Repentance

عن أنس بن مالك رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : «للَّهُ أَفْرَحُ بِتَوْبَةِ عَبْدِهِ مِنْ أَحَدِكُمْ، سَقَطَ عَلَى بَعِيرِهِ، وَقَدْ أَضَلَّهُ فِي أَرْضِ فَلاَةٍ». وفي رواية: «لَلَّهُ أَشَدُّ فَرَحًا بِتَوْبَةِ عَبْدِهِ حِينَ يَتُوبُ إِلَيْهِ، مِنْ أَحَدِكُمْ كَانَ عَلَى رَاحِلَتِهِ بِأَرْضِ فَلَاةٍ، فَانْفَلَتَتْ مِنْهُ وَعَلَيْهَا طَعَامُهُ وَشَرَابُهُ، فَأَيِسَ مِنْهَا، فَأَتَى شَجَرَةً، فَاضْطَجَعَ فِي ظِلِّهَا، وقَدْ أَيِسَ مِنْ رَاحِلَتِهِ، فَبَيْنَا هُوَ كَذَلِكَ إِذَا هُوَ بِهَا، قَائِمَةً عِنْدَهُ، فَأَخَذَ بِخِطَامِهَا، ثُمَّ قَالَ مِنْ شِدَّةِ الْفَرَحِ: اللهُمَّ أَنْتَ عَبْدِي وَأَنَا رَبُّكَ! أَخْطَأَ مِنْ شِدَّةِ الْفَرَح».

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informs us that Allah is extremely pleased with His slave's return to Him by obeying Him and fulfilling His commands, sincerely from his heart. His pleasure is more than the pleasure of a person who was in a desert with no one around him – no water, food, or people – and he lost his camel. He looked for it but failed to find it. So he went to lie under a tree awaiting death. He lost hope in finding his camel and lost hope in life, for his food and drink were on the back of his lost camel. Then suddenly, in this state of hopelessness, he finds his camel right in front of him, its reins attached to the same tree he slept beneath. What is comparable to such happiness? No one can truly relate to such joy except one who was in the same situation. Indeed, it is great joy; joy of life after death. For this reason he took hold of its reins and cried, "O Allah, You are my slave and I am Your Lord!" He wanted to praise Allah saying: "O Allah, You are my Lord and I am Your slave!" but due to his extreme joy, he confused his words.

-نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين، نشر: مؤسسة الرسالة، الطبعة: الرابعة عشر، 1407هـ - 1987م. -دليل الفالحين لطرق رياض الصالحين، لابن علان، نشر دار الكتاب العربي. -شرح رياض الصالحين، لابن عثيمين، نشر: دار الوطن للنشر، الرياض، الطبعة: 1426هـ. -كنوز رياض الصالحين، نشر: دار كنوز إشبيليا، الطبعة: الأولى، 1430ه 2009م. -تطريز رياض الصالحين، لفيصل الحريملي، نشر: دار العاصمة، الرياض، الطبعة: الأولى، 1423هـ. - 2002م. -بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، للهلالي، نشر: دار ابن الجوزي. -المعجم الوسيط، نشر: دار إحياء التراث العربي، بيروت – لبنان، الطبعة: الثانية. -صحيح البخاري، نشر: دار طوق النجاة (مصورة عن السلطانية بإضافة ترقيم ترقيم محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي)، الطبعة: الأولى، 1422هـ. -صحيح مسلم، تحقيق: محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، نشر: دار إحياء التراث العربي – بيروت.

عَنْ أَبِي مُوسَى رضي الله عنه عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: «إِنَّ اللهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يَبْسُطُ يَدَهُ بِاللَّيْلِ لِيَتُوبَ مُسِيءُ النَّهَارِ، وَيَبْسُطُ يَدَهُ بِالنَّهَارِ لِيَتُوبَ مُسِيءُ اللَّيْلِ، حَتَّى تَطْلُعَ الشَّمْسُ مِنْ مَغْرِبِهَا».

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informs that: Allah Almighty accepts repentance from His slaves. When the slave commits a sin during the day and repents at night, Allah accepts his repentance; and when he commits a sin during the night and repents at day, Allah accepts his repentance as well. Allah Almighty extends His Hand to repentance by way of joy and acceptance. The door of repentance will remain open until the sun rises from the west, indicating the end of the world. When this happens, the door of repentance will be shut.

• The acceptance of repentance will continue as long as its door is open, and its door will be shut when the sun rises from the west, and as long as one repents before the death rattle, i.e., when the soul reaches the throat.
• One's sin should not lead him to be desperate and hopeless because Allah's pardon and mercy are vast and the door of repentance is open.
• Conditions of repentance: First: To abandon the sin. Second: To regret doing it. Third: To be determined not to return to it ever. This applies in case the sin has to do with the rights of Allah Almighty; however, if it is related to others' rights, then a condition of the validity of the repentance is to restore the right to its owner or the one to whom the right is due forgives him.

صحيح مسلم (4/ 2113) (2759). نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين، لمجموعة من الباحثين (1/ 35). شرح رياض الصالحين، لابن عثيمين (1/ 103). بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، لسليم الهلالي (1/ 55).

عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ رضي الله عنه قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: «قَالَ اللَّهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى: يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ إِنَّكَ مَا دَعَوْتَنِي وَرَجَوْتَنِي غَفَرْتُ لَكَ عَلَى مَا كَانَ فِيكَ وَلاَ أُبَالِي، يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ لَوْ بَلَغَتْ ذُنُوبُكَ عَنَانَ السَّمَاءِ ثُمَّ اسْتَغْفَرْتَنِي غَفَرْتُ لَكَ، وَلاَ أُبَالِي، يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ إِنَّكَ لَوْ أَتَيْتَنِي بِقُرَابِ الأَرْضِ خَطَايَا ثُمَّ لَقِيتَنِي لاَ تُشْرِكُ بِي شَيْئًا لأَتَيْتُكَ بِقُرَابِهَا مَغْفِرَةً».

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed that Allah Almighty said in a Qudsi Hadīth: O son of Adam, as long as you supplicate Me and hope for My mercy and do not despair, I will conceal your sin and eliminate it, not minding about that, even if the sin is one of the major ones. O son of Adam, if your sins grow so numerous that they fill what is between the heavens and the earth, extending over its different corners and areas, and then you ask forgiveness of Me, I shall erase and forgive all of them, not caring about how numerous they are. O son of Adam, if you come to Me after death with sins and misdeeds nearly as great as the earth, and you have died as a monotheist, not associating anything with Me, I will meet these sins and misdeeds with forgiveness as great as the earth, for I am vast in forgiveness and I forgive all sins except for Shirk.

• The Hadīth shows Allah's vast mercy, forgiveness, and bounty.
• It highlights the merit of Tawhīd and that Allah forgives the sins and misdeeds of the monotheists.
• It demonstrates the danger of Shirk and that Allah does not forgive the polytheists.
• Ibn Rajab said: This Hadīth comprises the three means whereby forgiveness of sins can be attained: First: supplication along with hope. Second: asking for forgiveness and repentance. Third: dying upon Tawhīd.
• This Hadīth is part of what the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) narrated from his Lord, and it is called a Qudsi or divine Hadīth. Its wording and meaning are from Allah; however, it does not have the unique characteristics of the Qur'an that include reciting it as a form of worship, getting purified for it, presenting it as a challenge, its miraculousness, etc.
• Sins are of three types: First: Associating partners with Allah; Allah does not forgive that. Allah Almighty says: {Whoever associates any partners with Allah, Allah has forbidden Paradise for him.} Second: A person doing wrong to himself through the sins and misdeeds committed between him and his Lord. Allah Almighty pardons and forgives that, if He so wills. Third: Sins of which Allah leaves nothing, and that is people's oppression to one another; in this regard, legal retribution is necessary.

سنن الترمذي (5/ 509) (3540). التحفة الربانية في شرح الأربعين حديثًا النووية، لإسماعيل الأنصاري (ص93). شرح الأربعين النووية، لابن عثيمين (ص397).

‌عن عَلِيٍّ قَالَ: إِنِّي كُنْتُ رَجُلًا إِذَا سَمِعْتُ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ حَدِيثًا نَفَعَنِي اللهُ مِنْهُ بِمَا شَاءَ أَنْ يَنْفَعَنِي بِهِ، وَإِذَا حَدَّثَنِي رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِهِ اسْتَحْلَفْتُهُ، فَإِذَا حَلَفَ لِي صَدَّقْتُهُ، وَإِنَّهُ حَدَّثَنِي ‌أَبُو بَكْرٍ، وَصَدَقَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ، قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: «مَا مِنْ رَجُلٍ يُذْنِبُ ذَنْبًا، ثُمَّ يَقُومُ فَيَتَطَهَّرُ، ثُمَّ يُصَلِّي، ثُمَّ يَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ، إِلَّا غَفَرَ اللهُ لَهُ»، ثُمَّ قَرَأَ هَذِهِ الْآيَةَ: {وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا فَعَلُوا فَاحِشَةً أَوْ ظَلَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ ذَكَرُوا اللهَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا لِذُنُوبِهِمْ} [آل عمران: 135].

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed us that no one commits a sin, then makes a perfect ablution, then gets up and offers two Rak‘ahs (units of prayer) with the intention of repenting of this sin, then asks Allah to forgive him, except that Allah will forgive him. Then, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) recited the verse in which Allah Almighty says: {And those who, when they commit a shameful act or wrong themselves, remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins – who can forgive sins except Allah? – and they do not persist in what they did knowingly.} [Surat Āl ‘Imrān: 135]

• Urging Muslims to pray and then seek Allah's forgiveness after committing a sin.
• The extensive forgiveness of Allah Almighty and His acceptance of repentance and seeking forgiveness.

سنن أبي داود (2/ 630) (1521)، سنن الترمذي (1/ 431) (406)، السنن الكبرى للنسائي (10/ 51) (11012)، سنن ابن ماجه (2/ 403) (1395)، مسند أحمد (1/ 179) (2)، فتح الباري لابن حجر (11/ 99)، النهاية في غريب الحديث والأثر (ص 674).