Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: 'By Allah! I ask Allah for forgiveness and I repent each day more than seventy times.' (Bukhari)

Aghar ibn Yassar (may Allah be pleased with him) heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: 'People! Repent towards Allah and ask Him to forgive you. For I repent a hundred times a day.' (Muslim)

Abu Musa Ashari (may Allah be pleased with him) heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: 'Allah extends His Hand (meaning Power) at night so that he can forgive the sinner of the day; He extends His Hand (Power) in the day so that He can forgive the sinner of the night. He will continue to do this until the sunrises from the West (Day of Judgment). (Muslim)

Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Whoever repents before the sunrises from the West. Allah will forgive him. (Muslim)

Ibn Abbas and Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with both of them) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "If the son of Adam had one valley of gold, he would crave for two; his stomach cannot be filled except with dirt (of the grave) and Allah will forgive the one repents. (Bukhari and Muslim)

Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: 'When a servant of Allah returns to Him and repents, Allah is happier than a traveler who loses his mount which has all his belongings and provisions on it and then resorts to the shade of tree after losing all hope only to wake up and find his mount staring in his face, and then out of joy and happiness erroneously says: 'Allah You are my servant and I your Lord. ' (Bukhari, Muslim)

Abdullah ibn Omar (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: 'Allah accepts the repentance of His servant as long as he does not croak (on his deathbed)'. (Tirmidhi)

A man asked Abdullah ibn Masood (may Allah be pleased with him) about repenting from a sin which he wanted to commit (but did not commit it). Abdullah turned away from the man and then turned towards him with his eyes weeping and said: 'Paradise has eight entrances, all of which open and shut except the entrance of Taubah. This entrance has an angel guarding it so that it does not shut. So repent and do not despair.'

Talq ibn Habib (may Allah be pleased with him) says: 'A servant cannot give Allah His due Right. However, repent in the morning and the evening.'

Mujahid (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "He who does not repent every morning and evening is amongst the unjust."

Luqman (may Allah be pleased with him) told his son: 'My son! Do not delay repentance, for death comes all of a sudden.'

Abdullah ibn Habib (may Allah be pleased with him) says: 'You could never bear the wrath of Allah each time you sin. So repent in the morning and in the evening.'

Ibn Kathir (may Allah be pleased with him) says: 'This means an honest and resolute repentance such that He neglects past sins, allows the repenting person to gather himself such that it prevents him from any further infractions.' (Tafseer Ibn Kathir 4:391)

Ibn Masood (may Allah be pleased with him) says: 'Sincere repentance is when there is no return to the sin just as there is no return for milk into the udder.'

Saeed ibn Jubair (may Allah be pleased with him) says: 'It is the repentance which is accepted that is with three conditions; 1) the fear that it will not be accepted 2)the hope that it will be 3) and addiction (thereafter) to obedience.'

Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him) says: 'Sincere repentance is to hate the sin that one like and to seek forgiveness when one remembers it.'

Saeed ibn Musaiyib (may Allah be pleased with him) says: 'It is a repentance with which one counsels oneself.'

Kalbi (may Allah be pleased with him) says: 'Sincere repentance is to regret from one's heart; to seek forgiveness with one's tongue; to uproot the sin and to be sure that one will not return to it.'

Qurzi (may Allah be pleased with him) says: 'It comprises four elements: 'Asking for forgiveness with the tongue: to uproot from the body: to resolve not to commit it again and to leave bad company.'

Fudail (may Allah be pleased with him) says: 'It is to visualize the sin in front of the eyes as one is observing it all the time.'

Nawawi (may Allah be pleased with him) says: 'Repentance is compulsory for every sin. If it does not concern the right of any human being then it has three conditions: to give up the sin completely, to feel remorse and compunction and to resolve not to commit it again. If any of the three is missing the repentance will not be accepted.'

'To exonerate oneself from the person's right by giving him back his due or to ask for the person's pardon' (Riyadul Saliheen: 17)

Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him) says: 'Whoever is not able to make amends at night, has respite during the day and at night.' 'Every day the day speaks and says; O people, I am a new day and I am a witness to whatever happens within me.'

