What is the ruling on the prayer of repentance, and what is the authenticity of the evidence reported regarding it?
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The questioner : May peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you, His Excellency Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and Allah's mercy and blessings.
The questioner : What is the ruling on the prayer of repentance, and what is the authenticity of the evidence reported regarding it?
The Shaykh : The hadith regarding the prayer of repentance is weak, but it has corroborating narrations indicating that it has a basis, such as the hadith of 'Uthman ibn 'Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) when he performed wudu' like the wudu' of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said:Sahih al-Bukhari 164. This hadith is a corroborating narration indicating that if a person performs wudu' and perfects the wudu', then prays two rak'ahs, Allah will forgive him his previous sins.
The questioner : Is it called the prayer of repentance, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : No, it is not called the prayer of repentance; it is called the sunnah of wudu', but repentance is achieved through it.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and Allah's mercy and blessings.
The questioner : What is the ruling on the prayer of repentance, and what is the authenticity of the evidence reported regarding it?
The Shaykh : The hadith regarding the prayer of repentance is weak, but it has corroborating narrations indicating that it has a basis, such as the hadith of 'Uthman ibn 'Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) when he performed wudu' like the wudu' of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said:
I saw the Prophet (ﷺ) performing ablution like this of mine, and he said, 'If anyone performs ablution like that of mine and offers a two-rak`at prayer during which he does not think of anything else (not related to the present prayer) then his past sins will be forgiven.
إن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم توضأ مثل وضوئي هذا ثم قال: من توضأ نحو وضوئي هذا ثم صلى ركعتين لا يحدث فيهما نفسه غفر الله له ما تقدم من ذنبهThe questioner : Is it called the prayer of repentance, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : No, it is not called the prayer of repentance; it is called the sunnah of wudu', but repentance is achieved through it.