Seeking Forgiveness Without Intending to Leave the Sin

2-4-2023 | IslamWeb

Question:

Sheikh if some one makes istighfar every time he sins but does not leave sins will Allah accept his istighfar kindly clarify

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu`alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

The disobedient person merely seeking forgiveness with the tongue without intending to leave the act of disobedience is not acceptable. Rather, the scholars counted it as abuse, as Al-Hafidh Ibn Hajar, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said in Fat'h al-Bari: “Seeking forgiveness verbally while committing a sin is like abuse.”

That is because among the conditions for the validity and acceptance of repentance is remorse for the act of sin, and the firm intention or determination not to return to it for the rest of his life, and to abandon it immediately if he was in the act of committing it. As for seeking forgiveness with regret, some scholars say that it is sufficient to achieve repentance because regret necessitates giving up the sin and resolving not to return to it.

Allah knows best.