Repentance, Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Senior 2 · Religion and Ethics
Repentance, Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Lesson 4 of 5
20 min
Many Muslims repeat the words Astaghfirullah, "I seek forgiveness from Allah", several times each day. For Muslims, turning back to God after doing wrong is not a rare event but part of daily life. Islam also teaches that Muslims should forgive the people who wrong them, as they hope Allah will forgive them.
"Say: O My slaves who have been prodigal to their own hurt! Despair not of the mercy of Allah, Who forgiveth all sins. Lo! He is the Forgiving, the Merciful." (Qur'an 39:53)
Prodigal to their own hurt means people who have wasted their lives in wrongdoing and harmed themselves. The verse teaches that no one should lose hope of Allah's mercy.
"O ye who believe! Turn unto Allah in sincere repentance!" (Qur'an 66:8)
"But whoso repenteth after his wrongdoing and amendeth, lo! Allah will relent toward him. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful." (Qur'an 5:39)
Amendeth means "puts things right", and relent toward him means "turn to him in mercy".
Muslim scholars, drawing on verses such as Qur'an 3:135, teach that sincere tawbah has these conditions:
"And those who, when they do an evil thing or wrong themselves, remember Allah and implore forgiveness for their sins—Who forgiveth sins save Allah only?—and will not knowingly repeat (the wrong) they did." (Qur'an 3:135)
Repentance is especially encouraged during Ramadan and on the Night of Power (Laylat al-Qadr), but the door of repentance is open every day.
"Those who spend (of that which Allah hath given them) in ease and in adversity, those who control their wrath and are forgiving toward mankind; Allah loveth the good" (Qur'an 3:134)
Wrath means anger. The Qur'an also says: "And verily whoso is patient and forgiveth—lo! that, verily, is (of) the steadfast heart of things." (Qur'an 42:43), meaning that patience and forgiveness show real strength of character.
The Prophet's pardon of the people of Mecca in 630, after years of persecution, is the example Muslims most often remember (see Unit 3).
Islam also teaches Muslims to make peace between people who quarrel: "The believers are naught else than brothers. Therefore make peace between your brethren" (Qur'an 49:10).
Case study: Yusuf took 10,000 Frw from his neighbour's shop without paying. Now he feels guilty and wants to make tawbah.
Question: Using the conditions of sincere repentance, explain what Yusuf must do. (4 marks)
Model answer: He must stop taking things that are not his (1 mark); feel real regret before Allah and ask forgiveness, saying Astaghfirullah (1 mark); resolve never to steal again, as Qur'an 3:135 describes those who "will not knowingly repeat" the wrong (1 mark); and, because the wrong harmed his neighbour, return the 10,000 Frw and ask the neighbour to forgive him (1 mark).
Tip
Memory hook. The four conditions of tawbah: Stop, Regret, Resolve, Restore. The last one applies when another person was harmed; Allah's forgiveness does not remove the duty to give back what belongs to someone else.
What is the difference between tawbah and istighfar?
Answer: tawbah is repentance, turning back to Allah and away from sin; istighfar is asking Allah for forgiveness, for example by saying "Astaghfirullah".
What does Qur'an 39:53 say to people who have done great wrong?
Answer: they must not despair of Allah's mercy, because he forgives all sins; he is the Forgiving, the Merciful.
List the four conditions of sincere repentance.
Answer: stop the sin; regret it; resolve never to return to it; and, if another person was harmed, restore that person's right and ask his or her forgiveness.
According to Qur'an 3:134, name two qualities of people whom Allah loves.
Answer (any two): they spend on others in good times and bad; they control their anger; they forgive people.
Give one similarity between Christian and Islamic teaching on repentance.
Answer (one of): both teach that God forgives those who sincerely repent (1 John 1:9; Qur'an 39:53); both require repairing harm done to others (Zacchaeus in Luke 19; the fourth condition of tawbah); both call believers to forgive others.
Remember
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