Repentance and Self-cleansing
Prevention and refrainment from sins is the best way for
attaining self-refinement. A person who has never been contaminated by Sins and
possesses his original purity and righteousness certainly is far superior than
a sinner who has repented after committing a sin. The person who has not yet
tasted the pleasure of sin and is not used to it may refrain himself from
sinning much more easier as compared to the one who has been contaminated by
sins and now wants to refrain from them. The Commander of the Faithful Imam'
Ali (A) said:
"Refraining from sin is far easier than repenting
after sinning.” -Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 73, p-364.
But if a person becomes contaminated
after sinning, he should not be disappointed from God's blessings because, the
path of spiritual migration, self refinement, and ascent towards God-Almighty
remains forever open and is never closed. The Most Merciful and the Most
Benevolent God-Almighty has kept the path of repentance always open for the
sinners and have especially asked them to return towards Him after cleaning and
purifying the self's tablet from the impurities and contamination of sins
through the water of repentance. God-Almighty said in the Holy Quran:
"Say: O My slaves who have been prodigal to their
own hurt. Despair not of the Mercy of God, who forgiveth all sins. Lo! He is
the forgiving the Merciful." -the Holy- Quran (39:58)
And said:
"And when those who believe in our revelations come
unto thee say: Peace be unto you! Your Lord hath prescribed for Himself Mercy,
that, those whoso of you doth evil and repenteth afterward thereof and doeth
right, (for him) Lo ! God is forgiving, Merciful.” -the Holy- Quran (6:54)
14.1. The Need for Repentance
I don't imagine that there
exists a thing which is more essential for a sinner than the repentance. The
one who believes in God, Prophet, Resurrection, Rewards and Punishment,
Accounting of Deeds, Paradise, and Hell does not contradict the urgency and
necessity of repentance. Then, how come are, we negligent from repentance,
inspite of being knowledgeable about the self and the sins committed by him?
Don't we believe in the existence of Resurrection, Accounting of Deeds and
Hell's punishments? Or, Do we contradict the God's promise that He will fill
the Hell with sinners? Through sinning the human self becomes dark, black, and
contaminated, even there is possibility of loosing the human face and turning
into a brute animal.
Then how could we still expect finding the path leading
towards Gods-Almighty and sitting in the company of His favorite saints in Paradise
with such contaminated, darkened, and polluted self? Because, of indulgence
into sins the straight path of human exaltedness and ascension towards
God-Almighty has been lost, and now we are wandering into the darkest valleys
of ignorance and deviations. We have parted from God-Almighty and have become
close to Satan. Inspite of all that we are still expecting to receive eternal
salvation in the Next World and would be blessed with Divine bounties in the Paradise!
What a wishful and immature thinking indeed?
Therefore, for a sinner who is
concerned about his prosperity and salvation there is no choice left except to
repent and return towards God-Almighty. This is one of the great blessing of
God-Almighty that the path of repentance has been left opened for his servants.
A person who has been poisoned does not allow the least delay in his being
taken to the hospital for treatment, because, he knows that any negligence
would result in his quick demise. Similarly, sins for human-self are far more
fatal than the most deadly poison for human body. If, a poison could threaten
the worldly life of a person quickly, sinning would inflict an eternal doom
upon the self and would result in the destruction of his eternal life.
If poisoning results in cutting
off a person's connection with the transient world instantaneously, likewise
sinning makes a person far removed from God-Almighty depriving him from the
God's Countenance and Nearness. Therefore, repentance and return to
God-Almighty for us is something more urgent and essential than any thing else,
because, our eternal prosperity and salvation depends upon it. God-Almighty
said in the Holy Quran:
“And turn unto God-Almighty together, O believers in
order that you may succeed.” -the Holy- Quran (24: 31)
And said:
"Oh ye who believe! Turn unto God-Almighty in
sincere repentance! It may be that your Lord will remit from your evil deeds
and bring you into Gardens underneath which rivers flow." -the Holy- Quran (66:8)
The Holy Prophet (S) said:
"There is a medicine for each pain and the medicine
for sins is repentance."
