Qur'an Reflections || On Sins & Repentance

Mastering Repentance and Sin-Blocking Formulas

Do you know the feeling of taking a cool evening walk with perfect skyline views and noise-cancelling headphones, tuning in to your favourite surah or revisiting an inspiring podcast episode? Yes, that feeling is what I experience on my regular 20/30-minute walk to my postgraduate class(es) when I’m not running late for class or rushing towards a waiting exam hall.

A few weeks ago, I was walking to my Portfolio Management class in high spirits and had a lovely plan: “I would listen to every verse of Surah Ghafir (let’s assume 5) times.”

I use this app from quran.com which has over 60 reciters and amazing features, including putting verses, pages, surahs, and even an entire Juz on repeat.

On this glorious evening, I was especially drawn to the third verse:

I believed that I needed to share this feeling with every person that would love to listen. Today, that person is you and I am excited at the simple thought of the beauty you are about to witness. Read till the end to download your free copy of ‘Mini Repentance Journal’.

Knowing, Serving, and Loving Allah ﷻ

You see, I have always been enthralled by the depth of the concept of knowing, serving, and loving Allah. It is multi-dimensional, yet so simple. Tedious, yet so comforting. The Qur’an guides us towards understanding who Allah ﷻ is, how to worship Him and how to seek His pleasure.

Ibn Al-Qayyim [rahimahuLlaah] said:

"And the best knowledge is the knowledge about Allah.”

[Al-Fawaid Pg. 83]

In the Qur’an, our Lord teaches but also cautions, keeping our hearts sweetened with hope and at the same time, trembling with fear.

In this first episode of Guided Reflections, we are:

• Pondering over the Sifaat of Allāh ﷻ in the chosen ayah

• Mastering sincere repentance & the habit-breaking formula for sins

• Discovering digital resources to help us maximize our repentance journey

A. THE SIFAAT OF ALLAH ﷻ

In this ayah, Allāh ﷻ describes himself as “The Forgiver of sin and The Accepter of repentance”. Then, as “The Severe in punishment”, and finally, as “The Possessor of Infinite bounty”.

In this verse, our Lord has combined hope and fear in the heart of a Muslim as He says also in Surah Al-Hijr: “Tell My worshippers that I am Forgiving and Merciful and that My punishment is a painful punishment.” (15:49-50)

They are often mentioned together in the Qur’an, a reminder that these two characteristics of Allāh ﷻ must be considered together for us to maintain a consistent sense of both hope and fear. Hope for His mercy and fear for His punishment. If you have sinned, then do not despair and if you are faced with the desire to sin, then remember His punishment is also severe.

The first description ‘The Forgiver of sin and The Accepter of repentance’ is a comfort to the soul, reminding a believer who has sinned not to despair at the mercy of his Lord as Allāh ﷻ is forgiving of sins and accepting of repentance.

Al-Mufassir Ibn Kathir Ad-Dimashqi (raḥimahullāh) said about this first description that He forgives sins that have been committed in the past, and He accepts repentance for sins that may be committed in the future, from the one who repents and submits to Him.

The second description of Allāh ﷻ as ‘Shadeed Al-’Iqab: the Severe in punishment’ means, according to Ibn Kathir (raḥimahullāh) that Allāh ﷻ is severe in punishment to the one who persists in transgression and prefers the life of this world, who stubbornly turns away from the commands of Allāh ﷻ and sins.

I want you to hold onto the words ‘Persists in transgression’ as we continue in this letter as this holds a significant distinction in the coming section.

On the third description of our Lord, Allāh ﷻas ‘Possessor of infinite bounty’ or ‘Infinite in bounty’, my first thought was that this meant that Allāh ﷻ possessed limitless bounties from which are His mercies and pardon that He could bestow upon us at will and from which is His ability to grant us the quwwah to stay away from sins.

