The Prophet (ﷺ) said:
“Every son of Adam is a sinner, and the best of sinners are those who repent (seek Tawbah) to Allah.”
– Tirmidhi
The Prophet (ﷺ) used to recite the following Dua abundantly:
رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَتُبْ عَلَيَّ إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ
O my Almighty! Forgive my sins and accept my repentance. Verily, You are the Acceptor of Repentance, the Most Merciful.
Allah says in the Quran:
إِنَّمَا التَّوْبَةُ عَلَى اللَّهِ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السُّوءَ بِجَهَالَةٍ ثُمَّ يَتُوبُونَ مِنْ قَرِيبٍ فَأُولَئِكَ يَتُوبُ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ
“Allah only accepts the repentance of those who commit evil out of ignorance and then repent soon after. It is they to whom Allah will turn in forgiveness.”
– Surah An-Nisa: 17
Here, Allah the Almighty speaks about the sin committed out of ignorance. If a sin occurs out of ignorance, as soon as it is realized to be a mistake, one must immediately feel remorseful without delay, and seek forgiveness from Allah with a firm determination never to engage in such an act again.
This is the hallmark of a Mu’min (believer). Instead of doing so, trying to justify one’s mistake by saying, “Who in the world hasn’t committed a mistake?” is a major sin.
I”O people! Repent to Allah from your sins. Whichever servant meets Allah having repented from his sins, it becomes Allah’s responsibility to forgive him.”
– Hazrat Mu’adh ibn Jabal (RA)
Whoever feels remorseful for the sins they have committed and turns towards righteousness will face a good end. Whoever forgets this will be found in grief and sorrow at the time of death and on the Day of Resurrection.
Allah warns those who intentionally commit sins despite knowing they are sins:
وَلَيْسَتِ التَّوْبَةُ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ حَتَّى إِذَا حَضَرَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ إِنِّي تُبْتُ الْآنَ وَلَا الَّذِينَ يَمُوتُونَ وَهُمْ كُفَّارٌ أُولَئِكَ أَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا
“And repentance is not accepted from those who continue to do evil deeds until, when death approaches one of them, he says, ‘Indeed, I repent now’; nor of those who die while they are disbelievers. For them We have prepared a painful punishment.”
– Surah An-Nisa: 18
Let there be no audacity to disobey Allah. For those who continue to engage in sins thinking they can seek forgiveness from Allah when death arrives, Allah will not forgive if they seek forgiveness at the time of their death.
When a human being commits a sin, a black spot appears on his heart. If he immediately realizes this mistake and seeks forgiveness (Tawbah), that black spot is removed.
If he leaves it with indifference and commits another sin, another black spot appears on the heart. If sins increase in this manner, the entire heart becomes darkened.
Thereafter, it is pushed into a weak state where it becomes incapable of performing good thoughts or good deeds. The heart becomes lazy towards good thoughts. Whoever desires that his heart function by the Noor (light) of Allah must stay away from minor sins.
The companion Ibn Mas’ud (RA) has warned that just as small twigs join together to become a bundle of firewood, minor sins accumulate to become major sins and ultimately destroy that human being.
If any affliction occurs, seeking Istighfar (forgiveness) first, engaging in prayer, and supplicating to Allah with patience will remove that affliction through the mercy of Allah, or it will become a reason for a high status and forgiveness in the Hereafter as a compensation.
Allah Almighty forgives if one seeks forgiveness with three conditions. They are:
- The person seeking forgiveness must feel remorseful in his heart for the sin he committed.
- He must completely give up that sin right now.
- He must firmly resolve never to commit that sin again.
