Abandoning Sin

The Shaykh : The third condition is that he must abandon the sin. If the sin is the commission of a forbidden act, he must leave it off. If the sin is the omission of an obligatory act, what must he do? He must perform it. Otherwise, his repentance is not valid. Let me give you an example. A man left off praying with the congregation. This brother left off praying with the congregation. Is this a sin or not? It is a sin. So he says, "I seek Allah's forgiveness and I repent to Him." He said this in the morning, but when the midday prayer time came, he did not go to pray. Is his repentance valid or not? It is not valid. Why? Well done, may Allah reward you. It is because he did not abandon the sin. Another man deals in riba (usury or interest); he gives a hundred and takes back one hundred and twenty after a year. He says, "I seek Allah's forgiveness and I repent to Him," but he continues to do so. When someone comes to him, he still says, "Take a hundred and pay me one hundred and twenty in a year." Is his repentance valid?
The student: No.

The Shaykh : Why? Because he did not abandon it, so his repentance is not valid. Abandoning the sin is necessary. Now, a man stole money from someone; he stole one hundred riyals. He was reminded that theft is forbidden. He said, "I seek Allah's forgiveness and I repent to Him," but the money is still in his hiding place. Does his repentance benefit him or not? Why? He did not take it out. If you are sincere, give the money back to its owner. That is fine.