Isa (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) says: 'The day and night are treasure stores. Be mindful of what you place in them. Act in the night according to its due and act in the day according to its due.'

Abu Saeed Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: 'There was a man before you who had committed 99 murders and then wanted to repent. So he inquired about the most knowledgeable person in the area and asked him if he could repent. The person said no. so the seeker murdered him as well and completed his 100. Then , he asked another wise person who informed him that he could repent and told him to leave the area in which he was living in and move to a place where people worshipped Allah. He started out on his journey, however, he died half way to his destination. So the angels of mercy and punishment argued over him. The angels of mercy said that he had repented and had made his way to the town. The angels of punishment said that he had never performed a good deed in his life. So an angel came to them in the form of a man and told them to measure the distance between the two places. They did so and found that he was actually closer to the destination than to his ho.The angels of mercy claimed his case. (Bukhari & Muslim)

'Allah ordered the earth close to his destination to come closer to him and ordered the other part of the earth to become distant. Then they measured and they found that he was closer to his destination by a span and was forgiven.'

Imran ibn Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was approached by a woman from the tribe of Juhaina who had become pregnant through adultery and who said: 'O Messenger of Allah! I have committed a sin that obligates Hadd (Islamic punishment) on me. So punish me!' Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told her guardian to be kind to her and to bring her back after she had delivered the child. HE did so and then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) tied her clothes and enacted the punishment on her. Then he offered funeral prayers for her. Omar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: 'Are you praying over her even though she has committed adultery?' The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: 'She has repented so strongly that if it were distributed amongst seventy people of Medina, it would accommodate them (that is, her reputation would be good enough for all of them). Can you find anyone better than her as she gave herself for Allah.' (Muslim)

Buriadah ibn Khusaib (may Allah be pleased with him) says a man named Maiz ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: 'O Messenger of Allah! I have wronged myself and I have committed adultery. I would like to be purified.' The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) rejected his plea so he came back the next day and then again a third day. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) ordered a ditch to be dug for him in which he was told to stand. He did so and he was stoned to death. (people formed two opinions about him one was that he had perished and that his sin had gotten the better of him; and the other was that no repentance was more sincere and truthful than his. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: 'He has repented with such a repentance that if it were to be distributed amongst a whole nation, it would be enough for them.' (Muslim)

'A repenting person despises himself more and more as he realizes the seriousness of his sin. See how these people despised themselves to the point that they accepted death in order to show their displeasure at themselves.' (Tabsirah: 1:360)

Ibn Qayyim (may Allah be pleased with him) says: 'If you were to see a repenting person, you would see weary eyelids early in the morning asking for forgiveness and listening to Allah's Command: 'Repent to Allah with a sincere repentance.'

1. It patches up faults and identifies the devil's points of entry to the human heart. This makes the repenting person more aware and evasive of evil.
2. The repenting person is embarrassed and is thus overcome with fear. He approaches the door of his Master with humbleness and apprehension.
3. The repenting person has experienced both the good and bad aspects of life and has tasted its sweet and bitter fruits. He thus becomes sympathetic towards other sinners and does not look down upon them. (Adh dhari'ah: 341)

Saeed ibn Musayib (may Allah be pleased with him) says that Allah will change the bad deeds of those who repent and convert them into good deeds (on the Scales) on the Day of Judgment. That repentance is itself a good deed. So the sinner changes his sin into a good deed. (Madarijul Salikeen 1:333)

Repentance is to turn back to Allah from every sin. He is the Forgiver of sins and the One Who Accepts repentance. (Sur'ah Mumin:2)

And I am the Oft-Returning and Merciful. (Sur'ah Hijr:15:49)

The repentance, which Allah accepts, is from those who commit sins out of ignorance and then repent very quickly. They are the ones to whom Allah returns; Allah is All Knowing and Wise. (Surah Nisaa:17)

