istiʿdād; manāzil of the tawwābīn; shurūṭ al-tawba (conditions of repentance); tawba al-ināba; tawba al-isticāba; tawba al-naṣūḥ; tawba al-tāʾib; ẓābiṭ al-tawba
(A man) asked Rābiʿa: "I have committed many sins and acts of disobedience; if I repent, will it be accepted?" She replied: "No, on the contrary, if your repentance had been accepted, you would have repented!"
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Know that, in this matter (the subject of repentance), people are divided into three levels. There is no fourth level. One group has been raised in goodness, and the inclination and desire of the nafs (the lower self) for whims and passions has disappeared. However, mistakes of the type called zalla, committed unknowingly and which even the prophets and ṣiddīqūn (the utterly truthful) could not avoid, are excepted. After such a mistake, they return to a qalb (the heart) that is pure, untouched by the intrusion of shahwa (carnal desire), where pleasures do not lead to the unlawful nor result in sin, and where the stains of sin do not dominate. For such a person, observing Allah's rights and persisting in this is extremely easy, its hardship is light, and the obstacles of the nafs are diminished and weakened. This is because their heart is pure. Allah has turned towards them, loved them, and befriended them. A friend does not abandon or forsake a friend, nor does a lover deliver the beloved to danger.
The second group is the one who, after following the desires of the nafs, repents, turns from ignorance and directs themselves to Allah, and regrets the sins they committed in the past—such a person. Allah grants this person the determination and effort not to neglect any obligatory act and not to return to any sin previously committed. Meanwhile, the nafs, by recalling the fleeting pleasure of sin, struggles (mujāhada) to persuade them to continue their habits. They, in turn, struggle to restrain their nafs, frightening it with the punishment that results from sin. The enemy (Satan) calls them to sins they have not committed, thus depriving them of their pleasure. Yet, they remember the ugliness of sin and the great favor of Allah in turning them away from what is displeasing and guiding them to what leads to Allah's riḍā (contentment with God's decree). While this struggle continues, Allah comes to their aid by confirming them (tasdīq), preventing them from succumbing to desires that would debase their nafs. This assistance continues until obedience to Allah becomes easy. Indeed, Allah has promised this: "And those who are guided—He increases them in guidance and gives them their taqwā (means of protection)." (Muḥammad 47:17)
The third group is those who persist in sin, continue in rebellion and heedlessness, whose desires of the nafs have prevailed, and whose fear has been weakened. Nevertheless, they believe that they will be resurrected after death by Allah. Their being sinful does not veil this belief. They also acknowledge that they will be questioned after resurrection, and that their good and bad deeds will lead them to eternal Paradise or Hell, and that, except for those whom Allah wills, the rest will remain in Hell forever. This is the affirmation of iman (faith) in the qalb. With this iman, they have removed denial from their hearts and affirmed their Lord. However, the desires that restrain the heart prevent them from reflection, and the stain of sin prevents them from dhikr (remembrance of God). Yet, within them, there is a thought born from the stirring of iman through remembrance of the Hereafter. But due to the hardness of the heart and the successive veils of heedlessness, this belief cannot find a stable place. Thus, their heart is occupied with dunyā (worldly matters). They cannot recall the fear of Allah, find time to reflect, nor taste the sweetness of dhikr. How could there be room for dhikr, when worldly preoccupations strive to take up space there and heedlessness always prevails! Such a person needs to sever the attachments that cause persistence in heedlessness. (This is tawba-ināba-awba 1072)
After severing these attachments, they repent to Allah for their sins, and join their former companions who, without falling into the aforementioned errors, have turned to their Creator through repentance. (Riʿāya, 19)
Istiʿdād (preparation for death) is of two kinds: The first is obligatory preparation. This is to repent with a repentance that cleanses from errors and sins at the moment of death, feeling regret. For if it were said to someone, "You will die now," they would ask for respite even for a single sin that requires repentance. If there is even one sin for which they feel the need to repent, it means they are not ready to meet their Lord. For the soul will not be consulted before it is taken, and death will come suddenly. If death comes and that sin is still present in them, they cannot be secure from Allah's wrath. How can one be ready to meet Allah while continuing to do things that incur His wrath, not knowing whether death will strike suddenly in a state of heedlessness?
Those who fear meeting Allah with something He dislikes, rush to repentance before death overtakes their souls and prevents repentance, and before regret becomes unacceptable. Out of compassion for themselves, they immediately repent after sinning, lest death seize them in heedlessness. This is the preparation for death that Allah has made obligatory for His servants.
The second is supererogatory preparation: exerting oneself at the highest level both inwardly and outwardly, such as giving away more than one needs. This is to act to such an extent that, if told "You will die tomorrow," it would not be possible to do more. (Riʿāya, 73)
The first maqām (spiritual station) for those who enter the path of Allah Most High is tawba. When (Abū Yaʿqūb) Sūsī was asked what tawba is, he replied: "It is to turn from what knowledge (the Qur'an and Sunnah) condemns to what it praises."