-Wasail
al-Shi’a, vol. 11,p-354.
Imam al-Sadiq (A) said:
"Delaying repentance is a sort of arrogance and
deceit; continuation of delay results in confusion and astonishment; excuses
in front of God-Almighty is total destruction and persistence in sinning is due
to feeling secure against Divine punishment and except the people who are
losers no one else feels secure against it.” -Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 73, p-365.
In the light of above it would
better that we should take an in-depth look within our lives; should remember
all our past sins and transgressions; should ponder about the ultimate
consequences; should think about the accounting of our deeds and being ashamed
before God-Almighty and being insulted in front of angels and mankind; we must
momentary manifest before our sight the horrible torture of Hell and
deprivation from the God's Countenance.
This should create a
transformation and internal revolution in our lives encouraging us to repent
immediately and should return towards God-Almighty. All the past sins and
transgressions should be washed with the pure life-giving refreshing water of
repentance. All the self's impurities and contamination must be set aside and
forgotten; a firm decision should be made, to refrain from sins to strive for
collection of provisions for Hereafter, and start marching upon the path of
spiritual ascent towards God-Almighty.
But would Satan leave us alone
so easily? Would he ever permit us to repent and return towards God-Almighty?
The same Satan who reduced us to indulge into sinning would also prevent us
from repentance; would manifest sinning something as minor offense and
insignificant; would wipe them out thoroughly from" our mental memory in a
manner as though they never happened at all; would completely set aside thoughts
related to death, account of deeds and punishments from our mind, keeping us
amused in worldly allurements. So that we never think about the repentance
until death approaches suddenly and, thus, being forced to leave this world
with a self, contaminated with sins. Woe upon us, our negligence, and
misfortune! !
14.2. Acceptance of
Repentance
If repentance is indeed offered
correctly it would receive Divine acceptance certainly which is one of the most
unique favor of the Most-Compassionate and Most-Merciful Lord. Because, He has
not created his servants for Hell and its tortures, rather has created us for Paradise
and its eternal prosperity. Divine Messengers were assigned to guide the
mankind towards the path of salvation and to invite the sinners towards
repentance and return to God-Almighty. The door of repentance and return always
remains opened for everyone inviting them to enter into it.
Divine messengers and saints
throughout the human history continuously motivated the mankind towards
repentance. The Most Compassionate and the Most-Merciful Lord in plenty of
Qur’anic verses invites the sinners to return to Him and had promised them to
accept their repentance and His promises are not lies. The Holy Prophet (S) and
Infallible Imams (A) through hundreds of traditions have invited the mankind
for repentance and return towards God-Almighty, thus, making them hopeful of
Divine blessings. Following are few examples:
God-Almighty said in Holy Quran:
"And He it is who accepteth repentance from His
bondsmen, and pardoneth the evil deeds and knoweth what ye do.” -the Holy- Quran (42:25)
And said:
"And lo! Verily I am forgiving towards him who
repenteth and believeth and doth good, and afterward walketh aright." -the Holy- Quran (2:82)
And said:
"And those who, when they do an evil thing or wrong
themselves, remember God-Almighty and implies forgiveness for their sins –who
forgiventh sins save God-Almighty only ? And will not knowingly repeat (the
wrong) they did." -the Holy- Quran (3:135)
Imam Baqir (A) said:
“After repenting a person becomes like some one who has
never sinned, and the one who is continuing sinning while reciting the phrase
of repentance upon his tongue is like someone who ridicules himself.”
-al
Kafi, vol. 2, p-435.
There are plenty .of verses and
traditions dealing with this matter and therefore, one should not have any
reservation regarding the acceptance of repentance. Not only God-Almighty
accepts repentance from a sinner but also loves him for undertaking this bold
initiative. God-Almighty said in the Holy Quran:
“Truly God-Almighty loveth, those who turn unto him, and
loveth those who have a care of cleanness.” -the Holy- Quran (2:222)
Imam al-Baqir (A) said:
“The happiness of God-Almighty from seeing a sinner
repenting is much more than the joy of a lone traveler who finds his missing
animal together with the provisions of journey in a dark night.” -al-Kafi, vol. 2, p-436.
