Treatment of Continuous Sin and Sincere Repentance

Question:
There are a number of questions from people who say that they commit sins, and they wish for good from this question. He says: Honorable Shaykh, the truth is that I am among the people who love Allah and His Messenger, and Allah is a witness to what is in my heart. I also love good and I love the Messenger, and I strive to do good with myself to the best of my ability. But, Honorable Shaykh, I am afflicted with a sin. The truth is, if it continues with you, it will appear in my religion and my worldly life. Every time I commit it, I make many threats to myself and I cry, but unfortunately, I have not been able to get rid of it, knowing that I have resorted to various means to get rid of it. So, knowing that it is mutual in the south, what is the treatment?

Answer:
Treatment is something you do; the serious treatment is sincere repentance, regret, and weeping over this matter, and striving to stay safe. Allah will help you after that if you pray and follow [your path]. If it is your sin, or if it is our sin, if you repent sincerely and then are afflicted with it again, you are held accountable for the last one, not the first. The first is erased by repentance, as it came in the hadith that Allah says, Exalted and Majestic is He: . It may be that a person commits a sin sincerely [repents from it], and Allah forgives it, as the Prophet said: . But with sincerity, it will be removed, if Allah wills, and Allah will help you to leave it. What I fear most is that the repentance is not sincere, and that you are persisting in your heart. This is a great calamity. If you are persisting, you are held accountable for both the first and the last. So you must be serious and sincere in your repentance, with complete regret and the resolve not to return to it. After that, Allah will help you with this matter. You must stay away from sitting with the people of it; do not be their companion and do not sit with them, so that perhaps you may be safe. Stay away from the causes that drag you into it. If it is zina (unlawful sexual intercourse), stay away from it, the violation of women, sitting with women, and looking at women. If it was intoxicants, beware of not being intoxicated; do not sit with them, and do not be with them in any place. If it was theft and betrayal, beware of it, strive against your self, and stay away from its causes, and so on. The believer is the doctor of his own self; he strives and is sincere with Allah, and Allah helps him. He says: . And He says, Exalted and Majestic is He, in His great Book: and whoever . And whoever is guided, Allah increases him and helps him. And it is His custom, Blessed and Exalted is He, that if a servant turns to Him and seeks refuge in Him sincerely, Allah accepts from him and makes his affair easy: