Class 2
REPENTANCE
REPENTANCE
ۚ وَتُوبُوٓاْ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تُفۡلِحُونَ
"And O believers, all of you, repent to Allah in order that you may be successful." [Al-Qur'an 24:31]
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلتَّوَّٲبِينَ وَيُحِبُّ ٱلۡمُتَطَهِّرِينَ
"Verily, Allah loves those who repent and those who purify themselves." [Al-Qur'an 2:222]
يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ تُوبُوٓاْ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ تَوۡبَةً۬ نَّصُوحًا عَسَىٰ رَبُّكُمۡ
"O you who believe! Turn to Allah in sincere repentance!" [Al-Qur'an 66:8]
Repentance is returning from such a thing that is despised by Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, in its appearance and concealment. It is turning to such a thing that pleases Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala in its appearance and concealment. The real meaning of Tawbah [repentance] is to return. It is said that he who turns away from opposition, out of shyness for Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala and fearing His punishment, is indeed the real repentant. Repentance is Fard ‘Ayn on every Muslim, as proven from the Qur’an, Sunnah and Ijma [consensus of Muslim scholars].
A Muslim’s faith may become weak and he may be overwhelmed by his desires. The Shaytaan may make sin attractive to him, so he wrongs himself (commits sin) and falls into that which Allaah has forbidden. But Allaah is Kind to His slaves, and His mercy encompasses all things. Whoever repents after doing wrong, Allaah will accept his repentance, for Allaah is Forgiving and Merciful.
“But whosoever repents after his crime and does righteous good deeds (by obeying Allaah), then verily, Allaah will pardon him (accept his repentance). Verily, Allaah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful” [al-Maa’idah 5:39 – interpretation of the meaning]
“O you who believe! Turn to Allaah with sincere repentance! It may be that your Lord will expiate from you your sins, and admit you into Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise)” [al-Tahreem 66:8]
The gate of repentance is open to His slaves, until the sun rises from the west. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Allaah spreads out His Hand at night to accept the repentance of those who did wrong during the day, and He spreads out His Hand during the day to accept the repentance of those who did wrong during the night. (This will continue) until the sun rises from the west.” (Narrated by Muslim, no. 2759)
O my brother who has fallen into sins, do not despair from the mercy of your Lord, for indeed the door to repentance is open until the sun rises from the west.
And how many people have repented to Allah from numerous and enormous sins and Allah has accepted their repentance? Allah says: "And those who do not supplicate to another god along with Allah, nor do they kill a person that Allah has made forbidden (to kill) except with just cause, nor do they commit fornication. And whoever does this shall receive the punishment. The torment will be doubled for him on the Day of Resurrection and he will abide therein in disgrace. Except those who repent and believe and do righteous deeds, for those, Allah will change their sins into good deeds. And Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful." [Al-Qur'an 25:68-70]
Allah commands us to repent so that He might forgive us. But the devils among mankind and the jinn want to turn people away from the truth and make them incline towards falsehood, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Allaah wishes to accept your repentance, but those who follow their lusts, wish that you (believers) should deviate tremendously away (from the Right Path)” [al-Nisaa’4:27]
Repentance is obligatory
In the ayaat quoted above [al-Tahreem 66:8] & [Al-Qur'an 24:31], we find clear instruction for the believers to repent. It is the evidence for Tawbah being obligatory. And it is also the proof that repentance is not only for the disobedient and those who mix good deeds with bad deeds because Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala is addressing the People of Emaan [faith]: O believers.
And that thing which additionally makes repentance obligatory is the statement of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, “And whoever does not repent – then it is those who are the wrongdoers.” [al-Hujarat 49: 11]
From here He divides His servants into two categories: one repentant [ta’ib] and the other unjust [zalim]; when injustice is haram [impermissible] than Tawbah becomes mandatory.
In fact, when one does not repent he is committing an injustice against himself. The remorse of sin takes over us, when we don’t turn to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, the guilt takes the form of depression. Through Tawbah, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala wants us to free ourselves from misery and pain. But man falls for Satanic traps and does not think of repentance.
Believers Repent unlike Iblees
“Every son of Adam is a sinner, the best is those who repent” (Authentic Hadeeth in Ibn Majah) So every one of sins but the true believers are those who repent. Iblees on the other hand, did not confess his sin; he insisted on it, protested and argued with Allah trying to justify his sinful act. This is the crux of the matter that when one transgresses a limit set by Allah, he should admit it to be a sin and wrongdoing on his part, and not try to justify his fault like for example those who deal in Riba. They use arguments like the world has changed, everybody deals with interest nowadays or fixed interest is a universal scheme these days and as such there is nothing wrong in dealing with Riba.
We say to them, “Do not be arrogant and try to justify your wrongdoing. Do not say Riba is not haraam (forbidden), but humble yourself to Allah and seek forgiveness for your sin and confess your weakness and negligence in complying with His Commands - For, this will keep you within the boundaries of Eeman but if you reject the Command of Allah and argue that Riba is not a crime…you may exit the pale of Islam and commit Kufr (disbelief). We seek Allah’s Protection from this.
