Salvation in Islam (part 3 of 3): Repentance
The road to salvation is through certain belief that
there is only One God and that He is Oft Forgiving and Most Merciful. Islam states unreservedly that there is no such concept as original sin
and that God does not require a blood sacrifice in order to forgive humankind
for their sins and transgressions.
“Say: "O My slaves who have transgressed
against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the
Mercy of God, verily, God forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft Forgiving, Most
Merciful.” (Quran 39:53)
Making mistakes, falling short in our
obedience to God, forgetting, and committing sins are all part of the imperfect
nature of humankind. No human being is free from sin, no matter how good we
appear to be and every human being is in need of God’s forgiveness. Prophet
Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him,
was keenly aware of this when he spoke to his companions.
“By the One in Whose hand is my soul,
if you did not commit sin God would do away with you and bring people who would
commit sin then pray for forgiveness.”[1]
“Every son of Adam sins and the best
of those who sin are those who repent.”[2]
We are all vulnerable, we all commit sins,
and we all need to be forgiven. We have an innate need to feel close to God
and God in His infinite wisdom has made the path to forgiveness easy. Prophet
Muhammad himself experienced the sublime joy that came from feeling “right”
with his Lord. He said, “By God, I seek the forgiveness of God and I turn to
Him in repentance more than seventy times each day.”[3]
God, the Creator knows humankind perfectly, He knows our
imperfections and our shortcomings, and thus He has prescribed repentance for
us and left the door to repentance open until the sun rises from the west (near
Judgement Day).
“And turn in repentance and in obedience with
true Faith to your Lord and submit to Him, before the torment comes upon you,
then you will not be helped.” (Quran 39:54)
“O you who believe! Turn to God with sincere
repentance! It may be that your Lord will expiate from you your sins, and admit
you into Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise)…”(Quran 66:8)
“And all of you beg God to forgive you all, O
believers, that you may be successful.” (Quran 24:31)
Repentance is as easy as turning to God
and seeking His mercy and forgiveness. In the darkest hour or longest night,
God is waiting for all to ask of Him, and to repent to Him.
“God spreads out His hand at night to accept the
repentance of the one who sinned during the day, and He spreads out His hand by
day to accept the repentance of the one who sinned during the night, (and that
will continue) until the sun rises from the west. ”[4]
There are no transgressions too small or
sins to big that God will not be merciful to the one who calls on Him. Prophet
Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him,
told the story of a man whose sins seemed to be too big for him to ever have
hope of mercy, but God is most wise and oft forgiving. Even those whose lives
seem shattered beyond compare and blackened by sin, find comfort.
“There was among the people who came
before you a man who killed ninety-nine people. Then he asked about the most
knowledgeable person on earth, and was directed to a hermit, so he went to him,
told him that he had killed ninety-nine people, and asked if he could be
forgiven. The hermit said, ‘No,’ so he killed him, thus completing one
hundred. Then he asked about the most knowledgeable person on earth and was
directed to a scholar. He told him that he had killed one hundred people, and
asked whether he could be forgiven. The scholar said, ‘Yes, what could
possibly come between you and repentance? Go to such-and-such a town, for in it
there are people who worship God. Go and worship with them, and do not go back
to your own town, for it is a bad place.” So the man set off, but when he was
halfway there, the angel of death came to him, and the angels of mercy and the
angels of wrath began to argue over him. The angels of mercy said: ‘He had
repented and was seeking God.’ The angels of wrath said: ‘He never did any good
thing.’ An angel in human form came to them, and they asked him to decide the
matter. He said, ‘Measure the distance between the two lands (his hometown and
the town he was headed for), and whichever of the two he is closest to is the
one to which he belongs.’ So they measured the distance, and found that he was
closer to the town for which he had been headed, so the angels of mercy took
him.” [5]
In another version from the traditions of
Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, it says, the man was closer to the righteous town by a hand span, so
he was counted among its people.[6]
Repentance is essential for a person to
lead a peaceful life. The reward of repentance is a good
life close to God and covered with contentment and peace of mind. However,
there are three conditions to repentance. They are, giving up the sin, feeling
regret forever having committed the sin and resolving never to go back to the
sin. If these three conditions are fulfilled with sincerity then God will
forgive. If the sin was to do with the rights of another person then there is
a fourth condition. That is to restore, if humanly possible, the rights taken
away.
God’s mercy and forgiveness are so all encompassing that
He will go on forgiving. If a person is sincere, God will forgive him until the
moment that the death rattle reaches the throat.
The noted Islamic scholar Ibn Kathir said, “Surely, when
hope in continued living diminishes, the Angel of Death comes forth to collect
the soul. When the soul reaches the throat, and is gradually pulled out, at that
point there is no accepted repentance.”.[7]
Genuine repentance marks the road to salvation.
Salvation is attained through sincere worship of God. There is no God but He,
the most powerful, the most merciful, the most forgiving.[8]
Footnotes:
[1] Saheeh Muslim
[2] At Tirmidhi
[3] Saheeh Al-Bukhari
[4] Saheeh Muslim
[6] Saheeh Muslim
[7] Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Chapter 4, verse 18.
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