TURN TO ALLAH
BISMILLĀHIR RAHMĀNIR RAHĪM
Glory to Allāh and Salutations on Rasulullāh Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam
This
Dunyā, with all its glitter and glamour, is a very enticing place. At
times we get so carried away by it that we become its slave and forget
our Rabb. We start living a life that is totally against the commands of
Allāh Ta’ala and the Sunnāh of Rasulullāh (Sall-Allāhu ‘alayhi
wasallam).
It
is at this time that Almighty Allāh with His infinite mercy may decide
to give us a jolt or a shove so that we may come to our senses and
realize our mistakes. This jolt may come in the form of an accident, an
illness, loss in our business or setback in any of our worldly affairs.
As
soon as any one of the above calamities strikes us we get up from our
deep slumber and start wondering with much apprehension, “Why such a
thing has happened to me, what wrong have I done?”
At
that moment if we have a little bit of īmān, we start realizing how far
we have gone away from Allāh Ta’ala. This realization may lead most of
us turn to Allāh Ta’ala for His help. We profoundly start making Du’ā.
Our lifestyle gets drastically changed, our ‘Ibādat gets intensified,
our giving of Sadaqāh increases, we become very regular in reciting the
Qur’an and our piety level reaches a new height. In short, we try our
best to invoke the mercy of Allāh in every respect. And Allāh Ta’ala,
Ghafoor-ur-Rahim that He is, listens to our supplication and very
gracefully wards off the problem and normality starts returning to our
life.
This
in real fact is a very delicate and a decisive period. It is the time
when Allāh Subhānahu wa ta’ala is actually testing our sincerity. He
wants to know if His slave permanently maintains the piety level that he
has just achieved in his life or does he return to the same old life
full of disobedience of Allāh that he was used to, prior to the
calamity.
However,
human nature is such that as soon as our Du’ā is accepted and the
catastrophe starts shifting away from our life, most of us start
forgetting the favours of Allāh and gradually begin to return to our
past life of disobedience of the āhkām (commands) of Allāh. In other
words we become the same old selves. We forget the hard times we have
just gone through and how desperately we were pleading Allāh for His
divine help. This attitude can turn out to be very dangerous for our
Dunyā as well as for our Ākhirat as it can invoke the wrath of Allāh
Ta’ala.
Allāh Ta’ala in His sublime manner describes the situation thus in Qur’ān Majīd:
He
it is Who enables you to travel through land and sea, till when you are
in the ships and they sail with them with a favourable wind, and they
are glad therein, then comes a stormy wind and the waves come to them
from all sides, and they think that they are encircled therein, they
invoke Allāh, making their Faith pure for Him Alone, saying: “If You
(Allāh) deliver us from this, we shall truly be of the grateful.”
But
when He delivered them, behold! They rebel (disobey Allāh) in the earth
wrongfully. O mankind! Your rebellion (disobedience to Allāh) is only
against your own selves, – a brief enjoyment of this worldly life, then
(in the end) unto Us is your return, and We shall inform you that which
you used to do.
(Surāh: Yunus Verses: 22 and 23).
How
can we express our thanks to Allah with all sincerity for accepting of
our Du’ā when we were in a very precarious position? The best way is to
bring permanent changes in our life in conformity with His commands and
the Sunnah of Rasulullāh Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam and also, very
importantly, to invite others to the same.
With
plenty of Istighfār let us all make Du’ā to Allāh Ta’ala that He may
forgive all our shortcomings in obeying His commands and also make Du’ā
that He does not put us to any test and if at all He decides to test us
then we may pass that test to His satisfaction…Ameen.
…and Allāh Ta’ala Knows Best
Turning to Allah
“And
most surely I am most Forgiving to him who repents and believes and
does good, then continues to follow the right direction.” Qur'an, 20:82.
Sins and the ability to repent
Mothers do not give birth to sinful children, and children do not come to this world defiled with sins.
When
a baby comes to this life for the first time, his mind is empty of any
knowledge, intellect and information. He is completely ignorant of what
is around him. When he comes to this world, he does not know anything,
save crying and suckling. At the same time when he cries or suckles his
mother’s breast, he is ignorant of that too. Gradually instincts,
feelings and lusts move into the circle of his physiological being and
these bodily activitiesenter into the field of his life. Then the baby
begins to learn from the external environment and surroundings and from
the conduct of the others what is necessary for him to survive in this
life.
As
for the body of a baby, it is liable to different kinds of diseases and
calamities throughout his life. The same is said about his intellect,
soul, spirit and heart. Concerning morals, he is also liable to commit
sins and vices. Hence, sins are accidental to man just as diseases that
attack his body. Sin is something accidental and not spontaneous.
Bodily
diseases can be cured by following the instructions of a doctor but
intellect, spirit and soul, when diseased, can be cured by following the
instructions of Allah the Almighty and obeying His orders.
If
as inner knows his state and notices his wrongdoing and he knows what
he should do and what he should not do, he must get ready to repent, to
turn to Allah and to follow the instructions of the “Spiritual Doctor”
and then he will get out of the circle of sin to the circle of Allah’s
mercy. Thus, he gets free of sins and becomes pure, as he has been born.
A
sinner cannot pretend that he is unable to repent because he, who is
able to commit sins, is undoubtedly able to repent of those sins too.
Yes,
if we who are able to eat, drink, come and go, talk, get married, work,
play sports, travel and associate with other people will curb our
appetites or activities if a doctor asks us to in order to avoid
disease, then we should be able to avoid sins and falling into the abyss
of corruption and disobedience.
If
sinners make excuses for not repenting, Allah will not accept their
excuses. If sinners and disobeyers refuse to repent now, Allah will not
invite them to repent later.
Sinners
must accept the fact that they are able to refrain from sin in any ca
se and any condition. The Qur’anic verses show that Allah is kind to His
people, and He accepts their repentance and forgives sinnerseven if
their sins are as vast as the sands of deserts. In fact, Allah may
recompense sins with good doings.
Sinners
must perceive that if they do not hasten to stop committing sin and
being disobedient, and they do not purify their inner beings from sin’s
dregs, then Allah will torture them severely and punish them for their
sins and crimes with the worst punishment.
Allah talks about Himself in the holy Qur'an by saying:
“The Forgiver of the faults and the Acceptor of repentance, Severe to punish” (40:3)
Imam
Ali (as) described Allah the Almighty in the Iftitah supplication by
saying, “I have ascertained that You are the most Merciful of the
merciful at the time of forgiveness and mercy, and You are the severest
Punisher at the time of punishment and revenge1.”
Allah declares to His sinful people His saying:
“Say:
O my servants! who have acted extravagantly against their own souls, do
not despair of the mercy of Allah; surely Allah forgives the faults
altogether; surely He is the Forgiving the Merciful.” Qur’an 39:53
Hence,
if we understand the verses of the Qur'an that gives us the good news
that we have the ability to refrain from sins, and that Allah accepts
our repentance and is forgiving and merciful, then we have no excuse if
we delay repenting and keep on committing sins. Therefore repenting of
sins is a prompt, moral, and rational obligation for all sinners.
If
sinners do not hasten to repent, and they refuse to repair what they
have committed and to purify themselves from the filth of sin and
disobedience, then, in the afterlife, when they stand before Allah they
will not be excused by appealing to reason, conscience or wisdom. The
day of resurrection will come, when sinners will stand with deep regret,
calling loudly:
“Were there only areturning for me, I should be of the doers of good.” Qur’an, 39:58
Allah will reply to them:
“Aye! My revelations came to you, but you rejected them, and you were proud and you were one of the unbelievers.” Qur’an 39:59
On
that day, no excuses will be accepted from sinners. Faith and good
deeds al one will save them from the torture. Allah emphasizes the
inevitable end of such people when saying:
“And
had those who are unjust all that is in the earth and the like of it
with it, they would certainly offer it as ransom (to be saved) from the
evil of the punishment on the day of resurrection; and what they never
thought of shall become plain to them from Allah.” Qur’an 39:47
Imam
Ali (as) stresses in Du’a Kumayl that there will be no excuse accepted
from as inner when not repenting and turning to Allah and that Allah has
completed His authority over people by saying, “You have the authority
over me in all of that and I have no excuse before Your judgment against
me2.”
Mothers do not give birth to sinful children, and children do not come to this world defiled with sins.
When
a baby comes to this life for the first time, his mind is empty of any
knowledge, intellect and information. He is completely ignorant of what
is around him. When he comes to this world, he does not know anything,
save crying and suckling. At the same time when he cries or suckles his
mother’s breast, he is ignorant of that too. Gradually instincts,
feelings and lusts move into the circle of his physiological being and
these bodily activitiesenter into the field of his life. Then the baby
begins to learn from the external environment and surroundings and from
the conduct of the others what is necessary for him to survive in this
life.
As
for the body of a baby, it is liable to different kinds of diseases and
calamities throughout his life. The same is said about his intellect,
soul, spirit and heart. Concerning morals, he is also liable to commit
sins and vices. Hence, sins are accidental to man just as diseases that
attack his body. Sin is something accidental and not spontaneous.
Bodily
diseases can be cured by following the instructions of a doctor but
intellect, spirit and soul, when diseased, can be cured by following the
instructions of Allah the Almighty and obeying His orders.
If
as inner knows his state and notices his wrongdoing and he knows what
he should do and what he should not do, he must get ready to repent, to
turn to Allah and to follow the instructions of the “Spiritual Doctor”
and then he will get out of the circle of sin to the circle of Allah’s
mercy. Thus, he gets free of sins and becomes pure, as he has been born.
A
sinner cannot pretend that he is unable to repent because he, who is
able to commit sins, is undoubtedly able to repent of those sins too.
Yes,
if we who are able to eat, drink, come and go, talk, get married, work,
play sports, travel and associate with other people will curb our
appetites or activities if a doctor asks us to in order to avoid
disease, then we should be able to avoid sins and falling into the abyss
of corruption and disobedience.
If
sinners make excuses for not repenting, Allah will not accept their
excuses. If sinners and disobeyers refuse to repent now, Allah will not
invite them to repent later.
Sinners
must accept the fact that they are able to refrain from sin in any ca
se and any condition. The Qur’anic verses show that Allah is kind to His
people, and He accepts their repentance and forgives sinnerseven if
their sins are as vast as the sands of deserts. In fact, Allah may
recompense sins with good doings.
Sinners
must perceive that if they do not hasten to stop committing sin and
being disobedient, and they do not purify their inner beings from sin’s
dregs, then Allah will torture them severely and punish them for their
sins and crimes with the worst punishment.
Allah talks about Himself in the holy Qur'an by saying:
“The Forgiver of the faults and the Acceptor of repentance, Severe to punish” (40:3)
Imam
Ali (as) described Allah the Almighty in the Iftitah supplication by
saying, “I have ascertained that You are the most Merciful of the
merciful at the time of forgiveness and mercy, and You are the severest
Punisher at the time of punishment and revenge1.”
Allah declares to His sinful people His saying:
“Say:
O my servants! who have acted extravagantly against their own souls, do
not despair of the mercy of Allah; surely Allah forgives the faults
altogether; surely He is the Forgiving the Merciful.” Qur’an 39:53
Hence,
if we understand the verses of the Qur'an that gives us the good news
that we have the ability to refrain from sins, and that Allah accepts
our repentance and is forgiving and merciful, then we have no excuse if
we delay repenting and keep on committing sins. Therefore repenting of
sins is a prompt, moral, and rational obligation for all sinners.
