Tawbah Part 1
Section 24 of 24 · Faraid in Islam · Ustadh Mahmud Kurkcu
Holding Fast to Sincere Tawbah
May Allah (swt) enable sincere tawbah. It is fard upon every Muslim to make tawbah on a continuous basis — not once in a lifetime, but continuously: its conditions have been set out, its meaning explained, and the duties and obligations owed toward maintaining it, and toward those who have made it, have been explained as well.
As Sūrat al-ʿAṣr is recited in closing:
وَٱلْعَصْرِ إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ لَفِى خُسْرٍ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ
“(I swear) by the Time, man is in a state of loss indeed, except those who believed and did righteous deeds, and exhorted each other to follow truth, and exhorted each other to observe patience.” (103:1–3)
the closing supplication asks that Allah (swt) make His servants among the tawwābīn, among the mutaṭahhirīn who purify themselves, among His righteous servants, and among those upon whom there shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.
***
* Kept as heard. The word "Sanjoon" occurs four times in the desert account, describing the sameness of the terrain and a resting place giving shade; it could not be identified with confidence, so it is kept as heard rather than guessed at.
** Kept as said. In the best-known version of this account (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, the ḥadīth of al-Ghāmidiyyah), Rasūlullāh (peace be upon him) says her repentance was such that, divided among seventy of the people of Madīnah, it would have sufficed them all — not eighty people of her own family.