Uncertain of the answer, some turn to religious men, imams but seldom true scholars and muftis. Many who are contacted give funny answers and extort money rather than guiding them in the light of Qur'an and Sunnah. There are many examples that if one sees green color in one's dream, the repentance is accepted, if white colour is seen it indicates acceptance on hold, and black color means straight rejection. Some advise to look for the first sound one hears after getting up - the barking of dog means rejection and mewing of a cat means acceptance. And the list is never ending.
Those who see the negative indications, there life is ruined and many go in depression. They fail to question how can they predict acceptance or rejection of repentance, for this is exclusive domain of Allah and no one else. If was turn to Qur'an and Sunnah, we will be enlightened to know the answer. In fact, the Qur’an and Sunnah give clear assurances that true repentance (tawbah) is always accepted — provided it is sincere, for Allah is Ar Rahman (Most Kind and Gracious ), Ar Rahim (The Most Merciful ) and At Tawwab - The Acceptor of Repentance.
Let’s explore this carefully with authentic Qur’anic verses and hadith, step by step:
Allah’s Promise in the Qur’an
- Allah accepts sincere repentance
- إِلَّا مَن تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا فَأُولَٰئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ حَسَنَاتٍ ۗ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا
- “Except those who repent, believe, and do righteous deeds — for them Allah will change their evil deeds into good deeds. And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.” — (Surah Al-Furqan 25:70–71)
- Meaning: When repentance is genuine, Allah not only forgives but even transforms past sins into good deeds as a sign of His mercy.
- Allah loves those who repent
- إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ التَّوَّابِينَ وَيُحِبُّ الْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ
- “Indeed, Allah loves those who repent and purify themselves.” — Surah Al-Baqarah 2:222
- Meaning: Forgiveness is not only granted — Allah expresses love for those who return to Him sincerely.
- Repentance is always open
- قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
- “Say, O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.” — (Surah Az-Zumar 39:53)
- Meaning: No sin is too great for forgiveness — as long as one turns to Allah before death with remorse and sincerity.
- Allah accepts repentance until the final moment
- “Allah only accepts the repentance of those who do evil in ignorance and then repent soon after; it is they to whom Allah will turn in forgiveness…” — Surah An-Nisā’ 4:17–18
- But not for those who delay until death (4:18).
- This is most important when seeking repentance. Allah promises that He would accept our repentance again and again - but when the angel of death knocks at our door, then the door to repentance also shuts for ever.
- So repent again and again, for one never knows when our time in this world comes to an abrupt end with warning.
The above reference from Qur'an make it amply clear that those who sincerely repent with the pledge not to err again, their repentance is accepted and are thus forgiven. Therefore, one does not have to worry about the prospects of acceptance of repentance for if are still indecisive, then it means:
- We have not sincerely repented.
- We have not made a solemn pledge of not repeating our sins, and that
- We do not trust the Divine commitment in Qur'an.
- We have weak Iman - faith in Allah: Which is the main reason that such questions abound our brain (of course initiated by the Satan to make us weary of our Iman and losing confidence of being forgiven).
If this is our state of mind, then we need to make an appraisal of our faith and read Qur'an with understanding and thus seeking guidance that would keep us away from the sins and wrongdoing.
The Prophet ﷺ on the Signs of Accepted Repentance
- Allah accepts as long as one repents before death: The Prophet ﷺ said: “Allah accepts the repentance of the servant so long as the soul has not reached the throat.” — Tirmidhi 3537; Ibn Mājah 4253; graded Sahih by al-Albani
- Allah rejoices more than anyone at repentance:
- The Prophet ﷺ said: “Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His servant than one of you who loses his camel in a desert and then finds it suddenly.” — Sahih al-Bukhari (6309), Sahih Muslim (2747)
- Meaning: This shows Allah’s deep mercy — He longs to forgive those who return to Him.
- The Door of Repentance Never Closes
- The Prophet ﷺ said: “Indeed, Allah stretches out His hand at night to accept the repentance of those who sinned during the day, and He stretches out His hand during the day to accept the repentance of those who sinned at night, until the sun rises from the west.” — Sahih Muslim (2759)
- That is Allah’s mercy is continuous, not occasional — the only limit is the coming of the Last Hour or death.
How we can feel that our repentance was accepted
Having shared reference from Qur'an and Sunnah, let us find out how can we know acceptance of our repentance, if at all we want some signs from Allah. Scholars (like Ibn al-Qayyim and Imam al-Ghazālī) mention signs of accepted repentance, based on Qur’an and Sunnah:
1. You start to sincerely regret the sin and feeling genuine sorrow for sin (Tawbah means “to turn back” — Qur’an 66:8)
2. You start to stay away from sins - gradual abandonment of sin to total abandonment (Prophet ﷺ said: “Remorse is repentance” — Ibn Mājah 4252)
3. A resolve creeps into you to stand to your ground and never to return to a life of sins. You resolve not to return (Al-Furqan 25:70–71)
4. You start to replace sin with good deeds, like charity, prayer, helping others (Hud 11:114)
5. Your heart start to feel peace and you become closer to Allah (Al-Ra’d 13:28)
6. Suddenly you start to feel lighter as if some heavy burden has been taken off your body.
When these are found, one can hope with confidence that Allah has accepted his repentance — because Allah never breaks His promise.
“And who is more faithful to his promise than Allah?” — (Surah At-Tawbah 9:111)
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.
Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.
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