Repentance in Islam

Introduction

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, “All children of Adam do commit sins, and the best of sinners are those who repent.” [Tirmidhi (2499), Ibn Majah (4251), Ahmad (13049)]

Man by nature is weak; he is weak in his aim and resolution and is unable to bear the consequences of his sins and misdeeds. So, Allah, out of kindness, makes matters easy for man, and He prescribed for him repentance.

The Nature and Essence of Repentance in Islam

The essence of repentance is to abandon the sin because of its ugliness—out of fear of Allah and out of desire for His mercy—to regret what one has done, to determine not to go back to the sin again, and to spend whatever is left of one’s life in good deeds.

As you can see, repentance is a deed of the heart that is pure between the slave and His Lord. It is neither a challenging nor difficult job for him; it is just a deed of the heart to abandon the sin and not to go back to it. There are, in abstention from all that Allah forbade, well-being and peace of mind.

You do not need to repent at the hand of a man who will reveal your secret and manipulate your weakness. It is only a communication between you and your Lord; you seek His forgiveness and guidance, and He forgives you. There is nothing like inherited sin in Islam, nor is there anything like an expected savior of mankind.

An Austrian Jewish revert to Islam, Muhammad Asad, once said, “I could not find in the Quran any mention of man’s need for salvation. In Islam, there is no concept of the first inherited sin that stands between man and his fate, because Islam does not require man to present a sacrifice or kill himself to have the door of repentance opened for him and to be saved from sins. (Road to Islam by Muhammad Asad, p. 140)

Allah Almighty says the following:

1. “No burdened person (with sins) shall bear the burden (sins) of another.” (Holy Quran 53:38)

2. “Man can have nothing but what he does (good or bad).” (Holy Quran 53:39)

The Benefits and Impacts of Repentance

Repentance has great benefits and impacts. Firstly, it makes man know the expansiveness of Allah’s forbearance and magnanimity in concealing his misdeeds. Had He willed, He would have hastened to punish him and humiliate him in front of the people so that he would not be able to live comfortably with them. However, Allah Almighty honored him by concealing his sins, covering him with his forbearance, and endowing him with energy, provision, and sustenance.

Secondly, repentance lets him know his real self, that it is inclined to evil, and whatever comes from it, be it sins, misdeeds, or negligence, is an indication of forbidden desires—and that it cannot dispense with Allah—not even for a twinkle of an eye—for its purification and guidance.

God Almighty prescribes repentance to seek with it the greatest causes of happiness for man, which is creating refuge with Allah and seeking his assistance, and also to bring about different kinds of supplication: showing one’s submission and helplessness to Allah and showing one’s love for Allah and showing one’s fear of and hope in Him. Then, the soul moves closer to its Creator in a special way that will not occur without repentance and submitting to Allah Almighty.

Fourthly, it makes Allah forgive him his past sins. God says, “Say (O Muhammad) to those who have disbelieved, if they cease (from disbelief), their past will be forgiven.” (Holy Quran 8:38)

Also, it makes one’s evil deeds be converted into good ones. Allah Almighty says, “Except those who repent and believe and do righteous deeds; for those, Allah will change their sins into good deeds, and Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most-Merciful.” (Holy Quran 25:70)

It enables him to treat his fellow human beings when they do evil to him as he would love Allah to treat him as regards his own misdeeds and sins, for recompense is in accordance with the type of deed. Consequently, if he treats people in this beneficial manner, Allah will also treat him in the like manner, and Allah will be kind to him regardless of his evil deeds and sins, just as he is with his fellow human beings.

Lastly, it enables him to know that he is full of faults and defects; such knowledge will make him refrain from speaking about the faults of other people and will make him be preoccupied with reforming his own self instead of thinking about the faults of others.

Conclusion

I would like to conclude this section with the story of a man who encountered the Prophet (PBUH) and said, “O Messengers of Allah! I have not left any small or big sin, but I had committed it.” The Messenger of Allah said, “Don’t you testify that there is no other deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah?” He asked him this question three times, and the man answered each time, ‘Yes.’ He then said, “Your testimony has erased all that (you have committed of sins).” (Reported by Aboo Ya’laa, At-Tabaraanee, and Al-Maqdisee)

Islam, therefore, erases whatever sin one might have committed, and sincere repentance also erases whatever sin one might have committed, as authentically reported from Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).