Will Allah Accept My Repentance?

Without a doubt, every human’s eternal state in the hereafter has nothing to do with gender and everything to do with one’s relationship with Allah. Allah says in the Qur’an what means:

*{And whoever does good deeds whether male or female and he (or she) is a believer-- these shall enter the garden, and they shall not be dealt with a jot unjustly.}* (An-Nisaa' 4:124).

He also says what means:

*{Whoever does good whether male or female and he is a believer, We will most certainly make him live a happy life, and We will most certainly give them their reward for the best of what they did.}*(An-Nahl 16:97).

Furthermore, Allah explains exactly why He created us in male and female forms when He says:
*{O you men! surely We have created you of a male and a female, and made you tribes and families that you may know each other; surely the most honorable of you with Allah is the one among you most careful (of his duty); surely Allah is Knowing, Aware.}* (Al-Hujurat 49:13).

In other words, our being male and female is merely to know the Ability and Majesty of Allah. He does not use this difference as a means of injustice. After mentioning this fact, He immediately tells us that honor is not linked to sex but rather to taqwa or Allah-consciousness.

Generally speaking, women are different spiritually from men in that Allah has blessed them with a softer heart. However, this gift can have a negative side in that her heart is also softer towards worldly amenities. Of course, Islam has taken this into consideration and has made certain things lawful for women that are otherwise unlawful for men, such as the wearing of gold and silk. Nevertheless, a woman must be vigilant in maintaining her heart’s attachment to Allah and not to the dunya or worldly diversions. We ask Allah to put the dunya in our hands and not in our hearts, Ameen.

A Muslim must always remember the Mercy of Allah and the immediate benefits of tawbah, or turning to Allah in repentance.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has said:

"There was a man from among a nation before you who killed ninety-nine people and then made an inquiry about the most learned person on the earth. He was directed to a monk. He came to him and told him that he had killed ninety-nine people and asked him if there was any chance for his repentance to be accepted. He replied in the negative and the man killed him also, making it an even one hundred. He then asked about the most learned man in the earth. He was directed to a scholar. He told him that he had killed one hundred people and asked him if there was any chance for his repentance to be accepted. He [the scholar] replied in the affirmative and asked, `Who stands between you and repentance? Go to such and such land; there [you will find] people devoted to prayer and worship of Allah, join them in worship, and do not come back to your land because it is an evil place.' So he went away and hardly had he covered half the distance when death overtook him. There was a dispute between the angels of mercy and the angels of torment. The angels of mercy pleaded, 'This man has come with a repenting heart to Allah,' while the angels of punishment argued, 'He never did a virtuous deed in his life.' Then there appeared another angel in the form of a human being and the contending angels agreed to make him an arbiter between them. He said, `Measure the distance between the two lands. He will be considered belonging to the land to which he is nearer.' They measured and found him closer to the land (land of piety) where he intended to go, and so the angels of mercy collected his soul."

Another version says: "Allah commanded [the land which the man wanted to leave] to move away and commanded the other land (his destination) to draw nearer, and then He said, ‘Now measure the distance between them.' It was found that he was nearer to his goal by a hand's span and was thus forgiven." (Bukhari and Muslim)

A Muslim must always have hope in Allah’s Mercy and Forgiveness. In fact, it is sinful to despair of Allah’s Mercy. No matter what we might have done in the past, we should always have hope that Allah will accept our tawbah.

If a bad deed is done against Allah, there are three conditions to be met and the person’s tawbah will be accepted:

1. He or she must desist from the action. In the case of missing salat, a person must stop skipping salat and begin to pray the five prayers daily.

2. He or she must regret having done the deed. In this case, we must regret the days that have passed in which we were not performing our compulsory salat.

3. He or she must make firm and sincere intention not to return to the bad deed again. One must be resolved never to leave the obligatory salat again, and Allah alone can give tawfeeq, or the Allah-given ability to do anything commendable.

Imam Nawawi has adds the following clause:

“If the sin involves a human's right, it requires a fourth condition, i.e., to absolve oneself from such right. If it is a property, he should return it to its rightful owner. If it is slandering or backbiting, one should ask the pardon of the offended.”

When Ash-Shaytan sees a person preparing for tawbah, one of his tricks is to get the person to delay, though it may be for only a short period of time. The most important thing is to turn to Allah immediately and fully. The greatest scholars have urged people to do tawbah everyday, for both major sins and minor ones. It is a good practice to end everyday with a personal reckoning: Who’s rights have we broken? Where did I fall short today in my deen? And then we turn to Allah in repentance and seek His forgiveness.

Regarding salat, the most important thing that you should focus on is praying the five obligatory prayers in their correct times without delay. Make firm intention not to miss another obligatory prayer as long as you live. If you start strong, it will become very easy with time (the prayer itself requires only a few minutes after all), and you will reach a point where you will hate to delay prayer even a minute.

Keep in mind that a person cannot approach Allah by anything better than that which He has made obligatory. Thus the five daily prayers must be your immediate focus.

Let us never forget the words of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), “He who repents before the sun rises from the West (i.e. the end of the world), Allah will forgive him.” (Muslim)