FAQ in the category of Taubah (repentance)

The hadith in question is as follows:

"All the sins of my followers will be forgiven except those of the Mujahirin (those who commit a sin openly or disclose their sins to the people). An example of such disclosure is that a person commits a sin at night and though Allah screens it from the public; then, he comes in the morning, and says, ‘O so-and-so, I did such-and-such (evil) deed yesterday.’ Though he spent his night screened by his Lord (none knowing about his sin) and in the morning he removes Allah’s screen from himself." (Bukhari, Adab 60; Muslim, Zuhd 52-2990)

“The openness (disclosure) of the crime” is emphasized in the hadith above. It is stated that it takes place in two ways:

The first one: A person commits sins openly and recklessly.  

The second one: He commits a sin secretly but tells someone else about it afterwards.

Since the deeds that are done secretly take place generally at night, the word “night…” is emphasized in the hadith. Otherwise, there is no difference between revealing a sin committed during the day and committed at night.

Thus, committing a sin openly or sharing it with other people by disclosing it is considered as a great impudence and darkness over darkness in the eye of Allah. Therefore, along with committing a sin, the phenomenon of “publicity” is described as a second sin and a greater sin.

We can explain whether it will be forgiven or not as follows:

a) First of all, we should state that it is not possible to say “it will definitely be forgiven” for any sin.

“Allah forgives all sins.” (az-Zumar, 39/53)

“Forgiveness” mentioned in the verse above and similar ones indicates that forgiving is possible not definite.

Guidance and warning are at the forefront in the style of verses and hadiths. The purpose of the expressions including both encouragement and warning is to give hope to those who fall into despair and to warn and intimidate those who act in a spoilt way.

It is necessary to understand this from the statement in the hadith because all the sins of those who enter the grave with belief, except shirk – unbelief - are within the scope of forgiveness. Doubtlessly, those who commit sins openly are not excluded.

b) The sins originating from the desire and wish of the soul are not the same as the sins originating from the pride and conceit of the soul.

Sins that are committed only in compliance with the desires of the soul are the result of ignorance and heedlessness.

A sin committed with pride and conceit is a deliberate revolt against Allah directly.

The sin committed in the first way shows the impatience, low resistance, helplessness and ignorance of the soul as a human being.

The sin committed in the second way means the person’s conceit, cockiness, impertinence and a kind of implicit challenge against Allah.

Therefore, the forgiveness of the sin committed in the first way is in question but the sin committed in the second way is excluded from the scope of forgiveness. That is one of the reasons for the forgiveness of Hz. Adam but the unforgiveness of Satan in the famous incident of sin.

c) If a person whose sin Allah screened tells his friend about it, it means to disregard His grace of screening his sin and to declare that he is not afraid and ashamed of people and Allah, and that he can do whatever he wishes openly or secretly.  

It is certain that this impertinent challenging will be punished in the world or the hereafter - unless he repents or does good deeds to compensate for it.

This is a general principle in terms of “crime-punishment” relationship. Allah’s forgiveness is an exception as "divine grace".

d) A sin is considered an ugly deed in society. Revealing one’s sins means encouraging someone else implicitly to commit sins.

From this viewpoint, the same sins of the person who committed that sin are recorded in the book of deeds of that person since he caused others to commit the same sin. This increases the sins of that person so much that, it virtually he pushes him out of the scope of forgiveness.

e) The following is expressed in a hadith in summary:

“On the Day of Judgment, when Allah calls His slaves to account, He tells some of his slaves about their secret crimes and they accept them. However, Allah says, ‘I screened these sins in the world; I will screen them now too.’”

It attracts Allah’s wrath to ignore this great grace of Allah related to screening sins, to disclose one’s crime and hence to prevent these sins from being screened and forgiven on the Day of Judgment. This danger may also have been pointed out in the hadith. (cf. Ibn Battal, 9/263-64; Ibn Hajar, 10/486-488, al-Ayni, 22/138-139)

- As Munawi puts it, when a person discloses his secret sin,

1. He betrays the grace of Allah related to screening his sins,
2. He commits a sin by arousing others’ inclination to commit sins,
3. If he really has the intention of encouraging someone else to sin, it is regarded as a separate sin.

So, with the original sin, the number of these sins increases to four. (Faydul-Qadir, 5/a11)

As far as we know, it is possible to list the evidences of those who say the repentance of a sorcerer is not accepted as follows:

1) A sorcerer causes mischief in the world along with unbelief.

“The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter.” (al-Maida, 5/33)

It is definite by the verse above that people who act like that will be killed. (see Razi, the interpretation of verse 102 of the chapter of al-Baqara)

2) What is meant by the sorcerer whose repentance is not accepted is a person who hides his sorcery that contains unbelief. For, a sorcerer like that is a zindiq (a heretic person who pretends to be a Muslim) who “hides his unbelief and acts as if he is a Muslim” despite his unbelief. The word of a zindiq is not relied since he is a hypocrite. He cannot convince people even if he says, “I have given up sorcery; I have repented.”

Besides, a person who has been proven to commit fornication cannot escape punishment by repenting; similarly, the penalty of a sorcerer containing unbelief is not forgiven by repentance. It is necessary to punish him. (see Qurtubi, Ibn Ashur, the interpretation of the relevant verse)

It is understood from the statements above that what is meant by the expression of the scholars “the repentance of a sorcerer is not accepted” is that it cannot annul the penalty decreed for them in terms of Islamic law. On the other hand, there are a lot of hadiths stating that when a person who commits adultery is stoned, he/she is saved from the otherworldly penalty. Then, a sorcerer is not an exception to this rule.

3) The following hadith reported from Tirmidhi is another evidence used for those scholars:

“The penalty for a sorcerer is killing him with the sword.” (see Sha’rawi, the interpretation of the relevant verse)

However, this hadith is weak. (see Ibn Qudama, al-Mughni, 9/31; Qurtubi, the interpretation of the relevant verse)

4) The following decree of Hz. Umar is also regarded as an evidence: “Kill all sorcerers, whether male or female.” (see Razi, ibid)

- The following statements of the scholars are also important:

The rejection of the repentance of the sorcerer is in terms of the application of the worldly decrees related to it. If a sorcerer repents sincerely, his repentance will be accepted in the hereafter. (ibid)

- Despite those views, the view of Imam Shafii seems to be more appropriate. For, there are types of sorcery. They may contain or not contain unbelief, killing, etc. If he deserves to be executed, it means his repentance will not save him from being executed.

If he does not deserve such a punishment, there are many verses and sound hadiths stating that a person who repents sincerely from all kinds of evil deeds including polytheism and unbelief, his repentance will be accepted. (see ibid)

As a matter of fact, according to a narration, Imam Malik said, “If a sorcerer or a zindiq repents before he is taken to the court, his repentance is accepted.” (see Qurtubi, ibid)

The decree on fornication in Islam is clear. If a person confesses his sin in the presence of a judge four times separately or if there are four witnesses about the fornication, a judgment is given against him. If he is married, he is stoned; if he is single, he is sentenced to 100 lashes.