If
sinners do not hasten to repent, and they refuse to repair what they
have committed and to purify themselves from the filth of sin and
disobedience, then, in the afterlife, when they stand before Allah they
will not be excused by appealing to reason, conscience or wisdom. The
day of resurrection will come, when sinners will stand with deep regret,
calling loudly:
“Were there only areturning for me, I should be of the doers of good.” Qur’an, 39:58
Allah will reply to them:
“Aye! My revelations came to you, but you rejected them, and you were proud and you were one of the unbelievers.” Qur’an 39:59
On
that day, no excuses will be accepted from sinners. Faith and good
deeds al one will save them from the torture. Allah emphasizes the
inevitable end of such people when saying:
“And
had those who are unjust all that is in the earth and the like of it
with it, they would certainly offer it as ransom (to be saved) from the
evil of the punishment on the day of resurrection; and what they never
thought of shall become plain to them from Allah.” Qur’an 39:47
Imam
Ali (as) stresses in Du’a Kumayl that there will be no excuse accepted
from as inner when not repenting and turning to Allah and that Allah has
completed His authority over people by saying, “You have the authority
over me in all of that and I have no excuse before Your judgment against
me2.”
A wonderful tradition on the authority of Allah over people
Abdul A’la, the freed slave of aalsam3 , narrated that he had heard Imam as-Sadiq (as) saying:
“On
the day of resurrection a beautiful woman, who has been deceived by her
beauty, will be brought to be tried. She will say, “O my Lord, You have
made me so beautiful so that I did so and so.” Then the Blessed Virgin
Mary (as) will be brought forward. It will be said (to the woman), “are
you more beautiful than this one? We have made her so beautiful but she
has not been deceived.” A handsome man, who has been deceived by his
beauty, will be brought. He will say, “O my Lord, you have made me
handsome until I got so and so from women.” Then Prophet Yousuf (Joseph)
(as) will be brought forward. It will be said (to the man), “Are you
more handsome than this one? We have made him so handsome but he has not
been deceived.” Then a miserable man, who has been deceived by (has
lost his faith because of) his calamities, will be brought forward. He
will say, “O my Lord, You have afflicted me with so many calamities that
I have been deceived.” Then Prophet Ayyoub (Job) (as) will be brought
forward. It will be said (to the man), “are your calamities severer than
this man’s? He has been tried but he has not been deceived (has not
lost his faith)4.”
Abdul A’la, the freed slave of aalsam3 , narrated that he had heard Imam as-Sadiq (as) saying:
“On
the day of resurrection a beautiful woman, who has been deceived by her
beauty, will be brought to be tried. She will say, “O my Lord, You have
made me so beautiful so that I did so and so.” Then the Blessed Virgin
Mary (as) will be brought forward. It will be said (to the woman), “are
you more beautiful than this one? We have made her so beautiful but she
has not been deceived.” A handsome man, who has been deceived by his
beauty, will be brought. He will say, “O my Lord, you have made me
handsome until I got so and so from women.” Then Prophet Yousuf (Joseph)
(as) will be brought forward. It will be said (to the man), “Are you
more handsome than this one? We have made him so handsome but he has not
been deceived.” Then a miserable man, who has been deceived by (has
lost his faith because of) his calamities, will be brought forward. He
will say, “O my Lord, You have afflicted me with so many calamities that
I have been deceived.” Then Prophet Ayyoub (Job) (as) will be brought
forward. It will be said (to the man), “are your calamities severer than
this man’s? He has been tried but he has not been deceived (has not
lost his faith)4.”
We have inherited repentance from our father Adam and mother Eve
When
Allah has created Adam as His caliph in the earth and when Adam’s body
has become straight and the divine spirit has been breathed into it5,
he has become fit to be taught the names and then Allah has ordered the
angels to prostrate themselves before Adam to glorify him. Then Allah
has let him and his wife live in paradise. Allah has permitted Adam and
his wife to enjoy all the blessings of paradise except a certain tree.
Allah has forbidden him and his wife from approaching this tree and if
they did they would be unjust:
“And do not approach this tree, for then you will be of the unjust.” Qur'an, 2:35
But
the Satan, who has refused to prostrate himself before Adam and has
been driven out of paradise, has whispered evil to Adam and Eve because
of his grudge against them until he could deceive them to commit the
sin; eating from that prohibited tree. Then their hidden private parts
appeared and they (Adam and Eve) lost their high position and honorable
rank near Allah because of obeying the Satan. Thus, they have been
exiled from paradise and driven away from the mercy of Allah.
The
Satan has whispered evil to Adam and Eve out of his hidden complexes
and in order to lead them to that prohibited tree to commit sin. He said
to them, “O Adam and Eve, Allah has prevented you from this tree just
because if you eat from its fruit, you will be two angels and then you
will live in paradise forever.”
In
order to compact his evil whispering and to fix his plot into their
Hearts, the Satan took binding oaths that he wanted nothing save their
goodness and advantage:
“And he swore to them both: Most surely, I am a sincere adviser to you.” Qur'an, 7:21
His
evil whispering affected them and the fires of love of life broke out
inside them. This desire made a thick screen between them and the
prohibition of Allah and they fall in the trap of the Satan. They
involved in disobedience and stretched their hands towards the
prohibited tree after the Satan had seduced them. When they ate from the
fruit of the tree, their private parts appeared to them and the dress
of gravity, dignity and light had been taken off them. They began to
cover their private parts with the leaves of trees. Then Allah called
out to them:
“Did I not forbid you both from that tree and say to you that the Satan is your open enemy?” Qur'an, 7:22
Thus,
Adam and Eve had been driven out of paradise where the position of
deputyship, knowledge and the prostration of the angels before Adam had
no any use for them. They had come down from thatexalted position to
begin their life on the earth. But being away from the position of
nearness (to the Lord), away from the angels, away from paradise, paying
no attention to the order of Allah the Almighty and obeying the Satan,
alto get her, had caused them a great sorrow, grief and regret; and
hence they had got out of the horrible prison of selfishness and
terrible suppression of desire because those selfishness and desire were
the reason behind their becoming away from the mercy and care of their
Beloved Lord and falling into the valley of deviation; therefore they
could go out again to the horizon of the mercy, kindness and care of
Allah; that horizon which was full of goodness and honor in the worldly
life and deliverance and infinite success in the afterlife.
When
Adam and Eve got out of paradise in this way, they cried loudly, (Our
Lord, we have been unjust toourselves) and fallen into the prison of
inadvertence and selfishness and slipped into the darkness of greediness
and pride.
This
attention and awakening were as the first step towards freedom and the
cause for their rescue from the traps of the Satan in order to return to
the mercy of Allah after being humble and submissive. If the Satan
himself had become humble and submissive before Allah, he would have not
come to hiseternal fate of misery and wretchedness and he would have
not fall en under the divine curse and wrath forever.
We
find that Adam and Eve, due to reason, sight and wakefulness and at the
same time with regret, have not been impolite before Allah; they have
not said to Him, “forgive us!” but they have said,
“And if Thou forgive us not, and have (not) mercy on us, we shall certainly be of the losers.” Qur'an, 7:23
After
this advertence, humbleness, submissiveness, regret, crying, repenting
and going out of the prison of selfishness to the wide horizon of
Allah’s mercy, the doors of mercy have been opened for Adam and Eve and
the divine c are has come to save them from that misery and terrible
fate:
“Then
Adam received (some) words from his Lord, so He turned to him
mercifully; surely He is Oft-returning (to mercy), the Merciful.” Qur'an, 2:37
The
light of the Lord hasentered into Adam’s heart through some words he
has received and the perfect repentance has been realized via the
connection between these three facts; “the light of the Lord”, “the
words”and “the soul of Adam”. Repentance that can repair what one has
missed thro ugh his past age is the light that will illuminate the way
of future to a repentant.
It
has narrated from Imam al-Baqir (as) that the words that Adam had
received from Allah were, “O Allah, there is no god but You. Glory and
praise be to You. My Lord, I have been unjust to myself; forgive me for
you are the best Forgiver. O Allah, there is no god but You. Glory and
praise be to You. My Lord, I have been unjust to myself; have mercy on
me for You are the best Merciful one. O Allah, there is no god but You.
Glory and praise be to You. My Lord, I have been unjust to myself;
accept my repentance for You are the Oft-Returning, the Most Merciful6“.
It
has been narrated that Adam had seen honored names written on the
Throne and when he had asked about them, it had been said to him that
they had been the most honored names near Allah. The names were
Muhammad, Ali, Fatima, al-Hasan and al-Husayn. Adam had begged Allah to
accept his repentance and to high his position by the means of these
names7.
When
the rains of the divine inspirations fell as words to water the seed of
love in Adam, confession of his sin and of being unjust to himself
grew. Adam had nothing to do save to cry and to pray his Lord and then
the tree of choice grew in the land of his soul and the flowers of
repentance and turning (to Allah) bloomed:
“Then his Lord chose him, so He turned to him and guided (him).” Qur'an, 20:122
When
Allah has created Adam as His caliph in the earth and when Adam’s body
has become straight and the divine spirit has been breathed into it5,
he has become fit to be taught the names and then Allah has ordered the
angels to prostrate themselves before Adam to glorify him. Then Allah
has let him and his wife live in paradise. Allah has permitted Adam and
his wife to enjoy all the blessings of paradise except a certain tree.
Allah has forbidden him and his wife from approaching this tree and if
they did they would be unjust:
“And do not approach this tree, for then you will be of the unjust.” Qur'an, 2:35
But
the Satan, who has refused to prostrate himself before Adam and has
been driven out of paradise, has whispered evil to Adam and Eve because
of his grudge against them until he could deceive them to commit the
sin; eating from that prohibited tree. Then their hidden private parts
appeared and they (Adam and Eve) lost their high position and honorable
rank near Allah because of obeying the Satan. Thus, they have been
exiled from paradise and driven away from the mercy of Allah.
The
Satan has whispered evil to Adam and Eve out of his hidden complexes
and in order to lead them to that prohibited tree to commit sin. He said
to them, “O Adam and Eve, Allah has prevented you from this tree just
because if you eat from its fruit, you will be two angels and then you
will live in paradise forever.”
In
order to compact his evil whispering and to fix his plot into their
Hearts, the Satan took binding oaths that he wanted nothing save their
goodness and advantage:
“And he swore to them both: Most surely, I am a sincere adviser to you.” Qur'an, 7:21
His
evil whispering affected them and the fires of love of life broke out
inside them. This desire made a thick screen between them and the
prohibition of Allah and they fall in the trap of the Satan. They
involved in disobedience and stretched their hands towards the
prohibited tree after the Satan had seduced them. When they ate from the
fruit of the tree, their private parts appeared to them and the dress
of gravity, dignity and light had been taken off them. They began to
cover their private parts with the leaves of trees. Then Allah called
out to them:
“Did I not forbid you both from that tree and say to you that the Satan is your open enemy?” Qur'an, 7:22
Thus,
Adam and Eve had been driven out of paradise where the position of
deputyship, knowledge and the prostration of the angels before Adam had
no any use for them. They had come down from thatexalted position to
begin their life on the earth. But being away from the position of
nearness (to the Lord), away from the angels, away from paradise, paying
no attention to the order of Allah the Almighty and obeying the Satan,
alto get her, had caused them a great sorrow, grief and regret; and
hence they had got out of the horrible prison of selfishness and
terrible suppression of desire because those selfishness and desire were
the reason behind their becoming away from the mercy and care of their
Beloved Lord and falling into the valley of deviation; therefore they
could go out again to the horizon of the mercy, kindness and care of
Allah; that horizon which was full of goodness and honor in the worldly
life and deliverance and infinite success in the afterlife.
