I have committed a great sin and I prayed to Allaah and asked Him to


forgive me. Will my repentance from that sin be accepted? I feel that


my repentance has not been accepted and that Allaah is angry with me.


Are there any indications that repentance has been accepted?


Praise be to Allaah.


Firstly:


Making mistakes and falling short are undoubtedly part of human nature


and no one will be free of shortcomings in his obedience to Allaah, or free


of mistakes or forgetfulness or sins. All of us fall short, commit sins, and


make mistakes. Sometimes


we turn to Allaah


and sometimes


we turn away from


Him. Sometimes we


remember that Allaah


is watching and sometimes


we become negligent.


None of us is


free of sin, and we will


inevitably make mistakes.


We are not infallible.


Hence the


Prophet (peace and


blessings of Allaah be


upon him) said: “By the One inWhose hand is my soul, if you did not


commit sin Allaah would do away with you and bring people who would


commit sin then pray for forgiveness.” Narrated by Muslim, 2749. And he


(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Every son of Adam sins


and the best of those who sin are those who repent.” Narrated by al-


Tirmizi, 2499; classed as hasan by al-Albaani.


By His mercy towards weak man, Allaah has opened the gate of repentance


to him, and has commanded him to turn to Him, every time sin


overwhelms him. Were it not for that, man would suffer a great deal of


hardship and would not have the drive to draw closer to his Lord; he


3


would lose all hope of His forgiveness and pardon. Repentance is something


that is necessary as a result of man’s shortcomings and human failings.


Allaah has enjoined repentance on all kinds of people in this ummah (nation):


those who are foremost in good deeds, those who follow a middle


course, and those who wrong their own selves by doing haraam things


(cf. Faatir 35:32).


Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):


“And all of you beg Allaah to forgive you all, O believers, that you may be


successful” [al-Noor :31]


“O you who believe! Turn to Allaah with sincere repentance!” [Al-


Tahreem : 8]


And the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)


said: “O people, repent to Allaah and seek His forgiveness, for I repent


one hundred times a day.” Narrated byMuslim, 2702 from the hadeeth of


al-Agharr al-Muzani (may Allaah be pleased with him).


Allaah has bestowed His mercy and encompassed His slaves with his


kindness. He is Forbearing and does not punish us or destroy us straightaway,


rather He gives us respite, and He commanded His Prophet (peace


and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to proclaim His generosity:


“Say: O ‘Ibaadi (My slaves) who have transgressed against themselves (by


committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allaah, verily,


Allaah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful” [al-


Zumar :53 – interpretation of the meaning].


And He says, out of kindness towards His slaves (interpretation of the


meaning):


“Will they not turn with repentance to Allaah and ask His forgiveness? For


Allaah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful” [al-Maa'idah:74]


“And verily, I am indeed forgiving to him who repents, believes (in My


Oneness, and associates none in worship with Me) and does righteous


4


good deeds, and then remains constant in doing them (till his death)” [Ta-


Ha :82]


“And those who, when they have committed Faahishah (illegal sexual


intercourse) or wronged themselves with evil, remember Allaah and ask


forgiveness for their sins; — and none can forgive sins but Allaah — and


do not persist in what (wrong) they have done, while they know” [Aal


‘Imraan :135]


“And whoever does evil or wrongs himself but afterwards seeks Allaah’s


forgiveness, he will find Allaah Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful” [al-Nisa’


:110]


Allaah calls to repentance those who committed the gravest form of shirk


and sin, those who say that ‘Eesa { Jesus } (peace be upon him) is the son


of God – exalted be Allaah far above what the wrongdoers say. Allaah


says (interpretation of the meaning):


“Will they not turn with repentance to Allaah and ask His forgiveness? For


Allaah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful” [al-Maa’idah :74]


And He opens the door of repentance to the hypocrites, who are worse


than the kuffaar who openly show their kufr. Allaah says (interpretation


of the meaning):


“Verily, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depth (grade) of the Fire; no


helper will you find for them. Except those who repent (from hypocrisy),


do righteous good deeds, hold fast to Allaah, and purify their religion for


Allaah (by worshipping none but Allaah, and do good for Allaah’s sake


only, not to show off), then they will be with the believers. And Allaah will


grant the believers a great reward” [al-Nisa’ :145-146]


One of the attributes of the Lord is that He accepts repentance and rejoices


over it by His grace. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):


“And He it is Who accepts repentance from His slaves, and forgives sins,


and He knows what you do” [al-Shoora :25]


5


“Know they not that Allaah accepts repentance from His slaves and takes


the Sadaqaat (alms, charity), and that Allaah Alone is the One Who forgives


and accepts repentance, Most Merciful?” [al-Tawbah :104]


It was narrated that Abu Hamzah Anas ibn Maalik al-Ansaari (may Allaah


be pleased with him), the servant of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and


blessings of Allaah be upon him), said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace


and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah rejoices more over the


repentance of His slave than any one of you who finds his camel after


having lost it in a desolate land.” Agreed upon.


According to a report narrated by Muslim (2747): “Allaah rejoices more


over the repentance of His slave than any one of you if he is on his camel


in a desolate land, then it runs away from him and on it is his food and


drink, and he despairs of finding it, so he goes to a tree and lies down in


its shade, having despaired of finding his camel, then while he is like that,


it suddenly appears in front of him and he takes hold of its reins and says,


because of his intense joy, ‘O Allaah, You are my slave and I am your lord,’


making this mistake because of the intensity of his joy.”


It was narrated from Abu Moosa ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Qays al-Ash’ari (may


Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah


be upon him) said: “Allaah spreads out His hand at night to accept


the repentance of the one who sinned during the day, and He spreads out


His hand by day to accept the repentance of the one who sinned during


the night, (and that will continue) until the sun rises from the west.” Narrated


by Muslim, 2759.