However, if a person does not confess his sin or if nobody has seen it or complained about it, what he needs to do is to regret and to repent for his sin by deciding not to commit it again.

Besides, if such a person confesses his sin today, there is no authority to apply that penalty. There are two things to do then. One of them is the violation of a person’s right; it is necessary to ask for forgiveness from that person. The other is the violation of Allah’s right; it is necessary, to repent, ask for forgiveness and not to commit that sin again.

Man is created in a way that can do both good deeds and bad deeds. Therefore, he can commit sins willingly or unwillingly. The following is stated in the Quran regarding the issue:

“Allah forgiveth not that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgiveth anything else, to whom He pleaseth..."(an-Nisa, 4/48,116)

Thus, it is stated that Allah can forgive any sin He wishes.

It is stated in our books that a sincere repentance will be forgiven by Allah. As a matter of fact, Allah states in the Quran that repentance will be forgiven:

“O ye who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere repentance: In the hope that your Lord will remove from you your ills and admit you to Gardens beneath which Rivers flow...” (at-Tahrim, 66/8)

Sincere repentance (tawba nasuha) mentioned in the verse is as follows:

1. To know that one has committed a sin against Allah, to take refuge in Allah because of that sin and to regret.
2. To feel sorry because of committing that sin, to have a guilty conscience because of committing such a sin against the Creator.
3. To feel determined that he will not commit such a sin again.
4. If it is related to the violation of a person’s right, to ask forgiveness from that person.

"Tawba Nasuha" is described as follows in a narration:

"- To regret sins.
- To perform fard deeds.
- Not to oppress and be hostile to others.
- Make peace with the people one is cross with.
- To decide not to commit that sin again." (see Kanzul-Ummal, II/3808)

If we act in accordance with those conditions, we hope that Allah will accept our repentance.

However, man needs to be between fear and hope all the time. We can neither rely our worshipping nor can we lose hope due to our sins. It is wrong to say, "I am very good, I am a person of Paradise,"; it is likewise wrong to say "I am finished; Allah will not accept me." Besides, it is regarded as worshipping to repent by realizing one’s sin and to take refuge in Allah.

There are some narrations regarding the issue but most of them are either weak or fabricated. The bid’ah mentioned in the sound ones are those who commit bid’ah in terms of belief and exit the religion. The worship of a person who exits the religion will not be accepted anyway.

Some of the narrations regarding the issue are as follows:

a) Hudhayfa narrates: The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:

“Allah does not accept the fasting, prayer, sadaqah, hajj, umrah, jihad, and any other deed of a person who has bid’ahs. He exits the religion like a strand of hair comes out of dough.” (Ibn Majah, Muqaddima, 7/49)

Sindi, who explained the hadiths of Ibn Majah, states the following while explaining the hadith above:

“What is meant by the bid’ah in this hadith must be corrupt creed and faith because the people of knowledge call those who have a wrong belief a bid’ah doer. Those who have strong faith and creed but do bid’ahs in terms of deeds are not meant in this hadith. Besides, scholars call those who have strong faith but lack worship fasiqs, not ­bid’ah doers. As is understood from the hadith, if those who have corrupt faith and creed give up their wrong faith and repent, Allah will certainly accept their worship.” (See Sindi, Kifayatul-Haja, the explanation of the hadith in question)

That is, if those who have bid’ahs in terms of faith do not repent, their deeds will not be accepted, but if they repent, both their repentance and worship will be accepted.

b) Anas narrates: The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:

“Verily, Allah forbade all people of bid’ah from repentance.” (see Tabarani, al-Awsat, h. no: 4202)

This hadith narration is accepted as sound. (see Majma’uz-Zawaid, 10/189)

However, it is not stated in this hadith that “the repentance of the people of bid’ah will not be accepted”. The following is stated: “He forbade people of bid’ah from repentance.” It means people of bid’ah will not repent easily. Repentance is far from them. It means if they repent, their repentance will be accepted.

However, Dhahabi; Ibnul-Jawzi and others report that one of the narrators in the chain of the narrators of the hadith is weak and that the hadith is not sound but munkar. (see Dhahabi, Mizanul-Itidal, 9175; Ibnul-Jawzi, al-Ilalul-Mutanahiya, 1/145)

It is a contradiction and it is against the spirit of Islam that the repentance of the most ferocious unbelievers and polytheists is accepted but that the repentance of the people of bid’ah, who are not worse than them, is not accepted.

The emphasis in the Quran that polytheism is outside the scope of forgiveness (an-Nisa, 4/48) is related to those who die without repentance and as polytheists. Otherwise, in case of repentance, all kinds of denial and unbelief, including polytheism, will be forgiven.

In that case, when the people of bid’ah in terms of creed and belief repent, their repentance is accepted before unbelievers.

Man has been created in a disposition inclined to do both evil and good deeds. For this reason, he may commit sins intentionally or unintentionally. Regarding the matter, Allah lets us know He can grant pardon for any fault with the statement in the Qur’an that “Allah forgiveth not (the sin of) joining other gods with Him; but He forgiveth whom He pleaseth other sins than this” (Qur’an, Women (An-Nisa), 4: 116).

Our books also state that all remorse done from the bottom of one’s heart is going to be accepted. Thus, Allah Almighty decrees that all the repentances can be accepted by saying that “O ye who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere repentance: in the hope that your Lord will remove from you your evil deeds and admit you to Gardens beneath which Rivers flow”. Qur’an, -Holding (Something) to be Forbidden (At-Tahrím), 66: 8)

The sincere repentance mentioned in the surah above is as follows :

1- Knowing that one committed a sin against Allah, and taking shelter in Allah and having repentance. 
2- Feeling sad because of the wrongdoing he committed, having the sense of penitence since he committed such a sin against his Creator.  
3-Having a great determination not to do such an evil deed again. 
4- If it involves rightful due of a person, he needs to ask for forgiveness from that person.

In one of his hadiths, our Prophet said the sincere repentance is :

-Feeling remorse from the sins
-performing the fard worships
-Not oppressing and not doing hostility
-Reconciling with sullen and offended persons
-Vowing not to do that sin again.

We can hope that Allah will accept our repentance on condition that we act in accordance with those conditions.

However, man should always remain between hope and fear. We can neither be sure of ourselves and proud of our worships, and nor can we fall in despair because of our sins. It is wrong to consider “I am a very good slave of God and well accepted by Him; similarly, it is mistaken to think that “I am finished, I do not think Allah will accept me. Besides, realizing his own faults and then asking for God’s forgiveness and taking shelter in Allah is a very great worship.
The cure for being cleansed of spiritual dirt: Repentance (Tawbah)

Tawbah, which means  “turning towards Allah in the dictionary, is known as abandoning sins and turning to Allah as a religious term. 1

Scholars of Islam like Imam Ghazali, Ibn Arabi, Ibn Hajar defined repentance in different ways. 2
Trying to explain it with a lucid and understandable style, we can state that the following: repentance means being aware of the fact that the bad deed, fault and mistakes committed are all sins and thus giving all of them up and turning towards Allah, seeking His forgiveness for our sins, confessing that we feel regretful for what we did and beseeching Allah only.

