4 Conditions to Make Tawbah

Every human on this earth is going to make mistakes and sins throughout their life, whether in words or actions, and this is a normal trait in human nature. But whenever we make a mistake, we have an option, to REPENT. We worship a Lord, whom some of his names are At-Tawab “The guide to repentance”, Al Ghaffar “The forgiving”, Al Rahim “The All Merciful”, Al ‘Afuw “The Pardoner”; So aren’t these names an explicit promise of forgiveness for whoever seeks for it?

The best time of the year to repent is in Ramadan and Allah will accept your repentance for all major and minor sins that you have committed, and make you start fresh; because in Ramadan the gates of Jannah are opened, the gates of hell are closed and the devils are chained. Yet do not wait for a certain time such as Hajj or Laylatul Qadr to seek repentance, but do it immediately! The door of Tawbah (Repentance) is never closed.

Allah loves his servants, and he does not want to punish them for what they have committed, so He always prepares the circumstances, to give a chance for the person to repent. Allah gave us many promises in the Quran and the Sunnah that He will always accept the repentance of the sinner, as long as He is still alive and performing it sincerely. As long as the heart is beating, all sins are forgiven for those who seek forgiveness.

"Say, O My servants who have transgressed against themselves by sinning, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful" (Surah Az-Zumar, Verse 53)

And remember, Your repentance will be easy once you intend to make it because Allah wants you to revert to him and seek his forgiveness. Your repentance must be sincere and applies to the required conditions.

Here are the 4 Conditions of Repentance:

1. Admit your sin to yourself and Regret it

Feeling guilty and admitting by your heart that what you did was wrong or haram is the first step in your repentance process. Do not let your heart forget that Allah watches you and that he is aware of your actions. This is a way to deter yourself from doing wrong.

Regret what you have missed as an obligation from Ibadat and feel guilty for whatever wrong you have committed.

2. Have Determination to Not Repeat the act

Taking off bad habits that you used to do is a choice that requires a decision from you. Have the determination to change your life, promise yourself and Allah to never get back to that bad action and plan to be a better person.

3. Seek Forgiveness

Asking for Allah’s forgiveness is a beautiful action that tightens the bond with your Creator. Seek forgiveness by making Istighfar; it is a form of Thikr (Remembrance of Allah), and a way to wipe away all your sins. Another way to seek forgiveness is through prayer, in Dua’a or Salah. The prophet (ﷺ) said:

4. Fix any error or harm you caused

The last step you have to do to make sure that your repentance is done right, is to fix any harm you caused or to return rights to their owners.

• For example, if you did not pray in the last 2 months, and you want to repent, you should repeat all the prayers you missed, next to committing to your Salah on time.
• If you took anything that does not belong to you, you may return it to his or her owner, whether it was money or any item. (If that was not possible, give sadaqah for the poor).
• For the hurtful moral effect you caused for someone (for talking behind their back for example), you may need to ask their forgiveness for whatever you have done, and ask for pardon.

This might be a tough mission to do, but this is a lesson for you that you should have not committed that sin in the first place!

All these conditions are between you and Allah, and do not require any third party, and this is a form of Allah’s mercy upon us to cover any bad thing we did from all other humans. Allah will never judge you, when people do. He is the only one who would accept your apologies over and over again, no matter how many times you have asked for forgiveness.

*Imam Nawawi said: If the sin is repeated a hundred times, a thousand times, or more, and the sinner repents each time, his repentance is accepted, and his sins will fall, and if he repents from all sins in one time, his repentance will be valid.*

If a servant sinned then repented sincerely and gave up on it, regretted and sought forgiveness, and did not return to it, Allah would forgive him and treat him as of those who did not sin.

This is not an invitation to underestimate the magnitude of sinning, yet this is to encourage the sinner to repent time after time, and to reassure the heart of the Muslim who wants to return to Allah. Keep no way for shaytan to convince you that you are a bad person for sinning and that Allah will not accept your apologies, because the door of the Most Gracious is always open, and His pardon is greater than your disobedience, so do not despair of his mercy and return to Him, always. Do not ever think that Allah will not forgive you! Whatever sins you have committed, making honest repentance is capable of erasing all your past, and switching it into good deeds, because Allah is the most merciful, the most forgiving.

Signs that your repentance is accepted:

• The sweet feeling of the sin will become bitter
• The Obedience will become easier for you
• Thikr will be your companion
• You will be afraid to get back to that sin
• The doors of good will be open for you and the doors of bad will be closed

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Allah says, “He who does a good deed will have ten times its reward, and I shall give more, but he who does an evil deed will have an equivalent reward of evil, or I shall grant forgiveness. If anyone draws the length of a span near me, I shall draw the length of a cubit near him, and if anyone draws the length of a cubit near me, I shall draw the length of a fathom near him. If anyone comes to me walking I shall come to him at a run, and if anyone meets me with sins tantamount to the size of the earth, but has not associated anything with me, I shall meet him with a similar amount of forgiveness” (Muslim)

Repenting from your sins, does not mean that you will not commit sins ever again; yet repent each time you do something wrong, even if it was very little. Jannah is for the Awabeen (The often returning), meaning those who return and repent every time they sin.

An honest Tawbah is a right action on the path of Jannah. Allah loves repentance from his worshippers and loves your repentance to him, so open a new page and start fresh. The Almighty loves that we rush to ask for his forgiveness and repent to him every time we commit a sin. He said in the Quran: {Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves} (Surah Al Baqarah, Verse 222)

Oh Allah forgive us all and accept our repentance and have mercy upon us, grant us the highest levels in Jannah. Oh Allah answer our supplications … Ameen