Repentance

"Al-Fudayl also said, "Seeking forgiveness without giving up the sin is the repentance of liars. Rabiah al-Adawiya remarked, "Our seeking forgiveness needs much seeking forgiveness." Some wise people observed, “Whoever seeks forgiveness without regret is mocking Allah, the Exalted, while he does not realize it. A Bedouin was heard clinging to the curtains of the Kaaba, saying, "O Allah, truly my seeking forgiveness while persisting is a betrayal, and abandoning seeking Your forgiveness while knowing Your vast pardon is weakness."

""The one who seeks forgiveness from a sin while persisting in it is like one who mocks the signs of Allah. Some would say, "I seek Allah's forgiveness from saying 'I seek Allah's forgiveness. It is said, "Seeking forgiveness with the tongue is the repentance of liars. Rabi'a al-Adawiya said, "Our seeking forgiveness itself needs a great deal of seeking forgiveness."

"I seek the forgiveness of Allah and repent to Him in a day seventy times," even though his past and future sins were forgiven. He also mentioned, "Indeed, there is a veil upon my heart, and I seek the forgiveness of Allah a hundred times in a day." The Prophet, peace be upon him, advised, "Whoever says, when retiring to bed, 'I seek forgiveness of Allah, the Almighty, Whom there is none worthy of worship except Him, the Living, the Sustainer, and I repent to Him' three times, Allah will forgive him his sins even if they were as much as the foam of the sea, the grains of sand in a desert, the leaves of trees, or the days of the world."

"Hudhayfah once said, "I was sharp-tongued with my family, so I said, 'O Messenger of Allah, I fear my tongue will lead me to the Fire. The Prophet, peace be upon him, replied, 'Where are you from seeking forgiveness? Indeed, I seek the forgiveness of Allah a hundred times in a day.'" 'A'isha, may Allah be pleased with her, reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said to her, "If you commit a sin, seek Allah’s forgiveness and repent to Him, for repentance from sin is regret and asking for forgiveness.""

"He said: "Allah the Exalted says: 'O My servants, you all sin by day and by night, and I forgive all sins, so ask Me for forgiveness and I will forgive you. And whoever knows that I have the power to forgive him, I forgive him, and it does not bother Me.'" The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Whoever says, 'Glory be to You, I have wronged myself and committed an evil deed, so forgive me, for no one forgives sins except You,' his sins will be forgiven, even if they were numerous as the froth of the sea.""

"Seeking forgiveness using the names found in the Qur'an is preferable, such as saying, "I seek forgiveness from God, He is indeed oft-forgiving. I seek forgiveness from God, He is indeed oft-returning in mercy. O Lord, forgive and have mercy, for You are the best of the merciful ones. So forgive us and have mercy upon us, for You are the best of the merciful ones. So forgive us and have mercy upon us, for You are the best of forgivers.""

"One of them said, "I know the moment when God will forgive me. It was asked, "And when is that? He replied, "When He accepts my repentance." Another said, "I fear being denied repentance more than being denied forgiveness, for forgiveness unfailingly follows repentance." It is narrated that in the Children of Israel, there was a young man who worshipped God for twenty years, and then disobeyed Him for twenty years."

"Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful. And return in repentance to your Lord. He commands turning back to Him. Allah further says, "I am surely forgiving for those who repent, believe, do righteous deeds, and then remain guided. When one anticipates forgiveness alongside repentance, he is hopeful; but if he expects forgiveness while persisting in sin, he is deluded."

"Some of the companions would say, "We had two securities; one has departed, which was the presence of the Messenger among us, and the seeking of forgiveness remains. If it leaves, we are doomed. We say that the seeking forgiveness which is the repentance of liars is seeking forgiveness merely with the tongue without the heart having a share in it, as one says out of habit and heedlessness, "I seek Allah's forgiveness," and as one says upon hearing the description of the fire, "We seek refuge with Allah from it" without the heart being affected by it."

""A servant committed a sin and said, 'O Lord, I have sinned, so forgive me. In another narration, "A servant committed a sin and said," and continued. The hadith, "Even if a servant's sins reach the clouds of the sky, if he seeks My forgiveness, I forgive him," was reported by al-Tirmidhi from the narration of Anas. "O son of Adam, if your sins reached the clouds of the sky, and then you asked for My forgiveness, I would forgive you," and it was considered good by him."

"Rabi'a al-Adawiya said, "Our seeking forgiveness itself needs a great deal of seeking forgiveness. Know that there are reports on the virtue of seeking forgiveness beyond count, mentioned in the Book of Supplications and Invocations, to the extent that Allah coupled seeking forgiveness with the presence of the Messenger, peace be upon him, saying, "And Allah would not punish them while you are among them; and Allah would not punish them while they seek forgiveness."

"Another report suggests that a wise person should have four times: a time to account for oneself. Allah said: "And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed. Repentance involves contemplating one's actions after their completion with regret. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "I seek Allah's forgiveness and repent to Him one hundred times a day."

