Muslimcreed – In order to be able to repent sincerely and be accepted by Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala, conditions are needed. In the book Majalis Syahri Ramadhan, Shaykh Muhammad bin Salih Utsaimin said, “The repentance that Allah Almighty has commanded is the repentance of nasuha (sincere) which includes five conditions”.
The conditions for repentance include:
1. Repentance is done sincerely It is not valid for a person’s repentance except with sincerity by showing his repentance only hoping for the face of Allah, forgiveness and the elimination of his sins. That is, what drives him to repent is his love for Allah Almighty, his exaltation of Allah, his hope for reward accompanied by the fear of His punishment. He does not want the world at all and also not because he wants to be close to certain people. If this is what he wants then his repentance will not be accepted. Because he has not repented to Allah Azza wa Jalla but he repented in order to achieve the goals of the world that he wanted.
This is a proof of true regret to Allah and melts before Him and is angry with his own lusts that continue to persuade him to do bad things. Repentance like this is repentance that is truly based on faith, belief and knowledge.
2. Immediately stop doing immoral acts If the immorality or sin is caused because he did something that is forbidden, then he must immediately leave the unlawful act immediately. If it is a sin or immorality as a result of leaving something that is obligatory, then he rushes to do that which is obligatory immediately. And many other examples. For example, if the sin of immorality against humans must be resolved by that person as well. For example, if it is in the form of wealth, it must be paid to its owner and repentance is not accepted except by fulfilling it. For example, if you steal property from someone and then repent of it, then you have to hand over the stolen property to the owner. If the disobedience that is committed against another person is in the form of beatings or the like, then come to him and make it easy for him to hit you back like you hit him. If he is hit in the back, he is hit on the back, and if the head or any other part of the body is hit, he should retaliate. Verily, good deeds will eliminate evil. And a person’s taubah from certain sins is still valid, even though he still continues to commit other sins. Because there are many kinds of human actions, and their faith is graded. However, a person who repents of a particular sin cannot be said to have repented absolutely. And all the commendable qualities and a high position for people who repent, can only be achieved by repenting of all sins.
3. Determine not to repeat the sin in the future. Because this is the fruit of his repentance and as proof of the honesty of the perpetrator. If he says he has repented, but he is still determined to commit that sin again one day, then his repentance at that time was not true. Because his repentance is only temporary, the perpetrator of this immorality is just looking for the right moment. This repentance does not show that he hates the immoral act and then stays away from it and then performs obedience to Allah Almighty.
4. Repentance is done not when the period of acceptance of repentance has expired. If the repentance is made after the time for repentance has expired, then the repentance will not be accepted. The expiration of the time of acceptance of repentance is of two kinds: (First,) it is general and applies to all people and (second) is specific to each person. What is common is that the sun rises from the west. If the sun has risen from the west, then repentance is no longer useful.