1. The Importance of Tawbah (repentance): “All mankind is sinful, and the best amongst them is one who repents.” (Ibn Majah, Zuhd, 30). In another hadith our Prophet is reported to have said “if you did not commit any sins, Allah Almighty would destroy all of you and create a nation that would commit sins and then seek His forgiveness. (Muslim, Tawbah, 9, 10, 11) 
As it is understood from the hadiths we have just mentioned above, man is created in a nature liable do both bad and good deeds. Committing sins is a feature that differentiates man from angels. Angels are known to have been created from light; they never disobey Allah and at no time do they commit sins. 

Islam is the natural disposition for mankind. The truth that man may involve in wrongdoings is accepted by Islam and therefore he has been taught the paths to salvation. Repentance is the remedy to be relieved from our transgressions, sins, misconducts and it s a means of cleansing our spiritual dirt. Man is freed from all of his evil deeds and misdoings through repentance and becomes purified as if he never practiced that iniquity. Thus, regarding the issue, our Prophet said “those turning to Allah in repentance and asking for His forgiveness are purified as though they never did that evil deed.” (Ibn Majah, Zuhd 30)

The God Almighty calls man for repentance and decrees that “And O ye Believers! turn ye all together towards Allah in repentance, that ye may be successful.”( the Quran, an-Nur, 24: 31). In another verse, He orders His Messenger “Say: "O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. .”( the Quran, The Groups (Az-Zumar), 39: 53).  

In that verse, God Almighty commands his Messenger to conduct the message that iniquitous people should not despair their hopes from His mercy. It is because Allah the most Forgiving and Merciful may forgive all sins if He wishes. For this reason, the servants of Allah must turn to Him, submit to Him and give up polytheism and all sins before Allah chastises them. 
According to a narration, some polytheists who had committed a lot of sins asked Hazrat Prophet whether their sins would be forgiven if they became Muslims; the verse above was sent down after their questions. That verse calls all people to repentance and to Islam, and it informs that Allah will forgive all of their sins if they become Muslims, opening the doors of hope for sinners.

If the slaves of Allah, no matter how many sins they may have committed, turn to Him in repentance without abandoning hope, He will pardon them. In addition to those verses, there are plenty of hadiths saving the slaves from despair and encouraging them to repent. (See: Bukhari, Anbiya 54; Muslim, Tawbah 46, 47)

Sin is the dirt of the spirit and repentance is the polish of it. Persistence in the sin spoils too much the soul of the slave. Therefore, Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi calls every person to the straight path from marshy ground of wrongdoings with the following utterances:

Come, come, whoever you are.

Wonderer, worshipper, lover of leaving.

It does not matter.

Ours is not a caravan of despair.

Come, even if you have broken your vow

A thousand times

Come, yet again, come, come.

Ours is the portal of hope, come as you are...

There is no sin which may not be forgiven provided that you repent for it. The repentances which satisfy the conditions are always accepted. You must repent sincerely with the determination of not committing the same sin again.

Allah forgives every repented sin. If an infidel repents for his infidelity, he becomes a believer and all his sins are forgiven. If a believer commits every kind of sin, even associates partners with Allah and then regrets and repents, finds Allah all-forgiving. It is stated in the Quran : “O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (az-Zumar 53)
The Repenter is to be forgiven

It is stated in the hadiths as follows:

One, who repented, is as if he has never committed any sins.
Allah ordained: “Even if the sins of my slave reaches the skies, I forgive him, on condition that he does not despair of me”

“Allah accepts your repentance, when you repent, even if your sins reach the skies”
“Hell is forbidden for the one who firmly believes that Allah is the Lord and I am the Messenger”

Allah ordained: “I get enraged for the one who assumes that his sin is greater than my forgiveness”
A transgressor who does not despair of Allah’s mercy, is closer to mercy than the worshipper who despairs of Allah’s mercy

Can anyone be desperate of Allah’s mercy while it is so plentiful?

Make Allah loved by His slaves, so that in turn, Allah will love you.
Allah forgives His sinful Muslim slaves with a mercy that no one can imagine. (Bayhaqi)
Allah ordained: “O my servant, if you seek forgiveness, I will forgive you regardless of multitude of your sins. I will forgive them even if they reach the clouds. If you come with plenty of sins, I will welcome you with plenty of forgiveness as long as you come as a true believer”

It is a clear indicator of perfection of a man if he always recalls Hell and balances his life accordingly. However, this recollection must not cause an unbearable life and result in despair of Allah’s mercy. Thereby, man will acquire the feeling of controlling his every single step. He will be able to interrogate himself continually. He will be always on alert with the thought: “I wonder if this deed of mine leads me to Hell”

Allah did not create some people for Hell. On the contrary, He created Hell for some people. For example, the state builds a prison. But this construction is not for confining some people in it. It is constructed for anyone who deserves to be put in it. Likewise, Allah built Hell for the ones who deserve it. Otherwise, the statement “I prepared Hell for such and such men” is not compatible with justice and wisdom of Allah because those men will have the right to object, if they have not deserved Hell.

The word “Hell” scares many people. And it must. However, we must always be on alert, because we do not know who will go to Hell or Paradise. We must evaluate every single word that we utter.

Being between hope and fear is a balance which is required for every human. Although we are Muslims, it is always possible to die as an infidel and go to Hell. Likewise, even if we live as a sinner for the whole life, in the end, it is possible to repent and we may die as a true believer and go to Heaven. Hazrat Abu Bakr (A companion of the Prophet (PBUH)) is reported to have said: “If I hear from the skies: “All human beings will go to Heaven except one, I fear to be that single man. Similarly, if I hear that everybody will go to Hell except one, I hope to be that person” A Muslim’s faith must be between hope and fear. No one may feel safe from the torment of Allah. However, they hope to gain His mercy and fear His wrath. They seek to reach His forgiveness and abstain from His punishment. We should maintain this equilibrium. We must perform our religious services fully and hope that Allah will put our names among the list of people who will go to Paradise.

