‘You’ve made a mess, you better clean it up!’ How many times have you heard that phrase? Whether from your mother, your aunt, your uncle, your spouse, your sibling…it’s just the same with repentance…but on a grander, more serious scale. Well you made a mistake….might as well fix it up!

Sadly, our souls are inclined to evil; it’s part of their nature. They call us to indulge in everything contrary to what’s right.  Allah says in the Qur’an, “Indeed the soul is a persistent enjoiner of evil,” (Surah Yusuf, 12:53)

Nevertheless, we have a duty to set it right, when we fall into sins, by repenting to Allah. It is an obligation upon us that we repent when we sin. Yet, sometimes we find ourselves, disinclined to repent. It seems a horribly, sad situation.

What causes this state of affairs?

There are several reasons why this occurs. In this article we will look at the root cause. That is having a sick heart, and underrating sins. Just like when a person falls physically ill they seek out treatment, when a person’s heart is spiritually sick, it too needs medication. Just a like a small cold can leave you feeling feeble, a small disease affecting the heart can render a person’s iman weak, which in turn causes negligence with regards to the limits of Allah. Just like sickness leaves you bedridden, sins on the other hand may leave you in the depths of hell fire. I did warn you it was more serious!

To remedy a spiritually sick heart, a person must seek out ways to come closer to Allah, thereby pumping up their iman. We cannot cover all the methods here, but I will mention a few in brief. A person should begin to provide therapy for their heart by spending time with the Qur’an and reflecting upon its various ayats, as it will help to clean up the darkness that has enveloped the heart. A person should ponder upon the reminders, warnings and glad tidings found throughout the Qur’an.

They should make duaa to Allah to allow them to come closer to Him. Establishing Tahajjud, at a time when everyone else is asleep to reflect upon their state of affairs, is a great opportunity. For at that time of the night, there is nothing to distract a person, nothing to worry about, and nothing to do next. Furthermore, the arrows of the night never miss, for as we know, Allah descends in a manner that befits His majesty to the lowest heaven during the last part of the night, and answers the supplication of those invoking Him.

A person with a sick heart, should seek out gatherings of dhikr and where Allah is remembered much. For the atmosphere will increase his desire to come closer to Allah. Similarly they should educate themselves with knowledge that will cause them to fear Allah, and thereby feel regret for that which they committed.

Secondly, underrating sins. If a person is unaware that what he does is a sin, he will let it pass without thinking twice about it. In this case, it is important that a person is acquainted with what are sins and what are the boundaries set by Allah. A person should make himself accountable for every action he does be it small or big. He should be aware of every deed he performs, and judge whether it is correct before he does it. He should train himself to recognise sins, and abstain from them. He should make it part of his daily routine to make istighfaar at least seventy times a day, as a safety net, in case he falls into sins. A person should also stay away from what leads to sin. As the path to sinning is just as dangerous as the sin itself.

Moreover, if a person does not recognise his sin to be serious, he will ignore it. If he sees, every sin as a small one, he will continue doing them until they make up a mountain. Rather every sin, should be magnified in his brain so that he feels regret and performs a proper repentance. By doing so he will teach himself, that the pain of regret and sin is bitter, and abstention will come easily to him.

The prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Beware of minor sins, for they accumulate until they doom a man.” (Collected by Ahmad) In a similar narration he (peace be upon him) said, “O Aisha, beware of deeds that are regarded as insignificant for they have a pursuer from Allah.” (Ibn Majah, Saheeh by Albaani)

These are just two of the reasons why people fall into sins, and find it difficult to repent. Inshallah in the next part of this article we will cover another reason or two, as to why we find it difficult to repent sincerely to Allah.

Remember, Ibn Mas’ud narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him said), “the one who repents from sin is like the one who did not commit a sin.” (Ibn Majah, Sahih by Albaani)

Bibi Zainab Dowlut