The Call to Salvation: Tawbah

Tawbah is one of the greatest blessings Allah the Most High has bestowed on mankind. Man makes mistakes, sins and transgresses, but a word of warning or the passing of someone dear shakes him to his very core, making him reconsider his life’s choices and feel profound, genuine remorse for his sins. What makes this regret truly valuable in the afterlife is tawbah. Allah the Exalted made it known to His servants that He will keep the path of tawbah open to all who wish to repent until the end of days.

Imam Nawawi (rahmatullahi alayh), a renowned Islamic scholar, says the following regarding tawbah in his hadith collection titled Riyadu’s-Salihin:

“Scholars say ‘one should repent for every form of sin.’ If the sin concerns a violation by a person against Allah and does not involve the due rights of others, making tawbah for such a sin is dependent on three stipulations:

The first is distancing oneself from the sin. The second is to feel regret for committing the sin, and lastly, making a firm determination never to slip back into that sinful act. If any one of these conditions is missing from the tawbah, it will not be a genuine repentance. If the sin involves a violation of the due rights of others, it also requires reconciliation between the offender and the wronged party, with the offender asking the wronged party to forgive them for infringing upon their rights. If these rights are born from the misappropriation of a physical property or something similar, the party pleading for forgiveness from those whose rights they have violated return what they are owed.”

Many ayahs indicate the necessity of tawbah in our infallible book, the Qur’an al-Karim:

“And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed.” (An-Nur, 31)

“…except the one who repents and believes and does good deeds, then Allah will replace the evils of such people by good deeds, and Allah is Most-Forgiving, Very-Merciful.

And whoever repents and does righteous deeds indeed turns to Allah with (accepted) repentance.” (Al-Furqan, 70-71)

In addition, there are many hadiths about tawbah. Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “Allah, the Exalted, will continue to stretch out His Hand in the night so that the sinners of the day may repent, and continue to stretch His Hand in the daytime so that the sinners of the night may repent, until the sun rises from the west.” (Muslim, Ahmad b. Hanbal)

He said in another hadith:

“Allah the Almighty said: 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.” (Ibn Majah)

Tawbah is for a believer to purify their sins and have their heart cleansed. Tawbah is to get back on the straight and narrow and head unswervingly toward the ultimate goal.

The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:

“When the believer commits sin, a black spot appears on his heart. If he repents and gives up that sin and seeks forgiveness, his heart will be polished. But if (the sin) increases, (the black spot) increases. That is the Raan that Allah mentions in His Book: “No! But on their hearts is the Raan (covering of sins and evil deeds) which they used to earn.’ 

In another hadith narration, it is reported that Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “The remorseful waits for mercy from Allah the Exalted, and the arrogant waits for wrath (of Allah). Keep in mind, O servants of Allah, that everyone will be requited for his deeds in this world and will not leave it until he sees his good and bad deeds, for judgment is given according to one’s final actions. The night and the day are two mounts, so travel well on them to the Hereafter, beware of procrastination, for death comes suddenly. None of you should be deceived by the forbearance of Allah Almighty (do not be deceived by the fact that He does not punish shortly after the crime). Jannah is nearer to anyone of you than your shoelace, and so is the Fire (Hell).”

After these words, Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) recited the following ayah: “So, whoever does any good act (even) to the weight of a particle will see it. And whoever does evil (even) to the weight of a particle will see it.” (Az-Zalzalah, 7-8)

Not only does sincere tawbah purify us, but it also relieves our hearts of a severe burden. This is because it reverts believers to their sinless selves, granting them a clean slate. This is the glad tiding given by Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). To make tawbah is to have hope. It is to never lose hope in Allah the Most Merciful. The dead ends people find themselves in these days are due to not taking the path of tawbah and not traveling the road of iman. A believer who makes tawbah turns over a new leaf in their life. They don’t neglect their duties to Allah, behave themselves as commanded by Him, and take exacting care to avoid transgressing against others’ rights.

It is said in a hadith that “Regret is repentance.” (Ibn Majah, Ahmad bin Hanbal)

To feel regret is to become aware. This awareness leads a person to act more conscientiously. Humanity is forever inclined to be forgetful, oblivious, and susceptible to the deception of the nafs and shaytan. What matters is to never abandon muraqabah and to make tawbah whenever one finds themselves in the clutches of sin. One should never despair because of their sins. That we need to maintain an ever-present hope in Allah and that tawbah is an indispensable part of human life is underlined by the following hadith:

“By the One in Whose Might hand my soul is, were you not to commit sins, Allah would replace you with a people who would commit sins and then seek forgiveness from Allah; and Allah would forgive them.” (Muslim, Tirmidhi, Ahmad bin Hanbal)

Tawbah means for a servant to turn to Allah and away from what is wrong. For this reason, Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) shows mercy and forgives the servant. Having an earnest intention behind tawbah holds great importance. One does not dismiss minor sins or despair in the face of major ones; they make tawbah under any circumstances that require it. The following hadith presents an excellent example.

Abu Said (radiyallahu anh) narrates: “Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:

‘There was a man from among a nation before you who killed ninety-nine people and then made an inquiry about the most learned person on Earth. He was directed to a monk. He came to him and told him that he had killed ninety-nine people and asked him if there was any chance for his repentance to be accepted. He replied in the negative, and the man killed him, making his murders reach a total of one hundred. He then asked about the most learned man on Earth. He was directed to a scholar. He told him that he had killed one hundred people and asked him if there was any chance for his repentance to be accepted. He replied in the affirmative and asked, 'Who stands between you and repentance? Go to such and such land; there (you will find) people devoted to prayer and worship of Allah, join them in worship, and do not come back to your land because it is an evil place.' So he went away, and hardly had he covered half the distance when death overtook him; and there was a dispute between the angels of mercy and the angels of torment. The angels of mercy pleaded, 'This man has come with a repenting heart to Allah,' and the angels of punishment argued, 'He never did a virtuous deed in his life.' Then there appeared another angel in the form of a human being, and the contending angels agreed to make him arbiter between them. He said, 'Measure the distance between the two lands. He will be considered belonging to the land to which he is nearer.' They measured and found him closer to the land (land of piety) where he intended to go, and so the angels of mercy collected his soul.” (Bukhari, Muslim, Ibn Majah)

All of this unmistakably shows that feeling remorse for our mistakes and setting our resolution to uphold the truth and goodness is an unparalleled blessing and a key to salvation. So, let us heed the invitation of our Rabb, turn our faces to Him, and make tawbah. Let us devote ourselves to making tawbah an integral part of our lives so that we may have hope to enter the eternal abode of peace.

With His tawfiq and inayah…

Sheikh Sayyid M. Mübarek Elhüseyni