Is it possible to understand whether a repentance has been accepted or not? Can a person who breaks his repentance and commits sins repent again?

Dear Brother / Sister,

It is not possible for a person to know definitely whether his repentance has been accepted. However, it can be felt through some changes in his life that his repentance has been accepted

When the scholars were asked, "Can a slave know whether his repentance has been accepted or not?", they gave the following answer:

There is no definite decree regarding the issue but there are signs showing that the repentance has been accepted.

They are as follows:

- To see oneself away from sins,
- To feel that the joy in his heart has decreased and to feel the power of Almighty Lord,
- To approach good people and to keep away from sinners,
- To regard few worldly goods as a lot and to regard a lot of deeds related to the hereafter as few,
- To keep his heart busy with the things that Allah rendered fard,
- To control his tongue,
- To contemplate all the time and to regret what one has done. (Imam Ghazali, Mukashafatul Qulub, p. 40)

Islamic scholars, based on verses of the Qur’an and Hadiths, have outlined the conditions required for a valid and accepted repentance (tawbah).

According to them, for a repentance to be accepted by Allah, the following conditions must be fulfilled: A person must stop committing the sin immediately, feel sincere remorse for having done it, and make a firm intention never to return to it. If the sin committed involves the rights of another person, then it is necessary to seek forgiveness from the one who was wronged and to ask forgiveness from Allah.

In such cases, freeing oneself from the burden of violating someone’s rights can only be done by returning the right to its owner or their heirs, or by seeking their pardon.

Scholars have also added a fourth condition for repentance to be fully accepted by Allah: Making up for past wrongs through righteous deeds and good conduct.

For a human being—who is naturally prone to following their desires—this is a difficult test. Therefore, in beginning the journey of repentance, the priority must be to firmly resolve not to return to the sin again.

However, if a person commits the sin again, they should still repent with sincerity and once more resolve not to repeat it. As mentioned in a hadith: “A person who continually seeks forgiveness from Allah will not be considered as one who insists upon sin.” (Ebu Dawud, Witr, 26; Tirmidhi, Da‘awat, 106)

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