By Sadaf Farooqi
How many times has your conscience piped up to you at some time along the day with a “I should not have done that,” followed by a feeling of remorse and guilt; of wanting to undo a damage caused, of wishing for things to have gone along a better route? How many times do images of some of your past actions flash back at you, making you queasy and uncomfortable, wanting to go back to that time and living those moments again, without doing those wrong actions?
Definition of Tawbah
The word tawbah (repentance) in Arabic literally means “to turn”. This word and its renditions have been used in many verses in the Quran, but its essence is the same: to turn towards Allah in humility after having disobeyed Him or transgressed His limits.
Allah has ordained regular repentance, (istighfaar) – the act of seeking forgiveness from Allah – on all believers, because He has created mankind weak; hence all humans are innate sinners. Allah the Almighty says,
Man was created weak. (Annisaa’ 4: 28)
The trouble with human beings is that they can never, ever reach a state in which they will not commit sins. Those whom Allah has blessed with higher ranks of righteousness, (taqwa), can reach a level, in which the magnanimity and regularity of their sins is greatly reduced, but no believer can ever rest at peace about not committing a sin in the future.
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The believer regards his sins as if he were sitting beneath a mountain which he fears it may fall on him; whereas the sinner (munafiq) regards his sins as if a fly landed on his nose and he wiped it away.”
(Al Bukhari)
Therefore, the state of the believer is, sometimes, that of utter anguish: he hates to disobey His Master; he wishes there was some way to guarantee that he won’t commit a sin in the future; that he will not ever anger His Lord again – but the intelligent and knowledgeable believer knows that this is not possible.
Consequently, he is never at rest about the fact that no matter how much he hates to displease Allah, there will be times when he inadvertently will.
Practical Steps
Therefore, the wise believer takes the following proactive steps in order to minimize the regularity and severity of the sins he commits:
• He strives to gain knowledge of the levels and types of sins. He wants to know which sins anger Allah more and which anger Him less.
• He focuses on racing forward in good deeds, so that his good deeds (hasanat) might outweigh his bad ones (sayi’at) on the Day of Judgment.
• He tries to convey the message of Islam, commanding what is good and forbidding what is evil, to mankind in general, by any and all means available, in order to ensure that he is constantly reminded of what actions and qualities he has to stay away from.
• He seeks to stay in the company of pious people (muttaqeen) as long as possible, so that he is able to realize his sin as soon as he commits it, and so that his chances of falling into graver sins are minimised.
• Last but not least, he makes repentance an integral and regular part of his life, knowing that, being human, whatever sins he will inevitably commit, cannot be washed away except with daily, heartfelt, sincere repentance, or tawbah; and by following them up with lofty good deeds that appease Allah’s wrath.
Special Terms of Tawbah
In the Quran, there is a special mention in reference to tawbah, describing it as a word that is mentioned to denote the highest level of purity and sincerity, that is; tawbah nasuh, Arabic for sincere repentance. Allah the Exalted ordains Muslims to reach this level saying,
O ye who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere repentance (Attahrim 66: 8)
The difference between tawbah and “tawbah nasuh“, is therefore, the level of sincerity and truth with which it is enacted. `Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) describes the following 6 traits of this special kind of tawbah:
1. Stopping the sin immediately. Sincere repentance cannot be initiated if the believer is still committing the sin. Cessation of the wrong action is the first prerequisite step towards repenting from it. So unless the sin is abandoned, whether it is gheebah, slander, abuse, earning money via unlawful means (like usury, indecency, tabarruj, etc.), leaving obligatory prayers, or lying etc., repentance is phony.
2. Feeling intense all-enveloping regret and remorse. This might be embodied as a state of deep sorrow, brought on by fearing Allah’s wrath and displeasure, at having done wrong. The higher the level of the believer’s piety, the sooner he experiences this state of anguish, and the stronger is his regret. He might cry in privacy, with deep sobs shaking his body and hot tears wetting his face, as he regrets what he has done. He cannot carry on his day-to-day activities feeling like this, so he hastens to the next step.
3. Confessing the sin to Allah. The believer usually falls immediately in prostration, or rushes to perform ablution and stand in nafl prayer (optional prayer). He is teetering between extreme fear of Allah’s anger and undying hope of His Mercy, as he recites the Quran with full concentration, his body humbled and submissive. His bending (ruku`) and prostration (sujud) are long and intense. His eyes are flowing with hot tears of regret. He admits to Allah that he has wronged his soul, that he has disobeyed Him.
Alternatively, other means can be used to confess one’s sin. The believer might immediately raise his hands in du’aa in privacy, or he might recite the Quran, after which he can confess in silent whispers to the One closest to him, that he has committed a sin.
4. Asking Allah to forgive him. Reciting any of the transmitted (ma’thur) du’aa for repentance narrated from the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), or using his own words, the believer anxiously and sincerely asks Allah to forgive him.
5. Resolving firmly never to commit that sin again. In his heart, he resolutely vows never even to go near the action that caused him so much regret and guilt; that made His Lord angry with him, ever again.
6. Returning dues or offering expiation. The believer should then apologize to the person he has wronged, or return what he has unlawfully taken, if the sin he committed was one concerned with the rights of other human beings; else, he should offer expiation if it is required, if the sin he committed has a specified expiation ordained in Islam as part of repentance from it. “I’m Fine the Way I Am, Thank You!”
Many people do not listen to words of advice or to the message of Islam, nor attend gatherings of knowledge or dhikr, because they do not want to end up feeling guilty for the way of life they are leading. They have their long-term friends, their social activities that involve unlawful things, their chosen professions, which too, have their share of impermissible aspects; they have their die-hard destructive habits and negative personality traits.
They disobey Allah with a carefree abandon that they know will vanish if they agree to listen to the Quran or hadiths. They want to go on as they are, unbothered and complacent about life in general, without wanting to get into the nitty-gritty of halal and haram; of Islamic restrictions and worries. At times of happiness, they feel a temporary elation and euphoria that passes all too quickly; at times of loss and sorrow, they feel an aching emptiness, an abysmal dead-end that stifles them.
To these people, I say: “Where will you run from Allah? For how long will you escape Him? For how long can you delude yourself about the purpose of your life? You don’t want to give up your life, your pleasures, your desires, your friends and your stylish look for the sake of Allah, but then why do you, at times, feel so empty, so alone? Why do you sometimes ask yourself, “Is this all there is? Isn’t there more to life than just eating, drinking and being merry?” Why do you feel pangs of guilt for doing wrong things? Why does the thought of death terrify you? Why do you have a feeling of impending doom, that surely “Allah” will severely punish you one day?”
If you really feel you are better off than an “Islamically-restricted” believer, with a heart that feels no remorse for disobeying your Creator, and no love for Him, no recognition of who He is and what He wants from you, you are worse off than the person who experiences bouts of regret over his sins that keep him awake at night and make him rush forth with tearful repentance! Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: “I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) saying: “Allah the Almighty said: “O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great at it”. (Tirmidhi)
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