Imam Ibn Kathir (raḥimahullāh) reports Ibn ‘Abbās explaining this to mean: He is Most Generous to His servants, granting ongoing blessings for which they can never sufficiently thank Him as further in Quran 16:18 when He says: “And if you would count the favours of Allāh ﷻ , never could you be able to count them…”

B. SINCERE REPENTANCE & SIN-BREAKING FORMULA

Our focus verse also takes me back to the sin & repentance system I learned recently from a da’wah YouTube video. This system was presented in two stages; the sinner seeking repentance (from the Forgiver of sin and Accepter of repentance) and the believer seeking respite from a tempting sin (for fear of the Severe in punishment).

Repenting Sinner

• The first stage is the presentation of a sinner. Imagine that this is you: you’ve just sinned, and you’re sad and ashamed to look at yourself, talk to Allāh ﷻ, or engage in worship. You are deluded by Shaytan, who whispers to you, that you are a filthy sinner, unworthy of forgiveness, and undeserving of mercy.

• This verse pops into your mind and reminds you that the prophet not only said that “every son of Adam is a sinner”, but also that “the best of sinners are those who are repentant”. Thus, leading you towards the path to repentance:

"Say, 'O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allāh. Indeed, Allāh forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.'" (Quran 39:53)

• The first description of Allāh ﷻin our focus ayah tells us what to do when we sin: turn to Allah ﷻ immediately. Why? He is Forgiving. It also tells us to ask Him for repentance. Why? He is accepting of repentance—the one you’ve just committed and all the ones you will commit in the future if you are sincere because that is from His Mercy.

• If Allah ﷻ forgives you every time you sin, what then distinguishes a believer from a disobedient person?

What distinguishes a sinner from a true believer?

• Remember the words I asked you to hold onto ? Yes, that Allah ﷻ is severe in punishment to the one who persists in transgression…

• So, the true believer is not a consistent sinner, heedless and persistent in disobeying Allāh ﷻ. The true believer does not justify, announce, or belittle his sins, a habit now awfully prevalent especially in this age of trends and views.

  Our Prophet, Muhammad صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ said: “All of my ummah will be excused, except for the mujaahireen (those who make their sins known). And verily it is a kind of mujaaharah (exposing one’s sins) that a man does something (sinful) at night, and then in the morning, when Allaah has screened his sin for him, he says, ‘Hey So-and-So!  I did such-and-such last night…’  And the night passed with His Lord screening him, and he wakes up casting aside the screen of Allaah from himself.”

  [Bukhari]

• A true believer will acknowledge his sin but not out of the need to parade it. Rather, he breaks down in trembling fear, as he should. He then rises in hope, remembers his Lord and turns to Him immediately.

  How do you turn to Allah ﷻin repentance?

The 3 steps to sincere repentance:

• The feeling of shame is felt for the sin and the sin is immediately abandoned either midway or at completion.

• Then, the believer immediately seeks forgiveness by asking Allah ﷻ to forgive his sin, sincerely.

• What follows is repentance, by turning to Allāh ﷻ, and being intentional about never returning to the sin.

Read till the end to download your free copy of ‘Mini Repentance Journal’.

So, what separates a believer and a disobedient person again? The consistency of the sin, the attitude you have towards the sin, and how you turn back to Allāh ﷻafterwards in shame and humility, fearing, yet hoping.

You know Allāh ﷻ and His perfect Names. When you sin, remember the ones below. He is:

How the Sahabahs repented to Allah

• The Sahabah were reported to have handled sinning by feeling ashamed, and not feeling relief until Allāh ﷻ forgives them, and try their absolute best to never return to that sin and what reminds them of it. Then, they followed it up with good deeds.

• Feeling of Shame: Ka'b bin Malik, a companion who missed the expedition of Tabuk, recounts this story. He had ample means to join but procrastinated and ultimately stayed behind. This led to his rebuke, and that of others like him, but Ka’b confessed and stayed miserable seeking Allāh ﷻ ’s forgiveness. It took fifty days for their repentance to be accepted by Allāh ﷻ in the revealed verse 117 of Surah At-Tawbah. Read the full version of the hadith and surah here. Ka’b explains that "Life had become hard for myself and the earth had compressed despite its vastness.”