When
Adam and Eve got out of paradise in this way, they cried loudly, (Our
Lord, we have been unjust toourselves) and fallen into the prison of
inadvertence and selfishness and slipped into the darkness of greediness
and pride.
This
attention and awakening were as the first step towards freedom and the
cause for their rescue from the traps of the Satan in order to return to
the mercy of Allah after being humble and submissive. If the Satan
himself had become humble and submissive before Allah, he would have not
come to hiseternal fate of misery and wretchedness and he would have
not fall en under the divine curse and wrath forever.
We
find that Adam and Eve, due to reason, sight and wakefulness and at the
same time with regret, have not been impolite before Allah; they have
not said to Him, “forgive us!” but they have said,
“And if Thou forgive us not, and have (not) mercy on us, we shall certainly be of the losers.” Qur'an, 7:23
After
this advertence, humbleness, submissiveness, regret, crying, repenting
and going out of the prison of selfishness to the wide horizon of
Allah’s mercy, the doors of mercy have been opened for Adam and Eve and
the divine c are has come to save them from that misery and terrible
fate:
“Then
Adam received (some) words from his Lord, so He turned to him
mercifully; surely He is Oft-returning (to mercy), the Merciful.” Qur'an, 2:37
The
light of the Lord hasentered into Adam’s heart through some words he
has received and the perfect repentance has been realized via the
connection between these three facts; “the light of the Lord”, “the
words”and “the soul of Adam”. Repentance that can repair what one has
missed thro ugh his past age is the light that will illuminate the way
of future to a repentant.
It
has narrated from Imam al-Baqir (as) that the words that Adam had
received from Allah were, “O Allah, there is no god but You. Glory and
praise be to You. My Lord, I have been unjust to myself; forgive me for
you are the best Forgiver. O Allah, there is no god but You. Glory and
praise be to You. My Lord, I have been unjust to myself; have mercy on
me for You are the best Merciful one. O Allah, there is no god but You.
Glory and praise be to You. My Lord, I have been unjust to myself;
accept my repentance for You are the Oft-Returning, the Most Merciful6“.
It
has been narrated that Adam had seen honored names written on the
Throne and when he had asked about them, it had been said to him that
they had been the most honored names near Allah. The names were
Muhammad, Ali, Fatima, al-Hasan and al-Husayn. Adam had begged Allah to
accept his repentance and to high his position by the means of these
names7.
When
the rains of the divine inspirations fell as words to water the seed of
love in Adam, confession of his sin and of being unjust to himself
grew. Adam had nothing to do save to cry and to pray his Lord and then
the tree of choice grew in the land of his soul and the flowers of
repentance and turning (to Allah) bloomed:
“Then his Lord chose him, so He turned to him and guided (him).” Qur'an, 20:122
Sins
Imam
as-Sadiq (as), in a wonderful article as a “letter of repentance”,
talked about the sins that must be repented of promptly as a moral and
legal obligation; the sins that if had not been repaired by true
repentance, they would not be removed or omitted from the book of the
soul and heart and they would trouble man’s life in this world and
subject him to the divine torment on the day of resurrection.
Imam
as-Sadiq (as) said, “O Allah, I beg You to forgive me any sin that has
been related to You and then I committed it again. I beg You to forgive
me what I have wasted of your obligations and rights of prayer, zakat,
fasting, jihad, hajj, minor hajj, perfecting wuDu’and ghusl, worshipping
at night, glorifying You quite often, expiation for (breaking) oaths,
returning to disobedience and every obligation I have neglected.
I
pray You to forgive me that and all what I have committed of major
sins, minor sins, disobediences, bad deeds and lusts intendedly or by
mistake, openly or secretly! I repent of that and of shedding blood,
disobeying the parents, cutting the relation with the kin, fleeing from
jihad, acc using honorable women, eating the monies of the orphans
wrongfully, committing perjury, concealing true witnesses, buying your
covenant for Alittle price, usury, ill-gotten properties, magic,
divination, pessimism, polytheism, hypocrisy, thieving, drinking wines,
giving short measure and short weight, dissension, breaking covenants,
fabrication, treason, breaking protection, (false) swearing, backbiting,
tale bearing, slandering, defaming, traducing, harming neighbors,
insulting one another by nicknames, entering houses without permission,
pride, haughtiness,
stubbornness,
exultancy, injustice in judgment, oppression when angry, fanaticism,
supporting the unjust, helping others in sin and transgression,
(littleness of family and of wealth and children), suspicion, following
lusts, enjoining the wrong, forbidding the right, corruption, denying
the truth, flattering the rulers, cheating, stinginess, talking about
what I do not know, eating meat of dead animals, drinking blood, eating
pork and any meat over which any other name than (that of) You has been
invoked, envy, aggression, inviting to debauchery, wishing what You have
granted to the others, self-deceit, reminding when gifting, intending
to wrong, harming the orphans, c hiding the beggars, breaking oaths,
wronging any of your people in his wealth, body and honor, what my eyes
have seen, what myears have heard, what my tongue has uttered, what I
have stretched my hands to, what I have moved my feet to, what my skin
has touched, what I have talked to myself which is disobedience to you
and every false oath8.”
In this tradition, Imam as-Sadiq (as) has mentioned different sins that one should repent of and turn sincerely to Allah.
Imam
as-Sadiq (as), in a wonderful article as a “letter of repentance”,
talked about the sins that must be repented of promptly as a moral and
legal obligation; the sins that if had not been repaired by true
repentance, they would not be removed or omitted from the book of the
soul and heart and they would trouble man’s life in this world and
subject him to the divine torment on the day of resurrection.
Imam
as-Sadiq (as) said, “O Allah, I beg You to forgive me any sin that has
been related to You and then I committed it again. I beg You to forgive
me what I have wasted of your obligations and rights of prayer, zakat,
fasting, jihad, hajj, minor hajj, perfecting wuDu’and ghusl, worshipping
at night, glorifying You quite often, expiation for (breaking) oaths,
returning to disobedience and every obligation I have neglected.
I
pray You to forgive me that and all what I have committed of major
sins, minor sins, disobediences, bad deeds and lusts intendedly or by
mistake, openly or secretly! I repent of that and of shedding blood,
disobeying the parents, cutting the relation with the kin, fleeing from
jihad, acc using honorable women, eating the monies of the orphans
wrongfully, committing perjury, concealing true witnesses, buying your
covenant for Alittle price, usury, ill-gotten properties, magic,
divination, pessimism, polytheism, hypocrisy, thieving, drinking wines,
giving short measure and short weight, dissension, breaking covenants,
fabrication, treason, breaking protection, (false) swearing, backbiting,
tale bearing, slandering, defaming, traducing, harming neighbors,
insulting one another by nicknames, entering houses without permission,
pride, haughtiness,
stubbornness,
exultancy, injustice in judgment, oppression when angry, fanaticism,
supporting the unjust, helping others in sin and transgression,
(littleness of family and of wealth and children), suspicion, following
lusts, enjoining the wrong, forbidding the right, corruption, denying
the truth, flattering the rulers, cheating, stinginess, talking about
what I do not know, eating meat of dead animals, drinking blood, eating
pork and any meat over which any other name than (that of) You has been
invoked, envy, aggression, inviting to debauchery, wishing what You have
granted to the others, self-deceit, reminding when gifting, intending
to wrong, harming the orphans, c hiding the beggars, breaking oaths,
wronging any of your people in his wealth, body and honor, what my eyes
have seen, what myears have heard, what my tongue has uttered, what I
have stretched my hands to, what I have moved my feet to, what my skin
has touched, what I have talked to myself which is disobedience to you
and every false oath8.”
In this tradition, Imam as-Sadiq (as) has mentioned different sins that one should repent of and turn sincerely to Allah.
The bad results of sins
There
are many bad results of sins in this life and the afterlife as
mentioned by the Qur’anic verses and the traditions of AhlulBayt (as),
that if a sinner does not repent of his sins, he will, definitely, be
involved in these bad effects.
Allah has said,
“Yea, whoever earns evil and his sins beset him on every side, those are the inmates of the fire; in it they shall abide.” Qur'an, 2:81
“Say:
Shall We inform you of the greatest losers in (their) deeds. Those
whose effort goeth astray in the life of the world, and yet they reckon
that they do good work. Those are they who disbelieve in the revelations
of their Lord and in the meeting with Him. Therefore, their works are
vain, and on the day of resurrection, We assign no weight to them.” Qur'an, 18:103-105
The
scale will be set to the persons, whose deeds can be weighed, but the
resisting disobeyers and unbelievers will have no any weight on the day
of resurrection because their deeds will become as scattered dust and so
they will have no deed to be weighed.
“There is a disease in their hearts, so Allah added to their disease and they shall have a painful chastisement.” Qur'an, 2:10
“But you will see those in whose hearts is a disease hastening towards them”. Qur'an, 5:52
It means that the hypocrites hasten towards the enemies of Allah from among the Jews and the Christians.
“And
as for those in whose hearts is a disease, it adds uncleanness to their
uncleanness and they die while they are unbelievers.” Qur'an, 9:125
“(As
for) those who swallow the property of the orphans unjustly, surely
they only swallow fire into their bellies and they shall enter burning
fire.” Qur'an, 4:10
Some
scholars think, according to this holy verse and other verses, that
these criminals, on the day of resurrection, will be punished by their
sins. It means that their sins will become on the day of resurrection as
painful torment and their crimes as chains and fires by which they will
be tortured severely.
“Surely
those who conceal any part of the Book that Allah has revealed and take
for it a small price, theyeat nothing but fire into their bellies, and
Allah will not speak to them on the day of resurrection, nor will He
purify them, and they shall have a painful chastisement. These are they
who buy error for the right direction and chastisement for forgiveness;
how bold they are to encounter fire!” Qur'an, 2:174-175
“The
parable of those who disbelieve in their Lord: their actions are like
ashes on which the wind blows hard on a stormy day; they shall not have
power over anything out of what they have earned; this is the greaterror.” Qur'an, 14:18
It
is understood from the previous verses that the bad results of sins are
much more than what has been mentioned before. They are as following:
Entering
into hell on the day of resurrection, being in torment forever, lo sing
the worldly life and the afterlife, loss of one’s efforts and deeds,
vanity of one’s deeds on the day of judgment, (sinners) not being given
any weight, increase of disobedience because of not repenting, hastening
towards the enemies of Allah, cutting the connection with Allah, not
being purified on the day of resurrection, changing guidance into
deviation and changing forgiveness into torment.
Imam Zaynol Aabideen9 (as)
has talked about the bad results of sins by saying, “The sins that
remove blessings are: oppressing people, giving up doing good and favor,
being ungrateful for blessings and giving up thanking Allah. The sins
that cause regret are: killing innocent ones, breaking off relations
with the kin until they feel in no need of each other, not offering
prayer until its time elapses, being inadvertent to wills and to wronged
people, not giving zakat until death comes. The sins that bring
calamities are: disobedience of a knowing one by oppressing people,
being rude to them and mocking them. The sins that keep blessings away
are: pretending poverty, sleeping until after dawn and until the time of
Fajr Prayer elapses, scorning blessings and complaining against Allah
the Almighty.