It was narrated from Abu ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar ibn al-


Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and


blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah will accept the repentance


of His slave so long as the death-rattle has not yet reached his throat.”


Narrated by al-Tirmizi, 3537; classed as hasan by al-Albaani.


Secondly:


The blessings of repentance come in this world and in the Hereafter,


some are visible and some are hidden. The rewards of repentance are:


6


purity of heart, erasing of sins and increasing of hasanaat (good deeds).


Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):


“O you who believe! Turn to Allaah with sincere repentance! It may be


that your Lord will expiate from you your sins, and admit you into Gardens


under which rivers flow (Paradise) the Day that Allaah will not disgrace


the Prophet (Muhammad) and those who believe with him. Their


Light will run forward before them and (with their Records Books of


deeds) in their right hands. They will say: ‘Our Lord! Keep perfect our


Light for us [and do not put it off till we cross over the Siraat (a slippery


bridge over the Hell) safely] and grant us forgiveness. Verily, You are Able


to do all things’” [al-Tahreem :8]


The reward of repentance is a good life in the shade of faith, contentment,


peace of mind and tranquility. Allaah says (interpretation of the


meaning):


“Seek the forgiveness of your Lord, and turn to Him in repentance, that


He may grant you good enjoyment, for a term appointed, and bestow His


abounding Grace to every owner of grace (i.e. the one who helps and


serves the needy and deserving, physically and with his wealth, and even


with good words)” [Hood :3]


The reward of repentance is blessings coming down from heaven, blessings


coming from the earth, an increase in one’s wealth and offspring,


blessings in productivity, good physical health and protection from diseases.


Allaah says of Hood (peace be upon him) (interpretation of the


meaning):


“And O my people! Ask forgiveness of your Lord and then repent to Him,


He will send you (from the sky) abundant rain, and add strength to your


strength, so do not turn away as Mujrimoon (criminals, disbelievers in the


Oneness of Allaah)” [Hood :52]


Thirdly:


Everyone who repents to Allaah, Allaah accepts his repentance. The caravan


of those who have repented to Allaah will not be interrupted until the


sun rises from the west.


7


One repented from banditry, another from adultery, and others from


drinking alcohol, taking drugs, severing the ties of kinship, not praying or


being too lazy to pray in congregation, disobeying parents, dealing in riba


(usury) and bribes, stealing, shedding blood, consuming people’s wealth


unlawfully, or smoking. Anyone who repents to Allaah from any sin is to


be congratulated, because it is as if they have been born anew through


their sincere repentance.


It was narrated from Abu Sa’eed Sa’d ibn Maalik ibn Sinaan al-Khudri


(may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings


of Allaah be upon him) said: “There was among the people who came


before you a man who killed ninety-nine people. Then he asked about the


most knowledgeable person on earth, and was directed to a hermit, so he


went to him, told him that he had killed ninety-nine people, and asked if


he could be forgiven. The hermit said, ‘No,’ so he killed him, thus completing


one hundred. Then he asked about the most knowledgeable person


on earth and was directed to a scholar. He told him that he had killed


one hundred people, and asked whether he could be forgiven. The scholar


said, ‘Yes, what could possibly come between you and repentance? Go


to such-and-such a town, for in it there are people who worship Allaah.


Go and worship with them, and do not go back to your own town, for it is


a bad place.” So the man set off, but when he was halfway there, the


angel of death came to him, and the angels of mercy and the angels of


wrath began to argue over him. The angels of mercy said: ‘He had repented


and was seeking Allaah.’ The angels of wrath said: ‘He never did


any good thing.’ An angel in human form came to them, and they asked


him to decide the matter. He said: ‘Measure the distance between the


two lands (his home town and the town he was headed for), and whichever


of the two he is closest to is the one to which he belongs.’ So they


measured the distance, and found that he was closer to the town for


which he had been headed, so the angels of mercy took him.” (Agreed


upon).


According to a version narrated by Muslim (2716): “He was closer to the


righteous town by a handspan, so he was counted among its people.”


According to a version narrated by al-Bukhaari (3470): “Allaah commanded


(the righteous town) to draw closer and (the evil town) to move


away, and he said: “Measure the distance between them,’ and he was


8


found to be closer to (the righteous town) by a handspan, so he was forgiven.”


According to a version narrated by Muslim: “He leaned with his chest


towards it”.


What is meant by repentance is returning to Allaah, giving up sin and


hating it, and regretting falling short in obedience to Allaah. Al-Nawawi


(may Allaah have mercy on him) said:


Repentance is essential from every sin, even if it is something between a


person and Allaah and has nothing to do with the rights of another person.


There are three conditions of repentance:


1- You should give up the sin


2- You should regret having done it


3- You should resolve never to go back to it.


If one of these three is missing, then your repentance is not sincere. If the


sin has to do with the rights of another person, then there are four conditions:


the three mentioned above and restoring the rights of that person.


If it is money or property, etc, it must be returned to him; if it had to do


with slandering him etc, then you should allow him to insult him in return,


or ask for his forgiveness; if it had to do with backbiting about him,


then you have to ask for his pardon. It is essential to repent from all sins;


if a person repents from some, his repentance from the sins from which


he repented is valid – according to the scholars who follow the right path


– but he must still repent from the rest as well. End quote.


Based on the above, if these conditions are met by the person who is


repenting, then there is the hope that his repentance will be accepted, by


Allaah’s leave. After that he should not worry about waswaas (whispers)


suggesting that his repentance is not accepted, because that is from the


Shaytaan and is contrary to what Allaah and His Messenger (peace and


blessings of Allaah be upon him) have told us, that repentance is accepted


if it is sincere.