Sincere Repentance (tawbah nasuh)

Nasuh is the exaggeration mode of the word nush. It means to give advice a lot. The repentance is described as something giving advice a lot. That is to say, it recommends its holder to leave his sin, removes him from the evil deeds, and tells him to turn to Allah with sincere repentance. Thus, sincere repentance is: Leaving the sin; Remorse over the sins committed; Resolving never to return to sins; If it is related to the rights of another person, then, returning the rights or property one took. 4

Our prophet defines the sincere repentance as: feeling remorse, seeking an absolute refuge in Allah and not returning to it again just as there is no return for the milk into the udder. (Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, 1/446)

Ghazali described repentance as follows: Those asking Allah His forgiveness with sincere repentance are the ones showing persistence in their vows until they are dead. They make up their mistakes in the past and never think of repeating the same sin, except for lapses and slips. It is the resolution in repentance. They are the people whose sins are turned to virtues by Allah, and who compete for good deeds. 5

2.The conditions for the repentance being accepted:

That Allah acclaims those turning to Him in repentance (the Quran, Repentance (At-Tawbah) 9/112) and says He likes the people knocking the gates to repentance is a proof that repentances are to be accepted by Him. (the Quran, the Heifer (Al-Baqarah 2/222)

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) tells how Allah becomes joyful when His servants seeks his forgiveness with the following analogy,: 'When a servant of Allah returns to Him and repents, Allah becomes happier than a traveler who loses his mount which has all his belongings and provisions on and then resorts to the shade of tree after losing all hope only to wake up and find his mount staring in his face, and then out of joy and happiness erroneously says: 'OAllah! You are my servant and I am your Lord.' (Bukhari, Muslim) (Bukhari, Daawat 4; Muslim, Tawbah 3). As it is emphasized above, Allah’s joy is more than that of a man losing his camel and then finding it again when His servants turn to Him.

There are some requirements for repentance to be accepted by Allah. However, those requirements show differences depending on the type of wrongdoing committed. It is very important to know against whom it is committed at the time of seeking forgiveness of Allah. Therefore, we can divide it into two:

A. The sins involving God’s due: there are three stipulations in order to repent of the sins relating to His rights.

1) Remorse over having committed the sin; there occurs a sense of uneasiness and penitence within the conscience of man when it is come to a decision that the sin committed is a misdeed and harms the relations between Allah and His servant.

The servant transgressing will stand before the gate of repentance in a state jerking out of the perturbation and lurching with penitence and having a prudent heart and soul. 7 The perturbation mentioned is an element encouraging man to repent.

Penitence is the first condition of repentance. As a matter of fact, our prophet said that repentance is feeling remorse in order to emphasize it. (Ibn Majah, Zuhd 30; Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, 1/376, 423). To feel remorse is repentance itself. Repentance is impossible without having deep regretful feelings.

2) Abandoning the sin that is repented: Penitence cannot only be confined to the heart and neither is it a creep, recoil nor is a spiritual repentance in the form of weeping. That is to say, it is not only composed of some sorts of inner feelings. Rather, it is a process during which some actions are constructed on internal sensations. For instance, the person seeking repentance must give up the wrongdoing (8), live up to Allah’s orders as far as he can (9), and should not continue the sin that is repented. 10. Should he happen to keep committing the sin even though he has repented, he will fall into a contradiction with himself. Such a manner is not going to comply with the repentance and the vow not to repeat that sin. On the other hand, abandoning the sin immediately is going to be an indication of his repentance and decisiveness not to go back to the same sin again.

3) Resolve not to repeat the sin that is repented: The person who has turned to Allah with repentance because of his past sins should be strong-willed not to commit the same sin again so that he will repent truly. (11). Repentance and decisiveness for not repeating the same sin will be known with their true meaning merely by Allah as they are related to the heart. Therefore, it will not be known by people about who truthfully has repented. (12) The person should promise Allah not to commit the same sin again so that it will have the true essence of penitence. (13)

b- The sins that involve the rights of other men: there are four conditions for making tawbah for the sins involving other people’s rights. The fourth stipulation, apart from the three conditions stated above, is that it is compulsory that the rights be restored to the people and he has to ask for forgiveness from the person whose right is violated. If those rights are in the form of property, then he may encounter the following possibilities:

1. The grabbed possessions should be given back if they are still available and their true owner is known. 14. At this point it is not sufficient to conceal the sin and repent only.

2. If the stolen belongings are at the hands of the thief and yet their true possessor is not known, then those belongings should be given out as alms and he should not keep them any more. 15

3. If a man wronged the others in the past years and their true holders are not known, then he should give the equal amount of money to charity.

4. If the possessions the wrongdoer has are not fungible goods and if their value can be estimated and if he has enough money, he should give its equivalent to their owner. 16 If he cannot pay for them, he should intend to give them back when he has enough money. We can expect of Allah’s forgiveness for the person that tries to restore the properties to their true owners as far as he can even if he finally fails. 17

5. A man who is not sure how much of his own material goods is mixed with what is forbidden picks a quantity of sum in accordance with his own assumption and gives alms intending getting rid of the rights of other people. 18 

If the sinner seeks the pardon of his Lord and carries out those conditions, Allah will accept his repentance and will be ashamed to punish the repentant.

3. Time factor in penitence:

The sins are hurdles in the path going to Allah. The sinner is similar to a person who has got poisoned. Just as it is so perilous to waste time for a poisoned person, so too is it very risky for a man committing sins to delay his repentance.

A believer who has just sinned will be very irritated out of his sin as a result of his trust in God and will seek out ways to be removed from that sin. There is concurrence of opinion about the fact that it is fard to ask for Allah’s forgiveness just following the sin committed. In addition, those holding their penitence in delay get sins due to delaying it. 19

According to Ghazali, once the man realizes what he has done is a sin, he is to feel remorse and cleanse its effect with a good deed. Otherwise, the wrongdoings will dwell in his heart and their removal is going to be impossible. 20

Thus, in a hadith, it is said, “when the servant commits a sin, a black spot appears on his heart, and if he seeks forgiveness, that black spot is removed, and if he returns to sin, the black spot grows…..”(Ibn Majah, Zuhd 29)

The following hadith illuminates us about the last time for penitence: “Allah, the Lord of honor and glory, will accept the repentance of His servant till his death-rattle begins.” (Tirmidhi, Daawat 100; Ibn Majah Zuhd 30). When the death comes and the death-rattle begins, the penitence will not be accepted.

The reasons why tawbah is not accepted at the parting breath are that the man is in the state of hopelessness at that moment. However, the penitence should be sought at a situation when the servant is still hopeful of life. At the parting breath, the proposal is cancelled from servants. The deeds committed at that time cannot be regarded as good or bad. However, penitence is of the worldly deeds and should be done before the proposal is over. In the hereafter, everybody is going to be regretful and yet their states are not going to be evaluated as repentance. 21 It is because the moment when the sinners feel remorse is a moment when the proposal is concluded. 22 The last minute repentance is not accepted and it is like nothing and as a result, it means nothing. 23 The person seeking repentance at the time of his parting breath is regarded like a man who has never repented throughout his lifetime. 24

As a conclusion, we can draw a timeline with regard to repentance: the time for penitence starts just after the moment a sin is committed, continues in the following days with no regard to any time limit and ends when the death signs appear. That is to say, the last time is when hope of life expires, the death marks become visible and the person lives his last moments.

4. The place factor in repentance:

Though some certain places for prayer and Hajj (Pilgrimage) are obligatory and virtuous, there is no any such a condition for penitence. Since tawbah (penitence) is multi-dimensional remorse, it does not start and end at a definite place.

Therefore, being in the mosque, dervish lodge or in a small Islamic monastery is not a must for asking for the pardon of Allah. On the other hand, it is not obligatory to come together with congregation in order to make tawbah in the form of chorus in groups.

