"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.
The running of the light before the believers will take place when they will be proceeding towards Paradise from the Plain of Resurrection. There it will be pitch dark all around and those who will have been condemned to Hell, will be groping about in it. The light will only be with the believers by which they will be traveling on their way. On this critical occasion, hearing the wailings and groaning of those groping in the dark, the believers will be feeling terror stricken. In view of their past errors and shortcomings they will be afraid lest they too should be deprived if their light and made to grope about like those wretched people. Therefore, they will pray: "O our Lord, forgive us our sins and let our light remain with us until we reach Paradise."
In this verse, Allah has shown the imagery of Jannah while calling the believers to good deeds. At certain intervals in Qur'an, believers are shown this beautiful scenery to motivate them towards Allah's mercy and goodness.
Believers will be entered into Paradise and will be greeted by the Angels who will congragulate them from every gate on their success and will say:
"Peace be upon you, because you have endured with patience; how excellent a reward is paradise!"
[Al-Qur'an 13:34]
In Qur'an, beauty of Jannah is described. Each person lives near to the Lord in a garden of perpetual bliss with flowing springs and flowing rivers of incorruptible water and unchangeable milk. Each garden is the width of the whole heavens and earth.
In each garden is a mansion, a high throne of dignity in a grove of cool shade, an adorned couch, rows of cushions, rich carpets spread out, a cup full of wine and every meat and fruit that is like the food on Earth but slightly different. Each person is adorned in golden and pearl bracelets and green garments of fine silk and brocade.
Both men and women will have beautiful and pure spouses accompanied by any children that did not go to Hell and attended to by servant-boys with the spotless appearance similar to a protected pearls.
Jannah is described as an eternal dwelling with its supreme felicity and greatest bliss being God's good pleasure.
The Paradise is described as surrounded by eight principal gates, each level generally being divided into a hundred degrees guarded by angels. The highest level is known as firdaws. Entrants will be greeted by Angels with salutations of peace. Furthermore, paradise is considered to be "as vast as the heavens and the earth." One day in paradise equals thousand years on earth. Palaces are made from bricks of gold, silver, pearls, among other things. Traditions also note the presence of horses and camels of "dazzling whiteness", along with other creatures. Large trees whose shades are ever deepening, mountains made of musk between which rivers flow in valleys of pearl or ruby.
In spite of the goodly dwellings given to the inhabitants of paradise, the approval of God and nearness to Him is considered greater. According to the Quran, God will bring the elect near to his throne ('arsh), a day on which "some faces shall be shining in contemplating their Lord." The vision of God is regarded as the greatest of all rewards, surpassing all other joys. The true beauty of paradise is also understood as the joy of beholding God, the Creator.
This is the Jannah that every believer longs for and prays for. The key to achieving such eternal and true victory according to this verse is to repent sincerely; with a true heart and no incomplete intention. Since Allah knows the deepest darkest corners of our hearts, the thought of repeating the sin shouldn't even cross a believer's firm mind. True and sincere repentance not only erases the sins but also puts the sinner's uneasy heart at rest as those who devote theirselves to Allah find solace and rest in remembrance of Allah. Hence when one makes a mistake, the first thing on his mind should be the awareness and consciousness of Allah (Taqwa). Everyone makes mistakes and sins but this character of fearing Allah and repenting immediately belongs to the true believers alone.
Things we learnt:
> To repent with a sincere heart.
> As one repents, Allah sends His mercy towards him by forgiving him.
> Another reward for a believer's true repentance is that Allah enters him in Paradise which is the finest destination and the biggest success.
> Allah ensures that on the Day of Accountability, Allah will not disgrace the Prophet and his followers and will grant them true success for their good deeds.
> True believers will have light on their front and on their right which will lead them to Paradise.
> While crossing the pul-e-siraat, believers will have overwhelming taqwa and will pray that Allah perfects their light i.e their light does not dim like that of the disbelievers and that they are forgiven unlike the disbelievers. And indeed Allah is Dominant over everything.
All praises are for Allah Who is the Lord of all creations. Alhamdulillah, this book is completed.
May Allah guide us to the right path.
Ameen.
Wama alayna illal balaghul mubeen.
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