Repentance – will Allah forgive me?

No matter how big are your sins, as long as you are sincere in your repentance, yes, you will be forgiven. It’s the promise of Allāh  and Allāh  does not break His promises.

When we read Qur’an and ḥadīth, we get this idea in mind that Allāh loves to forgive His believing slaves.

Prophetﷺ said, If you were not to commit sins, Allāh would have swept you out of existence and would have replaced you by another people who have committed sin, and then asked forgiveness from Allāh, and He would have granted them pardon.

Sahih Muslim ¹

Here it should be noted, this ḥadīth does not imply that Allāh loves the sins. We, as human beings, will commit sin. It’s inevitable and part of our nature but if we need to keep repenting to Allāh .

In another narration

Prophetﷺ said, Allāh is more pleased with the repentance of a servant as he turns towards Him for repentance than this that one amongst you is upon the camel in a waterless desert and there is upon (that camel) his provision of food and drink also and it is lost by him, and he having lost all hope lies down in the shadow and is disappointed about his camel and there he finds that camel standing before him. He takes hold of his nose string and then out of boundless joy says: O Lord, You are my servant and I am your Lord. He commits this mistake out of extreme delight.

Sahih Muslim ²

Allāh  said: My mercy excels My wrath.

al-Bukhari ³

Prophetﷺ said, “Our Lord, the Blessed, the Superior, comes every night down on the nearest Heaven to us when the last third of the night remains, saying: “Is there anyone to invoke Me, so that I may respond to invocation? Is there anyone to ask Me, so that I may grant him his request? Is there anyone seeking My forgiveness, so that I may forgive him?”

Sahih al-Bukhari ⁴

A beautiful ḥadīth al-Qudsi that may bring tears into your eyes where Allāh addressed you and me:

Anas bin Malik narrated that the Messenger of Allāh said:

“Allāh, Blessed is He and Most High, said: ‘O son of Adam! Verily as long as you called upon Me and hoped in Me, I forgave you, despite whatever may have occurred from you, and I did not mind. O son of Adam! Were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky, then you sought forgiveness from Me, I would forgive you, and I would not mind. So son of Adam! If you came to me with sins nearly as great as the earth, and then you met Me not associating anything with Me, I would come to you with forgiveness nearly as great as it.’”

Jami at-Tirmidhi (Hasan) ⁵

And there are many more ḥadīths and only listing down below with short description

• Sahih al-Bukhari 3470 – About person who murdered hundred people and was forgiven
• Sahih Muslim 2752a – Mercy in the world is 1/100 parts of mercy that Allāh  created
• Sahih Muslim 2691 – Dua`a with many rewards including forgivenss even if they are equal to foam of the ocean

We should keep asking Allāh  for forgiveness day and night, everyday. Prophetﷺ told us that heﷺ asks for forgiveness more than hundred times a day

There is (at times) some sort of shade upon my heart, and I seek forgiveness from Allāh a hundred times a day.

Sahih Muslim ⁶

Also read this ayah, a glad tidings for all of us

Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work. For them Allāh will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever is Allāh Forgiving and Merciful.

Surah al-Furqaan 25:70 ⁷

And never be despaired from mercy of Allāh  as Allāh  has instructed us in following verse of Qur’an

Say, “O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allāh. Indeed, Allāh forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.”

Surah az-Zumar 39:53 ⁸

Notice, this verse is not referring to any scholar or any specific person closer to Allāh , instead this verse is talking about slaves of Allāh  who have transgressed His limits and oppressed themselves by committing sins. And also notice, Allāh in this ayah, in spite of transgressing His limits, He is calling us “Oh My servants”.

So, do not let shaytaan tell you that you have no hope. Remember, it is a disbelieve to lose hope in the mercy of Allāh  ⁹

Sincere Repentance

Remember, when Allāh  told us to seek forgiveness, He explicitly mentioned “Sincere repentance”

O you who have believed, repent to Allāh 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 Allāh 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 at-Tahrim 66:8 ¹⁰

One of the meanings of sincere repentance also means that you have strong intention of not repeating the sin again. Because if we keep sinning and repenting and sinning, no doubt Allāh  will keep forgiving us. But we should also keep these verses in mind;

[O Muḥammad], inform My servants that it is I who am the Forgiving, the Merciful. And that it is My punishment which is the painful punishment.

Surah al-Hijr 15:49-50 ¹¹

To Allāh belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth. Whether you show what is within yourselves or conceal it, Allāh will bring you to account for it. Then He will forgive whom He wills and punish whom He wills, and Allāh is over all things competent.

Surah al-Baqara 2:284 ¹²

Some Supplications

Say it in the morning and evening with firm faith in it. If you die, you will be amongst people of Paradise – al-Bukhari ¹³

اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّي، لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ، خَلَقْتَنِي وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ، وَأَنَا عَلَى عَهْدِكَ وَوَعْدِكَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُ، أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا صَنَعْتُ، أَبُوءُ لَكَ بِنِعْمَتِكَ عَلَىَّ وَأَبُوءُ لَكَ بِذَنْبِي، فَاغْفِرْ لِي، فَإِنَّهُ لاَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ

100 times a day – Muslim ¹⁴

لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

Dua` of Layla-tul-Qadr – Ibn Majah ¹⁵

اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنِّي

Dua` taught by Prophetﷺ to Abu Bakr  – al-Bukhari ¹⁶

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي ظَلَمْتُ نَفْسِي ظُلْماً كَثِيراً، وَلَا يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ، فَاغْفِرْ لِي مَغْفِرَةً مِنْ عِنْدِكَ وَارْحَمْنِي إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