What are the conditions of sincere repentance?
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The questioner : What are the conditions of sincere repentance?
The Shaykh : Sincere repentance from sins is obligatory. If the sin was the commission of a forbidden act, it is obligatory to abandon it. If it was the omission of an obligatory act, it is obligatory to make up for it by performing it, if it is possible to do so, or by performing its substitute if it has one. If it has no substitute and cannot be performed, then repentance suffices.
Repentance has five conditions. The first condition is that the motive for it must be sincerity for Allah (Mighty and Majestic), not intending by it showing off, seeking fame, seeking status, or seeking closeness to a created being, nor any other of the matters of this world. Rather, one should not desire by it anything but the Face of Allah and the Hereafter.
The second condition is that one must have some degree of regret for what he did, such that the act and its absence are not equal in his estimation. Rather, he should feel that he is pained and regretful for the sin that occurred from him, because this regret and pain is what drives him to repent to Allah and return to Him, and it is what indicates the truthfulness of his repentance.
The third condition is that he must abandon the sin immediately to the best of his ability. If the sin was the omission of an obligatory act, it is obligatory for him to perform it if it is possible to do so, or to perform its substitute if it has one. Otherwise, regret for the neglected obligatory act suffices. If it was the commission of a forbidden act and he is still engaged in it, it is obligatory for him to abandon it immediately. This includes, for example, if the sin was an encroachment upon another person; it is obligatory for him, if the encroachment was by taking money, to return the money to its owner. If it was by an injustice, he must seek forgiveness from the person, except that some scholars said: if the encroachment was by backbiting and the person did not know that he was backbiting about him, then it suffices to seek forgiveness for him and to praise him with praise that corresponds to the backbiting that occurred. However, this praise must be in accordance with reality.
The fourth condition is that he must resolve not to return to this sin in the future from which he repented. As for if he repented from the sin but in his intention, if an opportunity arises, he will return to it, then this is the repentance of the weak, not sincere repentance. Rather, he must firmly resolve not to return to the sin from which he repented.
The fifth condition is that the repentance must be within the time of its acceptance. If it is after the time of acceptance, it will not benefit its owner. The time of acceptance is that the repentance be before the sun rises from the west and before the term of the repentant person arrives. If the sun rises from the west before the repentance, then the repentance will not benefit, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-An'am 6:158] And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sunan Abi Dawud 2479Sahih (Al-Albani) And if the term arrives, then repentance does not benefit and is not accepted, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted: [An-Nisa 4:18] Therefore, it is obligatory for the believer to hasten with repentance, because he does not know when his term will overtake him. How many people have left their homes and not returned to them, how many people have slept on their beds and not risen from them, and how many people have sat down to eat and not finished it. Death has no known time for people to delay in repentance. The obligatory thing for every believer is to hasten with repentance before the time of its acceptance passes. Allah the Exalted said: [An-Nur 24:31] Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. This listener is Madi Bashir.
The Shaykh : Sincere repentance from sins is obligatory. If the sin was the commission of a forbidden act, it is obligatory to abandon it. If it was the omission of an obligatory act, it is obligatory to make up for it by performing it, if it is possible to do so, or by performing its substitute if it has one. If it has no substitute and cannot be performed, then repentance suffices.
Repentance has five conditions. The first condition is that the motive for it must be sincerity for Allah (Mighty and Majestic), not intending by it showing off, seeking fame, seeking status, or seeking closeness to a created being, nor any other of the matters of this world. Rather, one should not desire by it anything but the Face of Allah and the Hereafter.
The second condition is that one must have some degree of regret for what he did, such that the act and its absence are not equal in his estimation. Rather, he should feel that he is pained and regretful for the sin that occurred from him, because this regret and pain is what drives him to repent to Allah and return to Him, and it is what indicates the truthfulness of his repentance.
The third condition is that he must abandon the sin immediately to the best of his ability. If the sin was the omission of an obligatory act, it is obligatory for him to perform it if it is possible to do so, or to perform its substitute if it has one. Otherwise, regret for the neglected obligatory act suffices. If it was the commission of a forbidden act and he is still engaged in it, it is obligatory for him to abandon it immediately. This includes, for example, if the sin was an encroachment upon another person; it is obligatory for him, if the encroachment was by taking money, to return the money to its owner. If it was by an injustice, he must seek forgiveness from the person, except that some scholars said: if the encroachment was by backbiting and the person did not know that he was backbiting about him, then it suffices to seek forgiveness for him and to praise him with praise that corresponds to the backbiting that occurred. However, this praise must be in accordance with reality.
The fourth condition is that he must resolve not to return to this sin in the future from which he repented. As for if he repented from the sin but in his intention, if an opportunity arises, he will return to it, then this is the repentance of the weak, not sincere repentance. Rather, he must firmly resolve not to return to the sin from which he repented.
The fifth condition is that the repentance must be within the time of its acceptance. If it is after the time of acceptance, it will not benefit its owner. The time of acceptance is that the repentance be before the sun rises from the west and before the term of the repentant person arrives. If the sun rises from the west before the repentance, then the repentance will not benefit, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted:
The Day that some of the signs of your Lord will come no soul will benefit from its faith as long as it had not believed before or had earned through its faith some good.
يَوْمَ يَأْتِي بَعْضُ ءايَاتِ رَبِّكَ لا يَنفَعُ نَفْسًا إِيمَانُهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ ءامَنَتْ مِنْ قَبْلُ أَوْ كَسَبَتْ فِي إِيمَانِهَا خَيْرًاMigration will not end until repentance ends, and repentance will not end until the sun rises in the west.
لا تنقطع الهجرة حتى تنقطع التوبة ولا تنقطع التوبة حتى تخرج الشمس من مغربهاBut 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,"
وَلَيْسَتِ التَّوْبَةُ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ حَتَّى إِذَا حَضَرَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ إِنِّي تُبْتُ الآنَAnd turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed.
وَتُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَThe questioner : May Allah bless you. This listener is Madi Bashir.