Imam Al- Sadiq (A) said:
"When a servant of God
offers pure and firm repentance, God-Almighty loves him and deletes all of his
past sins. The narrator asked; 'Oh son of Prophet! How are the sins deleted ?’
'The two angels responsible
for writing of deeds forget about his sins, simultaneously, God-Almighty orders
his bodily parts, limbs, and different places upon earth to cancel his sins
from their register of deeds. Thus, he meets God-Almighty in a manner whereby
nobody and nothing is a witness to his sins. ' Replied the Imam." -al-Kafi, vol. 2, p.-436.
14.3. What is Repentance?
Repentance could be defined as a
feeling of being ashamed, sorry, and regretful for past sins. Some one who is
indeed ashamed by heart for his past sins may truly be called as a repentant.
The Holy Prophet (S) said:
"Feeling ashamed and being sorry (for past deeds) is
repentance."
-Haqayaq,
p-286.
It is true that God-Almighty
accepts repentance and forgives the past sins, but simply recital of the
sentence: "I ask God to forgive me" (Astaghferullah), being
ashamed and regretful or even. crying for past sins may not be considered as
sufficient for a pure and sincere repentance, but with the existence of the
following three symptoms the repentance could be considered as true and
realistic:
i.
First: He must be disgusted by heart for his. past sins
and his self should have a feeling of shame, regret, and sorrow.
ii.
Second: He must take a firm decision not to indulge into
sinning in the future.
iii.
Third: If, because of indulgence into a particular sin, he
has done something, which could be compensated then he must take a firm
decision for its compensation. For example: If he owes dues of people, has
usurped property or stolen money, must decide to return it to its owner in the
first available opportunity. In case he is not in a position to pay at present,
he should try to get the owners consent or satisfaction through whatever means
at his disposal.
If he has committed backbiting
against some one, should seek his pardon, if he has oppressed some one, should
try to redress the aggrieved. If religious dues have not been paid he must
arrange for their payment, and if the daily prayers and the fasting have been
missed, he must perform them as make-up (qadha) obligations. If some one
has undertaken all the above steps, then he may truly be called as a sincere
repentant, who is indeed ashamed for his past deeds and such atonement
certainly receives God's acceptance.
But if some one recites the
sentence: "I seek God's forgiveness" upon his tongue, but by heart is
not ashamed for his past sins, does not decide for avoidance of future sins and
is not ready to compensate for those sins which could have been compensated
-then such a person has not atoned and should not expect acceptance of his
repentance, even though he might appear in a prayer assembly and, thus, being
affected sentimentally might shed some tears or may cry loudly. A person
recited the sentence: "I seek God's forgiveness" in the presence of
the Commander of the Faithful Imam ' Ali (A). The Imam said:
"May your mother lament
for you, do you know what is repentance ? The repentance can be defined with
the following six parameters:
1. Feeling ashamed and
regretful for the past sins.
2. Taking firm decision for
avoidance of sins forever.
3. Paying all the dues of the
people so that when he meets God-Almighty on the Resurrection Day, he does not
have any pending claim against him.
4. All the religious
obligations (Wajibat) which have not been performed in the past should be
discharged as makeup (Qadha) obligations.
5. Should feel so sad about
his past sins that all the bodily flesh formed as a result of eating forbidden
(Haram) should be melted in a manner that skin should touch the bare bones
until the new flesh is reformed again.
6. The inconvenience and
hardship of worshipping should be imposed upon the body as a compensation for
the pleasures it fasted because of past sins. Only after performing all the
above, you may recite the sentence I seek forgiveness from God."
-Wasail
al-Shi’a, vol. 11, p.361.