"has chosen for his message and spoken with directly, I am a creation among Allah's creations. I sinned, and I wish to repent. Intercede for me to your Lord to accept my repentance. Moses agreed. When Moses ascended the mountain and spoke to his Lord, the Almighty, and was about to descend, Allah said to him, Fulfill the trust. Moses replied, O Lord, your servant Iblis wishes for you to accept his repentance. Allah revealed to Moses, O Moses, your request has been granted once before. Command him to prostrate himself at Adam's grave, and his repentance shall be accepted. Moses then met Iblis and conveyed Allah's command. Iblis, however,"

"﴿And during the night, pray with it﴾: a command, ﴿and at dawn they seek forgiveness﴾: gratitude, ﴿and those who seek forgiveness at dawn﴾: remembrance. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: «There are three voices that Allah, Exalted is He, loves: the voice of the rooster, the voice of the one who recites the Qur'an, and the voice of those who seek forgiveness at dawn.» Sufyan al-Thawri, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 'Indeed, Allah, Exalted is He, created a wind that blows at the time of dawn, carrying the remembrances and seeking of forgiveness to the Mighty King.'"

"Yet, none of this alerts us or takes us out from the valleys of our delusions and false hopes. This is nothing but a tremendous trial unless Allah bestows His favor upon us with sincere repentance, to reach us and shelter us. We ask Allah Almighty to grant us repentance; rather, we ask Him to stir the depths of our hearts toward repentance and not to let the movement of the tongue in asking for repentance be our ultimate fortune, lest we become of those who say and do not act, who hear and do not accept."

"The Prophet said, "Whenever you return, seek forgiveness from your Lord three or four times. The man should seek forgiveness until Shaytan is completely dispirited. In this narration, Abu Badr Yasar ibn al-Hakam al-Misri is mentioned, who is considered to have unreliable narrations. It is also reported from the hadith of 'Uqbah ibn 'Amir: If one of us commits a sin, it is recorded, but if he seeks forgiveness and repents, it is forgiven and repentance is accepted."

"from God what you do not know I know that Allah will reunite me with Joseph and my eyes will find rest in seeing him and he will show me through him what will delight me at that time they said oh our father ask forgiveness for our sins indeed we were sinners they requested him to ask Allah most glorious and majestic to forgive them for what they had done against him and his son and what they had intended since their intention was to repent before the act Allah guided them to seek forgiveness once that had occurred their father responded to their request saying I will ask forgiveness for you from my lord indeed he is the forgiving the merciful Ibn Masud Ibrahim al-Taymi"

"Another narration from Mujahid mentions the words as '' O Allah there is no Deity except you, glory be to you, with your praise, O Lord, I have wronged myself, so forgive me for indeed, you are the Best of forgivers, O Allah, there is no Deity except you, glory be to you, with your praise, O Lord, I have wronged myself, so forgive me for indeed, you are the Best of the merciful, O Allah, there is no Deity except you, glory be to you, with your praise, O Lord, I have wronged myself, so forgive me for indeed, you are the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful.'' Al-Hakim narrated through Sa'id Ibn Jubair from Ibn Abbas regarding the verse."

"established in the authentic hadith from the messenger of Allah peace be upon him that he said our Lord descends every night to the lowest heaven asking is there anyone repenting so I can accept his repentance is there anyone asking so I can give him is there anyone seeking forgiveness so I can forgive him it is also reported in another hadith that Jacob postponed praying for his sons until the night of Friday Ibn Abbas narrated from the messenger of Allah peace be upon him that I will ask forgiveness for you from my lord means until the night of Friday this statement is attributed to Jacob and while its"

"Allah also speaks of His forbearance and mercy towards His creations and His benevolence, by accepting the repentance of those who return to Him in repentance, as He says, But those who committed misdeeds and then repented afterward and believed, Indeed, your Lord after that is forgiving, merciful. However, Allah did not accept the repentance of those who worshipped the calf, except by means of execution, as He states. And when Musa said to his people, O my people, you have wronged yourselves by taking the calf, so repent to your Creator and kill yourselves."

"narrator of fabrications, and ibn A'idi as having a questionable reputation. The saying, Adam received from his Lord words, and he accepted his repentance, indeed he is the acceptor of repentance, the merciful, is interpreted as Adam saying, Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if you do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we will surely be among the losers, as narrated by several early scholars. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, Adam, peace be upon him, said, O Lord, if I repent and return, will I be returned to Paradise?"

"He said, Yes, this is related to the verse. So Adam received from his Lord words, and he accepted his repentance. Mujahid narrated that the words were, O Allah, there is no deity but you, glory be to you, with your praise. O Lord, I have wronged myself, so forgive me, indeed you are the best of those who show mercy. O Allah, there is no deity but you, glory be to you, with your praise. O Lord, I have wronged myself, so accept my repentance, indeed you are the acceptor of repentance, the merciful."

