The doors of repentance are wide open…

…so never give up from Islam in spite of the temptations you fall victim to. As you approach the Muslim community, you may be overwhelmed by their kindness and happiness towards you. While this is an amazing feeling and makes us feel like we are in the presence of truly spiritual super-humans, we must not allow ourselves to think they are not sinners either, and that our sins would contaminate the Muslim community. As we enter Islam, alhamdulillah [all praises are due to Allah], our sins are forgiven by Allah, so we enter with a clean slate. However, because we are human, it won’t be long until we dirty it up again, and that is what is expected of us all. While sin is disobedience and certainly disapproved by Allah, Allah created us as beings incapable of completely avoiding sin. So do not beat yourself up if you realize your imperfections as you try to live Islamically. It is to keep us humble, as the Prophet Muhammad said, “if you did not sin, I would fear upon you that which is much worse: self-astonishment.”

Note that when Allah describes the great believers, He never calls them sinless, but He praises their continuous repentance to Him. The good believer knows that he has a Forgiving Lord, and never forgets it, and constantly asks Allah for forgiveness. This should not delude a Muslim to attempt to take advantage of Allah, and live like a playboy in the assumption that forgiveness is guaranteed. Rather, it prompts us to weigh our sins and relapses properly, as embarrassing setbacks in the path of closeness to Allah, and strive to earn Allah’s forgiveness and lessen the frequency and severity of our mistakes. Allah says what means,

{ثُمَّ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لِلَّذِينَ عَمِلُوا السُّوءَ بِجَهَالَةٍ ثُمَّ تَابُوا مِن بَعْدِ ذَٰلِكَ وَأَصْلَحُوا إِنَّ رَبَّكَ مِن بَعْدِهَا لَغَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ} ﴿١١٩﴾ سورة النحل

“Then, verily, your Lord – for those who do evil in ignorance and afterward repent and do righteous deeds, verily, your Lord thereafter, is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [16:119]

And the “ignorance” in this verse and similar verses is not the ignorance of not knowing whether something is sinful or not, but it is the ignorance we are characterized with at the moment we sin, of Allah’s True Might and Majesty, and His abundant favors upon us.

There are many ways of removing sins, and we should try to cover all bases in securing Allah’s forgiveness.

First, we may simply ask Allah for forgiveness, as we should always do, even if we cannot recall any specific slip-up on our part, or even if we feel hypocritical by doing so amid our sinfulness.

Second, being patient through life’s gauntlet of tests.

Third, the continuance of good deeds. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ detailed many different acts and supplications we may perform for the expiation of sins. This even includes acts we already perform, such as the five daily prayers.

{وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ طَرَفَيِ النَّهَارِ وَزُلَفًا مِّنَ اللَّيْلِ ۚ إِنَّ الْحَسَنَاتِ يُذْهِبْنَ السَّيِّئَاتِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ذِكْرَىٰ لِلذَّاكِرِينَ} ﴿١١٤﴾ سورة هود

“And perform As-Salaat, at the two ends of the day and in some hours of the night.^[1]Scholars of tafseer have usually interpreted these times as being indicative of the five daily prayers. Verily, the good deeds remove the evil deeds. That is a reminder for the mindful.” [11:114]

Fourth, avoiding kabaa’ir [major sins],

{إِن تَجْتَنِبُوا كَبَائِرَ مَا تُنْهَوْنَ عَنْهُ نُكَفِّرْ عَنكُمْ سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ وَنُدْخِلْكُم مُّدْخَلًا كَرِيمًا} ﴿٣١﴾ سورة النساء

“If you avoid the great sins which you are forbidden to do, We shall expiate from you your lesser sins, and admit you to a Noble Entrance (i.e. Paradise).” [4:31]

The great sins are any disobediences described by Allah and His Messenger as being major, or earning Allah’s curse, or a specific punishment in this life or the Next. Every other disobedience of an Islamic injunction is considered a regular sin, although all have grades and may be closer or further from being lesser, greater or even being disbelief. The heart commits most of the major sins. For example, kissing an unrelated woman would be a sin; fornication would be a major sin; “making out” or foreplay would be somewhere in between; but infatuation and lust that distracts from one’s relationship with Allah would likely be major, and could even be a kind of disbelief if it marginalizes the love of Allah. Think Romeo and Juliet, who killed each other over lust; or to be more realistic, if someone skipped prayers because of a love interest. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, “The one who misses ‘asr prayer, it is as if he lost his family and wealth.”^[2]Recorded by al-Nasaa’ee, vol. 1 book 6, no. 513 (Eng.), book 6 no. 516 (Ar.).

