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Salvation Through Repentance – Book Sample

SALVATION THROUGH REPENTANCE

Definition of taubah

According to modern English usage, repentance is the action or process of turning from sin and the dedication of self to the amendment of one’s life.

It also means to feel regret and sorrow as it comes from the Latin poenitere (“to regret,” “to be sorry”). This roughly corresponds to the Arabic equivalent

Tawbah, derived from the verb Taaba Yatoobu, which literally means “to return.”3 In an Islamic context, Tawbah refers to the act of leaving what God has prohi­bited and returning to what He has commanded.

The “return” is emphasized over the “turning”, because of the fundamental principle in Islaam which states that man is born sinless, in a state of submission to God known as the Fitrah. One of the Prophet Muhamrnad’s companions, Abu Hurayrah, reported that he said,

“Every child is born in a state of Fitrah, then his parents make him a Jew or a Christian. It is like the way you help animals give birth.

Do you find among their offspring a branded one until you brand them yourselves?5

Through sin man turns away from God, and by repentance he turns from sin and returns to the path of God. Hence, repen­tance is a means by which man may strive to purify himself and return to his original sinless state of the Fitrah.

By the Mercy and Grace of Almighty God, Allaah, the act of repentance is itself an act of worship through which man may earn his own salvation. Thus, in the final book of revelation, the Qur’aan, God commands all of the believers to repent:

” And turn all of you in repentance to Allaah, Oh believers, in order that you may be successful. “

The last messenger of Allaah not only complied with this command, but he also urged his followers to turn regularly to Allaah in repentance .. Al-Agharr ibn Yasaar al-Muzanee reported that on one occasion the Prophet said:

“Oh people, turn to Allaah in repentance and seek His forgive ness, for surely I make repentance one hundred times every day.”

By sincerely obeying God’s command to turn to Him in repen­tance, the penitent sinner embarks on an act of worship which is so great that it can totally absolve him of his sins. Abu ‘Ubaidah ibn ‘Abdullaah reported that Allaah’s Messenger said:

“One who repents from sin is like one without sin.”

The avenue of repentance has been opened for man in spite of his sinless original state. because it is a part of his nature to com­mit errors.

 These mistakes are a natural consequence of his God-given free-will and the finite attributes with which he was endowed. Thus, the Prophet was reported by Anas ibn Maalik to have said:

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 ‘All of Aadam ‘s descendents constantly err, but the best of those who constantly err are those who constantly repent. “3

Allaah deliberately created man with an inclination to do wrong, because pardoning those who turn repentant is a chan­nel through which Allaah’s divine attributes of Mercy and For­giveness are made manifest. The Prophet Muhammad informed his followers of this important fact of life in one of his statements quoted by both Abu Ayyoub and Abu Hurayrah:

“If you did not commit sins, Allaah would sweep you out of exis tence and replace you by another people who would commit sins, ask Allaah’s forgiveness and He would forgive them. “1

The process of falling into error, realizing the mistake and seek­ing God’s forgiveness is also a channel for man’s spiritual growth.

It develops man’s love for the Almighty and increases his respect and consciousness of God when he turns to Him in humility and devotion. Consequently, the first man and first Prophet of God, Aadam, along with his wife Hawaa (Eve) set the example for all mankind with regard to human failing, its solution and the magnificence (magnanimity) of God’s Grace.

The story of Aadam’s fall into sin is mentioned in many places in the Qur’aan with varying degrees of detail in order to emphasize the different lessons to be learned from it.

The very first mention of the story stresses the fallibility of man and Allaah ‘s readiness to forgive him. It is as follows:-

“We2 said: ‘0 Aadam! You and your wife may dwell in the garden and eat of the bountiful things in it as you wish, but do not come near this tree and become of those who transgress.”

“Then Satan caused them both to slip from it and pushed them out of the state in which they were. We said, ‘Get down as enemies among yourselves. The earth will be a place of settlement for you and provision for a while.’ “

“Then Aadam learned some words from his Lord and He pardoned him. For surely He is the Oft-Forgiving and the Most Merciful.” 1

Aadam and Eve sought forgiveness from God for their error of disobedience, and by the Grace of God, they were forgiven. They were responsible for their mistake and they turned directly to Allaah in repentance using words which He mercifully taught them, and forgiveness was granted to them.

Therefore, accord­ing to the final scripture to mankind, the sin of Aadam and Eve was not inherited by their children, nor by subsequent genera­tions of their descendants.

Allaah forgave them as He will for­give anyone who turns to Him repentant. When a person com­mits a sin by disobeying the commandments of God, he is responsible before Allaah for his sin, and, as such, he has to shoulder full responsibility for it by himself. The personal accountability for sins is a basic concept taught by all the Prophets of God, and it is restated throughout the Qur’aan in order to urge man to turn directly to his Lord.