Regret over years of negligence in the rights of Allah is a sign of good
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
May Allah reward you with good and do you good. You also say that you feel regret and fear for the years of your life that passed without you praying or fasting. What should I do to atone for those years in which I did not pray or fast? Will Allah forgive my sins and accept my repentance, my worship, and my deeds, such as dhikr and prayer? Knowing that I was a disobedient servant of Allah the Exalted.
Answer:
Yes, this is a sign of good. Regret over the sins and negligence that occurred is a sign of good, and it is one of the conditions of repentance, because one of the conditions for the validity of repentance is regret over what has passed. But know that Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, forgives all sins.
And that He forgives the repentant and accepts their repentance. Allah the Exalted said:[Ash-Shuraa 42:25] He the Exalted said: [Al-Furqan 25:68] the truth, and they do not commit unlawful sexual intercourse. Whoever does that will meet a severe punishment. His punishment will be multiplied for him on the Day of Resurrection, and he will abide therein in a state of degradation, Sunan Abi Dawud 4273Sahih (Al-Albani), and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. And whoever repents and believes [Al-Furqan 25:71] And He the Exalted and Majestic said: [Al-Anfal 8:38] And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Repentance wipes out what came before it." So be glad and hope for good, for Allah the Exalted and Majestic is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful, and He forgives whoever repents and turns back to Him.
May Allah reward you with good and do you good. You also say that you feel regret and fear for the years of your life that passed without you praying or fasting. What should I do to atone for those years in which I did not pray or fast? Will Allah forgive my sins and accept my repentance, my worship, and my deeds, such as dhikr and prayer? Knowing that I was a disobedient servant of Allah the Exalted.
Answer:
Yes, this is a sign of good. Regret over the sins and negligence that occurred is a sign of good, and it is one of the conditions of repentance, because one of the conditions for the validity of repentance is regret over what has passed. But know that Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, forgives all sins.
And that He forgives the repentant and accepts their repentance. Allah the Exalted said:
And it is He who accepts repentance from his servants and pardons misdeeds, and He knows what you do.
وَهُوَ الَّذِي يَقْبَلُ التَّوْبَةَ عَنْ عِبَادِهِ وَيَعْفُو عَنِ السَّيِّئَاتِ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تَفْعَلُونَAnd those who do not invoke with Allah another deity or kill the soul which Allah has forbidden
وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَدْعُونَ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَٰهًا آخَرَ وَلَا يَقْتُلُونَ النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلَّاunless he repents, believes, and works righteous deeds, for Allah will change the evil of such persons into good.
إلا من تاب وآمن وعمل عملا صالحا، فأولئك يبدل الله سيئاتهم حسناتand does righteousness does indeed turn to Allah with [accepted] repentance.
وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَإِنَّهُ يَتُوبُ إِلَى اللَّهِ مَتَابًاSay to those who have disbelieved [that] if they cease, what has previously occurred will be forgiven for them
قُل لِّلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِن يَنتَهُوا يُغْفَرْ لَهُم مَّا قَدْ سَلَفَ
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 5014- الندم على سنوات التفريط في جنب الله علامة خير - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.