Resort to your Lord and submit to Him before the punishment comes to you and then you will not be helped. And follow the best that has been revealed to you from your Lord before the punishment comes upon you all of a sudden while you do not even realize (All this) lest any souls says: 'O how I regret my shortcomings regarding Allah while I was among those who scoffed.' Or lest a soul says: 'If only Allah had guided me, I would have been among the pious.' Or lest, one should say on observing the punishment; 'If only I could return so that I can be among those who do good deeds.' (Sur'ah Zumar:54-58)

Until when death befalls upon one of them, he says: 'O my Lord! Send me back so that I may do good deeds in those areas where I was lacking.' Never! This will be merely word, which he utters.' (Sur'ah Muminun:99:100)

And a barrier will be present between them and their desires. (Sur'ah Saba:54)

---

1. The servant should be better after repentance than before. This means the repenting person should see whether or not he has increased his good deeds and decreased his bad deeds.
2. Fear should accompany him all the time. He should not become complacent about Allah's anger.
3. He should remain alarmed with regret and fear
4. He should become more humble and benefit from this state of mind by resorting to supplications of humility and servitude:

1. Weakness in the repenting person's resolve he remembers the pleasure in the sin and becomes preoccupied with it.
2. The repenting person's certainty of the acceptance of his repentance so much so that he behaves as if he has been given immunity.
3. The eyes do not cry, oblivion persists and the heart remains hard.
4. The repenting person doesn't take the initiative to increase his good deeds. (Madarijus Salikeen 1:206)

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: 'If you do not commit sins, then Allah will dispose of you and replace you with people who commit sins and then asks for forgiveness so that He can forgive them.' (Muslim)

1. The servant should acknowledge the Might & Destiny of Allah to understand that his sins occurred because of His Ordinance
2. The servant should realize that only Allah is Perfect and that he is a merely a creation that is weak and dependant;
3. The servant should be grateful to Allah for covering his sin and not exposing it and He does this despite His Power and despite His Observance of the sin. This is a testimony to His Grace and Magnanimity.
4. The servant should appreciate Allah's Generosity and Forbearance in accepting his repentance and excuse because He is quite capable of dealing with him and his sin with His Justice and this would be very tragic.
5. The servant should realize his dependency on Allah's Protection and Assistance in doing good deeds.
6. The servant should know that Allah has complied His Proof against him; that the servant can no longer ask through his actions and Allah forgives most sins without even mentioning them
7. When the servant understands all these parts, he will not be quick to retaliate and take reprisals against those who are malicious towards him. He will follow the example of his Lord and forgive the mistakes of others and even be kind to them, just as Allah is Kind to him even after all his sins
8. When the servant observes his shortcomings and His Lord's Kindness, he will see all Bounties of Allah as being great. This benefit alone will be more than enough to treasure
9. The servant should refrain from finding faults in other people and instead should become pre-occupied in reforming his own mistakes and sins.


First Category of those who repent

A person who remains firm on his repentance until he dies and who makes up for his sin and doesn't knowingly think about repeating the act except for those moments which no human has any control over. This is consistent and constancy in repentance anthose who observe it are among those who race and excel in goodness. This repentance is known as sincere repentance and the person's soul is known as the tranquil soul:

O Tranquil Soul! Return back to Your Lord while you are both pleased and (with whom Allah) is pleased. Enter into the ranks of My Servants and enter into Paradise.' (Sur'ah Fajr:30)

2^nd Category

A repenting person who is true to this repentance in most areas of obedience and abstains from major sins. However, he falls victim to sins not because of any intention or lack of resolve but due to circumstances. Whenever he commits a sin, he always reprimands his soul and regrets the error. This is the reprimanding or critical soul because it always criticizes itself for its blunders. Those who abstain from major sins and from immoral acts except for minor acts about them. Your Lord is Vast in Forgiveness (Sur'ah Najm:32)

3^rd Category

The servant who repents and continues to act accordingly except that he is overcome with passion sometimes and then commits a sin. However, he does not forsake obedience in other areas of life and stays away from sins in general. He takes care of his soul by repenting all the time. This soul is responsible for his actions and will be asked accordingly: And there are others who acknowledge their sins and adulterate good deeds with bad. It is hoped that Allah will forgive them. (Sur'ah Taubah:103)

4^th Category

A person who repents and then out of addiction goes back to committing sins without repenting again and without any compunction. This person is among those who persist in sin; his soul frequently commands him towards evil thus his death is prone to be one of severe consequences. If he dies in a state of Tauheed (believing in the Oneness of Allah) then he maybe delivered from Hell, albeit after awhile. For some hidden reasons, he maybe even forgiven completely.

