Repentance in Islam

Etymology

The literal meaning of the Arabic word tawba is "to return" and is repeated in the Qur'an and hadith (sayings of the Islamic prophet Muhammad). In the context of Islam, it means to turn or to retreat from past sinful and evil activities, and to firmly resolve to abstain from them in future.{{cite book | author-link=Mufti

In Islamic scripture

Quran

In the Quran, there is a complete surah (chapter) titled At-Tawba, which means "The Repentance". As with other topics, the act of atoning (for one's misdeeds) and seeking God's forgiveness has also been discussed in the Qur’an, and given much importance. For those believers who have wronged themselves, the Qur'an asks them to become repentant, seek Allah's forgiveness, and make a sincere tawba. It assures them that if they do this, God will forgive them, and exonerate them from their misdeeds:

However, repentance is not accepted from those who knowingly persist in sin until they start dying, and then cry, "Now I repent!" nor those who die as disbelievers. For them We have prepared a painful punishment.|}}

The Qur'an also addresses the disbelievers and urges them to turn to God, upon which God promises to pardon them:

And whoever repents and does good has truly turned to Allah properly.|}}

''Sunnah''

Like Quran, the hadith also mentions and stresses the importance of tawba:

• In Sunan al-Tirmidhi, a Hadith is narrated:
• In Sunan Ibn Majah It was narrated that
• Jami` at-Tirmidhi (In-book reference : Book 40, Hadith 20). Narrated Abu Hurairah: Mohammed (ﷺ) said: "The adulterer is not a believer while he is committing adultery, and the thief is not a believer while he is stealing, but there is a chance for repentance; (if he repents, Allah will accept the repentance)."
• In Sahih al-Bukhari, Anas ibn Malik narrates:

• In Sahih Muslim, Abu Ayyub al-Ansari and Abu Huraira narrate:

• In Sahih Bukhari, Abu Said Al-Khudri narrates:

• In [Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim narrated Abdullah ibn Masud,

• In Sahih Muslim narrated Anas ibn Malik,

Theological viewpoints

Since the issue of tawba or repentance arises from Islamic religious context, it can be understood well when discussed from that perspective.

Repentance to Allah alone

Islam does not view any human being as being infallible. Any human being can be subject to errors, Allah being the only perfect one. Thus the sole authority for the forgiveness of any human being corresponds to Allah. Muslims deny the authority of men to listen to another person's confessions and then pronounce him forgiven of his sin. Likewise repenting to anyone besides Allah is forbidden. The Quran states:

{{transliteration|ar|Tawbah}}

{{transliteration|ar|Tawbah}} and the benevolence of Allah

Sincere ar is always accepted by Allah. In the Qu'ran, it is written:

In numerous verses of the Quran, Allah describes himself as being extremely generous, merciful, and forgiving towards his creations. In verse 22 of sura Al-Hashr, for example, he assures: "He is Allah besides Whom there is no God; the Knower of the unseen and the seen; He is the Beneficent, the Merciful".

The use of the verse "In the name of Allah, the Benevolent, the Merciful" at the beginning of every ar (except one) further testifies to this fact. According to the Quran and Hadith, Allah's overarching mercy permits even the gravest sins to be pardoned by him, provided the wrongdoer intends a sincere ar.

ar is an unforgivable sin if one dies without repenting from it:

As such, becoming hopeless of the mercy of Allah is prohibited. The Quran declares:

Again, God says to the believers in a ar:

Conditions of {{transliteration|ar|tawbah}}

According to Islamic Sharia, when an act of ar is performed by a Muslim, Allah generally accepts it. However, that ar should be sincere and true. Islamic scholars agree upon the fact that if a person is not ashamed of their past misdeeds, or does not intend to forsake those, then their verbal announcement of ar is an open mockery of repentance.

Mere verbal repentance does not account for a true ar. A sincere ar has some criteria. Ali was asked as to what is ar, and he replied that ar consists of six elements:

1. to regret one's past evil deeds;
2. to carry out divine duties (ar, ar etc.) that were missed;
3. to return the rights/properties of others that were usurped unjustly;
4. to ask forgiveness of a person who has been wronged by him, physically or verbally;
5. to make a firm resolve of avoiding the sin in future; and
6. to employ oneself in Allah's obedience, as he previously employed himself in Allah's disobedience.

In Islamic sharia, ar is a twofold approach: a person first should be able to recognize and forsake their sins upon which Allah promises to forgive them. Islam expects Muslims to realize their mistakes and shortcomings, and to seek his forgiveness. Forgiveness for one's sins is not something that comes automatically; it is something that must be sought for, with sincereness and true devotion. Becoming indifferent to one's sins is seen as dangerous. Muhammad said:

Another important perspective on repentance in Islam is that a person should always seek God's forgiveness even when they are not apparently guilty of any particular sin. This is because there are many subtle natures of sin involving immorality which escape notice, and also because it is a Muslim's duty to turn towards God.

• In hadith, Muhammad asked people to seek Allah's forgiveness: "O people, seek repentance from Allah. Verily, I seek repentance from Him a hundred times a day."
• In Islamic sharia, submission to Allah is necessary not only for achieving God's forgiveness, but also for being worthy of entering into paradise. Muhammad said: "Do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately, and receive good news because one's good deeds will not make him enter Paradise." The companions asked, "Even you, O Allah's Apostle?" He said, "Even I, unless and until Allah bestows His pardon and Mercy on me."

Turning away from ''tawba''

1. Postponement of tawbah according to Islam was seen as a great sin.

Opinions of scholars

Shaykh Abdur Razzaq Al-Badr said, Ibn Qayyim says: "Sins inevitably take away blessings. No servant commits a sin except that a blessing from Allah is taken away from him in proportion to that sin. If he repents and returns to it, it or something similar is returned to him. But if he persists in it, it is not returned to him. Sins continue to take away one blessing after another until all blessings are taken away. Allah the Almighty says: "Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves." (Ar-Ra'd: 11) In short, sins are the fire of blessings, devouring them just as fire devours wood."

Notes

References

References

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