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How to Feel Remorse for Sin in Islam

02 November, 2023
Q Whenever I do a sin, I seek forgiveness from God but I do struggle to achieve feelings and emotions of regret. But I know in my mind what I have done is wrong and unacceptable and not proud of it. Will that invalidate my tawbah?

Answer

Ask the Scholar Editor
02 November, 2023

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. 

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

In this fatwa:

You need to try your best to induce a feeling of remorse.  You can do it best by:

  1. Thinking of the many blessings of Allah and how by indulging in sins, you have earned His wrath and anger.
  2. Thinking where you would end up if you were to die in a sinful state without seeking repentance.
  3. Thinking of the blessings of Allah which you could have used for doing virtuous acts. You abused them to indulge in sins.
  4. Thinking of the dire warnings of Allah and the Prophet (peace be upon) against those who persist in sins.
  5. Visualizing the torments of hell-fire.

In responding to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:

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You need to try your best to induce a feeling of remorse.  You can do it best by:

  1. Thinking of the many blessings of Allah and how by indulging in sins, you have earned His wrath and anger.
  2. Thinking where you would end up if you were to die in a sinful state without seeking repentance.
  3. Thinking of the blessings of Allah which you could have used for doing virtuous acts. You abused them to indulge in sins.
  4. Thinking of the dire warnings of Allah and the Prophet (peace be upon) against those who persist in sins.
  5. Visualizing the torments of hell-fire.

By meditating on these points continuously you can hope to engender a feeling of remorse and sorrow.

Also, never fail to seek the help of Allah to open your heart and remove the filth that might have sealed your heart.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “When a person sins, for the first time, it falls on his heart like a black dot. If he repents and makes amends, the stain is removed. If, however, he persists in sin and commits it, again and again, the black stain expands, and it ends up covering the entire heart. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said that is the state of the sealing of the heart, (mentioned in the Quran). When that happens, the person loses all sense of discrimination between good and bad; instead, he ends up considering good as bad and bad as good.” (At-Tirmidhi)

May Allah save us from reaching this abysmal pit. And may He inspire to return to Him in repentance and practice constancy of istighfar.

Almighty Allah knows best.