The
sins that disgrace honors are: drinking wine, gambling, joking and
talking nonsense, mentioning the defects of people and accompanying
sinful and bad people. The sins that bring calamities are: refraining
from helping needy people, refraining from supporting oppressed people,
not enjoining what is right and not forbidding what is wrong. The sins
that cause the enemies to prevail are: doing injustice openly, spreading
debauchery, violating prohibited matters, disobeying good people and
submitting to evil people. The sins that hasten perishment are: cutting
communications with one’s kin, false oath, lying, adultery, blocking the
ways of the Muslims and pretending to be an Imam falsely.
The
sins that dispel hope are: being desperate of the mercy of Allah,
relying on other than Allah and disbelieving in the Promise of Allah.
The sins that darken the space are: magic, divination, believing in
stars, disbelieving in fate and being undutiful toone’s parents. The
sins that uncover the curtain (of the unseen) are: borrowing with no
intention of repaying, exceeding in spending on impermissible things,
being stingy with one’s family, children and relatives, impoliteness,
impatience, laziness and making little of religious people.
The
sins that reject supplication are: malevolence, ill-intention,
hypocrisy with brothers, disbelieving in responding to supplication,
delaying obligatory prayers until their prescribed times elapse, giving
up approaching Allah via doing good and paying charities, and using bad
and obscene sayings. The sins that prevent the rain of the heaven are:
the injustice of rulers in judgments, perjury, concealing true
witnesses, preventing zakat, preventing loan and helping the needy,
hard-Heartedness towards the poor and the needy, being unjust toorphans
and widows, chiding the beggars and turning away from them10.”
Imam
Ali (as), concerning sins, says, “Even if Allah had not threatened for
disobeying Him, people must not disobey Him in order to be grateful to
His blessings11.”
Therefore,
we have to avoid any kind of sins as a matter of being grateful to
Allah for His blessings and gifts, which can never be counted. In
addition, we have to repent and regret the sins we have committed
before. We have to apologize to Allah for our previous sins in order to
gain His mercy, forgiveness, care and generosity.
There
are many bad results of sins in this life and the afterlife as
mentioned by the Qur’anic verses and the traditions of AhlulBayt (as),
that if a sinner does not repent of his sins, he will, definitely, be
involved in these bad effects.
Allah has said,
“Yea, whoever earns evil and his sins beset him on every side, those are the inmates of the fire; in it they shall abide.” Qur'an, 2:81
“Say:
Shall We inform you of the greatest losers in (their) deeds. Those
whose effort goeth astray in the life of the world, and yet they reckon
that they do good work. Those are they who disbelieve in the revelations
of their Lord and in the meeting with Him. Therefore, their works are
vain, and on the day of resurrection, We assign no weight to them.” Qur'an, 18:103-105
The
scale will be set to the persons, whose deeds can be weighed, but the
resisting disobeyers and unbelievers will have no any weight on the day
of resurrection because their deeds will become as scattered dust and so
they will have no deed to be weighed.
“There is a disease in their hearts, so Allah added to their disease and they shall have a painful chastisement.” Qur'an, 2:10
“But you will see those in whose hearts is a disease hastening towards them”. Qur'an, 5:52
It means that the hypocrites hasten towards the enemies of Allah from among the Jews and the Christians.
“And
as for those in whose hearts is a disease, it adds uncleanness to their
uncleanness and they die while they are unbelievers.” Qur'an, 9:125
“(As
for) those who swallow the property of the orphans unjustly, surely
they only swallow fire into their bellies and they shall enter burning
fire.” Qur'an, 4:10
Some
scholars think, according to this holy verse and other verses, that
these criminals, on the day of resurrection, will be punished by their
sins. It means that their sins will become on the day of resurrection as
painful torment and their crimes as chains and fires by which they will
be tortured severely.
“Surely
those who conceal any part of the Book that Allah has revealed and take
for it a small price, theyeat nothing but fire into their bellies, and
Allah will not speak to them on the day of resurrection, nor will He
purify them, and they shall have a painful chastisement. These are they
who buy error for the right direction and chastisement for forgiveness;
how bold they are to encounter fire!” Qur'an, 2:174-175
“The
parable of those who disbelieve in their Lord: their actions are like
ashes on which the wind blows hard on a stormy day; they shall not have
power over anything out of what they have earned; this is the greaterror.” Qur'an, 14:18
It
is understood from the previous verses that the bad results of sins are
much more than what has been mentioned before. They are as following:
Entering
into hell on the day of resurrection, being in torment forever, lo sing
the worldly life and the afterlife, loss of one’s efforts and deeds,
vanity of one’s deeds on the day of judgment, (sinners) not being given
any weight, increase of disobedience because of not repenting, hastening
towards the enemies of Allah, cutting the connection with Allah, not
being purified on the day of resurrection, changing guidance into
deviation and changing forgiveness into torment.
Imam Zaynol Aabideen9 (as)
has talked about the bad results of sins by saying, “The sins that
remove blessings are: oppressing people, giving up doing good and favor,
being ungrateful for blessings and giving up thanking Allah. The sins
that cause regret are: killing innocent ones, breaking off relations
with the kin until they feel in no need of each other, not offering
prayer until its time elapses, being inadvertent to wills and to wronged
people, not giving zakat until death comes. The sins that bring
calamities are: disobedience of a knowing one by oppressing people,
being rude to them and mocking them. The sins that keep blessings away
are: pretending poverty, sleeping until after dawn and until the time of
Fajr Prayer elapses, scorning blessings and complaining against Allah
the Almighty.
The
sins that disgrace honors are: drinking wine, gambling, joking and
talking nonsense, mentioning the defects of people and accompanying
sinful and bad people. The sins that bring calamities are: refraining
from helping needy people, refraining from supporting oppressed people,
not enjoining what is right and not forbidding what is wrong. The sins
that cause the enemies to prevail are: doing injustice openly, spreading
debauchery, violating prohibited matters, disobeying good people and
submitting to evil people. The sins that hasten perishment are: cutting
communications with one’s kin, false oath, lying, adultery, blocking the
ways of the Muslims and pretending to be an Imam falsely.
The
sins that dispel hope are: being desperate of the mercy of Allah,
relying on other than Allah and disbelieving in the Promise of Allah.
The sins that darken the space are: magic, divination, believing in
stars, disbelieving in fate and being undutiful toone’s parents. The
sins that uncover the curtain (of the unseen) are: borrowing with no
intention of repaying, exceeding in spending on impermissible things,
being stingy with one’s family, children and relatives, impoliteness,
impatience, laziness and making little of religious people.
The
sins that reject supplication are: malevolence, ill-intention,
hypocrisy with brothers, disbelieving in responding to supplication,
delaying obligatory prayers until their prescribed times elapse, giving
up approaching Allah via doing good and paying charities, and using bad
and obscene sayings. The sins that prevent the rain of the heaven are:
the injustice of rulers in judgments, perjury, concealing true
witnesses, preventing zakat, preventing loan and helping the needy,
hard-Heartedness towards the poor and the needy, being unjust toorphans
and widows, chiding the beggars and turning away from them10.”
Imam
Ali (as), concerning sins, says, “Even if Allah had not threatened for
disobeying Him, people must not disobey Him in order to be grateful to
His blessings11.”
Therefore,
we have to avoid any kind of sins as a matter of being grateful to
Allah for His blessings and gifts, which can never be counted. In
addition, we have to repent and regret the sins we have committed
before. We have to apologize to Allah for our previous sins in order to
gain His mercy, forgiveness, care and generosity.
The way of true repentance
Paying
attention to the important consequences of repentance, that are gaining
forgiveness, mercy and divine contentment and to be fit to enter into
paradise, to be safe from the torment of hell, to be away from deviation
and straying, to follow the right path and the way of guidance, to be
pure from the darkness of sins and guilt we have to say that repentance
is a great and important matter, a big program and a clear divine fact.
Repentance
does not take place when one just says with his tongue
“astaghfirullah-I ask Allah to forgive me” with Alittle shyness inside
him or he sheds some tears secretly or openly for there are many people
who repent in this way but after Alittle time they return to commit the
same sins and disobediences they have committed before.
Returning
to commit sins is the clearest evidence showing that the true
repentance has not been realized and that the light of the actual
turning to Allah has not penetrated one’s soul. True repentance and
actual turning to Allah are so important that a great part of the
Qur’anic verses and holy traditions have talked about.
Paying
attention to the important consequences of repentance, that are gaining
forgiveness, mercy and divine contentment and to be fit to enter into
paradise, to be safe from the torment of hell, to be away from deviation
and straying, to follow the right path and the way of guidance, to be
pure from the darkness of sins and guilt we have to say that repentance
is a great and important matter, a big program and a clear divine fact.
Repentance
does not take place when one just says with his tongue
“astaghfirullah-I ask Allah to forgive me” with Alittle shyness inside
him or he sheds some tears secretly or openly for there are many people
who repent in this way but after Alittle time they return to commit the
same sins and disobediences they have committed before.
Returning
to commit sins is the clearest evidence showing that the true
repentance has not been realized and that the light of the actual
turning to Allah has not penetrated one’s soul. True repentance and
actual turning to Allah are so important that a great part of the
Qur’anic verses and holy traditions have talked about.
True repentance in Imam Ali’s view
Once
Imam Ali (as) heard someone saying, “I ask Allah to forgive me”. He
said to him, “Woe unto you! Do you know what “asking for forgiveness “is
asking for forgiveness is the position of “illiyeen12”.
It includes six meanings; the first is to feel contrition for what one
has committed before; the second is to determine not to commit it again
forever; the third is to give people their rights until meeting Allah
with no responsibility; the fourth is to perform every obligation that
has been missed; the fifth is to melt the flesh that has been grown out
of ill-gotten properties by regretting and sorrowing until the skin
sticks on the bones and then new flesh grows, and the sixth is to make
the body taste the pain of obedience as it has tasted the sweetness of
disobedience and then it is possible to say “astaghfirullah-I ask Allah
for forgiveness13”.
A
repentant have to realize the meaning of repentance and to determine
definitely to give up sins and not to commit them again forever. He
should not think of repentance while he is still committing sins.
Procrastination and hoping to repent in the future is no doubt one of
the plots of the Satan. It has been narrated that Imam ar-Ridha’ (as)
had said, “He, who asks for forgiveness with his tongue and does not
repent with his Heart, mocks himself.”
In
fact, it is ridiculous or regrettable that man throws himself into
disease hoping that he may find the medicine! How much man loses because
of this false hope of repenting and how much he commits crimes and sins
while he talks with himself that the door of repentance is always open
and that he can commit sins now and then he repents!
If
man, when intending to repent, determines seriously and the conditions
of repentance realize inside himself, this will lead to purify his
inners and refine his soul and heart and then the dregs of sins will be
removed from his organs inwardly and outwardly.
Repentance
should not be just as a habit because sin, in fact, is darkness while
repentance is light and oft en going and coming between darkness and
light confuse the soul. Hence, if we repent of a sin and then we commit
it again, we are still in the circle of sin and our repentance is just a
temporary sentiment.
