The Ruling on Repentance and Its Obligation upon the Servants
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Question:
And the faith that repentance is obligatory upon the servants.
Answer:
Yes, it is obligatory to believe that repentance is obligatory; repentance from sins is obligatory. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said:[An-Nur 24:31] [At-Tahrim 66:8] your evil deeds. Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Hujurat 49:11] So the Muslim must repent from his sins and evil deeds, and he must not persist in them, or be stubborn in them, or be lax about them, saying, "This is easy." He does not be lax with disobedience; rather, he hastens to repent. [Ali 'Imran 3:135] [Ali 'Imran 3:136] So Allah praised them and promised them. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: [An-Nisa 4:17], [An-Nisa 4:17-18]. When death is present, repentance is not accepted. Even if the person is still alive, his repentance is not accepted when death is present. So he must hasten to repent and not delay it.
As soon as he makes a mistake, he repents to Allah, the Exalted. A person is not infallible; he makes mistakes, he falls short, he commits sins. But Allah, Mighty and Majestic, in His mercy, opened the door of repentance, He swore by this repentance, He called you to it, and He promised you that He will forgive you if you are sincere in your repentance. Even the disbeliever, if he repents, Allah turns to him in mercy.
[Al-Anfal 8:38] from disbelief and shirk (associating partners with Allah), and killing souls, and other things. If they repent, Allah turns to them in mercy. And in the hadith: So the Muslim is in need of repentance. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to seek forgiveness from Allah and repent to Him more than a hundred times a day. He said (peace and blessings be upon him): As-Sunan al-Kubra lil-Nasa'i 64:887, and his Companions would count for him in the gathering, "Seek forgiveness from Allah, seek forgiveness from Allah," more than a hundred times. He is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), so what about others? We are in need of repentance to Allah, the Exalted. A person is not infallible; he commits sins, he falls short, he makes mistakes, so he is in need of repentance. Praise be to Allah that Allah has opened the door of repentance for us, and He is the One who accepts it from us and erases our sins. Yes.
And the faith that repentance is obligatory upon the servants.
Answer:
Yes, it is obligatory to believe that repentance is obligatory; repentance from sins is obligatory. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said:
And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed.
وَتُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَO you who have believed, repent to Allah with sincere repentance. Perhaps your Lord will remove from you
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا تُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَوْبَةً نَّصُوحًا عَسَىٰ رَبُّكُمْ أَن يُكَفِّرَ عَنكُمْAnd whoever does not repent - then it is those who are the wrongdoers.
وَمَن لَّمْ يَتُبْ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَAnd 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.
وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا فَعَلُوا فَاحِشَةً أَوْ ظَلَمُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ ذَكَرُوا اللَّهَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا لِذُنُوبِهِمْ وَمَن يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَلَمْ يُصِرُّوا عَلَىٰ مَا فَعَلُوا وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَThose - their reward is forgiveness from their Lord and gardens
أُولَٰئِكَ جَزَاؤُهُم مَّغْفِرَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَجَنَّاتٌThe repentance accepted by Allah is only for those who do wrong in ignorance
إِنَّمَا التَّوْبَةُ عَلَى اللَّهِ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السُّوءَ بِجَهَالَةٍ(17) The repentance accepted by Allah is only for those who do wrong in ignorance [or carelessness] and then repent soon after. It is those to whom Allah will turn in forgiveness, and Allah is ever Knowing and Wise. (18) But repentance is not [accepted] of those who [continue to] do evil deeds up until, when death comes to one of them, he says, "Indeed, I have repented now," or of those who die while they are disbelievers. For them We have prepared a painful punishment.
ثُمَّ يَتُوبُونَ مِن قَرِيبٍ فَأُولَٰئِكَ يَتُوبُ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا وَلَيْسَتِ التَّوْبَةُ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ حَتَّىٰ إِذَا حَضَرَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ إِنِّي تُبْتُ الْآنَAs soon as he makes a mistake, he repents to Allah, the Exalted. A person is not infallible; he makes mistakes, he falls short, he commits sins. But Allah, Mighty and Majestic, in His mercy, opened the door of repentance, He swore by this repentance, He called you to it, and He promised you that He will forgive you if you are sincere in your repentance. Even the disbeliever, if he repents, Allah turns to him in mercy.
Say 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 سَلَفَRepentance wipes out what came before it
التوبة تجب ما قبلها،O people, repent to Allah, for indeed I repent to Allah more than seventy times a day
أيها الناس توبوا إلى الله فإني أتوب إلى الله في اليوم أكثر من سبعين مرة
Source
شرح السنة للبربهاري، المبشرون بالجنة - التوبة إلى الله تعالى - الاعتصام بالسنة — islamhouse.com (21:13)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.