Repentance: The gateway for seeking forgiveness

Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {When the Victory of Allah has come and the conquest, And you see the people entering into the Religion of Allah in multitudes, then exalt [Him] with praise of your Lord and ask forgiveness of Him. Indeed, He is ever accepting of repentance.}[Qur’an 110:1-3]This verse referred to the imminent end of the lifetime of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, whereupon he was commanded to conclude it with seeking forgiveness. From that time onwards, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, never abandoned seeking forgiveness until he died, despite his relentless striving as we have already seen. He used to say: “Subhaanak Allaahumma rabbana wa bihamdik, Allaahumma ighfir lee (Exalted be You, O Allah, our Lord, and with Your praise (I exalt You); O Allah! Forgive me).” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] He never wearied of repeating this since this verse was revealed to him, until he died.It is obligatory for the believers then to seal their deeds with the seal of seeking forgiveness, which rectifies the defects of those deeds. Moreover, it clarifies the extent of their shortcomings in their relationship with Allah The Almighty. It also sheds light on how imperfect their deeds might be, and how they raise their hands to Allah The Almighty, with regret for what they have done, and confessing the negligence in their deeds, which requires them to seek the forgiveness of Allah The Almighty. It was the habit of the believers to intensify seeking forgiveness after offering acts of obedience.Allah The Almighty clarifies this state, which includes the departure from ‘Arafaat. It is true that people depart from ‘Arafaat with their sins forgiven for them. Nevertheless, Allah The Almighty commanded them to seek His forgiveness. He Says (what means): {But when you depart from ‘Arafaat, remember Allah at Al- Mash‘ar Al-Haraam. And remember Him, as He has guided you, for indeed, you were before that among those astray. Then depart from the place from where [all] the people depart and ask forgiveness of Allah.} [Qur’an 2:198-199] That is, after striving in worship and expecting the forgiveness of Allah, His mercy and repentance, they seek the forgiveness of Allah The Almighty, realising that they fall short in their deeds, that their deeds are so defective that requires them to seek forgiveness. They realise that it is only seeking forgiveness that should be characteristic of their deeds that ascend to Allah The Almighty. If a person looks at his deed and admires it, it will not ascend to Allah The Almighty. What ascends is only the deed that is characterised by seeking forgiveness, and which is seen as imperfect and unfit for Allah The Almighty, being not done as it should be for Allah The Almighty, and, ultimately, raised to Allah The Almighty by the doer, who humbles himself to Him to accept it.Seeking forgiveness at the end of deeds means that the believers should repent to Allah The Almighty with the general repentance, that is expected from whoever observes the fasts of Ramadan, stands (at night in prayer of) Ramadan, and stands (in prayer) on the Night of Al-Qadr, and as such he will be forgiven. The difference is that whoever stands (in prayer) on the Night of Al-Qadr, will be forgiven immediately on that very night, and he need not wait until the end of the month, unlike fasting and standing of Ramadan. When it is the end of the month, the one who deserves forgiveness for his fasting and standing (at night in prayer) will be forgiven out of the Bounty of Allah. According to the majority of scholars, whoever observes the fasts of Ramadan, out of sincere faith, and expecting the reward for that with Allah The Almighty, will be forgiven, provided that he has repented from the grave major sins. The same is true of the one who stands (at night in prayer in) Ramadan, so that all his sins will be removed. However, to expect such forgiveness with neither fasting nor standing (in prayer) which are means of attaining forgiveness is indeed mere illusion and false hope that we have today.Thus, repentance is one of the most important deeds with which one concludes his acts of worship and acts of obedience. That is, to turn in repentance to Allah The Almighty, and be determined not to return to the sin once again. If, in those days of worship and obedience, one is waiting for them to come to end to return to his previous state of indulgence and negligence, or to the same sins and misdeeds he used to do before Ramadan, in this case, his deeds are rejected, and the gate of repentance is closed in his face, unless he is determined not to return to the sin once again, rather than to return to the sin after the end of Ramadan.Article source: http://www.islamweb.net/emainpage/