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‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Sit with the oft-repentant, for they have the softest hearts.”
I have done wrong, not right, and then come to You, repentant and hoping for Your forgiveness.
If You do not accept me, none would be in more loss and disappointment than me.
Let us spend some time with Allah’s name “At-Tawwāb”.
What an excellent name “At-Tawwāb” is! It gives the sinner hope to start anew and enter the phase of happiness and get out of the circle of frustration and darkness. {Do they not know that it is Allah Who accepts repentance from His servants and receives charities and that it is Allah Who is the Accepting of Repentance, the Most Merciful?} [Surat at-Tawbah: 104]
Our Lord is the Accepting of Repentance. He described Himself as such, in an exaggerated form, because of the large number of His servants whose repentance He accepts. Also, since His servants commit sins repeatedly, the exaggerated form indicates His vast acceptance of repentance that suits major sins.
He continues to accept the repentance and forgive the sins of those who repent and turn to Him, even if they repeat their sins and then repent endlessly.
Allah Almighty says: {But whoever repents after his wrongdoing and mends his ways, Allah will surely accept his repentance. Indeed, Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.} [Surat al-Mā’idah: 39]
A man came to the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and said: “O Messenger of Allah, one of us commits a sin.” He said: “It will be recorded against him.” The man said: “He asks forgiveness for it and repents.” He said: “He will be forgiven and his repentance will be accepted, and Allah does not get bored of that, but you get bored.” [Al-Mustadrak; Hasan (sound)]
Whoever repents to Allah sincerely, Allah will accept his repentance.
Look at the bounty of Allah Almighty as He makes the repentance of His servant preceded and followed by acceptance from Him, Exalted be He!
He initially turns to him as He permits, guides, and inspires him to repent. That is a favor from Allah, the Generous Lord, the Most Merciful, and the Accepting of Repentance.
Then, when he actually repents to Allah, He accepts his repentance and pardons his errors and sins. Allah Almighty says: {...Then He turned to them so they could repent. Indeed, Allah is the Accepting of repentance, the Most Merciful.} [Surat at-Tawbah: 118]
There is no god except Allah. Repentance is a favor from Him, from beginning to end.
So, the Accepting of Repentance is the One Who inspires and allows His servant to repent
and then accepts his repentance, as a favor from Him.
The same holds true for good deeds. Allah inspires us and enables us to perform good deeds and then rewards us for them. So, it is all benevolence, bounty, and favor from Him.
Repentance is due upon all mankind, in all stages of life, including the pious and sinful amongst them as Allah Almighty says: {...And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, so that you might succeed.} [Surat an-Nūr: 31]
Repentance falls under the perfection that Allah loves. It is not a deficiency. Allah Almighty says: {...Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves.} [Surat al-Baqarah: 222] He also says: {Allah has already forgiven the Prophet and the Emigrants and the Supporters...} [Surat at-Tawbah: 117]
And He says about Adam (peace be upon him): {Then Adam received from his Lord [some] words, and He accepted his repentance...} [Surat al-Baqarah: 37]
About Abraham and Ishmael (peace be upon both of them), He says: {...And show us our rites and accept our repentance. Indeed, You are the Accepting of repentance, the Most Merciful.} [Surat al-Baqarah: 128]
And He says about Moses (peace be upon him): {...And when he awoke, he said: “Glorified are You! I have repented to You, and I am the first of the believers.”} [Surat al-A‘rāf: 143]
It is well known that the prophets (peace be upon them) would not persist in any sin, small or great. Repentance would serve to raise their ranks and increase their pious acts. Indeed, Allah loves those who constantly repent to Him and loves those who purify themselves.
The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “By Allah, I ask Allah for forgiveness and repent to Him more than seventy times a day.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri]
Allah Almighty knows that His servants are not free from shortcomings and deficiencies. He created them this way so that His mercy, forgiveness, and acceptance of repentance can manifest amongst them. The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) is authentically reported to have said: “If you were not to commit sins that Allah would forgive, Allah would replace you with people who would commit sins that He would forgive.” [Narrated by Muslim]
In another Hadīth, the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “All human beings are sinners; the best sinners are those who constantly repent.” [Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi; Sahīh (authentic)]
Allah Almighty praises the acceptance of His servants’ repentance, as He says: {The forgiver of sin, acceptor of repentance, severe in punishment, owner of abundance. There is no deity except Him; to Him is the final return.} [Surat Ghāfir: 3]
Allah Almighty wants His servants to know that He accepts repentance from them, regardless of how grave their sins may be: {...Indeed, Allah forgives all sins...} [Surat az-Zumar: 53]
In fact, Allah neither needs us nor does He need our worship. Nonetheless, He is so pleased when one of His servants repents to Him. What a Generous, Great, and Merciful Lord He is!
