Yes. Allah accepts the repentance of the one who turns back to Him sincerely.

The conditions of repentance are:

• Leaving the sin.
• Feeling regret for doing it.
• Resolving not to return to it.
• Returning rights to their owners if the sin involved people’s rights.
• Repenting before the soul reaches the throat and before the sun rises from the west.

Repentance is not accepted when the soul reaches the throat at the moment of death, nor after the sun rises from the west.

If a person repents before death arrives and before the soul reaches the throat, his repentance is accepted if he is sincere with Allah. But if he has already seen death and the soul has reached the throat, then this is not voluntary repentance, and the Quran indicates that it is not accepted.

Yes. Despairing of Allah’s mercy is one of the major sins, because it is bad expectation of Allah and ignorance of the vastness of His mercy. The sinner must fear his sin, but he must not despair of his Lord’s mercy.

Yes. Whoever repents, Allah accepts his repentance, even if the sin was major. A Muslim must not despair of Allah’s mercy, nor feel secure from Allah’s plan.

If a Muslim falls into the sin again, he must renew repentance and not despair. But he must not use that as an excuse for carelessness. Rather, he should struggle against himself and close the doors that lead to the sin.

Renew repentance every time you fall, and do not let repeated falling become a reason for despair. But be truthful in closing the doors to the sin, keep away from its causes, seek righteous company, and increase in supplication.

The meaning, according to the scholars, is not permission to sin, but a statement of Allah’s grace toward the one who repents whenever he falls and does not make the sin lawful or treat it lightly.

If a servant sincerely repented from a sin and then later fell again, his previous repentance is valid if it was sincere at the time. But the new sin needs a new repentance, and one may not belittle disobedience under the excuse that he will repent later.

Not everyone whose sins are many is a hypocrite with major hypocrisy. A believer may become weak and sin, but he fears Allah, repents, and strives against himself. The danger is persistence, belittling the sin, loving the sin, and abandoning repentance.

Do not declare yourself pure, and do not despair of Allah’s mercy. Combine fear, hope, and action.

Seeking forgiveness with the tongue is good, but it is not enough alongside deliberate persistence without regret or resolve to leave the sin. Sincere repentance is an action of the heart and limbs, not mere words.

Istighfar is asking Allah for forgiveness. Tawbah is returning to Allah by leaving the sin, regretting it, and resolving not to return to it. They may come together: the servant seeks forgiveness with his tongue and repents with his heart and actions.

Istighfar while persisting without regret or leaving the sin is deficient. Sincere repentance includes leaving the sin and returning to Allah.

Ghusl is not required for repentance unless there is a separate Islamic reason for ghusl, such as janabah. As for praying two rak‘ahs for repentance, it is legislated and recommended according to many scholars, but it is not a condition for the validity of repentance.

The prayer of repentance is legislated. A Muslim performs wudu well, prays two rak‘ahs, then seeks Allah’s forgiveness and repents to Him.

People’s rights must be returned or forgiveness must be sought, according to ability and benefit. Whoever took wealth should return it. Whoever wronged someone should seek release from him if possible without causing greater harm. Whoever backbit someone should repent, seek forgiveness for him, and mention him with good when appropriate.

No. The basic principle is that a Muslim should conceal his own sins and repent to Allah, and should not publicize disobedience.

Repentance from backbiting is by regretting it, leaving it, resolving not to return, seeking forgiveness for the person backbitten, and mentioning him with good in the places where he was backbitten if possible and beneficial. It is not always required to inform him if doing so would cause greater harm or increase hostility. Scholars should be asked when unclear.

Whoever took unlawful money must repent and return it to its owner if known, or to his heirs if he has died. If the owner is unknown, he gives it in charity on the owner’s behalf or spends it in Muslim public interests with the intention of removing the unlawful wealth, not as charity for himself.

Whoever has mixed earnings should estimate the unlawful portion, remove it, purify his wealth as much as he can, and ask scholars about the details.

Whoever abandoned prayer must repent to Allah sincerely, begin immediately preserving the prayers in their times, and increase in voluntary prayers and seeking forgiveness.

Abandoning prayer is one of the most dangerous sins, so repentance from it must not be delayed.

He is helped by:

• Sincerely turning to Allah.
• Cutting off the causes of the sin.
• Changing company and environment.
• Filling time with obedience and beneficial work.
• Remembering death and the Hereafter.
• Increasing supplication and istighfar.
• Avoiding seclusion with causes of temptation.

Begin with sincerity, and do not wait for the desire or habit to disappear by itself. Cut the path to the sin: delete the means, leave the places, abandon bad company, set practical barriers, increase fasting if the sin is connected to desire, and fill your time with obedience or beneficial work.

Do not make the difficulty of leaving it an excuse to surrender. Make it a reason for more striving and supplication.

Persisting in sin is a grave danger, because it shows weakness in honoring Allah in the heart, and it may make a small sin become major. When a believer sins, he hastens to repent and does not settle comfortably upon disobedience.

Yes. Good deeds erase bad deeds by Allah’s permission, especially with repentance.

Yes. From Allah’s generosity, the sincere repentant person may have his bad deeds changed into good deeds.

This is a tremendous favor that calls to sincerity in repentance, not carelessness with sins.

Among the greatest is Sayyid al-Istighfar:

Acceptance is hoped for when the servant is sincere, leaves the sin, regrets it, turns toward obedience, and dislikes returning to disobedience. But a person should not declare with certainty that his own repentance was accepted. He should think well of Allah and fear his own shortcomings.

Crying is not a condition for repentance to be valid, though it may be a sign of a living heart. What matters is fulfilling the conditions of repentance: leaving the sin, regret, resolving not to return, and returning rights. A servant may be sincere in repentance even if his eyes do not tear.

A Muslim preserves repentance through:

• Remaining firm upon the obligations.
• A daily portion of Quran and dhikr.
• Righteous company.
• Staying away from causes of sin.
• Supplicating for firmness.
• Remembering death and the Hereafter.
• Not becoming self-amazed after a season of worship.

Know that Allah’s mercy is greater than your sin, but do not make that a reason for carelessness. Combine recognizing the greatness of the sin with recognizing the greatness of Allah’s mercy. Hasten to repentance and righteous action, and do not let Shaytan move you from sin into despair.

Yes. A servant’s fear of his sin along with good expectation of Allah is a good sign if it pushes him toward action and repentance. But fear that leads to despair and abandoning worship is from Shaytan’s deception.