A person who has committed a sin can make his repentance in any place. Any place for a person thinking about his past sins and coming into a decision to get rid of his sins is a place for repentance. That is to say, a worker can decide to start for making tawbah at his work, a farmer at his land, those being at home can make their repentance at their abodes.

After all, Hazrat Yunus (Peace be upon him) was in the stomach of the fish and in the darkness of the sea and said “"There is no god but Thou: glory to Thee: I was indeed wrong!" (the Quran: 21-The Prophets (Al-Anbiya, 21/ 87) and asked for Allah His forgiveness just because he did what was virtuous though he could have done the most virtuous. 25 And Allah pardoned him.

And as it is known, eating the forbidden apple in the heaven, Hazrat Adam and Eve disobeyed Allah’s order. Having been expelled from Paradise and walking in the world for a long time, they turned to Allah in repentance because of their mistake at Arafat arena at the top of a mountain called “Mountain of Mercy”. And they said: "Our Lord! We have wronged our own souls: If Thou forgive us not and bestow not upon us Thy Mercy, we shall certainly be lost." The Quran: -The Heights (Al-Araf), 7/23). They asked the pardon of God and God Almighty granted His forgiveness upon them.

The process for tawbah begins when the heart decisively comes into a decision to get rid of sins. At every place where this decision is taken, the repentance is sincere. Confining the penitence to a place, laying down a sacred place condition for it stems from not knowing the essence of tawbah and failing to work out the message of Islam for the issue.

Conclusion:

God Almighty created man in a nature apt to being able to do both good and evil deeds. Tawbah is the solution for being cleansed out of sins and mistakes committed, and spiritual dirt. Through repentance, the servant is removed from his sins and faults and becomes as if he has never sinned. It is an undisputable fact that every man is in need of penitence.

Tawbah can be made just following the sin or until prior to the death rattle and signs for death come out. Since the appointed time is not definite, a person should repent without wasting any time.

A man needs no means for making tawbah nor a certain place or time for asking God in repentance.

For a true penitence, a person should feel remorse over having committed sins, and leave the place where he sins together with a resolution not to go back to the same sin. Giving the rights of their true holders back is the most crucial element of tawbah.

The suspicion whether he is cleansed out of his sins after his penitence is something baseless, Allah keeps His tawbah door open for people committing every type of sin. The point about which people should be cautious is if repentance is done with sincerity or not.

FOOTNOTES

1. Firuzabadi, Muhammed b.Ya’qub, al-Qamusu’l-Muhit, Beirut 1991, I, 166; Jawhari, Ismail b.Hammad, as-Sihah fi’l-Lugha wa’l-Ulum, Beirut 1974, I, 146; Ibn Manzur, Jamaluddin Muhammad b.Mukarram, Lisanu’l-Arab, Beirut 1990, I, 233.

2. For those definitions, see, Ghazali, Abu Hamid Muhammad, Ihyau Ulumi’d-Din, (trns. Ahmed Serdaroğlu), Istanbul 1974, IV, 10; Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi, al-Futuhatu’l-Makkiyya, (invs Uthman Yahya), Cairo 1988, XIII, 298; Ibn Hajar, al-Askalani, Shihabuddin Ahmad b.Ali, Fathu’l-Bari bi Sharhi’l-Bukhari, Cairo 1987, XI, 106.

3. Qurtubi, Abu Abdillah Muhammad b.Ahmad, al-Jami li Ahkami’l-Qur’an, Cairo 1959, XV, 268; Ibn Kathir, Tafsiru’l-Qur’ani’l-Azim, IV, 59.

4. Ibn Manzur, ibid, II, 617; Ibnu’l-Qayyim, Madariju’s-Salikin, Cairo trs, I, 356.

5. Ghazali, Ihya, IV, 78. 6. It is stated that that anxiety is a sign of belief in a hadiths as follows: “A person is a believer if he commits a sin and if that sin disturbs him.” See, Bukhari, Daawat, 4; Tirmidhi, Qiyamah, 49; Ahmad b.Hanbal, ibid, IV, 12. 7. Ghazali, Ihya, IV, 9. 8. Qurtubî, ibid, V, 91. 9. Qasimi, Muhammad Jamaluddin, Mahasinu’t-Ta’wil, (invs. M.Fuad Abdulbaqi), Cairo trs, XII, 4597. 10. Ibnu’l-Qayyim, al-Jawziyya, Muhammad b.Abubakr, Madâ,ariju’s-Salikin, Cairo trs, I, 301. 11. Qurtubî, ibid, V, 91. 12. M.Abu Zahra, al-Jarima wa’l-Uquba fi’l-Fiqhi’l-Islami, Cairo trs, s.223. 13. Ibn Hajar, ibid, XI, 106; Alusi, Ruhu’l-Maani, IV, 240. 14. Sarakhsi, al-Mabsut, IX, 176; Kasani, Badayi, VIII, 96; Alusi, ibid, VII, 96. 15. Aliyyü’l-Qari, Sharhu’l-Fiqhi’l-Akbar, (trns. Yunus Vehbi Yavuz), Istanbul 1979, p.415. 16. Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi, Futuhat, XIII, 298. 17. Ibn Hajar, ibid, XI, 106. 18. Ghazali, Ihya, IV, 68, 69. 19. Ibn Qayyim, ibid, I, 297, 298. 20. Ghazali, Ihya, IV, 13. 21. Alusi, ibid, XXVIII, 158. 22. Qurtubî, ibid, V, 93. 23. Suyuti, Abdurrahman Jalaluddin, ad-Durru’l-Mansur fi Tafsiri’l-Ma’thur, Beirut 1414h, II, 458. 24. Mawardî, Tafsir, I, 456. 25. Tabari, Abu Jafar Muhammad b.Jarir, Jamiu’l-Bayan an Ta’wili’l-Qur’an, Beirut 1988, XVII, 80. Ass. Prof Mehmet Soysaldı

Please click on the link given below;

Can the person committing sins be saved from them if he asks Allah for His forgiveness?

What is the meaning of Having a good opinion about Allah and being between hope and fear?

How can we repent for a serious sin?

There is no sin which may not be forgiven provided that you repent for it. The repentances which satisfy the conditions are always accepted. You must repent sincerely with the determination of not committing the same sin again.