Satan is so deceitful that
sometimes he even deceives a person regarding repentance. It is possible that a
sinner might attend a prayer gathering and after being effected sentimentally
may shed some tears or may cry. Then Satan would say:
Great, wonderful! What a great
thing have you done? You have already atoned and all your sins have been
cleaned. While in reality, such a person neither is ashamed from sinning by
heart nor has be decided not to commit sins any more, and to remit dues of the
creditors. Such act does not constitute a real repentance and would not result
one's attaining self-purification and eternal salvation. Such a person has not
refrained from sins and has not returned to God-Almighty.
14.4. Things which Require
Repentance
What is sin and what sins should
be repented? The answer is that every thing which stops a man from journeying
towards God-Almighty, making him attached to worldly-allurements, thus,
preventing from repentance should be considered as sin, must be avoided, and
self should be thoroughly cleaned from its contamination. The sins might be
classified into following two categories:
14.4.1. Moral Sins
Moral abjectness and obscene
characteristics results in self's contamination, thus, preventing him to follow
the straight path of human exaltedness leading towards God's Nearness and
Countenance. Moral abjectness if gets deep rooted within self gradually becomes
his characteristic resulting in metamorphism of his inner essence. It even
influences the ideal; of "what to be" for a human being. Moral sins,
because of the excuse of their being only moral, should not be treated as
smaller and insignificant, and, thus, being negligent for their repentance,
instead self-purification for them is something necessary and of vital
importance.
The moral-abjectness consists
of: Hypocrisy, wrath, arrogance, egotism, harshness, oppression, deceit and
treachery, back-biting, accusation, criticizing, fault-finding, slander, breach
of promise, lying, love of world, greed stinginess, parents rights, cutting
family ties, ungratefulness, extravagance, jealously, vilification, cursing,
and other obscene characteristics. Hundreds of Qur’anic Verses and traditions
condemn these characteristics and describe their prevention, treatment,
symptoms and worldly and eternal punishments. Since this matter has been
discussed in details in several books of ethics, it would not be appropriate
for us to discuss here, rather the readers are advised to refer to the literature
dealing with ethics.
14.4.2. Practical Sins
Consist of the following:
stealing, murder, adultery, homosexuality, paying and receiving interest,
usurpation of public property, cheating, running away from the battlefield in a
mandatory crusade, breach of trust, drinking alcoholic beverages, eating pork
and other forbidden meats, gambling, false testimony or oath, accusing some
innocent person for adultery, refraining from offering mandatory prayers and
fasting, refraining from Haj Pilgrimage, refraining from the duty to encourage
good and forbid evil (Amr bil-Maroof wa Nahi al-Munkar), eating unclean
food, and other forbidden things. These sins have been described in detail in
the books of traditions and jurisprudence and therefore, it would not be appropriate
to discuss them here in detail, rather the readers are advised to refer to the
relevant literature.
These are some famous sins which
should be avoided by a human being and in case of indulgence he should offer
repentance and should return to God-Almighty. Apart from these there are some
other types of sins which are not famous and have not been introduced as sins
but for God's most favorite saints and exalted pious personalities they are
counted as sins e.g.: refraining from recommended acts (Mostahbbat),
performing acts which are supposed to be avoided although not absolutely
unlawful (Makroohat), sinful thoughts, attention towards other than God,
and selfish whims and Satanic whispers which prevents them from God's
Remembrance.
All of them are considered as
sins for God's favorite saints and they offer repentance for them. Even higher
than the above is their negligence and omission in true recognition of
God-Almighty, His essence, Attributes and Actions, which are the pre-requisite
for the existence of every created being is regarded as a sin for them and
realizing this omission they tremble in fear, shed tears, and offer repentance
to return towards God. The repentance offered by the prophets and Infallible
Imams (A) might belong to this category. The Holy Prophet (S) had said:
"Sometimes it happens that the darkness approaches
my heart, and because of this reason I offer repentance seventy times every
day."
-Muhjatteh,
vol. 7, p-71.
Imam al-Sadiq (A) said:
"The Holy Prophet (S) used to offer repentance
seventy times a day, while he had not committed any sin at all." -al-Kafi, vol. 2, p-450.