The Third Condition: That One Abandons the Sin.
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The Shaykh : The third condition is that one abandons the sin. One must abandon the sin. If a person repents to Allah from a sin while still persisting in it, he is mocking Allah, Mighty and Majestic. If a man were dealing in riba (usury or interest), dealing in riba, and saying, "I seek Allah's forgiveness and I repent to Him," and then he says, "Come here, boy, write this down: one hundred for one hundred and ten," would this man be considered a repentant person or not? He is not repentant. How can he be repentant while he is persisting in disobedience? A man says, "I repent from backbiting," and then he says to the person next to him, "What do you say about so-and-so? Isn't he stingy? Isn't he an open sinner? Doesn't he have such-and-such a trait?" and then he says, "I repent to Allah." No, by Allah, this man does not pray with the congregation. Is he repentant or not?
The questioner : No, he is not repentant.
The Shaykh : Why? Because he has not abandoned the sin. A man usurped a person's wealth, meaning he took wealth from a person and said, "I seek Allah's forgiveness and I repent to Him for my usurpation of this wealth," but the wealth is still in his hand. Is his repentance accepted? It is not accepted because he has not abandoned the sin. He has not abandoned the sin, so it is necessary to abandon the sin; otherwise, the repentant person is mocking Allah, Mighty and Majestic. By Allah, if a ruler were in front of you and he had forbidden you from something, saying, "Do not carry this such-and-such item," and then you came to him carrying it in your hand and said, "My lord, forgive me, I did not do it, and I am repentant," while the item is in your hand and you are persisting in it, what would this ruler think? He would think that you are mocking him and making fun of him. How can you confront him with what he forbade you and then claim that you are repentant to Allah? Many are the people who come to this place in Ramadan and supplicate to Allah for repentance while they are persisting in sins in their lands. This repentance does not benefit them. It does not benefit them. So it is necessary that the repentant person abandons the sin. If the sin is against Allah, abandoning it means leaving it. If the sin is against a human being, abandoning it means returning it to its owner if it is wealth, and seeking his pardon if it is not wealth. If you have stolen wealth from a person, or denied it, or something similar, and you repent to Allah, then abandoning this sin means what? It means returning the wealth to its owner; otherwise, your repentance is not valid.
The questioner : No, he is not repentant.
The Shaykh : Why? Because he has not abandoned the sin. A man usurped a person's wealth, meaning he took wealth from a person and said, "I seek Allah's forgiveness and I repent to Him for my usurpation of this wealth," but the wealth is still in his hand. Is his repentance accepted? It is not accepted because he has not abandoned the sin. He has not abandoned the sin, so it is necessary to abandon the sin; otherwise, the repentant person is mocking Allah, Mighty and Majestic. By Allah, if a ruler were in front of you and he had forbidden you from something, saying, "Do not carry this such-and-such item," and then you came to him carrying it in your hand and said, "My lord, forgive me, I did not do it, and I am repentant," while the item is in your hand and you are persisting in it, what would this ruler think? He would think that you are mocking him and making fun of him. How can you confront him with what he forbade you and then claim that you are repentant to Allah? Many are the people who come to this place in Ramadan and supplicate to Allah for repentance while they are persisting in sins in their lands. This repentance does not benefit them. It does not benefit them. So it is necessary that the repentant person abandons the sin. If the sin is against Allah, abandoning it means leaving it. If the sin is against a human being, abandoning it means returning it to its owner if it is wealth, and seeking his pardon if it is not wealth. If you have stolen wealth from a person, or denied it, or something similar, and you repent to Allah, then abandoning this sin means what? It means returning the wealth to its owner; otherwise, your repentance is not valid.