Allah forgives every repented sin. If an infidel repents for his infidelity, he becomes a believer and all his sins are forgiven. If a believer commits every kind of sin, even associates partners with Allah and then regrets and repents, finds Allah all-forgiving. It is stated in the Quran : “O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (az-Zumar 53)
The Repenter is to be forgiven

It is stated in the hadiths as follows:
One, who repented, is as if he has never committed any sins.
Allah ordained: “Even if the sins of my slave reaches the skies, I forgive him, on condition that he does not despair of me”

“Allah accepts your repentance, when you repent, even if your sins reach the skies”
“Hell is forbidden for the one who firmly believes that Allah is the Lord and I am the Messenger”

Allah ordained: “I get enraged for the one who assumes that his sin is greater than my forgiveness”
A transgressor who does not despair of Allah’s mercy, is closer to mercy than the worshipper who despairs of Allah’s mercy

Can anyone be desperate of Allah’s mercy while it is so plentiful?
Make Allah loved by His slaves, so that in turn, Allah will love you.
Allah forgives His sinful Muslim slaves with a mercy that no one can imagine. (Bayhaqi)
Allah ordained: “O my servant, if you seek forgiveness, I will forgive you regardless of multitude of your sins. I will forgive them even if they reach the clouds. If you come with plenty of sins, I will welcome you with plenty of forgiveness as long as you come as a true believer”
It is a clear indicator of perfection of a man if he always recalls Hell and balances his life accordingly. However, this recollection must not cause an unbearable life and result in despair of Allah’s mercy. Thereby, man will acquire the feeling of controlling his every single step. He will be able to interrogate himself continually. He will be always on alert with the thought: “I wonder if this deed of mine leads me to Hell”

Allah did not create some people for Hell. On the contrary, He created Hell for some people. For example, the state builds a prison. But this construction is not for confining some people in it. It is constructed for anyone who deserves to be put in it. Likewise, Allah built Hell for the ones who deserve it. Otherwise, the statement “I prepared Hell for such and such men” is not compatible with justice and wisdom of Allah because those men will have the right to object, if they have not deserved Hell.
The word “Hell” scares many people. And it must. However, we must always be on alert, because we do not know who will go to Hell or Paradise. We must evaluate every single word that we utter.

Being between hope and fear is a balance which is required for every human. Although we are Muslims, it is always possible to die as an infidel and go to Hell. Likewise, even if we live as a sinner for the whole life, in the end, it is possible to repent and we may die as a true believer and go to Heaven. Hazrat Abu Bakr (A companion of the Prophet (PBUH)) is reported to have said: “If I hear from the skies: “All human beings will go to Heaven except one, I fear to be that single man. Similarly, if I hear that everybody will go to Hell except one, I hope to be that person” A Muslim’s faith must be between hope and fear. No one may feel safe from the torment of Allah. However, they hope to gain His mercy and fear His wrath. They seek to reach His forgiveness and abstain from His punishment. We should maintain this equilibrium. We must perform our religious services fully and hope that Allah will put our names among the list of people who will go to Paradise.

Please click on the links given below;

Can the person committing sins be saved from them if he asks Allah for His forgiveness?

What is the meaning of Having a good opinion about Allah and being between hope and fear?

How can we repent for a serious sin?

What is the meaning of ?Having a good opinion about Allah and being between hope and fear??

What is the sincere repentance (tawbah nasuh)?

Can you give information about Allah's mercy for the sinners?

Can Allah forgive us after comitting a sin again and again?

Abu Bakr as-Siddiq narrates: I asked,

"O Messenger of Allah! Teach me an invocation so that I may invoke Allah with it after my prayer." The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,

"Pray as follows:

"O Lord! I have done great injustice to myself and none except You forgives sins, so bestow on me a forgiveness from You, and Have Mercy on me, You are the Forgiver, the Merciful." (Bukhari, Adhan, 149, Daawat, 16)

"O Lord! You are Allah. There is no god but You. You are free from imperfection and deficiencies. You are high. I have wronged myself. O Lord! I expect Your pardoning."

"Our Lord! We have been unjust to ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and do not have mercy on us, we shall certainly be of the losers."

"O Allah! You are Most Forgiving, and You love forgiveness, so forgive me."

The decree on fornication is clear in Islam. If a person confesses four times in front of the judge and asks for the punishment or there are four witnesses, he will be punished. If he is married, he will be sentenced to stoning; if he is unmarried, the punishment is not stoning, but a hundred flogs.

However, if he does not confess or if no one has seen what he has done and reported him, the only thing he can do is to regret for his sin and repent and never do it again.

Besides, even if he confesses to such a crime, there is currently no authority to punish him today. Two things remain. One is the violation of the rights of a person; if there is such a thing, he has to ask her to be forgiven. The other is repentance and forgiveness for the right of Allah and not to commit that sin again.

 Human beings are created in a way to do both good and evil. Therefore, from time to time, they may commit sins willingly or unwillingly. The following is stated in the Quran regarding the issue:

“Allah forgiveth not that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgiveth anything else, to whom He pleaseth.” (an-Nisa, 4/48, 116)

Thus, Allah states that He can forgive any sin.

It is stated in our books that sincere repentance through the heart will be accepted by Allah.

As a matter of fact, Allah states the following in the Quran:

“O ye who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere repentance: In the hope that your Lord will remove from you your ills and admit you to Gardens beneath which Rivers flow.” (at-Tahrim, 66/8)

Sincere repentance (tawba nasuha) mentioned in the verse is as follows:

1. To know that one has committed a sin against Allah, to take refuge in Allah because of that sin and to regret.

2. To feel sorry because of committing that sin, to have a guilty conscience because of committing such a sin against the Creator.

3. To feel determined that he will not commit such a sin again.

4. If it is related to the violation of a person’s right, to ask forgiveness from that person.

“Tawba Nasuha” is described as follows in a narration:

“- To regret sins.

- To perform fard deeds.

- Not to oppress and be hostile to others.

- Make peace with the people one is cross with.

- To decide not to commit that sin again.” (see Kanzul-Ummal, II/3808)

If we act in accordance with those conditions, we hope that Allah will accept our repentance.

However, man needs to be between fear and hope all the time. We can neither rely our worshipping nor can we lose hope due to our sins. It is wrong to say, “I am very good, I am a person of Paradise,”; it is likewise wrong to say “I am finished; Allah will not accept me.” Besides, it is regarded as worshipping to repent by realizing one’s sin and to take refuge in Allah.

It is permissible to repent in any state. One can repent while sitting walking or lying down. It is especially important to repent before going to bed and to think about the deeds one has done that day. We are advised to repent when we go to bed in a hadith.

The value of asking for forgiveness in the eye of Allah is expressed as follows in a hadith:

"Whoever says, when he goes to his bed: ‘Astaghfirullah al-Aẓim alladhi la ilaha illa huwal-Ḥayyul-Qayyum‘ (I seek forgiveness from Allah, the Magnificent, the One whom there is none worthy of worship except for Him, the Living, the Sustainer) three times, Allah shall forgive him his sins even if they are as many as the drops of the sea." (Tirmidhi, Daawat, 17)

It is not enough for a person to ask for forgiveness only through the tongue; his intention and deeds should confirm his tongue. The most acceptable repentance is the one done by giving up committing sins decisively and asking forgiveness from Allah. It is called "tawbah nasuh".

