Tawbatun nasuh

3:51:5

2023-09-09

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According to great researcher al-Shaykh al-Bahai, there are several meanings of tawbatun nasuh. A few of them are mentioned below:

Tawbah that 'advises' the people, i.e. it invites them to simulate him (the repenter) on account of the good effect produced in the repenter, or Tawbah that 'counsels' the repenter to root out sins and never return to them again.

Tawbah that is done purely for Allah's sake, similar to the pure honey that is free from wax, and thus called `asalun nasuh. Sincerity requires that the remorse should be on account of the ugliness of sins and the displeasure of Allah, and not from fear of the hellfire.

The word nasuh is also related to nasabah which means tailoring, because Tawbah sews together the body of faith which is torn by sin, and because it joins the penitent person to Allah's awliya' (friends) and His lovers in the same way that separate pieces of cloth are joined together by tailoring.

Yet another interpretation says that nasuh is an attribute of the penitent and tawbatun nasuh is a Tawbah whose performer admonishes himself to take part in a perfect repentance until the effects of sins are totally purged from the heart. This task is only attained by causing the soul to taste regret and grief and by clearing its darkness caused by past sins with the light of virtuous actions.

The sooner, the better...

Successful Tawbah is a difficult task. Indulging in sins, especially major and mortal ones, cause a person to become totally forgetful of Tawbah. If the tree of sins growing in the orchard of the human heart reaches maturity and its roots become strong, the results are calamitous, causing a person to turn completely away from repentance.

Even when the thought of Tawbah occasionally comes to his mind, he postpones it from one day to another, and from one month to the next, telling himself, "I will make sound repentance at the end of my life and in old age." This is wishful thinking. Such a person cannot perform Tawbah after the roots of sinfulness have grown deep into his personality. The best time for Tawbah is youth when sins are fewer, the inner darkness of the heart is incomplete and all the conditions of Tawbah are easier to fulfil. The opportunity should be availed at all costs and one shouldn't pay heed to satanic whisperings to postpone Tawbah. And therefore, one should do Tawbah as soon as possible after a sin is committed. An intelligent person who realizes this fact, abstains from sins, and undoes wrong committed in the past.

His penitent heart filled with remorse, develops a firm determination to quit sinful life. Allah helps him and if his Tawbah is sincere, he becomes the beloved of Allah as mentioned in the holy verse: "Verily Allah loves the repentant" (2: 222)

Imam 'Ali (a) said: "If you want to win His blessings in the next world, today is the day of preparation while tomorrow is the day of reward. The place to proceed to is Paradise while the place of doom is Hell. Is there no one among you to repent for his deeds before his death, compensate for wrongs he has done, and do good before the calamity of retribution descends upon him?"