"Do not worship except Allah . Indeed, I am to you from Him a warner and a bringer of good tidings," And (commanding you): "Seek forgiveness of your Lord and repent to Him, [and] He will let you enjoy a good provision for a specified term and give every doer of favor his favor. But if you turn away, then indeed, I fear for you the punishment of a great Day. (Surah 11:2-3)
The act of abandoning faith, Tawheed, or the obligatory duties that Allah has imposed on the heart and the body is undoubtedly a form of sin. Abandoning commandments is worse than committing prohibitions, as whoever comes with faith, and Tawheed will not abide forever in the Fire, no matter what he did.
And whoever did not come with faith and Tawheed, will abide forever in the Fire, even though his (other) sins were few; like the ascites and the worshippers among the polythiests and the people of the Book, the worshippers among the Hindu polytheists, and the christian worshippers , and others. Such people neither commit murder, adultery, nor do they oppress people. Yet, in the case of the obligatory Tawheed and faith, they have neglected it.
So be patient, [O Muhammad]. Indeed, the promise of Allah is truth. And ask forgiveness for your sin and exalt [ Allah ] with praise of your Lord in the evening and the morning. (Surah 40:55)
One must learn to ask for forgiveness with both the heart and the tongue. Since the one who repented from a sin is like one that has no sin. As said in the hadiths:
1. Abu Bakr narrated: That the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “He who seeks forgiveness has not been persistent in sin, even if he does it seventy times in a day.”
حَدَّثَنَا حُسَيْنُ بْنُ يَزِيدَ الْكُوفِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو يَحْيَى الْحِمَّانِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا عُثْمَانُ بْنُ وَاقِدٍ، عَنْ أَبِي نُصَيْرَةَ، عَنْ مَوْلًى، لأَبِي بَكْرٍ عَنْ أَبِي بَكْرٍ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " مَا أَصَرَّ مَنِ اسْتَغْفَرَ وَلَوْ فَعَلَهُ فِي الْيَوْمِ سَبْعِينَ مَرَّةً " . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ غَرِيبٌ إِنَّمَا نَعْرِفُهُ مِنْ حَدِيثِ أَبِي نُصَيْرَةَ وَلَيْسَ إِسْنَادُهُ بِالْقَوِيِّ .
Grade: Hasan (Darussalam) Reference : Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3559In-book reference : Book 48, Hadith 190English translation : Vol. 6, Book 46, Hadith 3559
2. "There is no major sin as long as one asks for forgiveness, and there is no minor sin as long as one persists." (Ad-Daylami)
If a person persists on committing the minor sin, it changes into a major sin. But if one repents of it, it is forgiven. A Mo'min (believer) should always -
feel that Allah is watching him and seeing him. There is no doubt that if a person has this consciousness, he must avoid transgressing the limits of Allah.
must look to the seriousness of the sin, and to the greatness of the One who forbids it.
Allah says in the Quran- And those who, when they commit an immorality or wrong themselves [by transgression], remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins - and who can forgive sins except Allah? - and [who] do not persist in what they have done while they know. (Surah 3:135) So know, [O Muhammad], that there is no deity except Allah and ask forgiveness for your sin and for the believing men and believing women. And Allah knows of your movement and your resting place. (Surah 47:19)
The sinner finds committing more sins easy, and performing good deeds difficult even those that were easy for him before committing the sin. So when his repentance is correct then his sins are forgiven. If he returns to the sin, he has to repent once again; since if he repents again, Allah will also accept his repentance (for that).
The scholars have differed over repentance from Kufr, if one apostatizes after Islam, then he repents after his apostasy and accepts Islam, does he get his previous good deeds back? Here there are two views, either the apostate ruins all of his deeds, or they are ruined if he dies upon that.
1. The Madhhab of Abi Hanifah and Malik is that apostasy utterly destroys them.
2. The Madhhab of Ash-Shafi'i is that the reward is ruined if one dies upon that.
Apostasy is the opposite of repentance. There is not an evil that wipes out all good deeds except apostasy. Allah says in the Quran:
O you who have 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 [on] the Day when Allah will not disgrace the Prophet and those who believed with him. Their light will proceed before them and on their right; they will say, "Our Lord, perfect for us our light and forgive us. Indeed, You are over all things competent." (Surah 66:8)
Umar bin Al-Khattab (RA) said: "Sincere repentance is to repent then not return to it. This is the obligatory and complete repentance." A sincere (pure) repentance is the feeling of sorrow in the heart, seeking forgiveness with the tongue, and having the intention to never do it again. -Hazrat Ali (R.A)
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to say in his prayer: "Allahumma inni as'aluka at-thabbuta fi al-amr wal-'azimata 'alar-rushdi wa as'aluka shukr ni'matik wa husna 'ibadatik wa as'aluka qalban saliman wa lisanan sadiqan wa as'aluka min khairi ma at'lamu wa author bika min sharri ma at'lamu wastaghfiruka lima ta'lam.
أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو دَاوُدَ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ سَعِيدٍ الْجُرَيْرِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي الْعَلاَءِ، عَنْ شَدَّادِ بْنِ أَوْسٍ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم كَانَ يَقُولُ فِي صَلاَتِهِ " اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ الثَّبَاتَ فِي الأَمْرِ وَالْعَزِيمَةِ عَلَى الرُّشْدِ وَأَسْأَلُكَ شُكْرَ نِعْمَتِكَ وَحُسْنَ عِبَادَتِكَ وَأَسْأَلُكَ قَلْبًا سَلِيمًا وَلِسَانًا صَادِقًا وَأَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ خَيْرِ مَا تَعْلَمُ وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا تَعْلَمُ وَأَسْتَغْفِرُكَ لِمَا تَعْلَمُ " .
Meaning- O Allah,
I ask You for steadfastness in all my affairs and determination in following the right path,
I ask You to make me thankful for Your blessings and to make me worship You properly.
I ask You for a sound heart and a truthful tongue.
I ask You for the best of what You know and
I seek refuge in You from the worst of what You know and
I seek Your forgiveness for what You know.)"
Grade: Hasan (Darussalam) Reference : Sunan an-Nasa'i 1304In-book reference : Book 13, Hadith 126English translation : Vol. 2, Book 13, Hadith 1305
Rest Allah knows best.
Source: Quran, Sunnah, In the shade of the Quran, Seeking Forgiveness by Shaykh Al Islam Taqiuddin Ahmed Abdul Halim Ibn Taymiyyah
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