Clarification of a matter that confused the questioner: When is repentance accepted?

The Shaykh : Here, a word, or a word close to it, can be interpreted broadly or narrowly. The Sunnah came and said: If the matter has ended, why do we put ourselves in a rabbit hole and give examples that may be the case in reality, or may not be, because we cannot enter the hearts of people in the way the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) indicated in the well-known hadith, known to all present—may Allah have mercy on you—in the story of that Companion who killed that polytheist after he had fallen under the sword’s blow. When the man saw himself under the sword’s blow, he said, "There is no god but Allah." What was the matter? He went and... what? He killed him. And I think...The questioner : ...if he had been in his right mind, he would have done his deed in the name of Allah, because the meaning you have been going on about is exactly this example. He no longer had time to repent, right? Yes. But even so, when the news of this killer of that known disbeliever reached him, he said to him: He said, "He did not say it except out of fear of being killed." He said: So we say this to everyone who says, "This person has been living in sin for eight years, and now, when he has grown old and become weak and can no longer do what he used to do, we say that his repentance is accepted. The matter is not up to us; the matter is up to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), for He knows what is in the breasts. Therefore, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: No one knows what is in the breasts, what is in the hearts, except Allah, and He is the All-Knowing of what is in the breasts. Also, on this occasion, we should mention his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: And the reverse is the reverse. The hadith is well known, and the other hadith: And again, the reverse is the reverse. And the man whose name is Quzman—Professor, or what? Quzman, who slaughtered himself. Quzman was a man from among the Companions who fought a strange fight that amazed the brave among the Companions. He would charge at a group of polytheists and kill them in great numbers, then return. Some people came and said, "O Messenger, so-and-so is such and such," marveling at the intensity of his fighting and his ferocity. So the answer was very terrifying: Like this, three times. So one of the Companions vowed to follow the footsteps of this man, whom they had almost doubted regarding the words of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), which contradicted the appearance of the fierce fighter against the disbelievers. And there, the ending became clear. The man, because of the intensity of his fighting, must have been wounded in his body, so he did not bear it. He put the hilt of the sword in his belly and leaned on it until it came out of his back. And that Muslim Companion was watching, so he hurried to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to say, "O Messenger of Allah, so-and-so, about whom you said he is in the Fire, did such and such." So he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Like Quzman, if his final state was that he slaughtered himself, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, predicting by the inspiration of the heavens about him before he killed himself: So just as the one who had only an arm’s length between him and Paradise, the record overtakes him, and he does the deed of the people of the Fire and enters it, and the reverse is possible. Therefore, it is not permissible for us to narrow the broad mercy of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He), and to do as he did, like the Bedouin who entered the mosque, uncovered his garment, and urinated in the mosque. The Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) were about to attack him, so he said to them: "Leave him, let his nature be released by urination," meaning even in the mosque. But the man noticed the difference between the gentleness of the Messenger and the severity of the Companions of the Messenger. So when he prayed, he said, "O Allah, have mercy on me and Muhammad, and do not associate anyone with us." So he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: Meaning, he should have said, "Have mercy on us all," but because of the intensity of the violence he encountered from the Companions who were about to strike him, he said, "O Allah, have mercy on me and Muhammad, and do not associate anyone with us."—And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.

The questioner : The Bedouin himself... he lost his camel.

The Shaykh : Yes, it is the same one. Therefore, repentance is accepted as long as one does not gasp for breath.

The questioner : My understanding is that repentance is accompanied by a change in behavior. So this is his behavior ending.

The Shaykh : And is there a change after gasping for breath?

The questioner : No, it has ended. I mean, this is not just in his human life.

The Shaykh : That is another matter, because Allah says: Repentance, of course, has its conditions.

The questioner : Changing behavior, in this matter, is that he did not change his behavior; his behavior is different. His Lord is with him.

The Shaykh : My brother, every question has an answer. The search was previously: when is repentance accepted? We knew the answer now. But your question: Are there no conditions for repentance? Yes, repentance has conditions.

The questioner : Repentance is repentance.

The Shaykh : For example, the Messenger says: Let us return to your embarrassing example for some understandings. That one who satisfied his desire until not a grain of it remained in himself. Do we imagine that he regretted what he did? Do we logically imagine that he regretted what he did?

The questioner : He is not coming out with his hand to do more than this.

The Shaykh : You are not answering. May Allah guide you. I am asking you a question. Do we logically imagine that he regretted what he did?

The questioner : No, we do not imagine it.

The Shaykh : Why is your answer weak?

The questioner : How, Professor?

Another questioner : Answer and be frank.
Another questioner: Meaning, changing behavior, if it comes from Allah (Mighty and Majestic).

The Shaykh : Yes, sir, he changed it.