i showkat ahmad wants to repent frm sins
The word tauba which is
rendered as repentance in
English, is not a simple term
as most people believe. It is
very rich in meaning and
implication, and is not
simply a word of mouth
after which the sinner
continues in his sins. Says
Allah, Glorified be He: "Seek
forgiveness of your Lord
and then turn to Him in
repentance." (Hud: 3). Do
you notice how turning to
the Lord in repentance has
been added to the search
for His forgiveness?
It is quite in keeping with
its importance, therefore,
that repentance should
have, as the scholars have
stated, conditions attached
to it for its acceptance.
They are as follows:
First: Giving up of
the sin itself.
Second: Remorse
over what has been
committed.
Third: A resolve not
to repeat it, and,
Fourth: Compensating
those who have been
wronged or obtaining
their forgiveness.
Scholars have also
mentioned some other
conditions such as the
following that we present
with some examples.
First, the giving up of the
sin should be for the sake
Allah alone, and not for any
other reason such as: fear
of the people, inability to
commit it, and so forth. He,
for instance, who gives up
a sin because it affects his
position in the society
adversely, or because it
harm s him in his
profession, is not a
repenter. Nor is he who
gave up for sake of his
health such as he who gave
up adultery from the fear
of contagious diseases, or
because it weakens his
body or mind. Nor is he the
repenter who gave up
theft because the house
was locked or he could not
open the safe, or yet
because he was afraid of
the guards or the police.
Neither is he a repenter
who did not accept bribes
because he feared the man
offering it could be an
informer. Nor is he a
repenter who gave up
wine or drugs because he
had no money to buy. So
also, he who could not do a
thing because it was
beyond his means, or out
of his reach will not be
counted as a repenter. For
instance, if a habitual liar is
affected by dumbness, or
an adulterer who has
become impotent, or a thief
who lost his limbs; in all
these cases, the feeling of
remorse over what has
been committed before, is a
condition for a person to
be called a repenter, even
as the non-existence of the
desire to go back to it is
another condition. Hence
the saying of the Prophet :
"Remorse is repentance."
Allah, glorified be He, treats
the man who has a strong
desire to do a thing, but is
incapable of carrying it out
for some reason, as equal
to one who does it. The
Prophet is recorded as
having said:
"There are four kinds of
people in the world.
"First, he whom Allah gave
wealth as well as
knowledge. This man, he
fears his Lord, does his
duty to his kin, and knows
what is Allah's right in it. He
is at the highest level.
"Second, the man whom
Allah gave knowledge but
not wealth. But he is true
of intention. He says, 'Had I
wealth, I would have done
such and such (good
things).' Since he is true of
intention, he and the first
man are equal in reward.
Third, the man whom Allah
gave wealth but not
knowledge. He spends his
wealth without restraint,
neither fearing his Lord,
nor giving his kin their
right, nor yet giving Allah
His due. He will be at the
lowest level.
And finally, he whom Allah
gave neither wealth nor
knowledge. He says, 'Had I
been given wealth, I would
have spent it in such and
such (evil) thing.' He will be
judged according to his
intention. He and the man
of the third category are
equal in sin."
Second, the repenting man
should additionally feel the
regret in his heart and ill
effects on his soul. That is,
true repentance does not
allow for taking pleasure
from past sins, or desire to
repeat the sin. How can he
wish it when the harms are
so numerous and so
serious? Ibn Qayyim, may
Allah be kind upon him,
states many harms of sins
in his book 'Ailments and
Cures'. Some of them are as
follows:
"Loss of knowledge - a
weird feeling in the heart -
difficulties in ordinary
affairs - weakening of the
body - loss of willingness
to do the bidding (of Allah)
- loss of barakah - loss of
inclination to do good
things - constrained feeling
in the heart - birth of evil
deeds - habituation to the
sins - unworthiness in the
sight of Allah - littleness in
the esteem of the people -
curses of the beasts upon
him - feeling of inferiority
in the heart - sealing of the
heart - earning qualification
for the curse of Allah -
unresponsiveness for Allah
to his supplications -
corruption in the land and
sea - loss of sense of honor
- loss of shame - loss of
blessings - descending of
Allah's anger - settling of
fear in the heart - increased
likelihood of falling in the
traps of Satan - an unhappy
end - and, - punishment in
the Hereafter."
Surely these are such harms
and ill effects that no sane
man would like to sin after
he has known about them.
But unfortunately, we find
that some people give up
one kind of sin only to
succumb to another kind.
There are various reasons
for this. Some are as
follows:
The belief that the
new sin is less
offensive in the sight
of Allah.
The base self has
greater inclination to it
than to the previous
sin.
The means for the
new sin are more
widely spread and
easily available, as
against the other kinds
of sins the means of
which may not be
easily available.
Because his pals also
commit that sin, and it
is difficult to part their
company.
Because such sins
would be a means of
earning a place of
honor among certain
people, a thing he
would not like to
relinquish, and so he
continues in those sins.
This happens with
people who are at the
helm of affairs. As it
happened with the
poet Abu Nuwas when
another poet Abu
'Atahi reproached him
over some of his
failings. Said Abu
Nuwas in reply:
Do you reckon me giving
up these frivolities O'
Atahi? Do you reckon me
losing my position among
my people?
Third, a sinner should
hasten to repent, for
procrastination in this
affair is itself a sin that
requires repentance.
Fourth, the fear that the
repentance may not have
been accepted at all. T his
will help against a fall into
the state of complacency
and a false sense of
security.
Fifth, feeling of the loss of
what was lost in the past
while the sinner was
engaged in his sins. For
instance the nonpayment
of zakah in which were the
dues of the poor (and for
the payment of which
means were then available).
Sixth, that the sinner
should move away from
the place where the sin
was committed. For if he
remains there the chances
of him falling into the same
sin exist.
Seventh, the sinner should
abandon the company of
those that helped him in
the sin. Says Allah: "Friends
that day will be enemy
unto each other - save for
the god-fearing." (Al-
Zukhruf: 67). These bad
companions will be cursing
each other on the day of
Reckoning. You should,
therefore, dear repenting
man, avoid these even
now, keeping a safe
distance from them. For if
you keep yourself in close
range of them you will fall
prey to Satan again and
succumb to their
temptations, especially
when you know that you
do suffer some
weaknesses. There are
many instances of people
going back to sins because
they failed to abandon bad
company.
Eighth, destruction of those
things and articles that help
in committing sins such as,
for instance, wine, musical
instruments, pictures, films,
erotic literature and so on.
These should be burned,
broken, or destroyed as the
case may be. This
abandoning of all previous
trappings at the threshold
of repentance and
perseverance is of extreme
importance. And how often
it has not been that the
mere presence of these
means of evil have tempted
the owners back into the
old sins after they had
repented.
Ninth, he should now, in
place of the bad
companions, select those
virtuous ones that will
support him in his new
resolve. He should begin to
attend those assemblies
where Allah is remembered
much, and from where
knowledge is disseminated.
He should also fill in his
vacant hours with useful
activities in order not to
allow Satan to wend his
way and remind him of the
past.
Tenth, rebuild his body -
that had been fed with the
"unlawful" so far - by
feeding it with the "lawful"
alone.
Eleventh, let him repent
before the signs of death
appear, and before the
signs of the Last Hour
arrive - such as the rising
of the sun from the West
for says a hadith: "Allah will
accept the repentance of
him who repented; before
the gurgling of the
throat." (meaning the last
breath). And another hadith
says: "Allah will accept the
repentance of him who
repented before the
appearance of the sun
from the West."
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