The Quran
“And those who, when they commit an immorality or wrong themselves [by transgression], remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins – and who can forgive sins except Allah? – and [who] do not persist in what they have done while they know. Those – their reward is forgiveness from their Lord and gardens beneath which rivers flow [in Paradise], wherein they will abide eternally; and excellent is the reward of the [righteous] workers.” [Qur’an; 3:135-136]
“…And if, when they wronged themselves, they had come to you, [O Muhammad], and asked forgiveness of Allah and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah Accepting of repentance and Merciful.” [Qur’an; 4:64]
“But those who committed evil deeds and then repented afterwards and believed, verily, your Lord after (all) that is indeed Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [Qur’an; 7:153]
“…and Allah would not punish them while they seek forgiveness.” [Qur’an; 8:33]
“…ask forgiveness of your Lord and then repent to Him. He will send [rain from] the sky upon you in showers and increase you in strength [added] to your strength…” [Qur’an; 11:52]
“It is He Who accepts repentance from His servants and pardons evil acts and knows what they do.” [Qur’an; 26: 25]
“Indeed, the righteous will be among gardens and springs, Accepting what their Lord has given them. Indeed, they were before that doers of good. They used to sleep but little of the night, And in the hours before dawn they would ask forgiveness…” [Qur’an; 51:15-19]
Hadith
Anas bin Malik Al-Ansari (MayAllah be pleased with him) the servant of the Messenger of Allah narrated: Messenger of Allah (peace bee upon him) said, “Verily, Allah is more delighted with the repentance of His slave than a person who lost his camel in a desert land and then finds it (unexpectedly)”. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Allah, the Exalted, has said: ‘O son of Adam, I forgive you as long as you pray to Me and hope for My forgiveness, whatever sins you have committed. O son of Adam, I do not care if your sins reach the height of the heaven, then you ask for my forgiveness, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, if you come to Me with an earth load of sins, and meet Me associating nothing to Me, I would match it with an earthload of forgiveness.'” [Tirmidhi]
Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Allah, the Exalted, and Glorious said, ‘A slave committed a sin and he said, ‘O Allah, forgive my sin,’ and Allah said, ‘My slave committed a sin and then he realized that he has a Rabb Who forgives the sins and punishes for the sin.’
He then again committed a sin and said, ‘My Rabb, forgive my sin,’ and Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) said, ‘My slave committed a sin and then realized that he has a Rabb Who forgives his sin and punishes for the sin.’
He again committed a sin and said: ‘My Rabb, forgive my sin,’ and Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) said, ‘My slave has committed a sin and then realized that he has a Rabb Who forgives the sin or takes (him) to account for sin. I have granted forgiveness to my slave. Let him do whatever he likes”. [Bukhari and Muslim] (Editor’s Note: The last sentence “let him do..”. means, as long he keeps asking for forgiveness after the commission of sins, and repents, Allah will forgive him because repentance eliminates previous sins.)
Extracts from the book Purification of the Soul:
Turning away from wrong actions by turning to the Concealer of faults and the Knower of all secrets is the basis of those who travel to Him, the initial investment of those who finally profit, the first step in the quest for His Face, the key to putting right whatever is not correct, and the primary stage in the selection of those whole will be brought close to Him.
The station of seeking repentance is at the beginning, the middle, and at the end. The servant who seeks Him never abandons it.
Allah the Most Exalted says, “And turn to Allah altogether, O you who believe, so that you may succeed.” [24:31]
This ayah is in a Madinan surah in which Allah addresses the people of iman and those who have been honoured from among His creation. He called upon them to turn in repentance to Him after they had already believed, made hijra, and fought jihad. Then He made success conditional on repentance, using the word ‘may’ in order to make the believers aware that they could only hope for success if they turned to Him in repentance, may Allah make us follow in their footsteps.
There are three conditions for repentance to be valid if the wrong action is to do with what is due to Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He: feeling regret, abandoning the wrong action, and resolving never to repeat it again.
If the wrong action was committed against a fellow human being, then the one who repents must either put right whatever damage he has caused or make amends to the person whose rights he has infringed.
This kind of wrong action is a transgression against two parties, each of whom have their own particular rights. The wrongdoer shows his repentance by paying his fellow human being his due, and by paying what is due to Allah by inwardly regretting his wrong action. This regret is a private matter, between him and his Creator.
In Arabic, seeking repentance is termed as tawbah. It elevates a the rank of the repenter because it involves recognizing and acknowledging one’s sins, feeling ashamed, and resolving to turn back to Allah and avoid the sin. If the sin involves harm to another person, then tawbah includes restoring the rights of that person or making up for the harm.
Sins can haunt a person in this life as well as in the Hereafter. It is often seen that the more sins we commit, the more we are deprived of Allah’s (Glorified and Exalted be He) assistance, and the more punishment we encounter.
أَوَلَا يَرَوْنَ أَنَّهُمْ يُفْتَنُونَ فِي كُلِّ عَامٍ مَّرَّةً أَوْ مَرَّتَيْنِ ثُمَّ لَا يَتُوبُونَ وَلَا هُمْ يَذَّكَّرُونَ ﴿١٢٦﴾
“Do they not see that they are tried every year once or twice but then they do not repent nor do they remember?” [Qur’an; 9:126]
Tawbah clears the heart of the heavy baggage of guilt which one must otherwise carry around, affecting one’s disposition, clarity of thinking, etc. It is a transformational process which can bring light to the heart and brightness to the face. It brings a state of humility in the heart and scholars have commented that one’s supplications are more likely to be accepted in such a state.