The following narration about Hz. Ali shows us how repentance should be:

"Once a Bedouin entered the mosque of the Prophet and said,

"O Allah! I repent and ask forgiveness from you." Then, he performed his prayer. When the man finished his prayer, Hz. Ali said to him,  

"O man! The repentance done only through the tongue is the repentance of liars. Your repentance needs repentance." Thereupon, the man said,

"O leader of the believers! What is repentance?" Thereupon, Hz. Ali said,  

"Repentance is possible through the following six things:

1. To regret the sins committed in the past and to perform the fard deeds that were missed in the past,

2. To stop wronging and harming others,

3. To eliminate enmity and hostility,

4. To diminish the soul that grows with sins and mistakes by making it obey Allah and to make the soul accept that it is worth nothing,

5. To make the soul that enjoys disobedience and committing sins obey Allah and keep away from sins,

6. To cry in return for each of his laughter."

In that case, a repentance in compliance with its conditions is also regarded as a deed of worshipping Allah. Thus, it will be acceptable. We do not hesitate for the acceptance of the deeds of worship that are in compliance with their conditions; similarly, it is necessary not to hesitate for the acceptance of a repentance that is in compliance with its conditions.

The following is stated in a verse:

"O ye who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere repentance: In the hope that your Lord will remove from you your ills and admit you to Gardens beneath which Rivers flow,- the Day that Allah will not permit to be humiliated the Prophet and those who believe with him. Their Light will run forward before them and by their right hands, while they say, "Our Lord! Perfect our Light for us, and grant us Forgiveness: for Thou hast power over all things." (at-Tahrim, 66/8)

A believer can repent for himself and ask for forgiveness for his parents, relatives and other believers that are dead or alive. It is expected that God Almighty will forgive them due to that prayer. There are various examples of prayers in the Quran regarding the issue:

"Our Lord!... Blot out our sins, and grant us forgiveness. Have mercy on us." (al-Baqara, 2/286);

"Moses prayed: O my Lord! forgive me and my brother! admit us to Thy mercy! For Thou art the Most Merciful of those who show mercy." (al-A'raf, 7/151);

"Forgive my father, for that he is among those astray." (ash-Shuara', 26/86);

"O our Lord! cover (us) with Thy Forgiveness - me, my parents, and (all) Believers, on the Day that the Reckoning will be established." (Ibrahim, 14/41).

Sayyidul-Istighfar Prayer:

The following hadith is reported for this prayer. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,  

"The most superior way of asking for forgiveness from Allah is as follows: ‘Allahumma anta Rabbi, La ilaha illa anta khalaqtani wa ana abduka wa ana ala ahdika wa wa'dika mastata'tu, audhu bika min sharri ma sana'tu, abuu laka bi ni'matika alayya wa abuu bi dhanbi faghfirli fa innahu la yaghfirudh dhunuba illa anta.’"

Its meaning is as follows:

"O Allah! You are my Lord. There is no true god except You. You have created me, and I am Your slave, and I hold to Your Covenant as far as I can. I seek refuge in You from the evil of what I have done. I acknowledge the favors that You have bestowed upon me, and I confess my sins. Pardon me, for none but You has the power to pardon."

Then, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) added the following:

"He who supplicates in these terms during the day with firm belief in it and dies on the same day before the evening, he will be one of the dwellers of Paradise; and if anyone supplicates in these terms during the night with firm belief in it and dies before the morning, he will be one of the dwellers of Paradise." (Bukhari, Daawat, 2)

A person who breaks his repentance is held responsible for breaking his promise to Allah. The person who breaks his repentance must repent again.

MAN is a being that can commit SINS. There is nobody who can say, “It is impossible for me to commit sins.” Everybody approaches the pit of sins somehow and sometimes falls into it.

We continue our lives in a balance of the mind and heart. However, since man does not consist of the mind and heart only, sometimes we cannot control our will and we commit sins by being aware or unaware of it under the influence of dominant feelings, primarily the soul, disobedient feelings, unbridled desires and irresistible illusions.

Actually, Allah created various means to make us approach Him, need Him and attract us to Him. For instance, He gave us the feeling of hunger to make us need sustenance and show that He was ar-Razzaq (the Sustainer) and made us stick to Him. As slaves, we asked from Him all of our needs; we recognized Him as the Sustainer, the real provider of sustenance. That is, the name ar-Razzaq makes it necessary for us to feel hungry.

At the same time, we are sinners. Allah is the Forgiver. We make mistakes; Allah forgives us. We disobey Him; Allah pardons us. We repent; Allah accepts our repentance. Allah is al-Ghafur (the Forgiver, al-Afuww (the Pardoner), al-Ghaffar (the Forgiving), at-Tawwab (the Acceptor to Repentance). The sins that we commit take us to those names of Allah and lead us toward Him. Thus, we know Allah by His names, al-Ghafur and al-Ghaffar. As Badiuzzaman says, “the name al-Ghaffar necessitates the existence of sins, and the name as-Sattar (the Veiler) necessitates the existence of mistakes.’ To put it more clearly, sins need to be committed so that the name of Allah, al-Ghaffar, will be manifest. Mistakes need to be made so that Allah will show that He does not display His servants’ mistakes and show that he is as-Sattar.  

Our beloved Prophet expresses that nice reality beautifully as follows in a hadith:

“By Him in Whose Hand is my life, if you were not to commit sins, Allah would sweep you out of existence and He would replace you by those people who would commit sins and seek forgiveness from Allah, and He would have pardoned them.”1

There should be as much repentance as the amount of sins

Man is deceived by his soul and devil; he cannot control his sins and his will, and then he commits a sin; then, he regrets doing it and repents time and time again. According to what we learn from hadiths, this state, in which a person applies his Lord with repentance due to his sins, pleases God Almighty.

Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates:

The Messenger of Allah reported from his Lord:

A servant committed a sin and he said: O Allah, forgive me my sins.
And God Almighty said: My servant committed a sin and then he came to realize that he has a Lord Who forgives the sins and takes to account (the sinner) for the sin.
He then again committed a sin and said: My Lord, forgive me my sin.
And God Almighty said: My servant committed a sin and then came to realize that he has a Lord Who would forgive his sin or would take (him) to account for the sin.
He again committed a sin and said: My Lord, forgive me for my sin.
God Almighty said: My servant has committed a sin and then came to realize that he has a Lord Who forgives the sins or takes (him) to account for sin. O servant, do what you like. I have granted you forgiveness.”2

Imam Nawawi, the great hadith scholar, deduced the following judgment from the hadith:

“Even if sins are repeated a hundred times, a thousand times or more and if a person repents each time, his repentance is accepted. Or, if he repents once for all sins, his repentance is valid.”

In another hadith, it is stated that if a person who repents repeats a sin seventy times a day, he will not be regarded as a person “insisting on committing sins”.3

The explanation of Ali (ra) relating the issue is more interesting:

“I wonder at a person who perishes although he has a prescription of salvation. That prescription is repentance.”

Besides, his names al-Ghaffar and at-Tawwab mean ‘one who forgives a lot, who accepts to repentance a lot, who pardons a person that repents whenever he commits a sin, who accepts to the repentance of a person whenever he repents’. If God Almighty forgave His slave only once in his life, He would not give him the opportunity to commit sins after that. That is, if Allah had not wanted to forgive, He would not have given us the feeling of asking for forgiveness. 

On the other hand, it is a grant, grace and gift of God Almighty to forgive sins. As it is indicated in the hadith, man’s being punished due to his sins is the manifestation of justice. As Said Nursi puts it, “God Almighty’s forgiving sinners is His grace; His punishing them is His justice.”