A
human soul is like hell. It does not become full at all. It does not
satiate with sin and disobedience. It is always greedy to impermissible
things. It is these things that make man keep on committing sins and not
approach Allah the Almighty. Therefore, the door of this oven must be
closed by repentance and this unruly beast must be tied with the chains
of the real turning to Allah.
Repentance
is the reversal of the present condition and the conscious movement of
faith and piety and the internal change of the heart and soul. Then
man’s connection with sins and their motives become weak and he is bound
by a strong tie with the Truth and the means of purity and lightness.
Repentance
at its beginning is a new life; a pure and heavenly life. In this life
man devotes his heart to Allah the Almighty and his soul to the good
deeds. He purifies his inwards and outwards from the effects of sins.
Repentance
in its essence is the extinction of the fire of fancies. It takes man
to the path of the Truth, obedience and submission to the Exalted
Creator.
Repentance
is the end of the control of the Satan over the inners of man. It
prepares the tenacious psychological base that makes the truth rule over
the inners of man and prevents him from slipping under the pressure of
fancies and transient material pleasures.
Once
Imam Ali (as) heard someone saying, “I ask Allah to forgive me”. He
said to him, “Woe unto you! Do you know what “asking for forgiveness “is
asking for forgiveness is the position of “illiyeen12”.
It includes six meanings; the first is to feel contrition for what one
has committed before; the second is to determine not to commit it again
forever; the third is to give people their rights until meeting Allah
with no responsibility; the fourth is to perform every obligation that
has been missed; the fifth is to melt the flesh that has been grown out
of ill-gotten properties by regretting and sorrowing until the skin
sticks on the bones and then new flesh grows, and the sixth is to make
the body taste the pain of obedience as it has tasted the sweetness of
disobedience and then it is possible to say “astaghfirullah-I ask Allah
for forgiveness13”.
A
repentant have to realize the meaning of repentance and to determine
definitely to give up sins and not to commit them again forever. He
should not think of repentance while he is still committing sins.
Procrastination and hoping to repent in the future is no doubt one of
the plots of the Satan. It has been narrated that Imam ar-Ridha’ (as)
had said, “He, who asks for forgiveness with his tongue and does not
repent with his Heart, mocks himself.”
In
fact, it is ridiculous or regrettable that man throws himself into
disease hoping that he may find the medicine! How much man loses because
of this false hope of repenting and how much he commits crimes and sins
while he talks with himself that the door of repentance is always open
and that he can commit sins now and then he repents!
If
man, when intending to repent, determines seriously and the conditions
of repentance realize inside himself, this will lead to purify his
inners and refine his soul and heart and then the dregs of sins will be
removed from his organs inwardly and outwardly.
Repentance
should not be just as a habit because sin, in fact, is darkness while
repentance is light and oft en going and coming between darkness and
light confuse the soul. Hence, if we repent of a sin and then we commit
it again, we are still in the circle of sin and our repentance is just a
temporary sentiment.
A
human soul is like hell. It does not become full at all. It does not
satiate with sin and disobedience. It is always greedy to impermissible
things. It is these things that make man keep on committing sins and not
approach Allah the Almighty. Therefore, the door of this oven must be
closed by repentance and this unruly beast must be tied with the chains
of the real turning to Allah.
Repentance
is the reversal of the present condition and the conscious movement of
faith and piety and the internal change of the heart and soul. Then
man’s connection with sins and their motives become weak and he is bound
by a strong tie with the Truth and the means of purity and lightness.
Repentance
at its beginning is a new life; a pure and heavenly life. In this life
man devotes his heart to Allah the Almighty and his soul to the good
deeds. He purifies his inwards and outwards from the effects of sins.
Repentance
in its essence is the extinction of the fire of fancies. It takes man
to the path of the Truth, obedience and submission to the Exalted
Creator.
Repentance
is the end of the control of the Satan over the inners of man. It
prepares the tenacious psychological base that makes the truth rule over
the inners of man and prevents him from slipping under the pressure of
fancies and transient material pleasures.
Each sin has a special repentance
Some
people think, after committing some sins and offenses, that their
repentance will be accepted just by apologizing to Allah and saying “I
ask Allah to forgive me and I turn to Him”
or
by resorting to a mosque or one of the sacred places to recite some
supplications and to shed some tears whereas the Qur’anic verses and
prophetic traditions concerning repentance do not accept this childish
manner of repentance. A repentant should notice that repentance differs
according to different sins and each sin has a special repentance. If
repentance is not realized, one remains polluted with the effects of sin
and his soul remains lacking morale; in fact it remains dark until the
day of resurrection and this one will suffer the severe torment of that
sin.
All the sins can be classified under three groups:
1. The sins that are committed by man when neglecting his obligations such as prayers, fasting, khums, jihad and the likes.
2.
The sins that are committed when one disobeys Allah by committing
impermissible things such as drinking wine, impermissible looking (at
not mahram women)14,
adultery, gambling, sodomy, masturbation, listening to impermissible
music and the likes which do not concern the rights of other people.
3.
The sins that, besides leading to disobeying Allah, violate the rights
of other people such as killing, stealing, usury, rage, extorting
orphans” properties, bribe, aggression against people in their bodies
and propertiesetc.
Repenting
of the sins of the first group is achieved by leaving these sins which
means that one has to perform the missed obligations like prayers,
fasting, hajj and paying khums and zakat of all the years that he has
not paid.
Repenting
of the sins of the second group is achieved by asking Allah for
forgiveness, regretting and determining to leave these sins in away
causing one’s state to change at all and causing his organs to abstain
from committing such bad deeds forever.
Repenting
of the sins of the third group is achieved by giving the rights of
people back to them; a killer should let himself under the option of the
guardians of the killed one to punish him or ask him to pay them blood
money or to forgive him. A usurer must pay back all the monies he has
taken from people as usury. An extorter must give all what he has
extorted back to their owners. The properties of the orphans must be
given back to them. Bribes must be given back to their owners. An
aggressor must pay blood money and must recompense the loss and damage
in people’s properties and so on.
In order to achieve the real repentance man has to be cautious of three things:
Some
people think, after committing some sins and offenses, that their
repentance will be accepted just by apologizing to Allah and saying “I
ask Allah to forgive me and I turn to Him”
or
by resorting to a mosque or one of the sacred places to recite some
supplications and to shed some tears whereas the Qur’anic verses and
prophetic traditions concerning repentance do not accept this childish
manner of repentance. A repentant should notice that repentance differs
according to different sins and each sin has a special repentance. If
repentance is not realized, one remains polluted with the effects of sin
and his soul remains lacking morale; in fact it remains dark until the
day of resurrection and this one will suffer the severe torment of that
sin.
All the sins can be classified under three groups:
1. The sins that are committed by man when neglecting his obligations such as prayers, fasting, khums, jihad and the likes.
2.
The sins that are committed when one disobeys Allah by committing
impermissible things such as drinking wine, impermissible looking (at
not mahram women)14,
adultery, gambling, sodomy, masturbation, listening to impermissible
music and the likes which do not concern the rights of other people.
3.
The sins that, besides leading to disobeying Allah, violate the rights
of other people such as killing, stealing, usury, rage, extorting
orphans” properties, bribe, aggression against people in their bodies
and propertiesetc.
Repenting
of the sins of the first group is achieved by leaving these sins which
means that one has to perform the missed obligations like prayers,
fasting, hajj and paying khums and zakat of all the years that he has
not paid.
Repenting
of the sins of the second group is achieved by asking Allah for
forgiveness, regretting and determining to leave these sins in away
causing one’s state to change at all and causing his organs to abstain
from committing such bad deeds forever.
Repenting
of the sins of the third group is achieved by giving the rights of
people back to them; a killer should let himself under the option of the
guardians of the killed one to punish him or ask him to pay them blood
money or to forgive him. A usurer must pay back all the monies he has
taken from people as usury. An extorter must give all what he has
extorted back to their owners. The properties of the orphans must be
given back to them. Bribes must be given back to their owners. An
aggressor must pay blood money and must recompense the loss and damage
in people’s properties and so on.
In order to achieve the real repentance man has to be cautious of three things:
1. The Satan
The
words “Satan” and “Iblis” have been mentioned in the holy Qur'an about
ninety-eight times. This dangerous and malicious creature has no aim out
of his devilish acts and insinuation except to cut the connection
between man and his Creator and to involve man into sins and crimes. The
holy Qur'an has warned man of a deviate and misleading invisible being
living inside man which is called as “Satan”.
Satan linguistically means vile, disobedient, mutinous, deviate and misleading whether this being is a human being or jinnee.
The
holy Qur’an and the traditions that have interpreted and explained the
words of the Qur'an have mentioned the aspects of the Satan whether of
human beings or jinn in this way: (open enemy, he who incites people to
do evil and atrocity, he who ascribes bad things to Allah the Almighty,
he who frightens good people of poverty if they spend their monies on
good, he who involves man in sins, he who incites man towards the valley
of deviation, he who paves the way for man to slip into the circle of
gambling and drinking wine, causes enmity and hatred among people, shows
vices to them as good deeds, promises them of untruth, causes pride
into man’s Heart, involves man into lowness, puts obstacles in the way
of the Truth, invites man to what leads to the torment of hell,
encourages man to divorce and prepares the background for it, fills man
with desire to disobey (Allah) and to spread debauchery among people,
makes the worldly life appear beautiful before man, fills man with love
to money and wealth, incites man to commit sins and convince him to
procrastinate repentance, plants selfishness, stinginess, backbiting,
and telling lies into man’s mind, motivates lusts and incentives of
anger, encourages man to declare sins and disobediences, etc)15.
As
long as man is still in the traps of the devils of the human beings and
jinn, he remains unable to walk in the way of the real repentance
because the prevalence of the Satan and the devils over man’s heart
paves the way for man to slip into the swamp of disobedience after
repenting again and again because of the evil whispering of these devils
and hence man breaks his promise and repentance and follows his desires
and his Satan.
A
repentant must pray Allah to grant him success to keep on his
repentance, to keep on being away from sins and rebelling against the
Satan and the devils and then he can be free from the control of the
wicked Satan little by little and at last he can drive him away from his
life and get rid of his rule over his soul and body. By doing this man
prepares for himself a good base to repent and to turn to Allah with his
deep heart and then this luminous covenant will not be broken by the
darkness of sins and disobediences after that.
The
words “Satan” and “Iblis” have been mentioned in the holy Qur'an about
ninety-eight times. This dangerous and malicious creature has no aim out
of his devilish acts and insinuation except to cut the connection
between man and his Creator and to involve man into sins and crimes. The
holy Qur'an has warned man of a deviate and misleading invisible being
living inside man which is called as “Satan”.
Satan linguistically means vile, disobedient, mutinous, deviate and misleading whether this being is a human being or jinnee.