When Sahl ʿAbdullāh (al-Tustarī) was asked what tawba is, he said: "Tawba is not to forget your sin." Junayd, however, replied to the same question: "Tawba is to forget your sin."
The definition of tawba given by Sūsī is the tawba of murīds (aspirants) who have newly turned to the path of Truth, sometimes acting in their own favor, sometimes against it. The definition given by Sahl ʿAbdullāh is the tawba of murīds. The definition given by Junayd is the tawba of those who have realized (the truth), who do not even remember their sins due to the effect of divine ʿaẓama (majesty) and constant dhikr upon their hearts. Ruwaym Aḥmad's statement about tawba—"Tawba is to repent even from repentance"—is of the same kind.
When Dhū al-Nūn was asked what tawba is, he replied: "The tawba of the common people is from sins, the tawba of the khawāṣṣ (the elect) is from heedlessness."
tawba-ināba-awba 1073 ...Abū Ḥusayn Nūrī also said: "Tawba is to repent from everything other than Allah." (Lumaʿ, 68)
When Junayd Muḥammad was asked about the reality of tawba, he replied: "It is to forget your sin." When Sahl was asked the same question, he said: "It is not to forget your sin." The meaning of Junayd's statement is this: You must remove the pleasure and trace of the sinful act from your heart so completely that nothing remains in your spirit. Thus, you become as if you have never known this sin in your life.
Ruwaym said: "Tawba is to repent even from repentance." The meaning is the same as in Rābiʿa's statement: "I seek forgiveness from Allah for the lack of sincerity in my seeking forgiveness!"
When Ḥusayn Maghāzilī was asked what tawba is, he said: "Are you asking about the tawba of ināba or the tawba of isticāba?" When the questioner asked, "What is the tawba of ināba?" he replied: "It is to fear Allah by sensing the greatness of His power over you." When asked, "What is the tawba of isticāba?" he said: "It is to feel shame before Allah, thinking of His nearness to you."
Dhū al-Nūn said: "The tawba of the common people is from sin, the tawba of the khawāṣṣ (awliyāʾ, friends of God) is from heedlessness, and the tawba of the anbiyāʾ (prophets) is from seeing themselves incapable of attaining what others have attained."
(Abū Ḥusayn) Nūrī said: "Tawba is to repent from everything you remember besides Allah (the ʿārif repents when remembering anything other than Allah)."
Ibrāhīm Daqāq said: "Tawba is to become a face without a back, just as before you had a back without a face towards Allah (just as you used to turn your back to Him, now you turn your face to Him in such a way that you will never turn away again)." (Taʿarruf, 64)
In the matter of tawba, the servant must possess ten qualities: First, not to disobey Allah, which is obligatory. Second, if maʿṣiya (sin) is encountered as a test (imtiḥān), not to persist in it. Third, to repent to Allah for maʿṣiya. Fourth, to feel remorse for excesses against Allah. Fifth, to adhere to the path of uprightness in obedience until death. Sixth, to fear punishment. Seventh, to hope for maghfira (forgiveness). Eighth, to confess the sin. Ninth, to believe that Allah has decreed repentance for him and can turn him away from this path. Tenth, to perform righteous deeds as kaffāra (expiation) for previous actions. (Kūt, I, 170)
When Ḥasan al-Baṣrī was asked what tawba al-naṣūḥ is, he replied: "Tawba al-naṣūḥ is to feel remorse in the heart, to seek istighfār (forgiveness) with the tongue, to abandon forbidden acts with the body, and to resolve not to return to them."
Abū Muḥammad Sahl said: "There is nothing more necessary for people than tawba. And there is no punishment more severe (shiddat) for them than losing the knowledge of tawba." He also said: "Whoever says tawba is not obligatory is a disbeliever. Whoever is content with his statement is also a disbeliever." He also said (on another occasion): "The true penitent is the one who repents at every moment and with every breath, even from heedlessness in acts of obedience." (Kūt, 1, 179)
Abū Muḥammad Sahl says: "The first thing commanded to the beginner murīd is tawba. This is to turn blameworthy actions into praiseworthy ones. This person imposes upon themselves things like seclusion and silence. Their tawba is only valid with lawful food. But unless they fulfill Allah's rights over creation and themselves, they cannot manage to eat lawful food. This is only possible if all their movements and stillness are for Allah alone, and if they are not deluded by righteous deeds (yuzunden) into istidrāj (gradual deviation). The ḥaqīqa (inner reality) of tawba is to abandon even the blessings that are in one's favor, so as not to enter the domain of what is against oneself. This should not be postponed indefinitely, but one must obligate themselves to tawba in the present moment." (Kūt, 1, 181)
When Dhū al-Nūn was asked what tawba is, he replied: "The tawba of the common people is from sins, the tawba of the khawāṣṣ is from heedlessness." (Qushayrī, 9)
Tawba has various causes, degrees, and types. The first of these is the awakening of the heart from the sleep of heedlessness and the servant's recognition of their bad state. All of these require careful attention to the prohibitive commands that come to the heart from the Truth Most High.