...

to err is human, but

to persist in error is
satanic.
Today we are living in an increasingly secular environment where the

word sin is losing its meaning, and perhaps in the near future will no

longer become fashionable. If the philosophy of repentance were

understood and practised, the Muslim community should have been the
most dynamic and progressive community.

Presented by HAJI MOHAMAD HANIM MOHAMAD ISA

• Repentance is not to be delayed since
death is very imminent and nobody
would knowingly want to return to God
without having repented for his or her
sins.
• No true Muslim will take sin lightly. To
sin, according to the Qur’aan, means to
be unjust to one’s own soul; and God
has declared that He does not like those
who are unjust.
• Every Muslim is taught to instantly
repent from all sins, mortal or venial.
• So the real issue is not sin, but in
refusing to repent, which is the chief
characteristic of Satan, the accursed.
• Even though God is all-Merciful, all-
Forgiving, and He commands His
servants to repent, it does not
automatically mean that He is going to
grant forgiveness.
• ‫ُون‬ َ ‫ون السُّو َء ِب َج َهالَ ٍة ُث َّم َي ُتوب‬ َ ُ‫ين َيعْ َمل‬ ِ َّ ‫إِ َّن َما ال َّت ْو َب ُة َعلَ ُى‬
َ ‫َّللا لِلَّ ِذ‬
‫َّللا ُ َعلِيمًا َح ِكيمًا‬ َّ ‫ان‬ َّ ُ‫ك َي ُتوب‬
َ ‫َّللا ُ َعلَي ِْه ْۗ ْم َو َك‬ َ ‫ب َفأولَ ٰـ ِئ‬ ٍ ‫ِمنْ َق ِري‬
“Forgiveness is only incumbent on Allah
toward those who do evil on ignorance
and turn quickly in repentance to Allah
… ‫ض َر‬ َ ‫ت َح َّت ٰى إِ َذا َح‬ ِ ‫ون ال َّس ِّي َئا‬ َ ُ ‫ين َيعْ َمل‬ َ ‫ت ال َّت ْو َب ُة لِلَّ ِذ‬
ِ ‫ْس‬ َ ‫َولَي‬
َ ‫ين َيمُو ُت‬
‫ون َو ُه ْم‬ َ ‫ْت ْاْل َن َو ََل الَّ ِذ‬ ُ ‫ت َقا َل إِ ِّني ُتب‬ ُ ‫أَ َحدَ ُه ُم ْال َم ْو‬
‫ ُك َّف ٌۚار أُولَ ٰـ ِئ َك أَعْ َت ْد َنا لَ ُه ْم َع َذابًا أَلِيمًا‬forgiveness is
not for those who do ill deeds until
when death attends upon one of them,
he says: Lo! I repent now…” (al-Nisa’:
17-18).
• The urgent desire to repent will only
arise in the soul of one who knows with
certainty that sins are destructive to the
soul just as poison is to the body
• There are conditions to be fulfilled
before one can be said to have truly
repented:-
First, with regard to the past, namely,
for all the wrongdoings one had
committed, one must have regret or
remorse.
Second, with regard to one’s present
state, one must desist from sin
immediately.
And third, with regard to the future, one
must be determined not to repeat the
same error.
• Today we are living in an increasingly
secular environment where the word sin
is losing its meaning, and perhaps in the
near future will no longer become
fashionable.
• How would anybody ever think of
repentance if one does not recognise
what is a sin and what is not?
• True repentance, being an outcome of
something profound in the soul, will not
simply happen to just anybody.
• It will only happen to someone who
possesses true knowledge, namely,
knowledge which yields certainty in the
soul about the nature of the ultimate
reality.
• This knowledge is at the core of one’s
consciousness and it guides one’s ethical
judgements and behaviour; it is
ultimately wisdom bestowed by God
upon whosoever He desires from among
His servants.
• Ethics, as espoused by the religion of
Islam, is ultimately grounded upon
human conscience, and as such,
knowledge and education are of
paramount importance.
• The three conditions mentioned earlier
are applicable if the sin committed is
purely between man and God.
• However, if the sin is between man and
man, there is another condition to be
met.
• One has to seek forgiveness from the
person one has wronged and to repay
whatever his or her due is.
• God’s forgiveness, in this regard, is
subject to the forgiveness of the victim
and no amount of prayer and charity
may deliver the transgressor from God’s
wrath and punishment.
• Islam maintains both a horizontal and
vertical relation: every individual must
maintain good relations with God but
one must not take for granted one’s
responsibility towards other human
beings.
• Islam is a religion that advocates reform
(islah) but no genuine reform is possible
without first reviving the culture of
repentance.
• Repentance, according to the Qur’aan,
precedes reform.
• To call upon Muslims to reform means
to ask them to repent for their sins, i.e.,
to realise and admit their mistakes
instead of continuously blaming others
for their pathetic state of affairs.
• If the philosophy of repentance were
understood and practised, the Muslim
community should have been the most
dynamic and progressive community.
THANK YOU