The
holy Qur’an and the traditions that have interpreted and explained the
words of the Qur'an have mentioned the aspects of the Satan whether of
human beings or jinn in this way: (open enemy, he who incites people to
do evil and atrocity, he who ascribes bad things to Allah the Almighty,
he who frightens good people of poverty if they spend their monies on
good, he who involves man in sins, he who incites man towards the valley
of deviation, he who paves the way for man to slip into the circle of
gambling and drinking wine, causes enmity and hatred among people, shows
vices to them as good deeds, promises them of untruth, causes pride
into man’s Heart, involves man into lowness, puts obstacles in the way
of the Truth, invites man to what leads to the torment of hell,
encourages man to divorce and prepares the background for it, fills man
with desire to disobey (Allah) and to spread debauchery among people,
makes the worldly life appear beautiful before man, fills man with love
to money and wealth, incites man to commit sins and convince him to
procrastinate repentance, plants selfishness, stinginess, backbiting,
and telling lies into man’s mind, motivates lusts and incentives of
anger, encourages man to declare sins and disobediences, etc)15.
As
long as man is still in the traps of the devils of the human beings and
jinn, he remains unable to walk in the way of the real repentance
because the prevalence of the Satan and the devils over man’s heart
paves the way for man to slip into the swamp of disobedience after
repenting again and again because of the evil whispering of these devils
and hence man breaks his promise and repentance and follows his desires
and his Satan.
A
repentant must pray Allah to grant him success to keep on his
repentance, to keep on being away from sins and rebelling against the
Satan and the devils and then he can be free from the control of the
wicked Satan little by little and at last he can drive him away from his
life and get rid of his rule over his soul and body. By doing this man
prepares for himself a good base to repent and to turn to Allah with his
deep heart and then this luminous covenant will not be broken by the
darkness of sins and disobediences after that.
2. The worldly life
The
worldly life in its religious meaning is the way of man’s relation with
all the constituents of nature and all what makes his life and survival
continue.
If
this relation is based on the truth and the divine system, no doubt
this worldly life will be praiseworthy and it will lead man to (build)
the afterlife too but if man’s relation with this worldly life is based
on one’s tendencies and material pleasures, it will be dispraised and
lead to the (destruction) of the afterlife.
Of
course the relation that is based on worthless tendencies, pleasures
and material lusts will be the first step leading to the mires of sin
definitely.
Man
in this wrong relation will be excessive lover to lusts and material
pleasures and then he will commit what contradicts the commands of
Allah. Such relation will deceive man to involve him in material
pleasures and lusts and it will not bring him save loss and then to come
on the day of resurrection with a back overburdened with sins, crimes
and faults.
Imam Ali (as) says about such a worldly life, “The worldly life deceives, harms and passes away16”
In
the Qudsi tradition it is narrated that Allah has addressed His
messenger (Muhammad) describing to him the people of this worldly life
who have been involved in its traps saying, “The people of the worldly
life are those whose eating, laughing, sleeping and anger are much. They
are of little contentment. They do not apologize to whom they do wrong
to and do not accept the apology of that who apologizes to them. They
are lazy when it is time toobey (Allah) and brave when they disobey
(Him). Their hopes are too far whereas their ends are too near. They do
not blame themselves. They fear Allah little and become too happy when
eating foods. The people of the worldly life do not thank Allah at
welfare and are not patient at misfortune. They belittle the great deeds
of the others. They praise themselves with what they have not done
themselves and they pretend to have what they do not have. They talk of
what they wish, mention the defaults of the others and hide their (other
people’s) good deeds.”
He (Prophet Muhammad) asked, “O my Lord! Is there any defects in the people of the worldly life other than these ones?”
If
one repents of his sins but at the same time still lives under the
domination of the worldly tendencies and pleasures, he cannot achieve
inside himself the real repentance because whenever he repents, those
pleasures and lusts attack him and draw him towards sin and then he
breaks his repentance.
The
worldly life in its religious meaning is the way of man’s relation with
all the constituents of nature and all what makes his life and survival
continue.
If
this relation is based on the truth and the divine system, no doubt
this worldly life will be praiseworthy and it will lead man to (build)
the afterlife too but if man’s relation with this worldly life is based
on one’s tendencies and material pleasures, it will be dispraised and
lead to the (destruction) of the afterlife.
Of
course the relation that is based on worthless tendencies, pleasures
and material lusts will be the first step leading to the mires of sin
definitely.
Man
in this wrong relation will be excessive lover to lusts and material
pleasures and then he will commit what contradicts the commands of
Allah. Such relation will deceive man to involve him in material
pleasures and lusts and it will not bring him save loss and then to come
on the day of resurrection with a back overburdened with sins, crimes
and faults.
Imam Ali (as) says about such a worldly life, “The worldly life deceives, harms and passes away16”
In
the Qudsi tradition it is narrated that Allah has addressed His
messenger (Muhammad) describing to him the people of this worldly life
who have been involved in its traps saying, “The people of the worldly
life are those whose eating, laughing, sleeping and anger are much. They
are of little contentment. They do not apologize to whom they do wrong
to and do not accept the apology of that who apologizes to them. They
are lazy when it is time toobey (Allah) and brave when they disobey
(Him). Their hopes are too far whereas their ends are too near. They do
not blame themselves. They fear Allah little and become too happy when
eating foods. The people of the worldly life do not thank Allah at
welfare and are not patient at misfortune. They belittle the great deeds
of the others. They praise themselves with what they have not done
themselves and they pretend to have what they do not have. They talk of
what they wish, mention the defaults of the others and hide their (other
people’s) good deeds.”
He (Prophet Muhammad) asked, “O my Lord! Is there any defects in the people of the worldly life other than these ones?”
If
one repents of his sins but at the same time still lives under the
domination of the worldly tendencies and pleasures, he cannot achieve
inside himself the real repentance because whenever he repents, those
pleasures and lusts attack him and draw him towards sin and then he
breaks his repentance.
3. Plagues
Strong
adhering to the worldly life, excessive love to pleasures and lusts,
changing according to tendencies, fancies and instincts besides the
material and immaterial interests and pleasures all are considered as
dangerous plagues that obstacle man’s way and behavior and prevent him
from achieving the real repentance. So a repentant must purify himself
from all these things and try to cure these diseases and plagues so that
he can follow the way of repentance and turning to Allah the Almighty.
Strong
adhering to the worldly life, excessive love to pleasures and lusts,
changing according to tendencies, fancies and instincts besides the
material and immaterial interests and pleasures all are considered as
dangerous plagues that obstacle man’s way and behavior and prevent him
from achieving the real repentance. So a repentant must purify himself
from all these things and try to cure these diseases and plagues so that
he can follow the way of repentance and turning to Allah the Almighty.
The gift of Allah to the real repentant
One
of the infallible Imams (as) says, “Allah the Almighty has given the
repentant three advantages. If He has given one of them to all the
inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, they will be saved by it.
Allah has said:
“Surely Allah loves those who turn much (to Him), and He loves those who purify themselves.” Qur'an, 2:222
He, whom Allah loves, will never be tortured. Allah has said too:
“Those
who bear the power and those around Him celebrate the praise of their
Lord and believe in Him and ask protection for those who believe: Our
Lord! Thou embracest all things in mercy and knowledge, therefore grant
protection to those who turn (to Thee) and follow Thy way, and save them
from the punishment of the hell. Our Lord! And make them enter the
gardens of perpetuity which Thou hast promised to them and those who do
good of their fathers and their wives and their offspring, surely Thou
are the Mighty, the Wise. And keep them from evil deeds, and whom Thou
keepest from evil deeds this day, indeed Thou hast mercy on him, and
that is the mighty achievement.” Qur'an, 40:7-9
Allah has also said,
“And
they who do not call upon another god with Allah and do not slay the
soul, which Allah has forbidden except in the requirements of justice,
and (who) do not commit fornication and he who does this shall find a
requital of sin. The punishment shall be doubled to him on the day of
resurrection, and he shall abide therein in abasement. Except him who
repents and believes and does a good deed; so these are they of whom
Allah changes the evil deeds to good ones; and Allah is Forgiving,
Merciful.” Qur'an, 25:68-70
One
of the infallible Imams (as) says, “Allah the Almighty has given the
repentant three advantages. If He has given one of them to all the
inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, they will be saved by it.
Allah has said:
“Surely Allah loves those who turn much (to Him), and He loves those who purify themselves.” Qur'an, 2:222
He, whom Allah loves, will never be tortured. Allah has said too:
“Those
who bear the power and those around Him celebrate the praise of their
Lord and believe in Him and ask protection for those who believe: Our
Lord! Thou embracest all things in mercy and knowledge, therefore grant
protection to those who turn (to Thee) and follow Thy way, and save them
from the punishment of the hell. Our Lord! And make them enter the
gardens of perpetuity which Thou hast promised to them and those who do
good of their fathers and their wives and their offspring, surely Thou
are the Mighty, the Wise. And keep them from evil deeds, and whom Thou
keepest from evil deeds this day, indeed Thou hast mercy on him, and
that is the mighty achievement.” Qur'an, 40:7-9
Allah has also said,
“And
they who do not call upon another god with Allah and do not slay the
soul, which Allah has forbidden except in the requirements of justice,
and (who) do not commit fornication and he who does this shall find a
requital of sin. The punishment shall be doubled to him on the day of
resurrection, and he shall abide therein in abasement. Except him who
repents and believes and does a good deed; so these are they of whom
Allah changes the evil deeds to good ones; and Allah is Forgiving,
Merciful.” Qur'an, 25:68-70
The holy Qur'an and repentance
The
word “repentance” and its derivatives have been mentioned in the Qur’an
about eighty-seven times. It has been mentioned so much and this shows
the greatness of this fact near Allah the Almighty.
We can classify what has been mentioned in the Qur'an concerning the matter of “repentance” into five parts:
1. The command of repentance.
2. The way of the real repentance.
3. Accepting repentance (by Allah).
4. Turning away from repentance.
5. The reason of not accepting repentance.
The
word “repentance” and its derivatives have been mentioned in the Qur’an
about eighty-seven times. It has been mentioned so much and this shows
the greatness of this fact near Allah the Almighty.
We can classify what has been mentioned in the Qur'an concerning the matter of “repentance” into five parts:
1. The command of repentance.
2. The way of the real repentance.
3. Accepting repentance (by Allah).
4. Turning away from repentance.
5. The reason of not accepting repentance.
1. The command of repentance
Allah has said,
“And ask forgiveness of your Lord, then turn to Him.” Qur'an, 11:3
“And turn to Allah all of you, O believers, so that you may be successful.” Qur'an, 24:31
Ar-Raghib al-Isfahani says in his book Mufradat al-Qur’an,
“Success
on the day of resurrection is life without death, honor with no
ignominy, knowledge with no ignorance and wealth with no poverty.”
Allah has also said,
“O you who believe! turn to Allah a sincere turning.” Qur'an, 66:8
From
these Qur’anic verses it is understood that Allah the Almighty has
ordered the believers and other than believers of repentance. It is
well-known that obeying Allah is something obligatory and it leads man
to the way of forgiveness and mercy and on the contra ry that disobeying
the order of Allah is impermissible and it leads to Allah’s wrath and
torment and brings disgrace in this life and in the afterlife and ca
useseternal perishment.
Allah has said,
“And ask forgiveness of your Lord, then turn to Him.” Qur'an, 11:3
“And turn to Allah all of you, O believers, so that you may be successful.” Qur'an, 24:31
Ar-Raghib al-Isfahani says in his book Mufradat al-Qur’an,
“Success
on the day of resurrection is life without death, honor with no
ignominy, knowledge with no ignorance and wealth with no poverty.”
