In Arabic, the word ‘tewbe' means to turn, giving up, to abandon and to leave.
Related to this meaning when it is thought about a born servant ‘tewbe' is to abandon the state of sin which is transitory and turning to a good situation.
When ‘tewbe' is thought about Allah The Most High, it is turning from the state of Wrath which is transitory to the state of Compassion and Mercy which is essential.
‘Taib' is the person who repents and ‘tewwab' is the one who repents much.
In Islamic ethics, ‘tewbe' is turning from all kinds of bad situation to goodness and good deeds. It is to mend all things that were ruined before and improve them. Repentance is to abandon the desires of carnal mind-nafs- inside of man and following the knowledge and logic. It is turning of a born servant from dishonesty to rightness. It is to have regret for the times wasted before and to correct the wrong behaviors that previously done. It is turning a way from all badness and to be preserving on this, trying to compensate neglect and correcting the things that one ruined before.
‘Tewbe' is not only to have regret about a fault and asking forgiveness from Allah The Most High. It is also an effort of purifying oneself by praying and repenting constantly. It is a worship of asking from Allah and turning towards Him. So the Noble Quran informs believers about this turning by saying:
“(He turned in mercy also) to the three who were left Behind: (they felt guilty) to such a degree that the earth seemed constrained to them for all its speciousness and their (very) souls seemed straitened to them and they perceived that there is no fleeing from Allah and no refuge but to Himself. Then He turned to them that they might repent: for Allah is Oft-Returning Most Merciful.” (1)
Again Allah-May His Glory be exalted- declared with the holy verse of
“O ye who believe! let not some men among you laugh at others: it may be that the (latter) are better than the (former): Nor let some women laugh at others: it may be that the (latter) are better than the (former): nor defame nor be sarcastic to each other nor call each other by (offensive) nicknames: Ill-seeming is a name connoting wickedness (to be used of one) after he has believed: And those who do not desist are (Indeed) doing wrong.” (2)
Allah stresses that the ones who do not repent are the cruel ones.
Not to repent stems from the man's ignorance about the Rights of his Creator and the faults of himself. Because of this, the greatest cruel-wrong - is the one who does not repent. The Prophet-May Allah commend and salute him- who knew his Lord best declared: “O Men, ask forgiveness from Allah, I take an oath in His name that I repent to Him more than seventy times a day. (3) His Companions counted that in one his meetings, he said for a hundred times “O My Lord, forgive me, accept my repentance, there is no doubt that You are the One Who accepts repentance much and Who forgives much. (4)
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(1) Chapter Tevbe, 9/118.
(2) Chapter Hujûrat, 49/11.
(3) Buhâri, Muslim.
(4) Tirmizi, Musned.
According to Islam repentance is worship in itself. In this worship there are abandoning sins and faults, an effort to perform the duty of being a born servant, and also coming closer to Allah The Most High and there is a zikir-a praising of Allah with recitation of litanies- . Repentance is not a worship of Muslims only. A denier, Jew or Christian is accepted as repented when he becomes a Muslim.
“Say: "O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft- Forgiving Most Merciful.” (1)
Doubtlessly the condition for this forgiveness is repentance, to abandon sins and kufur and not to persist in faults.
Imam Gazali says: “The exact meaning of repentance ‘tewbe' is not only giving up sins but also to compensate the past. As the breath of human who stands against a polished mirror darkens it by touching the mirror, darkness comes from lust and sins that man commits falls down to his heart, as they accumulated, make it rusty and darkens it . So, Allah The Most High declared:
“By no means! but on their hearts is the stain of the (ill) which they do!” (2)
This dirt over the heart accumulates and covers it. Just as the dirt on the mirror penetrates and spoils its substance then it can not be polished. (3)
These words of Imam Gazali have the quality of explanation for this hadith: “When a born servant commits a sin, a black stain is put on his heart. If he abandons (sin) and repents, his heart is purified and it shines. (4). As it is indicated in this hadith, repentance is to clean the mirror of heart from dirt and rust of sins. Since “And establish regular prayers at the two ends of the day and at the approaches of the night: for those things that are good remove those that are evil: be that the word of remembrance to those who remember (their Lord): (5)
Our Prophet-May Allah commend and salute him- declared: “Do a goodness following a badness so that goodness wipes the badness .” (6) (7)
According to Islam the people who are sinless are the only Prophets. A sinless society and individual can not be imagined. Because of being human, a person may be deceived by the desires of his carnal mind-nafs- and by Satan. The important thing is, after committing a sin, not to persist in them, not to defend sin and abandoning it at once.
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(1) Chapter Zumer, 39/53.
(2) Chapter Mutaffifin, 83/14.
(3) Ihya, Imam Gazali.
(4) Buhari.
(5) Chapter Hûda, 11/114.
(6) Muslim, Tirmizi, Ibn Mâje.
(7) Ihya, Imam Gazâli.
The hadiths below informs the influence of repentance in purifying the human soul from spiritual dirt.
