On Repentance..Tawba.

[Abu Hafsat]

As-Salaam alaikum,

        ''...Seek the Forgiveness of your Lord, and turn to Him in repentance,

        that He may grant you good enjoyment, for a term appointed.''  (Surat Hud 11:3)

 

The commonly accepted English translation of Tawba derives from a Latin root (Paenitare) which emphasizes not the act of turning away from the sin but the emotional experience of regret or remorse (nadam) which follows its wake.

Both connotations are acceptable: as the Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said:  ''Penitence is the act of returning  9al-nadm al-tawba)''   Here, we discern 3 things involved in Tawba:-- remorse for disobedience; abandonment of sin and determination not to sin again.

Tawba is an essential and inescapable requirement for anyone who surrenders to Allah Ta'ala. Nor is repentance meant only for individual sins, but must, instead, be an all-embracing process of self-purification... for a fuller and more complete religious life...

May Allah Ta'ala Help us.