Repentance, Conversion, Return

(Article dated 10.01.2022)

Repentance; the dictionary meaning of the word is ‘to turn back’.

The technical meaning, according to religion, is to abandon words and deeds considered ugly and return to a state praised by religion. It is to turn towards Allah.

Repentance in the Qur’an

‘O you who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere repentance! (Only then) may your Lord forgive your sins…’ (At-Tahrim, 8)

‘O believers! All of you turn to Allah in repentance.’ (Nur, 24/31)

‘Allah desires to accept your repentance; but those who follow their lusts desire that you should stray completely.’ (en-Nisâ, 27)

“Except those who repent and believe and do righteous deeds. Allah will turn their evil deeds into good deeds. Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” (Furkan, 25/70)

“Whoever repents and does righteous deeds, he returns to Allah with his repentance accepted.” (Furkan, 25/71)

“Do they not know that Allah accepts the repentance of His servants and takes their alms? For Allah is the Acceptor of Repentance, the Most Merciful.” (et-Tawba, 104)

“Indeed, Allah loves those who repent frequently and purify themselves.” (Al-Baqarah, 2:222)

Repentance in the Hadith

Abdullah b. Ma’kil narrates: My father was with Abdullah b. Mas’ud when he heard him say:

‘I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say, “Regret (for sin) is repentance.”’ (Ibn Hanbal, I, 423)

‘Every person can make many mistakes. But the best of those who make mistakes are those who repent frequently.’ (Ibn Majah, Zuhd, 30/4251)

Esma b. Hakam al-Fazarî narrates: I heard Ali (ra) say the following: According to what Abu Bakr told me: He heard the Messenger of Allah (sav) say: ‘If a person commits a sin, then takes a proper ablution, then stands up and prays two rak’ahs and asks Allah for forgiveness and repents, Allah will surely forgive him and accept his repentance.’ (Abu Dawud, Witr, 26)

According to Abu Ubayda ibn Abdullah, who narrated from his father (Abdullah ibn Mas’ud), the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: ‘He who repents from his sin is like one who has not sinned.’ (Ibn Majah, Zuhd, 30

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:

‘Just as one of you rejoices when he finds his lost animal, Allah rejoices more than that when one of you repents.’ (Muslim, Tawbah, 2)

Our Prophet used to repent as follows: “O Allah, You are my Lord, there is no god but You. You created me, and I am Your servant. I am faithful to my covenant with You as much as I can, and I trust in Your promise. I seek refuge in You from the evil of what I have done. I acknowledge Your blessings upon me. I also confess my sins. Forgive my sins, for there is no one else who can forgive sins except You.” (Bukhari, Du’a, 2, 16; Abu Dawud, Adab, 100-101)

Inâbe

Inabe is a higher level of repentance.

The literal meaning of the word inabe is to return, to turn back repeatedly, to revert to something.

Its technical meaning is to sincerely submit to Allah, to turn to Him and to repent.

Repentance is fleeing from one’s visible sins, while Inabe is fleeing from one’s inner flaws and turning to Allah the Almighty.

Inabe is the attribute of those close to Allah, His righteous servants/saints. We see this in the following verses.

“Paradise is brought near to the righteous. It is not far away. (It is said to them:) ‘This is the Paradise that you were promised. It is for everyone who turns to Allah and keeps His commands… It is for those who fear the Most Gracious, even though they cannot see Him, and come with a heart that has turned to Allah.’ (Kaf, 50/31-33).

“Allah guides those who turn to Him sincerely.” (Rad, 13/27) From this verse, it is possible to understand that this word means to turn to Allah sincerely, to return to Him.

The Qur’an narrates that Ibrahim (as) and those who believed in him prayed inâbe; they said:

‘Our Lord! We have put our trust in You, we have turned to You; the return is to You.’ (Mümtehine, 60/4)

Inâbe is also called ‘biat,’ which in Sufism means the promise given by a candidate disciple to remain completely committed to the perfect guide and the commands he will give. Intisap means the same thing.

Evbe

The dictionary meaning of the word evbe is to turn from one place to another according to one’s will.

As a term, evbe, like repentance, means to renounce one’s sins and enter the path of obedience to Allah.

“Your Lord knows best what is within you. If you are good people, know that Allah is forgiving to those who turn to evbe. (Isra, 17/25)

Evbe is one of the characteristics of the Prophets and Messengers. