Is repentance obligatory for minor sins?
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Question:
Among the questions we received, Honorable Shaykh, is repentance only for major sins, or is it also for minor sins? And what are the conditions of repentance?
Answer:
Repentance is required for all sins, both major and minor. Allah the Exalted says:[Ali 'Imran 3:135] And He the Exalted says: [An-Nur 24:31] So repentance is required for all sins, from disbelief and everything below it, as well as major and minor sins.
And Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said:[Az-Zumar 39:53-54] meaning, repent to Him. So repentance is necessary for major sins and for minor sins.
And from shirk (associating partners with Allah), kufr (disbelief), and what is less than them, from all sins. If the repentance is valid, Allah, Exalted is He, accepts it, provided its conditions are met. The first condition is that one abandons the sin from which he repented and stays away from it. If he repents while still committing the sin and does not abandon it, but only repents with his tongue, then his repentance is not accepted.
The second condition is that he resolves never to return to the sins from which he repented in the future. He repents with a continuous repentance. If his repentance is temporary for a time, and then he returns to the sins and intends this—intending that he will repent in Ramadan, repent at the time of Hajj, repent in such and such seasons of goodness, and tells himself that he will return to the sins after that—then his repentance is not accepted, because it is a temporary repentance, and Allah does not accept anything but permanent, lasting repentance. The third condition is that he feels remorse for the sins that occurred from him. When he remembers them, he feels remorse for what happened and is ashamed of Allah, Mighty and Exalted. If these conditions are met, the repentance is accepted, if Allah wills. Yes.
Among the questions we received, Honorable Shaykh, is repentance only for major sins, or is it also for minor sins? And what are the conditions of repentance?
Answer:
Repentance is required for all sins, both major and minor. Allah the Exalted says:
And those who, when they commit an immorality or wrong themselves [by transgression], remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins
وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا فَعَلُوا فَاحِشَةً أَوْ ظَلَمُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ ذَكَرُوا اللَّهَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا لِذُنُوبِهِمْAnd turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed.
وَتُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَAnd Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said:
(53) Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful." (54) And return [in repentance] to your Lord
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ وَأَنِيبُوا إِلَىٰ رَبِّكُمْAnd from shirk (associating partners with Allah), kufr (disbelief), and what is less than them, from all sins. If the repentance is valid, Allah, Exalted is He, accepts it, provided its conditions are met. The first condition is that one abandons the sin from which he repented and stays away from it. If he repents while still committing the sin and does not abandon it, but only repents with his tongue, then his repentance is not accepted.
The second condition is that he resolves never to return to the sins from which he repented in the future. He repents with a continuous repentance. If his repentance is temporary for a time, and then he returns to the sins and intends this—intending that he will repent in Ramadan, repent at the time of Hajj, repent in such and such seasons of goodness, and tells himself that he will return to the sins after that—then his repentance is not accepted, because it is a temporary repentance, and Allah does not accept anything but permanent, lasting repentance. The third condition is that he feels remorse for the sins that occurred from him. When he remembers them, he feels remorse for what happened and is ashamed of Allah, Mighty and Exalted. If these conditions are met, the repentance is accepted, if Allah wills. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 2486 - هل تجب التوبة من الصغائر - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.