Repentance, Seeking Forgiveness, Regret, and Admission (of Guilt)

“Abū ʿJaʿfar (a) said, ‘It used to be said: verily among the most beloved of the servants of Allah to Allah is the doer of good who repents often.’”

“I heard Abā ʿAbdillāh (a) say, ‘There is no servant who commits a sin but that he is given respite from that morning until nightfall, so if he repents to Allah [within that time], it is not written against him.’”

“The Messenger of Allah (ṣ) said, ‘Whoever repents in the year of his death, Allah forgives him.’ Then he said, ‘Verily a year is too long. Whoever repents in the month of his death, Allah forgives him.’ Then he said, ‘Verily a month is too long. Whoever repents on the day of his death, Allah forgives him.’ Then he said, ‘Verily a day is [still] long. Whoever repents an hour before his death, Allah forgives him.’ Then he said, ‘Verily [even] an hour is long. Whoever repents when his soul reaches here – and he pointed with his hand to his throat – Allah forgives him!’’[2]

“I heard Abā Jaʿfar (a) say, ‘When the soul reaches this place (meaning the throat), there is no repentance for the knowledgeable, but there is [a possibility of] repentance for the ignorant.’”

“Whoever does an evil deed is given a respite of seven hours of the day. If he says, ‘I seek repentance from Allah, besides Whom there is no god, [He is] the Living, the Eternal’ three times, it (the sin) will not be recorded for him.”

“I asked Abū ʿAbdillāh (a), ‘What is the meaning of the verse wherein Allah, the Almighty, says: O you who believe, turn to Allah in sincere repentance (Q66:8)?’ He said, ‘It is the sin which he never repeats again.’ I said, ‘Who among us never repeats [a sin]?’ So he said, ‘O Abā Muḥammad, verily Allah loves from among His servants the one who is tested [by sin] and repents often.’”

“When a servant intends to do an evil deed, it is not recorded against him, but if he intends to do a good deed, it is recorded for him.”

By Allah, no one can be saved from sin except the one who admits [and confesses] it.”

“I heard Abā Jaʿfar (a) say, ‘Allah is more pleased with the repentance of a servant when he repents than the man whose mount, that was carrying [all] his food and drink, gets lost in the wilderness. Then, as he is in that state [of perplexity] not knowing what to do or where to turn, he places his head down to sleep when suddenly a person approaches him and says, “O man, have you lost your mount?” He replies, “Yes.” He says, “Here it is.”’”

“Verily Allah loves the one who admits [his sins] and repents often.” He [then] said, “The Messenger of Allah (ṣ) used to turn to Allah in repentance seventy times a day without having committed any sin.” The narrator asked, “Would he say: I seek forgiveness from Allah and turn back to Him in repentance?” He (a) replied, “He would say: I turn [penitently] to Allah.”

“I heard Abā ʿAbdillāh say, ‘Verily we sin and we forget, then we turn back penitently to Allah.’” Al-Ḥasan ibn Saʿīd said, “There is no difference of opinion among our scholars that they (the Imams) are infallible and free of every type of ugliness [in their actions]. They (a) refer to the abandoning of what is recommended as a sin and a misdeed in relation to their own perfection [and that is why they repent].”

he heard saying, “There is no believer who commits a sin but that he is given respite for seven hours, so if he seeks forgiveness from Allah [during that time], he is forgiven. Indeed, he may recall his sin after twenty years and thus seek forgiveness from Allah and he is [thereby] forgiven. But as for the disbeliever, he forgets his sin so that he may not seek forgiveness from Allah.”

“Abū Jaʿfar (a) said to me, ‘There is no servant who performs an action that Allah is not pleased with but that Allah initially conceals it [from the people]. If he repeats it a second time, Allah hides it [again], but if he repeats it once more, Allah sends down an angel in the form of a man to tell the people, ‘He did such and such.’”

15.Ibrāhīm ibn Abī al-Bilād said, “Abū al-Ḥasan [al-Kāẓim] (a) said, ‘Verily I seek forgiveness from Allah five thousand times every day.’ Then he said to me, ‘Five thousand is a lot.’”

“Verily Allah, the Almighty, revealed to Dāwūd (a), ‘Go to My servant Dānyāl and say to him: [My Lord says] you have disobeyed Me yet I forgave you, and you disobeyed Me [again] yet I forgave you, and you disobeyed Me [again] yet I forgave you. But if you disobey me a fourth time, I will not forgive you.’ So Dāwūd (a) went to him and said, ‘O Dānyāl, I am indeed a messenger of Allah to you; and He says to you: Verily you have disobeyed Me yet I forgave you, and you disobeyed Me [again] yet I forgave you, and you disobeyed Me [again] yet I forgave you. But if you disobey me a fourth time, I will not forgive you.’ So Dānyāl said to him, ‘You have conveyed [the message] O Prophet of Allah!’ Then, when the time of pre-dawn (saḥar) came, Dānyāl whispered to his Lord and said, ‘O Lord, verily Your Prophet, Dāwūd, informed me of Your message that I have disobeyed You and You forgave me, and I disobeyed You [again] yet You forgave me, and I disobeyed You [again] yet You forgave me, and he conveyed to me from You that if I disobey You a fourth time, You will not forgive me. But by Your might and Your majesty, if You do not protect me [from sin], I will surely disobey You, then I will disobey You [again], then I will disobey You [again].’”

“Verily Ādam (a) said, ‘O Lord, You allowed Shayṭān to prevail over me and You made him flow in me like blood [flowing in my veins], so grant me something [to counter him].’ So He said, ‘O Ādam, I have [hereby] granted you that whoever among your progeny intends [to do] an evil deed, it will not be recorded against him, and if he does it, one evil deed will be recorded against him. And whoever among them intends to do a good deed but does not do it, one good deed is recorded for him, and if he does it then ten good deeds are recorded for him [for that one act].’ He said, ‘O Lord, give me something more!’ He said, ‘I have [hereby] granted you that whoever among them and then seeks forgiveness [for it], I shall forgive him.’ He said, ‘O Lord, give me something more!’ He said, ‘I have granted them repentance.’ [Or He said, ‘I have granted them the opportunity to repent until the soul reaches here (the throat)’.] He said, ‘O Lord, that is sufficient for me.’”

“Whoever says three times, ‘Glory be to my Lord, the Great, and praise be to Him. I seek forgiveness from my Lord and turn penitently to Him,’ the Throne [of Allah] makes a sound like the sound of chains striking a bowl.”

“One who does not hold himself to account every day is not from us. [Every believer should take account of his actions daily and] if he has done a good deed, he should seek more of it from Allah and praise Allah for it, and if he has done an evil deed, he should seek forgiveness from Allah for it and turn penitently to Him.”