]
Abu Hurayra (Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of
Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, "Allah will turn
towards anyone who turns in repentance before the sun rises from the
place it set." [Muslim]
Imam Barkawi, the great Ottoman Hanafi faqih, grammarian, and sufi,
defined repentance (tawba) in his Tariqa al-Muhammadiyya as,
"Going back from desire to sin, with the determination of not
returning to it, in exaltation of Allah and out of fear of His
punishment." [al-Bariqa fi Sharh al-Tariqa, 3.139]
The Conditions for Repentance
The conditions for repentance are well known:
Leaving the sin;
Remorse over having committed the sin;
Resolve never to return to the sin;
(If it relates to the rights of another person, then to) Return the
rights or property one wrongly took. [al-Bariqa fi Sharh al-Tariqa;
Riyad al-Salihin]
If these conditions are truly met, then one can expect one's sins to
be forgiven. However, one has to be very careful about how sincere one
is in fulfilling one's conditions. It is recommended to seek
forgiveness a lot, and to repent every time the sin comes to one's mind.
If one keeps repeating the sin, then one should find the root cause(s)
of the sin and eliminate them. For example, if one falls into a
certain sin because of the company one keeps, then it would be
necessary to either stop keeping their company, or to change the
nature of one's relationship with them.
So, what is true repentance?
Ibn Hajar mentioned that Qurtubi quoted 23 different definitions of
true repentance (al-tawba al-nasuh) in his tafsir. Ibn Hajar mentioned
the most important of these:
1. Umar's words (Allah be pleased with him) that it is, "To sin and
then never to return to it."
2. To hate the sin, and the seek forgiveness for it every time it
occurs to one, as Hasan al-Basri (Allah have mercy on him) said.
3. Qatada's words (Allah have mercy on him), "To be genuine and
truthful in one's repentance," which is what Imam Bukhari chose as the
definition of true repentance in his chapter heading.
4. To have sincerity in one's repentance.
5. To be concerned about one's repentance not being accepted.
6. To be such that it does not need repentance after it.
7. To be made out of fear and hope, and be accompanied by consistency
in worship.
8. Like the seventh, but with the added condition that one deserts
those who assisted one in sin.
9. That one's sin is between one's eyes. [f: That is, one does not
forget it.] [Ibn Hajar, Fath al-Bari]
Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
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{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom
(i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue
with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone
astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy
Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in
His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites
(men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I
am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if
Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of
camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever
calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who
follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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