Is it obligatory in repentance to recall every sin one has committed and repent from it? Or is it sufficient to be general?

The questioner : Regarding repentance, is it obligatory for every sin? For example, a person might commit a sin and it may not be feasible for him... meaning, at a time when he is able... meaning, is it obligatory that he recall every sin and try to seek forgiveness for it, or is it sufficient to be general?

The Shaykh : It is not the case that a person is required to recall every sin, for if that were so, it would be an excessive burden and hardship. But I thought your question would be: Is it obligatory for him to repent immediately after every sin? And it may have been possible for him to repent, but he did not remember until later.

The questioner : He remembered, but he felt regret in his heart... However, I do not know if a question might arise here regarding the issue of repentance before regret, but the issue of recalling sometimes does not present itself to a person, even to the point that he cannot seek forgiveness from Allah and recall Allah with certainty through supplication so that he is sincere from his heart. It may happen that he is in a gathering where he committed several specific errors, and it is not feasible for him, for example, to seek forgiveness.

The Shaykh : Before answering, we must recall that the meaning of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: , is not as he said: , for it is a type among the types of repentance. The fact that regret is repentance does not mean that regret is the completion of repentance, for we know that repentance requires conditions other than regret: regret for what has passed, the resolve not to return to it, and continuing in guidance and obedience. This is one thing. The second thing is that the situation differs between an error that is a sin for which one is held accountable and an error that is less than that, for which one is not held accountable. The obligatory repentance is for the first type of error, meaning if it is a sin, one must hasten to repent, because a person cannot judge that he will live even for minutes to repent from that sin that occurred to him. And if we assume that he is mindful of what he did, he must hasten to repent. But if it was not feasible for him for some reason that he knows better, then when it becomes possible for him or the opportunity presents itself, it is obligatory for him to hasten to repent.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : ... meaning it became feasible for him, such as seeking forgiveness and repenting from the specific sin. But if many sins have accumulated, that means it was not feasible for him to repent from every sin. In that case, general seeking of forgiveness comes, as mentioned in the hadith of Abu Musa - as I think - and it is - Allah knows best - in "Musnad al-Imam Ahmad," which al-Hafiz al-Mundhiri mentioned in "al-Targhib" at the beginning of his book, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) included in his teaching that the Muslim should say: . This is the answer to the question in reality, for it is general seeking of forgiveness. But it is better to seek forgiveness in detail for every sin, followed immediately by repentance from it. If that is not feasible for him and he is unable to do so, then this supplication and this noble Prophetic teaching comes: .