One of the systems designed by God Almighty to
purify the souls of believers – and ultimately
to redeem them - is continuous repentance. God
has instructed us to use this divine system for
our own benefit while we are still on earth.
Repentance is a process which is always
preceded by a basic step. We first have
to acknowledge our sin and apologize to God -
this is how we express remorse. It is an honest
guilty plea to God almighty, followed by asking
Him to forgive that sin for us. Then we
consciously repent, which means we make a
promise to God that we will not repeat the same
sin. The final step to follow is active reform.
Reform is our chance to fulfill our promise and
prove to God almighty that we have made a firm
repentance.
The
Quran clearly states that God forgives
all sins as long as we follow these three basic
steps - implore Him for His forgiveness
(apology), repent to Him, then fulfill the
promise by reforming. Going back to the same sin
after repenting would nullify the repentace 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. Repentance is an
exclusive trait of true believers. God is Most
Gracious, Most Merciful, and He 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.
The steps of
repentance are to be taken during our
time on earth. Once we leave this life,
our records are final and we can’t edit
them. We are then redeemed, doomed, or
we await God's mercy in Purgatory.
The system of repentance is clearly detailed in
the Quran so we can learn how to correct
situations when we have transgressed against
others in addition to God and His laws. In such
cases, damage may extend beyond our own souls to
others – whether individually or on a larger
public level. These three steps teach us what is
acceptable behavior to God, and also the best
way to deal with others we have harmed. They
offer a healthy remedy for all the harmful
consequences of our transgression. Once we
recognize our transgressions and become
sincerely remorseful, we apologize to those
we’ve harmed by admitting our wrong actions or
words. We explain that we are committed to
never repeating such wrongs. Then we offer a way
to fix any damage that we have caused and strive
to keep our pledge to never commit those wrongs
again. God educates us in the Quran with these
three basic procedures to achieve peace and
redemption for our souls: 1) apologize - ask for
forgiveness, 2) repent - promise to never do it
again , and 3) reform - keep our promise and
repair whatever damage we can. We apply this
civilized and healthy formula, prescribed by
God, as a matter of course whenever we have
transgressed against others. There are multiple
benefits including peace and closure for those
involved, emotional healing, and spiritual
growth. We can also be confident when we follow
this process, it is pleasing to God.
The Quran contains examples which show how
important it is strive to repair any public
damage resulting from our sins, and associate
these same three steps with concealment of the
truth. The public harm from concealing the
truth includes misleading others, a consequence
which God warns us warrants severe punishment .
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, admitting 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 achieved by correcting the corrupted
actions of the aggressing party and compensating
the injured party. Being equitable and just
towards our souls and others is the essence
behind our apology, repentance, and
reform. These procedures are the only acceptable
path we are given to redeem our souls and end
our disputes 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.
Out of ignorance, some confuse an apology
with repentance. There is NO excuse for that
once we have received our guidance through the
Quran. We know that God doesn't run out of words
and that He chose every word and letter in the
Quran for a purpose. He has chosen two distinct
words for these two separate actions. One is
"repentance" or "tawbah" in Arabic and the other
is "eatethar," used with several derivatives of
the same root for apology. God doesn’t mix these
two steps. He doesn't err. We must offer our
apologies before we repent to God and before we
promise others to 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 always follow that basic first
step. We must apologize before we promise God
and/or others not to repeat the same
transgression. God has taught us this formula
and it is the healthiest way to have a closure
for disputes, relieve pain, and end guilt. Peace
and the ultimate redemption of our souls are
achievable goals when we utilize this divine
system whenever we sin.
NO apologies will be accepted on the Day of
Judgment. On that Day, we can’t make up any
thing we have failed to complete on earth,
including apologies to God or to others. It will
be too late to repent, and we will not have any
more chances 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.