We gave the Scripture to those whom We chose among Our servants. Some of them raced towards goodness; another group was moderate, while yet others were unjust towards themselves. (Sur'ah Fatir:32)

Whoever doesn't repent, he is among the unjust. (49:11)

Certainly Allah likes those who repent and those who diligently seek purity (2:222)

What is wrong with you that you do not appreciate the Greatness of Allah even though He has created you in stages. (Sur'ah Nur:13-14)

Every soul shall taste death, then you will be given your reward on the Day of Judgment. (3:185)

No soul knows what he will earn tomorrow, nor does any soul know on which soil he will die. (Luqman:34)

O man! You strive hard towards your Lord until you will meet Him. (Inshiqaaq:6)

Coin for them an example for life of this world: it is like water that We send down from the sky and then it becomes mixed with the vegetation of the earth which then becomes stubble that is scattered by the wind. Allah is capable of everything. (Sur'ah Kahf:45-46)

O mankind! The Promise of Allah is true so do not let the life of this world beguile you; nor should the beguiler (Satan) deceive you about Allah. (Surah Fatir:5)

Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him)  says: 'On the Day of Judgment, the world will be presented in the form of an ugly, old, pale and toothless woman. She will appear in front of people who will be asked who she is. They will seek refuge in Allah from any association with her. Then, they will be told 'She is the world over which you fought and broke off family relations. She is the world over which you envied and hated each other and then deceived each other.' She will be flung into Hell and she will say; 'O my Lord! Where are my followers? Where are my parties?' Allah will order her followers and parties to be joined with her.'

Allah is not unjust with them, However they are unjust to themselves. (Sur'ah Nahal:32)

 

FEAR OF ALLAH

 

O you who believe! Fear Allah as he is supposed to be feared and do not die unless you are in the state of submission. (3:102)

O you who believe! Fear Allah who has created you from a single soul and then created from that its mate and then from them disseminated many men and women. Fear Allah in whose name you plead with each other and respect your relatives. Allah is forever a guardian over you. (4:1)

O you who believe! Fear Allah and speak truth for He will improve your actions for you and forgive your misgivings. Whoever obeys Allah and His messenger has indeed attained great success. (Sur'ah Ahzaab:70-71)

Certainly you were adverse to this (moment of death), so now that We have raised the curtains from you, your sight is sharp and keen. (Sur'ah Qaf:22)

Do not fear them, but rather fear me if you are indeed believers. (3:175)

Me alone should you fear. (2:40)

Those who become apprehensive out of His fear they are the ones who race in goodness and win (Sur'ah Al-Muminun:57-61)

He who fears his Lord's rank will have two gardens in Paradise (Surah Rahman:46)

And as for he who fears the rank of his Lord and prevents himself from desires, Paradise is certainly his abode. (Naziaat:40)

Say O (Muhammad): I fear the punishment of a tremendous day, if I disobey Him. (Sur'ah Al Anaam:15)

We fear from our Lord a day of frowning and woe. (Insaan, Dahr:10)

And warn by means of it (Quran,) those who fear their resurrection in front of their Lord ( Al-Anaam:51)

And those who keep ties with those whom Allah has ordered and fear their Lord and dread the evil accountability. (Ra'ad:21)

They fear a day in which their hearts and eyes will turn (out of bewilderment) (Nur:37)

Hasan Basri (may Allah be pleased with him) says: 'What do you think of a day when people will stand on their feet for 50,000 years without having a bite to eat, a drop to drink until their necks will break from thirst and their stomachs will burn out of hunger. Then they (the disobedient) will turn to Hell and drink from a fountain whose water will be boiling and whose heat will be scorching. (Ihya:4/500)

Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) states that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: 'People will perspire so much on the Day of Judgment that the perspiration will penetrate seventy feet into the ground and bridle them until it reaches their ears. (Bukhari & Muslim)

No'man ibn Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saying: 'The person who will be given the least amount of punishment on the Day of Judgment will have two pieces of coal placed in his instep from which his brain will boil. He will think that there is nobody under greater punishment even though he will be receiving the lightest punishment. ( Bukhari & Muslim)

All praise is due to Allah who has relieved us of grief. (Fatir:34)

A barrier is made between them and their desires. (Saba:54)

Is it not time for the believers for their hearts to soften out of the remembrance of Allah (Hadeed:160)

When all of a sudden, they will have iron collars and chains around their necks, and they will dragged into Hell and then burnt in the fire. (Ghafir:71)

Do those who perpetrate crimes think that We shall make them the same as those who believe and do good deeds? (Jathiyah:21)

He who fears Allah, Allah will instill his fear in the hearts of all creation. He who does not fear Allah, Allah will instill the fear of everything in his heart. (Bahjatul Majalis and Unsul Majalis: 1/379)

And whatever they couldn't even imagine, will become clear to them. (Zumar:47)

Soon the wrongdoers will now which turn they will take. (Shu'araa:228)



SIGNS OF FEAR OF ALLAH

 

1. The tongue informs us; if we talk evil, backbite and engage in gossip, it shows that there is very little concern. We should engage our tongues in the remembrance of Allah, in recitation of Qur'an and in circles of knowledge.
2. In the heart we should expel hatred, enmity and jealousy and replace them with well wishing and care for Muslims.
3. We should be careful of what we put in our stomachs
4. Our eyes should not wander off to look at haram objects
5. We should not extend our hands for haram purposes
6. Our feet should not walk towards haram places
7. We should be concerned in our good deeds that we don't perform them for anyone else except Allah.

 



REASON FOR FEARING ALLAH

1. fear of death before repenting
2. the fear of not living up to one's repentance & breaking one's promise
3. the fear of not being able to fulfill Allah's obligations
4. the fear of losing one's softness in the heart & its hardening
5. the fear of losing consistency
6. the fear of allowing temptations to dominate
7. the fear of Allah making oneself responsible for doing good deeds because of conceit
8. the fear of becoming arrogant and egotistical due to the abundance of bounties
9. the fear of being distracted from Allah by other creation

10. the fear of being led to an evil ending through excessive bounties
11. the fear of being punished early (in this world)
12. the fear of being disgraced at the time of death
13. the fear of being beguiled by the glitter of this world
14. the fear of Allah revealing one's secret in one's state of oblivion
15. the fear of being stamped with a bad death at the time of death
16. the fear of the pangs of death
17. the fear of the questions of Munkar and Nakeer in the grave
18. the fear of the punishment of the grave
19. the fear of the horrors of the horizon (at the time of resurrection)
20. the fear of the awe during the presentation in front of Allah
21. the fear and the shame of being naked (at the time of resurrection)
22. the fear of being questioned about every little thing in life
23. the fear of the bridge (over Hell) and its sharpness
24. the fear of the fire; its chains and its torment
25. the fear of being deprived of Paradise, the Eternal and everlasting kingdom and abode
26. the fear of being deprived of seeing Allah's tremendous visage.

 

The jurist of Samarkand says that the person who does one good deed should be weary of four things (imagine what a person who commits a sin should be afraid of):

1. the fear of not being accepted because Allah says: Allah only accepts from those who fear. (Maidah:27)
2. the fear of showing off, for Allah says: They have been instructed to worship Allah sincerely, religion is for him Alone. (Bayinah:5)
3. the fear of preserving the good deed because Allah says: Whoever brings a good deed shall have ten times its reward (An'aam:161)
4. the fear of being deserted in performing good deeds, for Allah says: My reconciliation (with good) is only through Allah; it is upon Him that I trust and it is to Him that I resort. (Hud:88) (Where one doesn't know whether one will be given the opportunity to perform good deeds or not).

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