The Ruling on Repentance from a Sin and Committing It Again

The second message was sent by one of the brothers from Riyadh, identified as (A. A. M.), a high school student in Riyadh. He says: I am a young man whom Allah has guided to His straight path, and I ask Allah for steadfastness. However, I have some remaining sins from which I have not been able to free myself. I have repented to Allah from these sins and sought His forgiveness, but I return and fall into them again. After that happens, I regret it and repent to Allah, but to no avail. I ask for guidance on what I must do to train my soul to worship Allah and obey Him, and to resist my soul that commands evil. Is there a sin upon me for repenting from a sin and then returning to it?
Answer: Praise be to Allah who guided you to repentance and granted you the return to Allah, the Exalted and Supreme. Know, my brother, that repentance wipes out what came before it, just as Islam wipes out what came before it. As long as, by the praise of Allah, you hasten to sincere repentance whenever you commit any of these sins, you are on the right path, if Allah wills. Repentance erases what came before it, and you are not held accountable for the sin you repented from by returning to it again; rather, you are held accountable for the act of returning that you committed. Then, if you repent from that, Allah erases that as well, and so on. This is His favor and His grace, Mighty and Majestic. If you are sincere in your repentance, have regret for what has passed, and have made a sincere resolve not to return and have desisted from the sin, but then you are afflicted by it afterward, Allah, Mighty and Majestic, forgives what has passed due to the previous repentance. You must strive to prevent yourself from falling into sin, and this is done through several things. Among them is seeking refuge in Allah and asking Him for guidance, success, and protection, and that He help you against your soul and its struggle, and that He help you against your Shaytan so that you are safe from him. Allah, the Exalted, says: [al-Baqarah:186], and He, the Exalted, says: [Ghafir:60].
The second is to beware of the causes that drag you into sins. If you are in the company of people who commit them, avoid them so that they do not drag you into them. If you enter houses that drag you into them, avoid those houses and beware of them. Likewise, look at the causes and stay away from them.
The third matter is to look at the consequences of sins. Reflect on the consequences and that they are severe, and that you may be afflicted with the inability to repent, in which case you will lose out, may Allah protect us from that. So, beware of the consequences of sins and think deeply that you may be granted the opportunity to repent, or you may not be granted the opportunity to repent. So, avoid sin and stay away from it, adhere to repentance, and do not turn back from it. When you are granted success in these matters, Allah will protect you from the evil of your soul and the evil of your Shaytan. And success is from Allah.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.