Sincere Repentance & its conditions
Sincere repentance is not merely the matter of words spoken on the tongue. Rather, the acceptance of repentance is subject to the condition that the person gives up the sin straight away, that he regrets what has happened in the past, that he resolves not to go back to the thing he has repented from, that he restores people’s rights or property if his sin involved wrongdoing towards others, and that he repents before the agony of death is upon him. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Allaah accepts only the repentance of those who do evil in ignorance and foolishness and repent soon afterwards; it is they whom Allaah will forgive and Allaah is Ever All-Knower, All-Wise.
And of no effect is the repentance of those who continue to do evil deeds until death faces one of them and he says: ‘Now I repent;’ nor of those who die while they are disbelievers. For them We have prepared a painful torment” [al-Nisaa’ 4:17-18]
Allaah accepts repentance and is Merciful. He calls sinners to repent, so that He might forgive them:
“…your Lord has written (prescribed) Mercy for Himself, so that if any of you does evil in ignorance, and thereafter repents and does righteous good deeds (by obeying Allaah), then surely, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful” [al-An’aam 6:54 – interpretation of the meaning]
Commit yourself to His gate, throw yourself into His hands and repent with sincere repentance of all your sins and misdeeds. Remember that sincere repentance must meet five conditions (in order to be accepted), which are:
Sincerity to Allah, the Most High: This is by the person doing it only for the sake of Allah and seeking His reward and salvation from His punishment.
Remorse: for the sin that was committed, such that he is sad he did it and wishes he had never done it. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Remorse is repentance.” (Reported by Ahmad and Ibn Maajah;Saheeh al-Jaami’, 6802).
Ceasing: to commit the sin immediately. If the sin was against Allah, then he should a) stop doing it if it was an unlawful act, or b) hasten to do it if it was an obligation that he abandoned doing. And if the sin was against a created being (such as humans), then he should hasten to free himself from it, whether by returning it back to him or seeking his forgiveness and pardon.
Determination: to not go back to doing that sin again in the future.
The repentance should not occur before the time when its acceptance is terminated, either by death or by the sun rising from the west. Allah says (in a hadith qudsi), "Repentance is of no effect for those who commit sins constantly until when death faces one of them, he says: Verily I repent now." The Prophet ﷺ said, "Whoever repents before the sun rises from its west, Allah will accept his repentance." [Reported by Muslim]
O Allah, grant us the sincere repentance and accept it from us, verily You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.
“Our Lord, indeed we have heard a caller calling to faith, [saying], ‘Believe in your Lord,’ and we have believed. Our Lord, so forgives us our sins and remove from us our misdeeds and cause us to die with the righteous.” (Surah Ale Imran, verse 193)
Hasten to Repent
O my dear brother! Repentance is obligatory immediately; delaying it is an additional sin. He who is in need of repentance and delays it stating, I will repent tomorrow, does he know that tomorrow he will be alive? In fact, does he know that he will be able to move from his place? Because death comes suddenly without reasons or initial signs. How many people have we seen who died suddenly due to cardiac arrest? Or due to heart-shaking accidents? Or due to such reasons that nobody knows except Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala? No human knows what the next moment holds for him. We can make plans, but what are Allah’s plans no one knows.
Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says, “And no soul perceives what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul perceives in what land it will die.” [Luqman 31: 34]
And Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala commanded to hasten toward that which makes forgiveness obligatory and among it is Tawbah. Thus, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala said,
“And hasten to forgiveness from your Lord and a garden as wide as the heavens and earth…” [Aal-Imran 3: 133]
“And those who, when they commit an immorality or wrong themselves [by transgression], remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins – and who can forgive sins except Allah? – and [who] do not persist in what they have done while they know.” [Aal-Imran 3: 135]
And the Prophet ﷺ said, “Destruction is for those who persist in their doings, although they know it.” [Ahmad, Saheeh Albani]
So, O My Dear Brother/Sister!
Repent now, before your heart is layered by blackness so you no more have the power to turn away from sins.
Repent now, before sickness or death overtakes you and you do not get the chance to repent.
Repent now, before Maalik ul Maut [the Angel of Death] comes to you and you say, “O my Lord! Send me back.” So, it will be said to you, “Never!”
TIPS FOR THE TEST
Do not have to memorise the ayahs or hadeeths word for word and their references, but remember their meanings and the msg being given.
Remember the conditions of Repentance.
ASSIGNMENT
There will be an Assignment Question asked in the Test. Marks will be given based on the following: -
I. Invite atleast 15 people to the course (can invite via WhatsApp, Facebook, Email, telegram or word of mouth) 3 Marks. (check the note below for exceptions)
Note:
Those who have already invited whether on Whatsapp, Email or FB, do not need to invite again.
It does not matter, whether people join or not, our job is to invite.
II. Talk to 5 people (friends or family) about any three topics from the course - (5 Marks)
III. Pray for the Ummah, pray for the ease of all the poor & oppressed Muslims and Maghfirah of the Muslims who passed away. Pray that Allah make us all strong in imaan and give us the hidayah to work for the aakhirah and to help each other. - 1 Mark
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