Allah has also said,
“O you who believe! turn to Allah a sincere turning.” Qur'an, 66:8
From
these Qur’anic verses it is understood that Allah the Almighty has
ordered the believers and other than believers of repentance. It is
well-known that obeying Allah is something obligatory and it leads man
to the way of forgiveness and mercy and on the contra ry that disobeying
the order of Allah is impermissible and it leads to Allah’s wrath and
torment and brings disgrace in this life and in the afterlife and ca
useseternal perishment.
2. The way of the real repentance
Repentance is not an easy matter. It is not achieved except by certain and practical conditions.
Among
the elements that form the basic adobes in building the real repentance
are regretting, determining to give up sin forever, changing one’s bad
morals into good ones, repairing one’s deeds and past and relying on
believing in Allah and the day of resurrection in following the straight
path and the way of perfection.
Allah has said,
“Except
those who repent and amend and make manifest (the truth), these it is
to whom I turn (mercifully); and I am the Oft-returning (to mercy), the
Merciful.” Qur'an, 2:160
“Repentance
with Allah is only for those who do evil in ignorance, then turn (to
Allah) soon, so these it is to whom Allah turns (mercifully), and Allah
is ever knowing, Wise.” Qur'an, 4:17
“But
whoever repents after his iniquity and reforms (himself), then surely
Allah will turn to him (mercifully); surely Allah is Forgiving,
Merciful.” Qur'an, 5:39
“And
(as to) those who do evil deeds, then repent after that and believe,
your Lord after that is most surely Forgiving, Merciful.” Qur'an, 7:153
“But if they repent and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, they are your brethren in faith.” Qur'an, 9:11
According
to these verses we notice that the conditions of the real repentance
are: believing in Allah and the day of resurrection, reforming one’s
faith, morals and doings, prompt turning (to Allah) without any delay,
cutting one’s relation with injustice and sin, offering prayers, paying
zakat and giving the rights of people back to them. Whoever repents in
this way his repentance no doubt is a real repentance and then it will
definitely be accepted by Allah.
Repentance is not an easy matter. It is not achieved except by certain and practical conditions.
Among
the elements that form the basic adobes in building the real repentance
are regretting, determining to give up sin forever, changing one’s bad
morals into good ones, repairing one’s deeds and past and relying on
believing in Allah and the day of resurrection in following the straight
path and the way of perfection.
Allah has said,
“Except
those who repent and amend and make manifest (the truth), these it is
to whom I turn (mercifully); and I am the Oft-returning (to mercy), the
Merciful.” Qur'an, 2:160
“Repentance
with Allah is only for those who do evil in ignorance, then turn (to
Allah) soon, so these it is to whom Allah turns (mercifully), and Allah
is ever knowing, Wise.” Qur'an, 4:17
“But
whoever repents after his iniquity and reforms (himself), then surely
Allah will turn to him (mercifully); surely Allah is Forgiving,
Merciful.” Qur'an, 5:39
“And
(as to) those who do evil deeds, then repent after that and believe,
your Lord after that is most surely Forgiving, Merciful.” Qur'an, 7:153
“But if they repent and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, they are your brethren in faith.” Qur'an, 9:11
According
to these verses we notice that the conditions of the real repentance
are: believing in Allah and the day of resurrection, reforming one’s
faith, morals and doings, prompt turning (to Allah) without any delay,
cutting one’s relation with injustice and sin, offering prayers, paying
zakat and giving the rights of people back to them. Whoever repents in
this way his repentance no doubt is a real repentance and then it will
definitely be accepted by Allah.
3. Accepting repentance
When
a sinful one obeys the order of Allah concerning the matter of
repentance, tries to act according to the conditions of repentance and
to follow the way that the holy Qur’an has determined for the repentant,
definitely his repentance will be accepted by Allah for Allah has
promised sinful people who repent to accept their repentances. Such one
is fit so that Allah purifies him from the consequences of sin and
changes the darkness of his inners into light and brightness.
Allah has said,
“Do they not know that Allah accepts repentance from His servants” Qur'an, 9:104
“And He it is Who accepts repentance from His servants and pardons the evil deeds.” Qur'an, 42:25
“The Forgiver of the faults and the Acceptor of repentance.” Qur'an, 40:3
When
a sinful one obeys the order of Allah concerning the matter of
repentance, tries to act according to the conditions of repentance and
to follow the way that the holy Qur’an has determined for the repentant,
definitely his repentance will be accepted by Allah for Allah has
promised sinful people who repent to accept their repentances. Such one
is fit so that Allah purifies him from the consequences of sin and
changes the darkness of his inners into light and brightness.
Allah has said,
“Do they not know that Allah accepts repentance from His servants” Qur'an, 9:104
“And He it is Who accepts repentance from His servants and pardons the evil deeds.” Qur'an, 42:25
“The Forgiver of the faults and the Acceptor of repentance.” Qur'an, 40:3
4. Turning away from repentance
If
turning away from repentance is due to despair of the mercy of Allah,
then such a person should know that despairing of the mercy of Allah is
one of the aspects of disbelief and the disbelievers19.
If
a sinful turns away from repentance thinking that Allah is unable to
accept his repentance and forgive him, he should know that this matter
is from the morals of the stubborn Jews20.
If
a sinful turns away from repentance out of pride, defiance and
impudence before his generous Lord, he should know that Allah is mighty
and powerful and He does not like such pride and impudent persons to be
in His sacred yard. A person, who lives outside the circle of the love
of Allah, lives a dry spirituality and is stuffed inside his dark soul
besides that he is saved neither in this life nor in the afterlife21.
A
sinful one has to know that his turning away from repentance-in spite
of that the door of repentance is always open and one is able to repent
with the previous mentioned conditions and that Allah accepts repentance
from His people-is the very injustice against oneself and distorting
and destroying the high divine facts. Allah has said,
“And whoever does not turn, these it is that are the unjust.” Qur'an, 49:11
“Surely
(as for) those who persecute the believing men and the believing women,
then do not repent, they shall have the chastisement of hell, and they
shall have the chastisement of burning.” Qur'an, 85:10
If
turning away from repentance is due to despair of the mercy of Allah,
then such a person should know that despairing of the mercy of Allah is
one of the aspects of disbelief and the disbelievers19.
If
a sinful turns away from repentance thinking that Allah is unable to
accept his repentance and forgive him, he should know that this matter
is from the morals of the stubborn Jews20.
If
a sinful turns away from repentance out of pride, defiance and
impudence before his generous Lord, he should know that Allah is mighty
and powerful and He does not like such pride and impudent persons to be
in His sacred yard. A person, who lives outside the circle of the love
of Allah, lives a dry spirituality and is stuffed inside his dark soul
besides that he is saved neither in this life nor in the afterlife21.
A
sinful one has to know that his turning away from repentance-in spite
of that the door of repentance is always open and one is able to repent
with the previous mentioned conditions and that Allah accepts repentance
from His people-is the very injustice against oneself and distorting
and destroying the high divine facts. Allah has said,
“And whoever does not turn, these it is that are the unjust.” Qur'an, 49:11
“Surely
(as for) those who persecute the believing men and the believing women,
then do not repent, they shall have the chastisement of hell, and they
shall have the chastisement of burning.” Qur'an, 85:10
5. There as on of not accepting repentance
When
a sinful one finds the opportunity of repentance and he repents of his
sins following all the conditions of repentance, definitely his
repentance will be accepted by Allah the Almighty but if he wastes the
opportunity of repentance and procrastinates it until the signs of his
death come and then he announces repentance of his previous sins or his
repentance is not according to the actual conditions or he disbelieves
after his believing, his repentance will not be accepted. Allah has
said,
“And repentance is not for those who go on doing evil deeds, until when death comes toone
of them, he says: Surely now I repent; nor (for) those who die while
they are unbelievers. These are they for whom We have prepared a painful
chastisement.” Qur'an, 4:18
“Surely,
those who disbelieve after their believing then increase in unbelief,
their repentance shall not be accepted, and these are they that go
astray.” Qur'an, 3:90
When
a sinful one finds the opportunity of repentance and he repents of his
sins following all the conditions of repentance, definitely his
repentance will be accepted by Allah the Almighty but if he wastes the
opportunity of repentance and procrastinates it until the signs of his
death come and then he announces repentance of his previous sins or his
repentance is not according to the actual conditions or he disbelieves
after his believing, his repentance will not be accepted. Allah has
said,
“And repentance is not for those who go on doing evil deeds, until when death comes toone
of them, he says: Surely now I repent; nor (for) those who die while
they are unbelievers. These are they for whom We have prepared a painful
chastisement.” Qur'an, 4:18
“Surely,
those who disbelieve after their believing then increase in unbelief,
their repentance shall not be accepted, and these are they that go
astray.” Qur'an, 3:90
The traditions and the matter of repentance
Imam Abu Ja’far Muhammad al-Baqir (as) has said,
“Adam
has said, “O my Lord, You have empowered the Satan over me and made him
as the flow of the blood in me. O my Lord, do me something!” Allah
said, “O Adam, I have granted you that Whoever of your progeny intends
to do an evil, it will not be written against him but if he commits it,
it will be written as one evil and whoever intends to do a good deed
without doing it, it will be written for him as one good deed and if he
does it, it will be written for him as ten good deeds.” Adam said, “O my
Lord, grant me more!” Allah said, “I have granted you that whoever of
your progeny does an evil and then asks for forgiveness, his evil will
be forgiven.” Adam said, “O my Lord, grant me more!” Allah said, “I have
granted your progeny repentance until the moment of death.” Adam said,
“O my Lord, this suffices me22.”
Imam
as-Sadiq (as) narrates that the Prophet (S) has said, “Whoever repents a
yea r before his death Allah accepts his repentance.” Then he said, “A
year is too much. Whoever repents a month before his death Allah accepts
his repentance.” Then he said, “A monthis too much. Whoever repents a
week before his death Allah accepts his repentance.” Then he said, “A
week is too much. Whoever repents a day before his death Allah accepts
his repentance.” Then he said, “A day is too much. Whoever repents
before (the moment) he sees the angel of death Allah accepts his
repentance23.”
The
Prophet (S) has said, “Allah accepts the repentance of His servant even
before he breathes his last. Turn to your Lord before you die and
hasten to do good deeds before you become busy (with other things) and
keep what is between you and your Lord by mentioning Him too much24.”
It is narrated that Imam Ali (as) has said, “There is no intercessor more successful than repentance25.”
And the Prophet (S) has said, “Repentance cancels all what is (committed) before it26.”
Imam Ali (as) has said, “Repentance calls down mercy27.”
He
has also said, “Turn to Allah and enter into His love because Allah
loves those who turn much (to Him), and He loves those who purify
themselves. The believers turn much to Allah28.”
Imam
Ridha’ (as) has narrated from his fathers that the Prophet (S) had
said, “A believer near Allah is like a close angel. A believer near
Allah is greater than this and nothing is more beloved to Allah than a
repentant believing man or a repentant believing woman29.”
Imam
Ridha’ (as) has alsonarrated from his father that the Prophet (S) had
said, “A repentant of sin is like one who has not committed as in30.”
It
is narrated that Imam as-Sadiq (as) has said, “Sincere repentance is
that one repents of a sin and determines not to come back to it again31.”
The
Prophet (S) has said, “Allah is happier with the repentance of His
servant than a sterile man when begetting a child, than a lost one when
finding his destination and than a thirsty one when reaching a drinking
fountain32.”
