O You Who Believe

89)

"O you who have believed, repent to Allah with sincere repentance. Perhaps your Lord will remove from you your misdeeds and admit you into gardens beneath which rivers flow [on] the Day when Allah will not disgrace the Prophet and those who believed with him. Their light will proceed before them and on their right; they will say, "Our Lord, perfect for us our light and forgive us. Indeed, You are over all things competent."

[Surah Tahreem 66:8]

This verse concludes the book 'O you who believe' as it's the last verse of Qur'an in which believers are directly addressed by these special words.

Literally, taubat an-nasuh-an (sincere repentance) has several meanings i.e that one should offer such true repentance as may have no tinge of pretense and hypocrisy in it; that one should wish his own self well and repenting of sin should save oneself from the evil end; and that one should so adorn and improve his life after repentance as to become a cause of admonition for others, and seeing his example others also also reform themselves accordingly. These are the meanings of taubat an-nasuh which are indicated by its literal sense.

As for its religious meaning, its explanation is found in the Hadith. Zirr bin Hubaish narrated: When I asked Ubayy bin Kaab the meaning of taubat an-nasuh, he said that he had asked the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasallam) the same question, and he had replied: "It implies that when you happen to commit an error, you should feel penitent for it, then should implore Allah for forgiveness remorsefully, and then should refrain from committing the same error again."

Umar (R.A) has defined taubat an-nasuh, thus: After offering repentance one should not even think of committing the sin, not to speak of repeating it. (Ibn Jarir)

Ali (R.A) said that sincere repentance is followed by 6 signs; 1)You should feel penitent for the wrong you have done; 2) You should carry out the duties that you have ignored; 3) Restore the rights that you have usurped; 4) Ask forgiveness of him whom you have wronged; 5) Make a resolve not to repeat the sin again; 6) Consume yourself in obedience to Allah as you have so far been consuming it in wrongdoing, and cause it to taste the bitterness of obedience as you have so far been causing it to enjoy the sweet taste of disobedience and sin. (Al- Kashshaf).

Important factors to consider during repentance are; to show remorse for an act of disobedience only because it is a disobedience of Allah. That man should offer repentance as soon as he realizes that he has committed disobedience of Allah and should compensate for it without delay in whatever form possible and should not defer it in any way. Repeating the sin again and again of which one has repented, is a proof of the falsity of one's repentance. For the essence of repentance is penitence, and breaking his repentance repeatedly is a sign that it has not been motivated by penitence. This is not meant to demotivate the sinner but to induce fear of Allah in his heart before he commits the sin which ultimately stops him from doing it. As Allah is Rahman and Raheem, Allah tells the transgressors to not lose hope of Allah's mercy. Repentance is always the best option after sinning. If the person who has repented sincerely and resolved not to repeat the sin again, happens to repeat it once again because of human weakness, it will not revive his past sin.

It is not incumbent upon Allah to accept the repentance of the sinner and to grant him Paradise instead of subjecting him to punishment but it will be His kindness and compassion that He may forgive well as reward of His servant. One should have hope of His forgiveness, but one should not commit a sin with the confidence that he will achieve forgiveness by repentance.

Allah will not allow the reward of the good deeds of believers to go to waste and He will not disgrace the Prophet as well as the believers. He will not let the disbelievers and the hypocrites taunt the believers that they had gained nothing in spite of their worship. Humiliation will be the fate of the rebels and the disobedient and not of the faithful and obedient.