But if you do fall into a major sin, the expiation for that is known as taubah (repentance). Tawbah is secured by leaving off the sin, regretting it, and making strong intention not to return to it, which may include altering your lifestyle to avoid it. Otherwise, if you know that abandoning the act outright will be difficult, or require gradual steps, continue asking Allah for His forgiveness and Help to overcome what you may be involved in, but never, in any case, think that your sins outweigh Allah’s capacity to forgive you. To put it in blunt modern day terms, if you have the sin-records of Adolf Hitler, Charles Ponzi, and some Don Juan Casanova all rolled into one, this would be but a drop in the ocean compared to Allah’s ability and I dare say eagerness to forgive those who turn to Him in repentance. This opportunity is never gone until you are on your deathbed and in the literal pangs of death as the soul is being grabbed and pulled out.

{وَلَيْسَتِ التَّوْبَةُ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ حَتَّىٰ إِذَا حَضَرَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ إِنِّي تُبْتُ الْآنَ وَلَا الَّذِينَ يَمُوتُونَ وَهُمْ كُفَّارٌ ۚ أُولَـٰئِكَ أَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا} ﴿١٨﴾ سورة النساء

“And of no effect is the repentance of those who continue to do evil deeds until death faces one of them and he says: ‘Now I repent!’ nor of those who die while they are disbelievers. For them We have prepared a painful torment.” [4:18]

So continue seizing the opportunity before it is lost.

Lastly, having positive thoughts about Allah’s desire for you increases the likelihood of Allah accepting your efforts to remove your sins. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, “Allah said: I am to My slave as He thinks of Me.”^[3]Recorded by al-Bukhaaree vol. 9 book 93 no. 596 (Eng.) or no. 7505 (Ar). So while we should always maintain a balance between hoping in Allah’s Forgiveness and fearing Allah’s retribution, we should remember that Allah created us to worship Him, and a part of that worship is seeking forgiveness—so why would He turn that down!?

{يُرِيدُ اللَّـهُ لِيُبَيِّنَ لَكُمْ وَيَهْدِيَكُمْ سُنَنَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ وَيَتُوبَ عَلَيْكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّـهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ} ﴿٢٦﴾ سورة النساء

“Allah wants^[4]This “want” from Allah is not like the “want” of a human who may strive for something they want but fail to achieve it. When Allah wants something done in His creation, it happens. His … Continue reading to make clear (what is lawful and what is unlawful) to you, and to show you the ways of those before you, and accept your repentance; and Allah is All-Knower, All-Wise.” [4:26]

{إِلَّا الَّذِينَ تَابُوا وَأَصْلَحُوا وَاعْتَصَمُوا بِاللَّـهِ وَأَخْلَصُوا دِينَهُمْ لِلَّـهِ فَأُولَـٰئِكَ مَعَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ۖ وَسَوْفَ يُؤْتِ اللَّـهُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا ﴿١٤٦﴾ مَّا يَفْعَلُ اللَّـهُ بِعَذَابِكُمْ إِن شَكَرْتُمْ وَآمَنتُمْ ۚ وَكَانَ اللَّـهُ شَاكِرًا عَلِيمًا ﴿١٤٧﴾} سورة النساء

“Except those who repent, do righteous good deeds, hold fast to Allah, and purify their religion for Allah, then they will be with the believers. And Allah will grant the believers a great reward. Why should Allah punish you if you have thanked Him and have believed in Him. And Allah is Ever All-Appreciative (of good), All-Knowing.” [4:146-147]

If some of your misdeeds were encroachments upon the rights of others, their property or health; that additionally requires reparation through the victim—returning what is theirs, apologizing, and compensating them for injuries, accordingly. The only other circumstance that informing others of your sins would be allowable would be if you were seeking help from someone you believed was capable of helping you therein, for example, if you wanted to overcome a bad habit or learn how to repay a debt. But in Islam, there is no concept of confessing to a priest. Instead, we ask Allah for forgiveness.