Repent to Allah

All Praise is due to Allah, the Forgiver of sins, the Acceptor of repentance, the Most Severe in Punishing, and the Possessor of might. There is none worthy of being worshipped but Him, and to Him is the final destination. May prayers of blessings and peace be upon he whom Allah sent as a mercy to all that exists, our Prophet Muhammad (saas) and upon his family and all of his Companions. To Proceed:

Human Nature:

From the greatest bounties of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, is that the door of repentance has been opened to begin the journey of return; a journey that brings back broken hearts, pouring with tears and with humbled foreheads. Verily man was created weak Allah the Exalted says,

“And man was created weak.” (4:28)

Allah Forgives the Penitent Sinners

These desires lead man to that which is not good and thus, he performs evil deeds and commits sins before Allah. Therefore, he deserves Allah’s punishment. Yet, Allah is Gentle with His servants. He is Merciful to them, pardoning, overlooking and forgiving. However, the servant must have hope in Allah’s forgiveness. Indicative of his hope is seeking forgiveness from Allah and turning to Him in repentance. Encouraging penitence and repentance, Allah says:

“Say: ‘O My servants who have wronged themselves! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah, verily, Alllah forgives all sins. Truly, He is the Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (39:53)

And He (swt) revealed:

“Say:’O My servants who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah…’ (39:53

Allah also says,

“Inform my servants that I am the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful” (15:49)

Allah also says,

“Verily, Allah loves those who turn unto Him in repentance and He loves those who purify themselves.” (2:222)

It has been authenticated from the Prophet (saas) in a Hadeeth recorded by Imam Muslim that he said:

“Verily Allah extends His Hand during the night so that the one who sins during the day may repents, and He extends His Hand during the day so that the one who sins during the night may repent. (This continues) until the sun rises from its setting place (i.e. the west).” (Muslim no. 2759)

Pay careful attention my noble brother & sister to the favor of Allah for whoever turns to Him in repentance. The Messenger of Allah (saas) said,

“Those who repents from sin is just like who has no sins (Ibn Majah no. 4250 and At-Tabarnaee)

Repentance is for Now not Later

My Muslim brother, many of the people are involved in frivolities, play, deception and heedlessness. Then death comes to them suddenly while they are in this state. They do not find any opportunity to repent, to feel remorse, seek pardon, forgiveness, or recant to Allah while making repentance to Him. Therefore my brother, hurry to make repentance. For verily you do not know when your promised time will come to you. Yahyaa bin Mu’aath said, “I consider one of the greatest forms of misguidance to be one who is persistent in sins, hoping to be pardoned, yet he does not feel any sorrow for what he has done. He seeks the abode of those who are obedient by doing deeds of disobedience. He awaits the good reward without doing any (good) deeds. He hopes for something from Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, while committing transgressions. However, whoever loves Paradise will cut himself off from desires, and whoever fears the Fire will turn away from evil deeds.”

Oh you traveler upon the path of life! The struggle with the soul is a long struggle, and it is a path that is filled with things that are disliked and despised. It is a path that is difficult to walk along, containing many obstacles. Its taste is bitter and its touch is coarse. Therefore you should travel with the riders who repent until you end your journey in the Gardens of Delight (Paradise.)

Every One is in Need of Some Forgiveness.

My Muslim brother, all of us have sins and transgressions. None of us is free from error and mistakes. However, the best of us is he who hastens to repent and hurries to recant. He rushes to penitence and his eyes quickly shed tears. He is helped by the people of good, who are his true friends in this life and in the Hereafter. For verily, among the obligation of brotherhood for the sake of Allah is not letting the disobedient person continue in his disobedience. Rather he should be protected by his brothers. He is reminded and alerted of evil. He is not ignored and abandoned, and thus allowed to go astray and wind up in misery. What if he became sick or was afflicted by some calamity in the affairs of life, how would you deal with him and how would you help him? Yet the Hereafter is more important and more lasting.

Shaikh-ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyaah (May Allah have Mercy on him) said, “That which harms a person is the sin he does without repenting from it.”

However, whatever sin he repents from, he becomes better after the repentance than he was before committing the sin. O Muslim who fasts! Do not think that repentance is in abandoning the evil deeds and sins alone.

Rather, make effort to repent from leaving off the recommended deeds and continuous performance of good. So repent from your lapses in praying the recommended sunnah prayers. Repent from neglecting to pray the taraweeh and late night (Tahajuud) prayers. Repent from your stinginess and miserliness. Repent to Allah (swt) from your heedlessness and wasting your precious time.

Necessary Conditions

The Conditions of Repentance are Four:

1) Stopping the performance of the sin.
2) Feeling remorse and sorrow fro what you have done.
3) Firm resolve to never return to the sin .
4) Returning the rights to the people that they belong to, whether it be wealth or anything else.

Our condition in this life is between procrastination and wastefulness until death suddenly comes upon us in this state of heedlessness. Notice the state of some who prefer the shade to the sun, yet they do not prefer Paradise to the Hell-fire.

May Allah make you and I among those who when they make an error recant and repent. May He (swt) grant us sincere repentance before death, and overlook our shortcomings and our sins. May Allah forgive us, our parents and our brothers and sisters. May Allah send prayers of blessing and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad (saas), his family and his Companions.

By: Abdul Malik Mujahid