Repentance is not a mere word. It is not an idea that would come and go and eventually fade away. It is not a blurry state devoid of significance. When man is determined to repent, he is rejecting his past. He is rejecting his evil inclinations, twisted perversions, criminal tendencies, lecherous fantasies, and mischievous dispositions. He looks forward to a future unimpeded by his previous severe sins. These sins open a door to Hell.
Sins are of two kinds. There are internal small sins. These include egotism, self-admiration, ill thinking, corrupt beliefs, and perverted concepts. They also include holding a grudge against Muslims and wishing them harm. There are also external small sins. These are committed against other individuals through some gestures. They are committed against the universe as a whole, including God’s creatures which He wanted us to sanctify.
A past burdened with sins creates a guilt-laden conscience. Present sins motivate believers to act responsibly. They must atone for past sins. Sin is only a lapse. It is an external factor or a temporary decline. It should be redeemed so it does not stand in the way of man’s future repentance.
Some perpetrators view sin and repentance in the same manner. Their sins have penetrated their hearts and minds. They swing back and forth from a state of sin to repentance. Unlike sin, which is a contingent external factor, repentance is a necessity. It is an innate proclivity. We ought not to commit a sin one day and repent afterwards. We ought not to repent and then commit the same sin again and again.
However, not all believers view repentance in such a manner. Some believe that repentance is an act of faith. It redresses perversions because faith is based on rectitude. Repentance springs from the will to change. It requires the strength to overpower the spirit’s yearnings. It is an act of empowering. Finally, repentance is a process of self-renewing. It renovates one’s stands that time has wearied out.
Repentance requires that all our future plans be set according to God’s will. If we act contrary to God’s demands, we will return to our past condition. We shall refrain from entertaining sinful thoughts. We shall refrain from pondering errant acts for the rest of our lives. Wherever man’s soul turns, except towards Allah, it is doomed to sorrow. As we renounce our sins, God draws us near Him. He becomes sweeter to us than all the alluring pleasures we have followed. He will draw us away from every temptation that might follow.
A repentant man calls upon God: "O God! My mind and heart are restless until they find peace in You. The remaining days of my life shall be a reconsideration of my past sins! I endeavor to draw myself nearer to You through Your remembrance. For verily, You have ordained for Your servants Your worship and commanded them to supplicate to You and have assured them of Your response. You, exalted be Your grace, have said in Your Holy Book: "And He it is who accepts repentance from His servants and pardons the bad deeds and knows what you do." (Surah Ash-Shura - 42:25) And: "Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves." (Surah Al-Baqarah - 2:222) And I pray that You accept my repentance as You have promised, and I entreat You by Your benevolence to draw me nearer to You. You have taught loyalty to Your servants, so how can they distrust what You have ordained upon Yourself."
On a personal level, I view repentance as concerning my whole being. My heart shall never deviate from God’s path. My fearful eye shall not behold what God forbade. My tongue shall never articulate words that instigate conflicts. It shall not encourage lechery and perversions that destroy our values. The issue involves all of our body organs. The function of each could be conducted in a permissible or an impermissible way. The heart repents perverted emotions, such as loving the enemies of God. The mind repents skeptic, dull, and infidel thoughts. It repents a distorted intellectual approach that contradicts the Islamic one. The eye repents an aggressive or a mocking look. The tongue repents articulating forbidden words. Every organ in the human body repents desires, yearnings, and criminal notions.
In such a repentance, my soul transcends. My body conducts itself with true Islamic behavior. All our organs will be free from the burden of guilt and vice. They will be free from the Divine chastisement. Our soul will rejoice in God’s infinite grace.
An excerpt from the book “At-Tawba Awda Ila Allah”
Repentance is not a mere word. It is not an idea that would come and go and eventually fade away. It is not a blurry state devoid of significance. When man is determined to repent, he is rejecting his past. He is rejecting his evil inclinations, twisted perversions, criminal tendencies, lecherous fantasies, and mischievous dispositions. He looks forward to a future unimpeded by his previous severe sins. These sins open a door to Hell.
Sins are of two kinds. There are internal small sins. These include egotism, self-admiration, ill thinking, corrupt beliefs, and perverted concepts. They also include holding a grudge against Muslims and wishing them harm. There are also external small sins. These are committed against other individuals through some gestures. They are committed against the universe as a whole, including God’s creatures which He wanted us to sanctify.
A past burdened with sins creates a guilt-laden conscience. Present sins motivate believers to act responsibly. They must atone for past sins. Sin is only a lapse. It is an external factor or a temporary decline. It should be redeemed so it does not stand in the way of man’s future repentance.
Some perpetrators view sin and repentance in the same manner. Their sins have penetrated their hearts and minds. They swing back and forth from a state of sin to repentance. Unlike sin, which is a contingent external factor, repentance is a necessity. It is an innate proclivity. We ought not to commit a sin one day and repent afterwards. We ought not to repent and then commit the same sin again and again.
However, not all believers view repentance in such a manner. Some believe that repentance is an act of faith. It redresses perversions because faith is based on rectitude. Repentance springs from the will to change. It requires the strength to overpower the spirit’s yearnings. It is an act of empowering. Finally, repentance is a process of self-renewing. It renovates one’s stands that time has wearied out.
Repentance requires that all our future plans be set according to God’s will. If we act contrary to God’s demands, we will return to our past condition. We shall refrain from entertaining sinful thoughts. We shall refrain from pondering errant acts for the rest of our lives. Wherever man’s soul turns, except towards Allah, it is doomed to sorrow. As we renounce our sins, God draws us near Him. He becomes sweeter to us than all the alluring pleasures we have followed. He will draw us away from every temptation that might follow.
A repentant man calls upon God: "O God! My mind and heart are restless until they find peace in You. The remaining days of my life shall be a reconsideration of my past sins! I endeavor to draw myself nearer to You through Your remembrance. For verily, You have ordained for Your servants Your worship and commanded them to supplicate to You and have assured them of Your response. You, exalted be Your grace, have said in Your Holy Book: "And He it is who accepts repentance from His servants and pardons the bad deeds and knows what you do." (Surah Ash-Shura - 42:25) And: "Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves." (Surah Al-Baqarah - 2:222) And I pray that You accept my repentance as You have promised, and I entreat You by Your benevolence to draw me nearer to You. You have taught loyalty to Your servants, so how can they distrust what You have ordained upon Yourself."
On a personal level, I view repentance as concerning my whole being. My heart shall never deviate from God’s path. My fearful eye shall not behold what God forbade. My tongue shall never articulate words that instigate conflicts. It shall not encourage lechery and perversions that destroy our values. The issue involves all of our body organs. The function of each could be conducted in a permissible or an impermissible way. The heart repents perverted emotions, such as loving the enemies of God. The mind repents skeptic, dull, and infidel thoughts. It repents a distorted intellectual approach that contradicts the Islamic one. The eye repents an aggressive or a mocking look. The tongue repents articulating forbidden words. Every organ in the human body repents desires, yearnings, and criminal notions.
In such a repentance, my soul transcends. My body conducts itself with true Islamic behavior. All our organs will be free from the burden of guilt and vice. They will be free from the Divine chastisement. Our soul will rejoice in God’s infinite grace.
An excerpt from the book “At-Tawba Awda Ila Allah”