It is necessary to repent from every sin. If the offence involves the right of Allah, not a human, then there are three conditions to be met in order for the repentance to be accepted by Allah
Conditions of repentance
To stop committing the sin
To feel sorry for committing it
To resolve not to recommit it once again
Any repentance failing to observe any of the above mentioned conditions will not be sound.
But if the sin involves a human right, a fourth condition is required, i.e, to absolve oneself from such a right. If it’s a property, it should be returned to its original owner; if it’s slandering or backbiting, one should seek the forgiveness of the offended. Allah the Exalted says
“Seek the forgiveness of your Lord and turn to Him in repentance.” (11:3)
“O ye who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere repentance.” (66:8)
HADITHS ON REPENTANCE
First Hadith
The Prophet pbuh said, “By Allah I seek Allah’s forgiveness and repent to Him more than seventy times a day.”
Commentary
* The hadith is an inducement to repent and seek Allah’s forgiveness. The Prophet (pbuh) whose past and future sins were forgiven,was always asking Allah’s forgiveness. So how about us who commit sins on a regular basis? How much then should we repent?
- Sincere and ceaseless prayer for pardon is essential so that any sins that we may unintentionally commit are forgiven.
- Seeking pardon is by repeating the following words : ” Astaghfirullah-al ‘adheem” i.e., I seek forgiveness of Allah The Great
Second Hadith
Abu Sa’id ibn Sa’d ibn Malik ibn Sinan al-Khudri reported that the Prophet of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Among those before you there was a man who killed ninety-nine people. He asked who was the most knowledgeable man in the world and was directed to a monk. He went to him and said that he had killed ninety-nine people and was repentance possible for him? The monk said, ‘No,’ so he killed him and made it a hundred. Then he again asked who was the most knowledgeable man on earth and was directed to a man of knowledge. He said that he had killed a hundred people, so was repentance possible for him? The man said, ‘Yes, who can come between you and repentance? Go to such-and-such a land, where there are some people worshipping Allah Almighty. Worship Allah with them and do not return to your own country. It is an evil place.’ So he went and then, when he was half way there, he died. The angels of mercy and angels of punishment started to argue about him. The angels of mercy said, ‘He came in repentance, turning with his heart to Allah Almighty.’ The angels of punishment said, ‘He has not done a single good action.’ An angel came in a human form and they appointed him arbitrator between them. He said, ‘Measure the distance between the two countries and whichever one he is nearer to, that is the one he belongs to.’ They measured and found he was nearer to the land to which he was going, so the angels of mercy took him.” [Agreed upon]
In another narration, “He was a hand-span nearer to the virtuous land, so he was put among their people.” Another version says, “Allah revealed to this country to distance itself and that one to come nearer. He said, ‘Measure the distance between them,’ and they found that he was nearer to the good one by a hand-span and He forgave him.” It is also narrated that he drew closer by a slight movement on his chest.
Commentary
· The hadith shows that the gates of repentance are open even for the worst of sinners; and Allah forgives everyone provided they repent sincerely. (See conditions of repentance).
· A scholar is far better than a mere worshipper: He would be more knowledgeable and would bear in mind the psychological aspects of the questioner in a way that would not make him reckless in his sins out of frustration.
· In some situations, Allah makes angels appear in human form to support His sincere slaves.
· Bad company should be abandoned: the least evil they can cause is that they don’t induce one to do good deeds or abandon evil ones.
· Good company is essential for the salvation of anyone seeking Allah’s pleasure: they constantly remind one of what is good and forbid what is bad.
· Allah rewards according to one’s final deeds, so make sure your final deeds are the best in the sight of Allah.
· If one dies among bad people, he will definitely be gathered with them in the Hereafter, unless he was accidentally among them, hating all their deeds.
· If one dies in the midst of good, pious people, he will definitely be gathered with them in the Hereafter and will probably benefit from their intercession for him on the Day of Judgment.
source:by editor
Revert2007's Blog 