He
has also said, “A repentant, if the effect of repentance does not
appear on him, is not repentant. He should satisfy his litigants, offer
his wasted prayers, be humble among people, keep himself away from lusts
and emaciate his neck by fasting in the days33.”
Ameerul
Mo’mineen (Imam Ali) (as) has said, “Repentance is regretting in the
heart, asking (Allah) for forgiveness by the tongue, giving up (sins) by
the organs and intending not to come back (to sins) again34.”
He
has also said, “Whoever turns to Allah, Allah turns to him and his
organs are ordered to cover his sins, the lands to conceal his sins and
the guardians (angels) are made forget what they have written against
him35.”
Imam
as-Sadiq (as) has said, “Allah the Almighty has revealed to His Prophet
Dawood (David): if My faithful servant commits a sin and then turns and
repents of that sin and becomes shy of Me when mentioning Me, I will
forgive him and make the guardians (angels) forget (what they have
written against him) and I change his evils into good deeds and I am the
most Merciful of the merciful ones36.”
In
an important tradition the Prophet (S) has said, “Do you know who a
repentant is?” His companions said, “By Allah, no, we do not.” He said,
“If one repents without satisfying his litigants, he is not repentant.
Whoever repents without increasing his worship is not repentant. Whoever
repents without changing his cloths (conducts) is not repentant.
Whoever repents without changing his companions is not repentant.
Whoever repents without changing his meetings is not repentant. Whoever
repents without changing his bed and pillow is not repentant. Whoever
repents without changing his morals and intent is not repentant. Whoever
repent without opening his Heart and giving with his hand generously is
not repentant. Whoever repents without repressing his wishes and
controlling his tongue is not repentant. Whoever repents without gifting
the further power of his body is not repentant. If he does these
things, he will be repentant37.”
What
has been mentioned in this import ant tradition concerning the state of
changing is something very important especially the things that one
gains from unlawful sources or through unlawful relations.
Imam Abu Ja’far Muhammad al-Baqir (as) has said,
“Adam
has said, “O my Lord, You have empowered the Satan over me and made him
as the flow of the blood in me. O my Lord, do me something!” Allah
said, “O Adam, I have granted you that Whoever of your progeny intends
to do an evil, it will not be written against him but if he commits it,
it will be written as one evil and whoever intends to do a good deed
without doing it, it will be written for him as one good deed and if he
does it, it will be written for him as ten good deeds.” Adam said, “O my
Lord, grant me more!” Allah said, “I have granted you that whoever of
your progeny does an evil and then asks for forgiveness, his evil will
be forgiven.” Adam said, “O my Lord, grant me more!” Allah said, “I have
granted your progeny repentance until the moment of death.” Adam said,
“O my Lord, this suffices me22.”
Imam
as-Sadiq (as) narrates that the Prophet (S) has said, “Whoever repents a
yea r before his death Allah accepts his repentance.” Then he said, “A
year is too much. Whoever repents a month before his death Allah accepts
his repentance.” Then he said, “A monthis too much. Whoever repents a
week before his death Allah accepts his repentance.” Then he said, “A
week is too much. Whoever repents a day before his death Allah accepts
his repentance.” Then he said, “A day is too much. Whoever repents
before (the moment) he sees the angel of death Allah accepts his
repentance23.”
The
Prophet (S) has said, “Allah accepts the repentance of His servant even
before he breathes his last. Turn to your Lord before you die and
hasten to do good deeds before you become busy (with other things) and
keep what is between you and your Lord by mentioning Him too much24.”
It is narrated that Imam Ali (as) has said, “There is no intercessor more successful than repentance25.”
And the Prophet (S) has said, “Repentance cancels all what is (committed) before it26.”
Imam Ali (as) has said, “Repentance calls down mercy27.”
He
has also said, “Turn to Allah and enter into His love because Allah
loves those who turn much (to Him), and He loves those who purify
themselves. The believers turn much to Allah28.”
Imam
Ridha’ (as) has narrated from his fathers that the Prophet (S) had
said, “A believer near Allah is like a close angel. A believer near
Allah is greater than this and nothing is more beloved to Allah than a
repentant believing man or a repentant believing woman29.”
Imam
Ridha’ (as) has alsonarrated from his father that the Prophet (S) had
said, “A repentant of sin is like one who has not committed as in30.”
It
is narrated that Imam as-Sadiq (as) has said, “Sincere repentance is
that one repents of a sin and determines not to come back to it again31.”
The
Prophet (S) has said, “Allah is happier with the repentance of His
servant than a sterile man when begetting a child, than a lost one when
finding his destination and than a thirsty one when reaching a drinking
fountain32.”
He
has also said, “A repentant, if the effect of repentance does not
appear on him, is not repentant. He should satisfy his litigants, offer
his wasted prayers, be humble among people, keep himself away from lusts
and emaciate his neck by fasting in the days33.”
Ameerul
Mo’mineen (Imam Ali) (as) has said, “Repentance is regretting in the
heart, asking (Allah) for forgiveness by the tongue, giving up (sins) by
the organs and intending not to come back (to sins) again34.”
He
has also said, “Whoever turns to Allah, Allah turns to him and his
organs are ordered to cover his sins, the lands to conceal his sins and
the guardians (angels) are made forget what they have written against
him35.”
Imam
as-Sadiq (as) has said, “Allah the Almighty has revealed to His Prophet
Dawood (David): if My faithful servant commits a sin and then turns and
repents of that sin and becomes shy of Me when mentioning Me, I will
forgive him and make the guardians (angels) forget (what they have
written against him) and I change his evils into good deeds and I am the
most Merciful of the merciful ones36.”
In
an important tradition the Prophet (S) has said, “Do you know who a
repentant is?” His companions said, “By Allah, no, we do not.” He said,
“If one repents without satisfying his litigants, he is not repentant.
Whoever repents without increasing his worship is not repentant. Whoever
repents without changing his cloths (conducts) is not repentant.
Whoever repents without changing his companions is not repentant.
Whoever repents without changing his meetings is not repentant. Whoever
repents without changing his bed and pillow is not repentant. Whoever
repents without changing his morals and intent is not repentant. Whoever
repent without opening his Heart and giving with his hand generously is
not repentant. Whoever repents without repressing his wishes and
controlling his tongue is not repentant. Whoever repents without gifting
the further power of his body is not repentant. If he does these
things, he will be repentant37.”
What
has been mentioned in this import ant tradition concerning the state of
changing is something very important especially the things that one
gains from unlawful sources or through unlawful relations.
The advantages of repentance
Repentance
has very important advantages in the worldly life and the in afterlife
mentioned in the Qur’anic verses especially the verses concerning
repenting of sins and also the honorable traditions narrated from
AhlulBayt (as). H ere we mention some of these advantages:
Allah has said,
“Ask
forgiveness of your Lord, surely He is the most Forgiving. He will send
down upon you the cloud, pouring down abundance of rain and help you
with wealth and sons, and make for you gardens, and make for you
rivers.” Qur'an, 71:10-12
“O
you who believe, turn to Allah a sincere turning; maybe your Lord will
remove from you your evil and cause you to enter gardens beneath which
rivers flow.” Qur'an, 66:8
Most
of the verses concerning repentance end with the two attributes
“Forgiver” and “Merciful”. It means that Allah grants a true repentant
with His forgiveness and mercy38.
“And
if the people of the towns had believed and guarded (against evil) We
would certainly have opened up for them blessings from the heaven and
the earth.” Qur'an, 7:96
In
Tafseer Ma jma’ul Baya n an important and attractive tradition has been
mentioned that Once a man has come to Imam al-Hasan (as) compla ining
to him of barrenness. Imam al-Hasan (as) said to him, “Ask Allah to
forgive you!” Another one came to him complaining of poverty. Imam
al-Hasan (as) said to him, “Ask Allah to forgive you!” a third one came
to him saying, “Pray Allah to grant me a son!” Imam al-Hasan said to
him, “Ask Allah to forgive you!” The people there said to Imam al-Hasan
(as), “Some men came to you complaining and asking for different things
but you ordered them all to ask Allah for forgiveness.” He said, “I have
not said that out of myself but I followed the saying of Allah when
mentioning the story of Prophet Noah (as) where he said to his people,
“Ask
forgiveness of your Lord, surely He is the most Forgiving. He will send
down upon you the cloud, pouring down abundance of rain and help you
with wealth and sons, and make for you gardens, and make for you
rivers.” Qur'an, 71:10-1239
Anyhow
what is und ers tood from the holy Qur’an and the noble traditions is
that the advantages of repentance are: omitting sins, the divine
pardoning and forgiving, the divine mercy, being safe from the torment
of the hereafter, deserving to enter paradise, safety of the soul,
purity of the Heart and the organs, being away from scandal, falling of
rains, abundance of wealth and children, growing of gardens and flowing
of rivers, disappearance of barrenness and poverty
“In their histories there is certainly a lesson for men of understanding.” Qur'an,12:111.
Repentance
has very important advantages in the worldly life and the in afterlife
mentioned in the Qur’anic verses especially the verses concerning
repenting of sins and also the honorable traditions narrated from
AhlulBayt (as). H ere we mention some of these advantages:
Allah has said,
“Ask
forgiveness of your Lord, surely He is the most Forgiving. He will send
down upon you the cloud, pouring down abundance of rain and help you
with wealth and sons, and make for you gardens, and make for you
rivers.” Qur'an, 71:10-12
“O
you who believe, turn to Allah a sincere turning; maybe your Lord will
remove from you your evil and cause you to enter gardens beneath which
rivers flow.” Qur'an, 66:8
Most
of the verses concerning repentance end with the two attributes
“Forgiver” and “Merciful”. It means that Allah grants a true repentant
with His forgiveness and mercy38.
“And
if the people of the towns had believed and guarded (against evil) We
would certainly have opened up for them blessings from the heaven and
the earth.” Qur'an, 7:96
In
Tafseer Ma jma’ul Baya n an important and attractive tradition has been
mentioned that Once a man has come to Imam al-Hasan (as) compla ining
to him of barrenness. Imam al-Hasan (as) said to him, “Ask Allah to
forgive you!” Another one came to him complaining of poverty. Imam
al-Hasan (as) said to him, “Ask Allah to forgive you!” a third one came
to him saying, “Pray Allah to grant me a son!” Imam al-Hasan said to
him, “Ask Allah to forgive you!” The people there said to Imam al-Hasan
(as), “Some men came to you complaining and asking for different things
but you ordered them all to ask Allah for forgiveness.” He said, “I have
not said that out of myself but I followed the saying of Allah when
mentioning the story of Prophet Noah (as) where he said to his people,
“Ask
forgiveness of your Lord, surely He is the most Forgiving. He will send
down upon you the cloud, pouring down abundance of rain and help you
with wealth and sons, and make for you gardens, and make for you
rivers.” Qur'an, 71:10-1239
Anyhow
what is und ers tood from the holy Qur’an and the noble traditions is
that the advantages of repentance are: omitting sins, the divine
pardoning and forgiving, the divine mercy, being safe from the torment
of the hereafter, deserving to enter paradise, safety of the soul,
purity of the Heart and the organs, being away from scandal, falling of
rains, abundance of wealth and children, growing of gardens and flowing
of rivers, disappearance of barrenness and poverty
“In their histories there is certainly a lesson for men of understanding.” Qur'an,12:111.
No comments:
Post a Comment