Allah says in the Holy Quran:
[su_quote]Do not despair of God’s mercy; He will forgive you of all your sins[/su_quote] (Quran, 39:53).
As a human, we are not free of sins and mistakes. We are always prone to making mistakes and stray from the right path. Allah SWT who is our creator is well aware of our fragility. Allah knows that there are always chances that we lose the right path for a while, so he turns for us at every moment of life through which we can turn to him.
This is “Tawbah” which means repentance. Repentance is a sure path to forgiveness. After committing a sin, a person who fears Allah (SWT) would feel a sense of grief and misery. Allah SWT loves his people so he is always ready to forgive people who feel grief and misery over their mistakes and sins.
The verse mentioned in the opening of this essay concludes that only through repentance, one can wipe out misconducts and sins committed in the past. Through repentance, one can make sure to feel free from the guilt of his/her burden of past sins and mistakes. In another verse of the Holy Quran, Allah Almighty says:
[su_quote]And He wishes to forgive you[/su_quote] (Quran, 4:146)
In Islam, we must do Tawbah which means repentance. Tawbah is an Arabic word which means “to turn”. Tawbah is to turn towards Allah in obedience (with regret) after having disobeyed Him. Tawbah is of great importance in Islam for faithful Muslims. It is an opportunity to get away from all sins and get closer to Allah S.W.T anytime till the last breath. It washes away your wrongful acts.
There are some conditions for repentance:
- Repentance should be sincere
- The repentant must feel guilty about his previous sins.
- Repentant must be faithful and willing to avoid sins next time.
- Repentance should be free from excuses and hypocrisy or duplicity. Allah Almighty says in Quran:
[su_quote]Surely, Allah loves those people who constantly repent to Him (do Tawbah to Him).[/su_quote] (Quran, 2:222)
Our beloved Prophet Hazrat Mohammed Peace be upon him (SAW) ordered us to do Tawbah regularly. He said:
[su_quote]O mankind! Do Tawbah (repent) to Allah and seek His forgiveness, for sure, I do so 100 times every single day.[/su_quote] (Sahih Muslim).
It is part of human nature that we commit sins, mistakes, knowingly, and unknowingly. Allah is aware of the nature of His creatures so That is because Tawbah is actually one of the purposes of our creation as human beings. It is part of our human nature that we commit sins, mistakes, and errors. But this is so through repentance that we can return to Allah and seek His forgiveness.
Allah is so close to us and he knows our intentions so we should never hesitate to return to Allah in repentance. No matter, how severe and numerous sins we have committed in the past. Allah, the All-merciful and all-forgiving will never disappoint you if you turn to Him for forgiveness.
Repentance is a dual approach be as it makes us recognize and regret our sins upon which Allah promises to forgive them. Islam expects Muslims to realize their mistakes, sins, and shortcomings, and to seek Allah’s Forgiveness by doing repentance.
It is the nature of a good person that whenever he commits sin, he/she become restless and won’t find peace. The inner self of a good person would never find peace until do repenting, crying, being regretful, and constantly revert upon sin. These people are one of them who repent to Allah by doing tawbah and Astaghfar.
Conditions for Repentance
Repentance is not about saying a few words. It takes a sincere apology to be accepted? We should take the following steps to repentance:
- Stop doing the sin or mistake immediately
- Regretting over the sins one has committed in past
- Return to Allah (SWT) for forgiveness
- Make a strong intention to not repeat the same sin again
- Have faith in Allah Almighty that He is Most Forgiving and the Most Merciful
To summarize all this, we can say that it’s never too late to repent the sins you have committed before, there is always a way to repent and start a new life again. Always have faith in Allah (SWT), and fear his displeasure and love Him for His mercy. Allah Almighty is the Most Merciful and Most Forgiving. If we read the Quran Allah says:
[su_quote]Those (are the true believers) who, when they commit an evil deed, or wrong their souls, remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins – and who but Allah forgives sins? They do not insist upon the sins they have committed, and they know (that Allah is forgiving).[/su_quote] (Quran 3:135)
May Allah (SWT) keeps all on our journey in life through the right path Ameen!
