Praying for Forgiveness and Repentance

All through their lives, certain people pursue a flawless image for themselves. Their efforts center around one goal: to be perfect and to look perfect. This is a natural consequence of finding it degrading to make a mistake. The ideal person, they consider, is one who can project an aura of impeccability.

However, this “flawlessness” is an illusionary goal. Neither is it one of the attributes of a believer we find extolled in the Qur’an. We would go so far as to say that such a “believer model” does not exist. For man is inherently weak, humble and helpless before Allah; and can consequently  make mistakes all throughout his life. No doubt, he will always do his best to avoid mistakes and sins, yet, being a frail servant of Allah, he will not be successful in being free of all mistakes.
In the Qur’an we are informed that man has faults and sins before Allah:

In accordance with this divine command stated in the Qur’an, the attitude expected of a believer is not that of being faultless or sinless. He is only expected to constantly seek forgiveness from Allah.

This is actually an attribute which makes the distinction between a believer and non-believer: Unbelievers struggle to cover up their faults and sins. Yet, a believer never tries to do this.

What is important for him is to feel an inner regret and consequently turn to Allah and seek His forgiveness.

While reading the Qur’an, we see that the willingness to ask for forgiveness is a natural and unfailing attribute of the believers. On that account, we understand that believers never see themselves as beings purified of all sins and faults. On the contrary, they continually seek refuge in Allah’s mercy. In the following verse, turning to Allah in repentance is regarded as one of the important attributes of a believer:

The distinction between and inter-relatedness of the concepts of repentance and forgiveness should be carefully considered.

Asking for forgiveness of Allah is a regular aspect of worship for believers. Man can ask forgiveness of Allah all day long for all his sins, whether deliberately or unintentionally committed. Moreover, as well as asking for forgiveness for oneself, one can also do it for other believers, as stated in the Qur’an.

In Arabic, the word for “asking for forgiveness’ is “istigfar” which is “asking  for Allah's attribute of Gafur. (Gafur (G-F-R), in Arabic, means to “cover, protect, hide totally, recover.”)

Thus, asking for forgiveness of Allah is like pledging to purify oneself and hence seeking refuge in the mercy and grace of Allah. In the Qur’an the believers pray saying, “Our Lord! Forgive us our sins, remove from us our iniquities, and take to Yourself our souls in the company of the righteous.” (Al-Imran, 193).The judgement of Allah regarding this is as below:

As mentioned above, praying for forgiveness of Allah may be both for sins, committed intentionally or unintentionally, as well as for the sins of other believers. This is the most important distinction between asking for forgiveness and repentance. Although praying for forgiveness is a regular prayer of the believers, repentance is the steadfast attitude taken towards a particular sin or fault, or the giving of a firm decision not to turn to that sin again.

Repentance is seeking refuge in Allah for one’s sin, promising not to commit that sin again and, to this end asking the guidance and help of Allah. The exact meaning of repentance is “to turn back”. Thus, repentance expresses an absolute commitment not to commit any particular sin again.

The intention behind repentance is not to repeat the same sin. Allah enjoins the faithful thus: “O you who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere repentance, in the hope that your Lord will remove from you your ills and admit you to Gardens beneath which Rivers flow...” (At-Tahrim, 8)

However, this is not to say that a believer repents for a sin or fault only once. He may repent on one occasion, and then, in a moment of weakness, repeat the same sin.However, the mercy of Allah never ceases to encompass him . This is why he can still repent to Allah and seek refuge in Him. Allah is always ready to show grace and mercy to the believers. This is stated in the Qur’an as below:

Still, there is one kind of repentance Allah will not accept: the insincere repentance offered when death comes to a man. This is actually the moment a man meets the angels of death. Of this the Qur’an says:

In the Qur’an Allah gives the striking example of such an act of repentance made at the last moment. Pharaoh, who chased Moses and the believers in order to kill them, ended by expressing his repentance while he drowned in the sea, a miracle wrought by Allah.

Since repentance is essential to the eternal salvation of man, one should well be aware of its importance and observe this form of worship to the best of one’s ability. One may have sinned extensively or have rebelled against one’s Creator. Yet, Allah encompasses His servants with so much mercy that He grants eternal salvation in response to a sincere repentance:

Keep in mind that Allah even forgives unbelievers and hypocrites who fought against Him and His Messenger, if they turn back to Allah with sincere and true repentance:

This is a great opportunity Allah grants to His servants. He commands man never to be overwhelmed by despair due to any sin he has committed and always to turn to Him in hope. However, misinterpretation of this concept and an insincere attitude do not earn a man divine approval. Knowing the commandments of Allah, yet deliberately committing sins, saying “no matter what happens I will be forgiven” shows completely flawed reasoning. Such are the people who “reject faith after they accepted it, and then go on adding to their defiance of faith.” Only the repentance of those who out of ignorance commit sins accepted. The repentance of an insincere person who simply take repentance as the freedom to commit sins is, however rejected. Stress is laid on this in the Qur’an:

One point needs clarification here: it is quite possible that, due to ignorance, being in a state of heedlessness or indulging oneself in one’s own desires, one may very well commit sins. However, if one realizes one’s faults and sincerely repents, Allah may well be forgiving. However, people who commit sins, although knowing the judgements of Allah, saying, “I will be forgiven no matter what happens,” are merely deceivers. That is why their repentance is not acceptable to Allah.(Allah knows the best).

It is hardly necessary to say that heartfelt regret and sincerity are the keys to divine forgiveness. The Quranic injunction: “Call on your Lord with humility and in private...” (Al-Araf, 55) also applies when showing contrition asking for forgiveness. While repenting for serious errors especially, deep regret and a sincere attitude are essential. As an example of repentance and forgiveness, the Qur’an cites the case of the three Muslims who were left behind, when all others had gone to fight in the cause of Allah, thereby committing a great sin;

Asking forgiveness of Allah and repenting one’s sins serve as pure expressions of being a sincere servant to Allah. The believer should be well aware that he may commit sins, but that he should take refuge in the mercy and grace of Allah. Simply worrying, or feeling grief for one’s former sins is quite pointless. Man should consider the story of the messengers who made some errors, yet continued their struggle after sincerely repenting. Man should trust in the forgiveness of Allah.

In the Qur’an it is mentioned that praying for forgiveness and expressing repentance are ways to eternal salvation: