Shaykh Ṣāliḥ b. Fawzān was asked:
Tell
us about tawbah (repentance), and what its requisites are, and also what is
at-tawbatu an-naṣūḥah (sincere
repentance)?
He replied:
Tawbah is to turn
back from sin to the obedience [of Allāh]. And it is obligatory:
And
repent to Allāh o believers, that you may be successful.
Meaning
of Qurān 24:31
So
it is the duty of a Muslim, if he commits a sin, to immediately repent to Allāh
the Mighty and Sublime. And Allāh accepts the repentance of a person who
repents and He forgives him.
I
(Allāh) am Most Forgiving to he who repents, believes and works righteousness
and then follows guidance.
Meaning
of Qurān 20:82
This
is from the grace of Allāh the Mighty and Sublime; He commanded [us] to repent
and promised He will accept the repentance of anyone who repents and forgive
his sin. However, tawbah is not something that is merely said. Repentance has
requisites that must be fulfilled. These requisites are:
1. To
leave the sin and distance oneself from
it. A person must not just say ‘I repent
to Allāh’ without leaving the sin.
2. To
resolve never to return to the sin. If a person repents to Allāh but intends to return to that sin later
on, then this is temporary repentance which Allāh the Perfect and Exalted does
not accept.
3. To
regret what was happened. To picture
[the reality of] the sin and fear [its consequences], and not to just
say ‘I have repented, its over’, rather one must fear the sin, and regret what
he has done.
These
are the requisites of tawbah. When they are fulfilled, Allāh the Perfect and
Exalted accepts the repentance as He promised.
[00:01:35]
Al-Fawzān,
Ṣāliḥ b. Fawzān. The Meaning of Repentance and its Requisites. Official Website of His Eminence
Shaykh Dr Ṣāliḥ b. Fawzān Al-Fawzān.
[web]
http://alfawzan.af.org.sa/node/15158. Accessed 14-11-2014.
~
Source: https://owaisalhashimi.info/al-fawzan-on-the-meaning-of-true-repentance/
Note: Posted with kind permission