“Satan said: I took an oath in Your Glory that as long as their soul is in their body I will not refrain leading Your born servants astray. Allah The Most High declared: For the Sake of My Glory and Majesty, as long as they ask mercy from Me, I will forgive them (1)
“Shall I say your illness and remedy for it? You should know well that your illness is the sins and your remedy is repentance. (2)
“As a person continue to repentance, for him Allah grants a relief for each sorrow, salvation from each trouble and He provides a sustenance for him from the ways that he even con not expect. “ (3)
” How fortunate that person who has many repent in his list of good and bad acts. ” (4)
“When a Muslim commits a sin the angel waits for three hours, if he repents for his sin, the angel does not record this sin for him and also in the day of last Judgment Allah The Most High will not torment him.” (5)
“When a born servant commits a sin, a stain like point is put in his heart. If he repents and ask forgiveness from Allah this stain goes a way, if he turns back to his sin it increases such that all his heart gets rusty. Here this rust that Allah The Most High mentioned in the holy verse of
“By no means! but on their hearts is the stain of the (ill) which they do!”
(6)
“The hearts rust like copper, the polish of them is asking forgiveness. (7)
Hadrat Ali-May Allah be well pleased with him- says: “When I heard a word from The Apostle of Allah, Allah made this word useful for me to the degree that He willed. If one of the companions of The Prophet said me a word from him, I used to administer an oath from the man to understand if The Prophet really had said that word. I used to confirm it if he took an oath. Abu Bekr-May Allah be well pleased with him- said me he heard this from The Apostle of Allah, and this is true: “When a born servant commits a sin, if he is cleaned properly , perform namaz of two rekat and asks Mercy from Allah that born servant is forgiven.”
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(1) et-Tergib.
(2) et-Tergib.
(3) Ibn Mâje.
(4) Ibn Mâje.
(5) et-Ter?ib.
(6) Tirmizi, Ibn Mâje.
(7) et-Tergib
Hadrat Anas communicated: While we were walking together with him, The Apostle of Allah-May Allah commend and salute him- said: “Ask forgiveness from Allah” He declared: “Complete this to seventy”. And we completed to seventy-times- The Apostle of Allah declared: “ There is no born servant or female slave that that he asks for forgiveness from Allah for seventy times a day and Allah wouldn't forgive his seven hundred sins. A born servant or female slave who commits sins more than seven hundred - because he doesn't repent although he commits so much sins- has lost already.
Sufis put three conditions for a healthy repentance:
Having regret because of the sins that were commited, turning a way from sins at once, being decided not to commit sin again. These three conditions are necessary for a healthy repentance:
The beginning of ‘tewbe' is awakining of the born servant and seeing his fault, hearing the call of truth which prevents badness by the ear of his heart and following this call. Because when he reflects on the evil deeds that he committed, a wish appears in his heart to abandon those badness. Allah The Most High leads him to goodness and hanging on to the causes of repent that these causes are as follows:
First leaving bad friends, because the thing that leads the person to wrong ways is bad friend. Then one should draws rein of his nafs-carnal mind-, should abandon the sin in a way that not to turn it again and he should direct himself to Allah. How nice if he remain firm on his decision. If he falls in an error as a result of being human and going back on his vow, he shouldn't abandon hope and adhere ‘tewbe' again. Because the important thing is to finish one's life with repentance in a beautiful way. Nobody except Allah can know how the life of a person will end. Everything depends on the pre ordinance of Allah. Because of that Our Prophet-peace be upon him- said: A person may do the deeds of the people of Paradise for seventy years, everybody says that he is one of the people of Paradise . When a span is left between Paradise and him, his destiny prevails; the man commits the deed of the people of Hell and goes to the Hell. The opposite of this also exists”
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Besides being pleased by one's own deeds and worshiping and relying on them is not correct. Those pious deeds can not be the return of even only a favor, a healthy breathing that Allah grants him. Our Prophet declared by drawing attention to that point: “None of you can be saved by your good deeds.” They asked “O The Apostle o Allah, neither yours?” (Your deeds save you).” He declared: “Even mine can not save me; provided that Allah covers me with His own Compassion and save me” (1)
Then a born servant should turn towards Allah even he has gone back on his vow for many times without abandoning hope, he should take refuge with His Compassion and ask for Mercy and Forgiveness. Allah The Most High declared:
“Say: "O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft- Forgiving Most Merciful.” (2)
Because of that reason, Hadrat Mewlana said “ Our dervish convent is not a place of despair , come even if you have gone back on your vow for a hundred times” and explained the broad Compassion that the Noble Quran presents us.
One should start repentance by pleasing the people who have a right on him. If it is possible to give those rights back, either they are given or ask forgiveness from them. If this is not possible all necessary things are done to free oneself from their rights. If there is nothing to do for this, the person turns to Allah and asks forgiveness, prays for those people, prays for Allah's Mercy on them, gives alms for their sake and tries to make their souls merry.
Unaccepted Repentance
The repentance of the one who repents with the fear of death is not valid. Because tewbe is an act which takes place as long as the person lives. At the moment in which the tie of life will break off, it's all over. Allah The Most High doesn't appreciate such regret. (3) But the repentance of the believers who committed many sins is expected to be valid until their last breath. Because for a born servant understanding of his fault and to accept his guilt before The High Place against which he committed sin, is a virtue.
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(1) Buhâri, Ibn Mâje.
(2) Chapter Zumer, 39/53.
(3) Chapter Nisa, 4/18.