Repentance (pages 294-299)
Repentance (tawbat) is the first station of pilgrims on the way to the Truth, just as purification (taharat) is the first step of those who desire to serve God. God hath said,
“O believers, repent unto God with a sincere repentance.” (Qur’an: 66:8)
Hazrat Muhammad (SAW) said, “He who repents of sin is even as one who has no sin” and then added, “When God loves a man, sin shall not hurt him.”
Etymologically tawbat means “return”, and “tawbat” really involves the turning back from what God has forbidden through fear of what He has commanded.
Hazrat Muhammad (SAW) has said, “Penitence is the act of returning” (al-nadam al tawbat). Three things are involved in tawbat, namely:
- Remorse for disobedience
- Immediate abandonment of sin, and
- Determination not to sin again
The contrition (naddamat) may be due to three causes:
- Fear of Divine chastisement and sorrow from evil actions (being ta’ib)
- The desire of Divine favor and certainty that it cannot be obtained by evil conduct and disobedience (being munib)
- Shame before God (awwab)
Tawbat has three stations:
- Tawbat – Fear of Divine punishment: station of mass believers implies repentance from great sins (kabirat)
- Inabat – Desire of Divine reward: Station of saints and favorites of God (awliya u muqarraban)
- Awbat – For the sake of keeping God’s command: Station of Prophets and Apostles
Repentance (tawbat) originates in the stern prohibitions of God and the heart’s being aroused from the slumber of heedlessness. When a man regards his conduct as evil and abominable deeds, he seeks deliverance there from God, making it easy for him to repent and leading him back to the sweetness of obedience.
Junayd says repentance consists in forgetting the sin. They argue that the penitent is a lover of God, and the lover of God is in contemplation of God, and contemplation of God, it is wrong to remember sin, for remembrance of sin is a veil between God and those who contemplate Him. Junayd has explained, “I’ve read many books, but I have never found anything so instructive as this verse:-
“When I say: “What is my sin?” She says in reply: “Thy existence is a sin with which no other sin can be compared.”
Repentance is of three kinds:
- From what is wrong to what is right: Belonging to common people
- From what is right to what is more right: belonging to the elect
- From selfhood to God: .belongs to the degree of Divine Love
Dhu `l Nun, the Egyptian, has said, “Ordinary men repent of their sins, but the elect repent of their heedlessness.”. The ordinary men shall be questioned concerning their outward behavior, and the elect shall be interrogated concerning the real nature of their conduct.
Abu Hafs Haddad has said, “Man has no part in repentance because repentance is from God to man, not from man to God.” Man does not acquire it, but it is one of Divine gifts.
Abu `l Hassan Bushanji says, “When you feel no delight in remembrance of a sin, that is repentance.
.Tawba is spiritual strengthening. It is the first station on the way to ‘Truth.’ (Qur’an 116-8) It is ‘turning back’ towards Allah and refraining from what is forbidden
It includes three steps:
- Remorse for disobedience
- Immediate abandoning of sin
- Determination not to sin again
It may be caused by:
- Fear of divine chastisement and sorrow for evil actions (quality of a ta’ib) Tawbat is returning from greater sins (kabirat) to obedience
- desire of divine favour and conviction that can never be gained by evil conduct and disobedience (quality of munib). Inabat is to return from minor sins to Love
- Feeling shame (quality of awwab). Awwabat is returning from oneself to Allah
Repentance opens a doorway to freedom, freedom from evil that has caged the soul and caused pain and suffering. Repentance brings tranquillity and peace both within and without.
Negligence caused by the lower soul is a source of pleasure for the common but a veil to spirit for the elect. Abu Hafs Haddad has said, “Man has no part in repentance because repentance is from Allah to man, not from man to Allah.” That is to say, Man does not acquire repentance, but it is one of Allah’s gifts.
Abu al Hasan Bushanji has said, “When you feel no delight in remembrance of a sin, it is repentance.” The recollection of sin is either accompanied by regret or a desire; the one who regrets is the repentant one, while the one who desires to commit it again is the sinner.
The ultimate purpose of Sufism is to prepare oneself to meet Allah on the judgment day. And they shall see Him only the way they had known him, the schema they have formed of Allah in their pursuit of knowledge.
Further Links
Learn more at: Repentance in Islam – Wikipedia
