The good deeds of the repentant people:
- The good deeds of the repentant people are very great, because when the repentant person leaves sins, Allah The Almighty rewards him by transforming his misdeeds into good ones. Allah The Exalted Says (what means): {Except for those who repent, believe, and do righteous work. For them Allah will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever Is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.} [Quran 25:70]
- Repentance leads to a happy life. Do you search for happiness, offspring, tranquility, and the company of the Prophet in Paradise? You can get all of these through repentance. This is not my promise, but the promises of Allah The Almighty, Who never lies. Allah The Exalted Says (what means): {And said, 'Ask forgiveness of your Lord. Indeed, He is ever a Perpetual Forgiver. He will send [rain from] the sky upon you in [continuing] showers. And give you increase in wealth and children and provide for you gardens and provide for you rivers. What is [the matter] with you that you do not attribute to Allah [due] grandeur.} [Quran 71:10-13]
The master of the repentant people:
The master of the repentant people used to repent to Allah The Almighty and ask Him for forgiveness frequently, even while he is infallible and the one whose sins are forgiven.
Ibn ‘Umar narrated that the Prophet said: “Turn you people in repentance to Allah and beg pardon of Him. I turn to Him in repentance a hundred times a day.” [Muslim]
The Prophet said so while he is infallible; then, how many times do you and I need to repent?
However, the Prophet guided us to a great opportunity for repentance, when he said: “In the last third of every night our Lord descends to the lowest heaven and Says, ‘Who is calling Me, so that I may answer him? Who is asking Me so that I may grant him? Who is seeking forgiveness from Me so that I may forgive him?'” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim on the authority of Abu Hurayrah ]
One day, the garden of ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab distracted him from prayer, so he offered it in charity. Whenever his son, ‘Abdullah who followed him on the same path, missed a congregational prayer, he would continue performing supererogatory prayer until the next obligatory prayer became due. Hence, you should be busy removing the traces of spiritual erosion and keep renovating your faith, believing in the glad tidings given in the Quranic verse in which Allah The Exalted Says (what means): {And establish prayer at the two ends of the day and at the approach of the night. Indeed, good deeds do away with misdeeds. That is a reminder for those who remember.} [Quran 11:114]
You should also do so in implementation of the Hadeeth (narration) in which the Prophet said: “…do good deeds after doing bad ones, the former will wipe out the latter.” [Al-Albaani: Saheeh]
You should be delighted while doing so as if you hear the sermon-deliverer of Ash-Shaam, Ahmad ibn ‘Asim Al-Antaaki saying, “Behave well henceforth, so that Allah The Almighty forgives your past sins.”
A door that will never be closed:
Dear young people, Allah The Exalted has opened a door for repentance which will not be shut until the soul reaches the throat or the sun rises from the West.
The door is still open and thousands of repentant people from all over the world enter through it every day. Allah The Almighty is pleased with their repentance, which will light up their lives, hearts and graves. Indeed, they are the fortunate people.
You too, dear young people, are invited to repent to Allah The Almighty of all your sins; you are invited not to allow despair to seize you, as you know that your Lord is Merciful and Forgiving. You should not surrender to despair, because you know that your Lord is more Compassionate towards you than your mother. Your Lord will never reject you if you turn back to Him even if your sins reach the height of the heavens. Listen to Allah The Almighty eradicating despair from the hearts Saying (what means): {Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the Mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He Who is The Forgiving, The Merciful."} [Quran 39:53]
It was narrated on the authority of ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab that he said, “Some captives were brought to the Messenger of Allah amongst whom there was a woman who was running (searching for her child). When she saw a child among the captives, she took hold of it, pressed it against her belly and suckled it. The Messenger of Allah said: ‘Do you think this woman would ever throw her child into a fire?' We said, ‘By Allah, she would never throw her child into a fire.' Thereupon Messenger of Allah said: ‘Allah is More Merciful to His slave than this woman is to her child.’” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
You are only required to take the decision of repentance and then fulfill its conditions:
1- Remorse
2- Leaving the sin
3- Determination not to return to the sin
4- Returning rights back to their owners
If you decide sincerely to return to your Lord preceded by your tears, you would find and taste an unprecedented sweetness of faith, and you would feel that you are close to your Lord in such a way that makes you do away with the whole world. There is no wonder in this, as you have won the mercy of The Most Merciful, The Hearer of supplication and The One Who possesses undefeatable Might, Who sends mercy, blessings and eases hardships, and for Whose sake the earth and the heavens were established.