The generation of the Companions that were educated by the Prophet (pbuh) comprehended this fine point very well. They comprehended the sublime names of Allah very well and acted in accordance with them in their lives. When the hadiths that they reported are examined, it is not difficult to understand the level of that education and their capacity of comprehension.

For instance, Anas 8ra) informs us that no matter how many sins a slave has committed and no matter how many times he has asked for forgiveness, his request will never remain unanswered. 

Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) says, “I heard the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) say,

“Allah stated: O son of Adam! I will forgive your sins no matter how many you have committed irrespective of their greatness as long as you pray to Me and you expect forgiveness from Me. O son of Adam! I will forgive you even if your sins are so many as to fill the skies if you ask forgiveness from Me. O son of Adam!  If you come to Me with so many sins as to fill the earth, I will welcome you with so much mercy as to fill the earth if you have not associated partners with Me.”4

In one of his hadiths, our Prophet (pbuh) tells us that when a slave regrets and repents due to a sin he has committed and turns to Allah, it is like the joy of a person in the desert who has nothing but a camel when he finds his camel after losing it:

“Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His believing servant than a person who loses his riding beast carrying food and drink. He sleeps and then gets up and goes in search for that, until he is stricken with thirst. Then, he comes back to the place where he had been before and goes to sleep completely exhausted placing his head upon his hands waiting for death. And when he gets up, lot there is before him his riding beast and his provisions of food and drink. Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His servant than the recovery of this riding beast along with the provisions (of food and drink).”5

Can a woman throw her child into fire?

The mercy and compassion of God Almighty is endless. They are enough for all of His slaves and the whole world. He does not leave His slaves who knows Him but cannot abandon sins and who are slaves of their souls on their own. In other words, God Almighty attracts the slave who approaches him to His area of mercy by creating various means. That is, Allah did not create His slave to punish him; He did not send him to the world in order to find an opportunity to send him to Hell. A person will not throw his own child into fire due to his mistake; similarly, Allah will not deprive His slaves who know Him as their Lord of His endless mercy; He will not throw them into Hell. 

Umar (ra) gives us the good news of the Prophet when he narrates an occasion that he witnessed during the period of the Era of Bliss.

It was after a battle. There was also a woman who was searching for someone and whenever she found a child amongst the prisoners, she took hold of it, pressed it against her chest and provided it suck. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (pbuh) said:

Do you think this woman would ever throw her child in the fire?

They said: ‘she would never throw the child in Fire.'

Thereupon Allah's Messenger (pbuh) said:

Allah is more kind to His servants than this woman is to her child.6

The hadiths express the endless forgiveness and mercy of God Almighty. Similarly, the verses, which are unerring principles, remind us an important point after giving the general criteria. And that point is not to harm the consciousness of servitude and not to exceed the limits of respect toward the Lord. One should not continue to commit sins after repenting, thinking that Allah will forgive anyway so that the secret of slavery will not disappear. The Quran points to that reality as follows:

“And those who having done something to be ashamed of, or wronged their own souls earnestly bring Allah to mind; and ask for forgiveness for their sins,―and who can forgive sins except Allah?,―And are never obstinate in persisting knowingly in (the wrong) they have done..”7

Spiritual elevation through sins

If the slave takes refuge in Allah more seriously due to his sin and turns to Him more sincerely, he can be elevated spiritually. The Quran defines that reality as ‘transforming sins into rewards’. 

“Unless he repents, believes, and works righteous deeds, for Allah will change the evil of such persons into good and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”8

Not only does God Almighty forgive the sins of people who confess their crimes and sins, and regret what they have done, He also replaces the sins with rewards. Therefore, some scholars say, “there are some sins that are more useful than many deeds of worship for the believer”.

Everybody can make mistakes, or rather, everybody makes mistakes and commits sins. However, there some sinners who are good people. Our Prophet expresses the good aspect of committing sins as follows.:

“Everybody makes mistakes, but the best ones of the sinners are those who repent and ask for forgiveness a lot.”9

A person who makes mistakes can both be a good person and be elevated to the state of a beloved slave of Allah by repenting. That glad tiding of the Quran is one of the best glad tidings presented to man by Islam:

“Allah loves those who keep themselves pure and clean.”10

Our Prophet interpreted that verse as follows:

“Doubtlessly, Allah loves His slave who repents again and again although he commits sins repeatedly.”11

Being really conscious of that love of Allah, our Prophet repented and asked for forgiveness seventy times a day and sometimes one hundred times although he did not commit any sins and he was protected from sins because there exists the rank and joy of love in repentance.

However, it is necessary not to misuse the issue by thinking of things like, “is it all right if we commit sins first and then repent since sins are transformed into rewards?” 

Such an approach is contrary to the manners of servitude above all things. Such an attitude means to test Allah and to ignore the orders of the religion, that is, not to understand the essence of the issue. In many verses, it is stated that the authority to forgive belongs to Allah, that Allah will forgive whomever He wishes and will punish whomever He wishes; thus, attention is attracted to the balance of fear and hope.

Furthermore, will a person who commits sins by thinking, “I will repent anyway” have the opportunity to repent, will he live long enough to repent, does he have a life guarantee? And the most important of all, will Allah give him the opportunity to repent since his acts attract the wrath of Allah? It is necessary to take them into consideration? 

“A person who fulfills fard duties and avoids major sins is saved.”

However, the most important issue of a believer who is exposed to hundreds of sins every day is to try to avoid sins, to keep away from the sinful environments and not to approach the doors that are open to sins. He needs to drive away the evil and keep away from evil acts. He can reach taqwa only this way because it is fard to quit a haram and a major sin. To fulfill a fard duty is more rewarding than to fulfill a sunnah. When taqwa is accepted as an attitude, turning away from sins only once despite the attack of thousands of sins will enable one to quit hundreds of sins, hence fulfill hundreds of fard and wajib acts. Thus, keeping away from sins with the intention of taqwa paves the way for many good deeds because, in our age a person who fulfills fard duties and avoids major sins is saved.”12

The Quran informs us about that salvation, that is, those who avoid major sins will reach bounties, grants and the bliss of Paradise:

“If ye (but) eschew the most heinous of the things which ye are forbidden to do, We shall expel out of you all the evil in you and admit you to a Gate of great honour.”13

Then, “Give life to your life through belief, and adorn it with religious duties. And preserve it by abstaining from sins.”14

Sources:

1. Muslim, Tawba 9.
2. Bukhari, Tawhid 35; Muslim, Tawba 29.
3. Musnad, 5:130.
4. Tirmidhi Daawat 98.
5. Muslim, Tawba 3.
6. Bukhari, Adab 19, Muslim, Tawba 22.
7. Aal-i-Imran, 3:135.
8. al-Furqan, 25:70.
9. Tirmidhi, Qiyama 49.
10. al-Baqara
11. Musnad, 1:80.
12. Risale-i Nur Collection, 2:1632.
13. an-Nisa.
14. Risale-i Nur Collection, 1:5.