I am afflicted with a sin, and every time I quit it for a period, my soul returns me to it, despite my knowledge of its prohibition, and then I regret it. What is the cure for this?
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The questioner : I am afflicted with a sin, and every time I quit it for a period, my soul returns me to it, even though I know its prohibition, and then I regret it. What is the cure in your view?
The Shaykh : The cure for this is to repent to Allah every time you disobey Him, and to make a firm resolve not to return to it. A sensible person, if he makes a firm resolve, finds the matter easy for him. But if you repent with a sincere repentance and fulfill the conditions of repentance, and then your soul overpowers you regarding this sin, repent to Allah a second time. Allah the Exalted loves those who repent.
And know that the conditions of repentance are five:
The first condition is sincerity to Allah, such that nothing moves you to repentance except seeking the pleasure of Allah the Exalted and His forgiveness for your sin.
The second is regret for what you did, by wishing in your heart that you had not done it.
The third is quitting the sin, either by avoiding the forbidden or by performing the obligatory.
The fourth is the resolve not to return to it.
The fifth is that the repentance be in the time in which repentance is accepted, and that is before the arrival of death and before the sun rises from the west. If the repentance is after the arrival of death, it does not benefit, due to the saying of Allah Blessed and Exalted is He:[An-Nisa 4:18] And when Pharaoh drowned, he said: [Yunus 10:90] And it was said to him: [Yunus 10:91] So his faith did not benefit him.
As for the rising of the sun from the west, when people see it, they will all believe and repent from their sins, and repentance and faith at that time do not benefit, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-An'am 6:158] And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) interpreted some of the verses as being the rising of the sun from the west.
It is narrated from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that it isSunan Abi Dawud 2479Sahih (Al-Albani) I ask Allah the Exalted to accept our repentance all, and to guide us to the performance of His obedience, for He is Able to do all things.
The questioner : O Allah, amen. May Allah bless you, O honorable Shaykh.
The Shaykh : The cure for this is to repent to Allah every time you disobey Him, and to make a firm resolve not to return to it. A sensible person, if he makes a firm resolve, finds the matter easy for him. But if you repent with a sincere repentance and fulfill the conditions of repentance, and then your soul overpowers you regarding this sin, repent to Allah a second time. Allah the Exalted loves those who repent.
And know that the conditions of repentance are five:
The first condition is sincerity to Allah, such that nothing moves you to repentance except seeking the pleasure of Allah the Exalted and His forgiveness for your sin.
The second is regret for what you did, by wishing in your heart that you had not done it.
The third is quitting the sin, either by avoiding the forbidden or by performing the obligatory.
The fourth is the resolve not to return to it.
The fifth is that the repentance be in the time in which repentance is accepted, and that is before the arrival of death and before the sun rises from the west. If the repentance is after the arrival of death, it does not benefit, due to the saying of Allah Blessed and Exalted is He:
But 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 الآنَI believe that there is no deity except that in whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am of the Muslims."
آمَنْتُ أَنَّهُ لا إِلَهَ إِلَّا الَّذِي آمَنَتْ بِهِ بَنُوا إِسْرَائِيلَ وَأَنَا مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَNow? And you had disobeyed [Him] before and were of the corrupters?
آلآنَ وَقَدْ عَصَيْتَ قَبْلُ وَكُنْتَ مِنَ الْمُفْسِدِينَAs for the rising of the sun from the west, when people see it, they will all believe and repent from their sins, and repentance and faith at that time do 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 آيَاتِ رَبِّكَ لا يَنفَعُ نَفْسًا إِيمَانُهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ آمَنَتْ مِنْ قَبْلُ أَوْ كَسَبَتْ فِي إِيمَانِهَا خَيْرًاIt is narrated from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that it is
Migration 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 مغربهاThe questioner : O Allah, amen. May Allah bless you, O honorable Shaykh.