One of the systems designed by God almighty for the
believers to constantly purify their souls and ultimately
attain salvation is repentance. This divine system is to
benefit from while we are still on earth. Repenting is
always accompanied by two basic procedures. One of them is our
apology to God which is how we acknowledge our sin and express
our regret and remorse. It is like pleading guilty to God
almighty, and asking Him to forgive that sin for us. Then we
repent which means we make a promise to God that we will not
go back to the same sin. After that a third procedure must
follow which is reform. Reform is our chance to fulfill our promise and prove to God almighty our firm
repentance.
The Quran clearly states that God forgives all sins as long
as we follow these three basic steps - begging Him for His
forgiveness (apology), repent to Him, then fulfill the
promise by reforming. Going back to the same sin after
repenting would nullify it and indicate our failure to
reform. On the other hand, being firm in our repentance
means that we have succeeded, by the will of God, to reform.
Not only repentance is an exclusive trait for the true
believers, but also a practice that God loves to witness His
sincere servants going through (2:222). Being the Most
Gracious, Most Merciful, God rewards those who repent by
transforming their sins into credits:
[11:3] "You
SHALL seek your Lord's forgiveness, THEN
repent to Him.
He will then bless you generously for a predetermined
period, and bestow His grace upon those who deserve it. If
you turn away, then I fear for you the retribution of an
awesome day."
[4:146] Only
those who REPENT, REFORM,
HOLD FAST to GOD, and DEVOTE
their religion absolutely to GOD alone,
will be counted with the believers. GOD will
bless the believers with a great recompense.
God's Infinite Mercy
[39:53] Proclaim: "O My servants
who exceeded the limits, never despair of God's mercy.
For GOD forgives all sins. He is the
Forgiver, Most Merciful."
The Believers Repent
[66:8] O you who believe,
you SHALL repent to GOD
a firm repentance. Your Lord will then
remit your sins and admit you into gardens with
flowing streams. On that day, GOD will not
disappoint the prophet and those who believed with
him. Their light will radiate in front of them and
to their right. They will say, "Our Lord,
perfect our light for us, and forgive us; You are
Omnipotent."
[25:70] Exempted are those who
repent, believe, and lead a righteous life.
GOD transforms their sins into credits.
GOD is Forgiver, Most Merciful.
All these steps are to be practiced while on earth. Once we
leave this earth, our records are final. We cannot touch
them or edit them. We are either redeemed, doomed, or
waiting for God's mercy in the Purgatory.
This system is set straight in the Quran for us to also
learn how to deal with our transgressions when others
besides God and His commands are disrespected and violated.
In this case, the damage extends beyond our own souls to
others or, on a bigger scale, becomes public. Those three
steps set for us the right etiquette in dealing with God as
well as the harmed party. They also offer a healthy remedy
for all the harmful consequences resulting from our
transgression. We apologize to others by admitting our wrong
actions or words. We show that we regret them, and we
express that clearly and sincerely to the involved
party that has suffered from our aggression. We might be
able to offer our own justification for the aggression, but
this should have nothing to do with the fact that we must
express our sorrow and remorse for what we have done. We
also promise that we will not do that again, then strive to
keep that promise and offer a way to fix any damage that we
might have contributed to by our aggressive actions, words,
or stands. God has educated us in the Quran with these
exact, three basic procedures to achieve peace and
redemption for our souls ; apology (ask for forgiveness),
repentance ( promise to never do that again) , and reform (
keep the promise and fix the damage if there is any)..
We apply them as a set pattern and a civilized and healthy
formula, prescribed by God, to deal with our transgression
against others. It is the only system that would bring peace
and closure for the involved parties. It also offers
the healthiest management of all the harmful feelings
we tend to accumulate deep inside when we do not deal with
our transgressions against others, such as guilt, shame,
regret, and remorse.
A good example set for us in the Quran that shows how
important it is to consider fixing any public
damage resulting from our sins by proclaiming these three
steps is in regard of the concealment of the truth. The
public harm of concealing the truth lies on misleading others. Therefore, while following the three
basic steps to redeem our souls, we must deal with the
public consequences by acknowledging our transgression,
fixing the damage, and proclaiming the truth:
Gross Offense
[2:159] Those who conceal our
revelations and guidance, after proclaiming them for the
people in the scripture, are condemned by GOD; they are
condemned by all the condemners.
[2:160] As for those who
REPENT, REFORM, and PROCLAIM, I
redeem them. I am the Redeemer, Most Merciful.
Another example that proves the validity of these three
basic steps in achieving peace is set in 49:9-10. Peace
cannot be achieved between disputing parties as dictated in
49:10 until justice is served by fixing the corrupted
actions of the the aggressive party and compensating the
harmed one. Being equitable and just towards our souls and
others is the essence behind our apology, repentance, and
reform. These procedures are the only resort to redeem our
souls and end our dispute with others in a healthy fashion
and based on God's recommendations:
Reconcile The Believers
[49:9] If two groups of believers
fought with each other, you shall reconcile them.
If one group aggresses against the other, you
shall fight the aggressing group until they submit to
GOD's command. Once they submit,
you shall reconcile the two groups equitably.
You shall maintain justice; GOD loves those
who are just.
[49:10] The believers
are members of one family; you shall keep the peace
within your family and reverence GOD, that you may
attain mercy.
Egoistically or out of ignorance, some confuse the apology
with the repentance. They think that one can substitute the
other. There is NO excuse for that. We know that God doesn't
run out of words and that His precision in choosing every
single word and letter in the Quran is for a reason. He has
chosen two clear, different, and self explanatory words for
these two separate and distinct actions. One is "repentance"
or "tawbah" in Arabic and the other is "eatethar," and many
other derivatives of the same root for apology. God has
never mixed up these two steps. He doesn't err. We must
offer our apologies whenever needed before our repentance to
God almighty or before we promise others with reform
(11:30). The following verses are about apology, not
repentance:
[66:7] O you who disbelieved, do
not apologize today. You are being
requited only for what you did.
[77:34] Woe on that day to the
rejectors.
[77:35] That is the day they do
not speak.
[77:36] Nor are they given
permission to apologize.
[40:52] On that day,
the apologies of the disbelievers will not benefit them.
They have incurred condemnation; they have incurred the
worst destiny.
In conclusion, apology is a basic first step in dealing with
our transgressions whether they are against God or others.
Repentance and reform, should follow that basic step. We
must apologize before we promise God and/or others not to go
back to the same transgression. God almighty has taught us
that formula and it is the healthiest procedure to end
disputes, and bring closure to pain, and guilt. The same
peace and the ultimate redemption for our souls are
achievable when we utilize that divine system with
God whenever we sin.
NO apologies will be effective on the Day of Judgment. On
that Day, we basically cannot make up any thing we have
missed on earth including apologies to God or to others. We
can not repent, and we will not have any chance to
reform. This is why it is far better for our souls to deal
with our transgressions during this life, before we miss the
chance and die with our loads of guilt, pain, shame, regret,
and remorse..One of the attributes for the Day of Judgment
is being the Day of Remorse. Remorse is an awful and
intolerable feeling that would torture the guilty ones who
couldn't overcome their egos to apologize, and repent for
their transgressions on earth.
[19:39] Warn them about the
Day of Remorse, when judgment will be
issued. They are totally oblivious; they do not believe.
[25:14] You will not declare
just a single remorse, on that day; you will suffer through
a great number of remorses.
[30:57] Therefore, no
apology, on that day, will benefit
the transgressors, nor will they be excused.
Peaceful Friday, salaam, and God bless.