• They were commanded to stay away from the place of sin. As it was narrated by Abu Hurayrah, may Allāh be pleased with him: We slept with the Prophet (peace be upon him) and did not wake up (for fajr) until after sunrise. The Prophet (peace be upon him) then said, "Each of you should hold the head of your mount, for this is a place where Shaytān is present." If Shaytān deludes you in a place, he might come back to you again, with you vulnerable.

• They were consistent in Tawbah and following up a bad deed with a good deed.

Mu’adh Ibn Jabal narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Have taqwa (fear) of Allāh ﷻ wherever you may be, and follow up a bad deed with a good deed which will wipe it out, and behave well towards the people.”

The Tempted Sinner

• The second presentation is that of a believer confronted by the desire or temptation of sin, whether by personal weakness or the invitation of another. Imagine that this believer is you. What should you do?

• The second description of Allāh ﷻ in our focus ayah addresses this. You remember that Allāh ﷻ is Severe in punishment. How? By being vocal about this realization. This reinforces fear and reminds you of Allāh ﷻ’s severe punishment. You magnify the Might and Power of He that you are about to displease.

  ❝Sins remove the feeling of shame from a person...❞

  • Ibn al-Qayyim (raḥimahullāh)

Consider Yusuf (peace be upon him) when he was invited by the wife of the Aziz to commit zina. How did our noble prophet face this trial? If he rejected her, he would be punished; if he obeyed her, he would disobey Allāh ﷻ.

وَرَٰوَدَتْهُ ٱلَّتِى هُوَ فِى بَيْتِهَا عَن نَّفْسِهِۦ وَغَلَّقَتِ ٱلْأَبْوَٰبَ وَقَالَتْ هَيْتَ لَكَ ۚ قَالَ مَعَاذَ ٱللَّهِ ۖ

And she, in whose house he was, sought to seduce him. She closed the doors and said, "Come, you." He said, "[I seek] the refuge of Allāh.”

[Yusuf: 23]

Yusuf عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ called upon Allah, saying, "Ma'ādh Allāh" (I seek refuge in Allāh), and then he ran to the door. She pulled his shirt from behind, and the door opened, revealing her husband.¹ As such, Allāh ﷻ saved him from this sin.

• His actions can be broken down into 3 stages:

1. He reminded himself of the severity of the sin.

2. He called upon Allāh ﷻ immediately.

3. He attempted to flee the venue of the sin.

The first two steps:

• This formula works by re-enacting this scene every time you are about to sin. When you feel the desire or are tempted by another to sin, say, like Yusuf عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ: "I seek refuge in Allāh.”

• Imagine your Lord observing you approach this sin. Do not just think of this, rather say it out loud: “This is evil. This is destructive. So no! ma’ādh Allāh ﷻ." Ask your Lord for His refuge, run to His safety and turn away from that sin.

• And guess what? Is there

  anything greater than the Name of Allāh ﷻ? Faced with a destructive desire? Call upon your Lord. Your sin is minute compared to the Name of Allāh. Your desire is little compared to the power and might of Allāh ﷻ.

  Abu Hurayrah reported Allāh’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: Allāh ﷻ is self-respecting and a believer is also self-respecting and the respect of Allāh is injured if a believer does what He has forbidden him to do.

  [Muslim]

The third step:

• As Yusuf عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ turned away from the place of the fitna, protect yourself from the triggers of your sin. Ask brain experts and recovering addicts about triggers. They know just how important it is to add cues into your life to form new habits and doing the opposite for what you struggle with, in this context, of sins.

• Think about a sin you struggle with and try to identify the triggers leading up to it. For example, if listening to music is your struggle, maybe your trigger is friends talking about music, unnecessary scrolling through YouTube, TikTok, Twitter or social media ads. Removing the triggers, abstaining from friends and places that lead to sin provide tremendous refuge.

• If you struggle with private sins, leave your privacy at the thought of committing, and seek your family, friends, or nature, just like Yusuf عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ ran to the door, others' company when alone will help. Remember that for Yusuf, his turning away (from the sin) and the shirt being torn from the back and not from the front was the evidence tendered in his defence of the accusation of Zina.

• Leave that conversation, block your thoughts, drop that phone, screen them out and step out into otherness. Your comfort and relief will await you when you leave the place of sin, seeking the refuge of Allāh ﷻ.

• And when you try your best all the time and rarely you slip, then got back to the first presentation of the repentant sinner seeking the Mercy of His Lord. Do not delay your repentance. What if you never get the opportunity for repentance? What if you die upon that sin? So, take heed and repent immediately!

Finally, whenever you forsake something for the sake of Allāh ﷻ, remind yourself of the reward. Write it down or say aloud that "Allāh ﷻ has now rewarded me for not being a slave to my desires and it can only get better from here.” You could even reward yourself for it.

When you experience this power over your nafs, the whispers of Shaytān, and the trials many succumb to, you begin to trust yourself more, take bigger strides, and discover your unique way of managing temptations. Remember, no one is too strong to fall victim to Shaytān. Remove the triggers and follow up with abundant good deeds.

Abu Ishaq said: A man came to 'Umar and asked, "I have committed murder - is it possible for me to repent?" 'Umar replied, "Yes. Do good deeds and do not despair…”

Do not despair. The path to sincere repentance may seem long if you haven't experienced it before, as it requires learning, practicing, and repeating. But mastering it is crucial because sins occur so effortlessly now, often without any planning. With modern gadgets, sins like gossip, listening to music, suspicion, lying, watching movies, zina of the eyes, or intermingling with the opposite gender become mindlessly easy and highly accessible with just a few clicks.

Keep reading to download your free copy of ‘Mini Repentance Journal’ and try out the formulas provided above.

C. RESOURCES FOR SINS & REPENTANCE

In this final part, I would love to share with you 2 Apps, 3 Books, and 3 Resources

2 APPS

• The Qur’ān App

• The Du’ā and Dhikr App

This section contains Amazon Affiliate links to purchase the recommended books.

3 BOOKS

• The Disease & The Cure

• Patience & Gratitude (Ibn Al-Qayyim explains in the book’s first part, the strategies for dealing with sins by mastering spiritual discipline with patience.)

• Tawbah: Turning To Allāh ﷻ In Repentance

  All 3 books are written by Ibn Qayyim Al-Jazwiyyah (raḥimahullāh)

  You can buy them on Amazon or any of your local bookstores.

  • Do you have a Kindle or read on Kindle?

  Read ‘Tawbah: Turning to Allah in Repentance’ on Kindle.

  Read ‘Patience and Gratitude’ on Kindle.

(As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)

3 LEARNING RESOURCES

• Download my free Mini Repentance Journal via this link.²

• Free AMAU course explaining Ibn Al-Qayyim’s The Disease and the Cure

• To join AMAU Academy, use my link to join.³

  

  Before I go, I want to remind you that only those who come to Allāh ﷻ with a clean, pure heart will be successful on the Day of Judgment. Let’s take that first step towards it by mastering sincere repentance and staying away from sins. May we be of those who reach Allāh ﷻ with a pure heart. Aameen.

With this, we have come to the end of our reflection today. See you next week, in shaa Allāh. 

With ♡︎, Wazeera Sanni @fajrwoman

1. My favourite recitation of Surah Yusuf by Qaari Abdallah Humeid is a beautiful companion you will cherish and you can listen to it on my Spreaker Playlist as the 12th Surah or on YouTube.

2. Don’t forget to download your free ‘Mini Repentance Journal’ via this link. This journal has beautiful designs of 7 du’as about forgiveness from the Qur’ān and a mini journal on repentance. It is printable.

3. If you are a student of AMAU and you would like to join my private study group for AMAU sisters, drop a comment or send me an email. fajrwoman@gmail.com