"heaven and says, Is there anyone who repents, so that I may accept his repentance? Is there anyone who asks, so that I may give to him? Is there anyone seeking forgiveness, so that I may forgive him? It is mentioned in a hadith that Jacob delayed his sons until the night of Friday. Ibn Jarir reported from Ibn Abbas, from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, that Jacob said, I will seek forgiveness for you from my Lord, meaning until the night of Friday."

"This too is not repentance from repentance, but rather repentance from the lack of repentance. The portion of repentance that exists is an act of obedience that should not be repented from, while the missing portion is what requires repentance. Repentance from repentance can only be understood in one of these two ways."

"The type coupled with repentance is illustrated by اللّٰه's words: "Seek forgiveness from your Lord and then repent to Him, He will let you enjoy a good provision for a specified term and give every doer of favor his favor." And the words of هُود to his people: "Seek forgiveness from your Lord and then repent to Him, He will send rain from the sky upon you in continuing showers." And the words of صَالِح to his people: "He has produced you from the earth and settled you in it, so seek forgiveness of Him and then repent to Him."

"the servitude of enjoining good and forbidding evil, the servitude of patience, opposing desires, and preferring the pleasures of the Lord over one's own desires. Another form of servitude is repentance, returning to Him, and seeking His forgiveness. Indeed, He, the Exalted, loves those who repent and loves their repentance. If the causes for repentance were absent, the servitude of repentance and seeking forgiveness would be inactive."

"This is an illogical statement and not correct in itself. There might be a flaw, deficiency, or impediment in the repentance that prevents its perfection. The person may or may not be aware of this, and they should repent from the deficiency in their repentance and from not fulfilling its rights. This too is not repentance from repentance, but rather repentance from the lack of repentance."

"What they repent from might be considered among the greatest good deeds of others. In summary, the repentance of the true lovers who are knowledgeable of their Lord and His rights is the true repentance, while others are veiled from it. Beyond this is another repentance, which we should turn away from discussing. Chapter: The author of "Al-Manazil" explains that the station of repentance is not fully realized until one repents from everything other than the Truth, perceives the cause of repentance, and then repents from even seeing that cause."

"Sins cause the aversion of them to be removed from the heart. One of the most alarming effects of sins on a person is that they weaken the heart's resolve to repent. Over time, the desire for sin increases, while the desire for repentance diminishes, until the urge to repent is completely gone. Even if faced with severe consequences, the person might not turn back to God. They may engage in verbal repentance and seek forgiveness superficially, yet their heart remains attached to sin, eager to commit it whenever possible. This is one of the gravest ailments, leading to destruction. Among these effects is that the aversion to"

"The effects of His displeasure pass away swiftly; He, glorified be He, may efface them by pardon and overlooking, and they pass away through repentance, through seeking forgiveness, through righteous deeds, through afflictions that expiate, through intercession, and through good deeds that drive away evil ones. Were a servant's sins to reach the clouds of heaven, and then he sought His forgiveness, He would forgive him; and were he to meet Him with sins nearly filling the earth, and then meet Him associating nothing with Him, He would come to him with forgiveness nearly as vast."

"When he finished these acts and approached المَدِينَة, he would say: "Returning, repenting, praising our Lord." He also established the practice of concluding gatherings with seeking forgiveness. It is recommended for a person to end their day with seeking forgiveness, saying at bedtime, "I seek forgiveness from اللّٰه, there is no deity but Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer, and I repent to Him," and to sleep with the master of seeking forgiveness."

"The Messenger of اللّٰه, peace be upon him, would seek forgiveness three times after completing his prayer. اللّٰه has commanded His servants to seek forgiveness after completing the pilgrimage and praised them for seeking forgiveness after standing in prayer at night. The Prophet, peace be upon him, prescribed repentance and seeking forgiveness after purification."

"Among them is deprivation of the supplication of the messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and the supplication of the angels. For Allah, the exalted, commanded his prophet to seek forgiveness for the believing men and women. Allah says, Those who carry the throne and those who are around it glorify the praises of their Lord and believe in him, and ask forgiveness for those who have believed, saying, Our Lord, you comprehend all things in mercy and knowledge, so forgive those who repent and follow your path, and protect them from the punishment of the blazing fire."

"Among them are those whose descent is into sin, whether minor or major. Such individuals require sincere repentance and true return to regain their previous rank. There is a dispute among people. Does one return to their original rank after repentance, since repentance erases the trace of sin and makes its absence equivalent to its non-existence, as if the sin had never happened? Or does one not return because the effect of repentance is in dropping the punishment, while the level missed is not reached?"

"leave them, glorified be He, persisting in them; rather He would grant them sincere repentance, seeking of forgiveness, and good deeds that efface the traces of those sins. Their being singled out with this, unlike others, is because this was realized in them and because they are among the forgiven. Nor does this exclude that forgiveness came about through causes arising from them; just as it does not entail that they abandon the obligatory duties in reliance upon forgiveness."