Tawbah (Repentance), the Path to Self-Reform

Tawbah (Repentance) in Islam is a deed of the heart, in the first place. It is a direct act between the person and Allah, his Lord and Creator, without interference of any other person(s). It is something private between man and Allah.

One does not have to confess his sins to anybody. Actually it is recommended to cover up one’s disobedience and not to disclose them. But at the same time, one should work on eliminating his sins through true Tawbah.

What is the Meaning of Tawbah?

Tawbah (Repentance) in Arabic literally means “to return back to the original state” or “to turn towards someone”. In an Islamic context, it refers to the act of leaving what Allah has prohibited and returning to what He has commanded. In other words, to give up disobedience of Allah and return to His obedience. 

Conditions for Valid Tawbah

1- Having faith (Iman) in God is essential for the acceptance of Tawbah.

2- Tawbah at Death Time is not accepted 

Tawbah is a Sign of True Faith

One of the fundamental characteristic of the true believer is that he does not persist in wrongdoing. He is always willing to revert to Allah again and again for fear that he would find himself completely trapped in his evil conduct, and risk his faith. This readiness to resume one’s obligations towards Allah after relapsing into wrongdoing is a distinguishing feature of true faith. The true believer develops the capacity to always make Tawbah, rid himself of the evil, and return back to the right course as soon as he falls in mistakes.Allah swt enjoins the believers to repent to Him sincerly:

“O you who believe, repent to Allah a completely sincere repentance”   Surat Al-Tahreem (66-8)

Effective Tawbah (Repentance)

The true Tawbah is based on the following elements:

(i) the recognition of man’s weakness which exposes him to temptation,

(ii) the recognition that sins are barriers between us and Allah; they make us far from Allah; they block His mercy, guidance, and  blessings from us.

(iii) the recognition of Allah’s perfect Forgiveness and that He swt is all Forgiving and Ever-Ready to accept repentance of His slaves and He is Tawwab, always turning with His boundless Mercy to those returning to Him seeking His Forgiveness. 

Conditions of Sincere Repentance

1) Regret Wrongdoings

One must regret his past wrongdoings; there is some sort of suffering involved here. One should feel the pain of disobedience of Allah; the pains of being far from Allah and deprived of His blessings.

2) Stop the Wrongdoings

You must stop the wrongdoings immediately under all circumstances. It is an obligation to hasten to abandon your sins. One must Keep away from sinful environments and be very careful about his friends and bad gatherings lest they should push him to relapse to sins again.

3) Not to return to Sinning

You must have the intention and determination not to return to same wrong conduct in the future. Reading the Qura’n, remembering Allah, and reflecting on evil consequences of sins as well as considering the downfall of sinners is gratefully helpful in staying away from sinful temptations.

It is helpful to adopt  a new good balanced lifestyle; one should occupy his time with useful productive activities as well as halal entertainment since having too much free time paves the way for temptations and sins; as it is said your soul if you do not occupy it with the truth it will keep you occupied with falsehood.

4) Give people their Rights

And if the sin was against people for example,  oppressing  others, violating someone’s  rights,  backbiting, slander or misappropriating people’s properties, then you must hasten to free yourself from its burden, whether by returning people’s rights back to them or seeking their forgiveness and pardon. Such sins are not forgiven by Allah swt unless the sinner is forgiven by those whose rights have been violated.

5) Make up the missed Obligations

5) Some scholars added to these conditions Qadhaa, or making up for any missed religious obligations before Tawbah,  for example if one have missed obligatory prayers, fasting of Ramadan, Zakat, …. etc.

6) Reform and Good Conduct

Commitment to make improvements of one’s conduct. One must follow his Tawbah with as many good deeds as he can to compensate for his wrongdoings. Tawbah becomes meaningful only when the person has the commitment to reform oneself and make improvements of his conduct.

Fruits of Tawbah

1) Allah Loves

Allah loves those who turn to Him in repentance. Allah swt says: ” .. Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves.” Surat Al-Baqrah (2 – 222)

2) Acceptance of Tawbah

Allah swt promised acceptance of Tawbah. The Qura’n says:  “And whoever does a wrong or wrongs himself but then seeks forgiveness of Allah, will find Allah Forgiving and Merciful.”  Surat Al-Nissa (4 – 110)

3) Following path of Sunnah,

Tawbah puts you back to the path of Sunnah, the Prophet (pbuh) said: “O people, repent to Allah for I repent to Allah one hundred times a day.”

4) Admittance to Jannah

Tawbah is a cause of admittance to Jannah and safety from the Hell-Fire. Allah swt enjoins people to hasten to seek His forgiveness, “And hasten to forgiveness from your Lord and a garden as wide as the heavens and earth, prepared for the righteous.”  Surat Al-Imran (3-133)

5) Turning Evil deeds into Good Deeds

True Tawbah results in the changing of evil deeds into good deeds. Allah swt says: “ Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work. For them Allah will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.” Surat Al-Tahreem (25- 70)

6) Compensating Sins

Sincere Tawbah compensates sins and raises one’s ranks. Allah swt says: “O you who 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 .. ”  Surat Al-Tahreem (66-8)

7) Attaining Allah’s Blessings

Real Tawbah brings about Allah’s Forgiveness, Mercy Blessings and Support. Allah swt says:

– “But whoever repents after his wrongdoing and reforms, indeed, Allah will turn to him in forgiveness. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.”  Surat Al-Ma’dah (5-39)

– “However, those who transgressed out of ignorance, And after repentance, reformed their
conduct they would surely find Allah Merciful and Gracious.”  Surat  Al-Nahl (6 – 119)

8) A way for Success

True Tawbah increases our spiritual strength. It leads us to success and self-improvements. It eradicates  disappointment  and  despair  and  brings back the hope for purification and perfection. Allah swt says: “… and repent to Allah all of you O believers in order that you may reach success.”   Surat Al-Noor (24- 31)