The Intention Not to Return and Its Effect If One Does Return
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Question:
He says: Islam makes it a condition of repentance that one intends not to return to the sin. Does that mean that if he does return, his repentance was not genuine? Because the condition is verified by his statement of intention, and he did not delay?
Answer:
No, he may intend not to return, but Satan and his soul, which incites to evil, may overpower him, and he may return. He should not despair of the mercy of Allah; he should renew his repentance and turn to Allah. He should not lose hope, because even if he intended not to return, his desires, his soul, and Satan may overpower him, and he may fall into sin. But the door of repentance is open; he should hasten to repent, and Allah accepts the repentance of one who repents. Yes.
He says: Islam makes it a condition of repentance that one intends not to return to the sin. Does that mean that if he does return, his repentance was not genuine? Because the condition is verified by his statement of intention, and he did not delay?
Answer:
No, he may intend not to return, but Satan and his soul, which incites to evil, may overpower him, and he may return. He should not despair of the mercy of Allah; he should renew his repentance and turn to Allah. He should not lose hope, because even if he intended not to return, his desires, his soul, and Satan may overpower him, and he may fall into sin. But the door of repentance is open; he should hasten to repent, and Allah accepts the repentance of one who repents. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، محاضرات في العقيدة والدعوة-03-التوبة آداب وأحكام|صالح الفوزان|كبار العلماء — youtube.com (1:00:29)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.