The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Indeed, Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His believing servant than a man in a desert, who loses his mount carrying his food and drink. Then he sleeps and when he gets up, it is gone. So, he goes in search for it until he is stricken with thirst.
Then, he says to himself: ‘I will go back to the place where I was and sleep there until I die.’ He places his head upon his forearm waiting for death. And when he gets up, lo! There is before him his mount and his provision of food and drink on it. So, Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His believing servant than this man is pleased with his mount and provision.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy upon him) said: “Anyone who repents is loved by Allah.” {...Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves.} [Surat al-Baqarah: 222]
So, the One Who is Merciful to His servants is worthy of receiving all the love and to be worshiped alone, without any partner. Manifestations of such love for Him should be apparent in devoting worship sincerely to Him and in drawing close to Him by obeying Him and loving whomever and whatever He loves and hating whomever and whatever He hates.
Bilāl ibn Sa‘d said: “You have a Lord Who does not hasten to punish anyone of you. He forgives sins, accepts repentance, draws near those coming to Him, and shows compassion to those turning away from Him.” {And it is He Who accepts repentance from His servants and pardons misdeeds, and He knows what you do.} [Surat ash-Shūra: 25]
Repentance is escaping from disobedience to obedience, from sins to good deeds, and from the loneliness of being distant from Allah to the intimacy and tranquility of being close to Him.
In repentance, one turns away from the punishment of the Almighty Lord to His vast mercy, from His wrath to His pleasure, and from Him to Him. Indeed, we cannot praise Him enough, we cannot find refuge from Him except in Him, and we cannot flee from Him but to Him. {Flee, therefore, to Allah. Surely I am a clear warner to you from Him.} [Surat adh-Dhāriyāt: 50]
O Lord, no matter how great my sins are, I supplicate You as You have commanded me.
If only the one who does good can seek refuge in You, then to whom can the wrongdoer resort?
‘Ali ibn Abi Tālib (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “I wonder how one can be ruined despite having the means of salvation!” He was asked: “What is it?” He said: “Repentance and asking for Allah’s forgiveness.”
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy upon him) said: “The thing that mostly prompts a Muslim to commit a sin is his reliance upon repentance. If he only knew that he may be prevented from it, he would be quite fearful.”
Sincere repentance requires one to necessarily give up the sin, regret what he did, and be determined not to return to it, and he should replace his sin with a good deed. Moreover, if the sin has something to do with the rights of others, he should ask them to absolve and forgive him.
Shaqīq al-Balkhi (may Allah have mercy upon him) said: “The sign of repentance is: crying over the past sin, fearing from committing it again, abandoning evil companions, and sticking to good people.”
Allah Almighty accepts sincere repentance except in two cases: when the sun rises in the west, and when the person is in the throes of death.
Allah Almighty may afflict His believing servant with something from which he should repent so that his servitude to Him becomes complete and he turns to his Lord and implores Him in humble submission.
Many are those who turn away from Allah Almighty and then life becomes tough for them, driving them to come back. Then when they return and taste the sweetness of being close to their Lord and the blessing of uprightness and repentance, they give thanks to Allah for the affliction and hardship that were instrumental in their salvation and success. {And We will surely let them taste the nearer punishment short of the greater punishment, so that they may return.} [Surat as-Sajdah: 21]
So, if you are left to persist in your sins and deviation and enjoy blessings around, and you do not repent, you should know that you are hated and being gradually drawn to punishment. Allah Almighty says: {When they forgot the reminder that they were given, We opened for them the doors of everything – until when they rejoiced in pride for what they were given, We seized them by surprise, so they fell into utter despair.} [Surat al-An‘ām: 44]
When you declare your repentance, you should implore your Lord to make you steadfast. The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) used to supplicate Allah saying: “Allāhumma ya muqallib al-qulūb thabbit qalbi ‘ala dīnik (O Allah, Turner of the hearts, make my heart steadfast upon Your religion).” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri in Al-Adab al-Mufrad; Sahīh (authentic)]
O Allah, pardon us, for indeed You are the Accepting of Repentance, the Most Merciful, and forgive us and our parents, verily, You are the All-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.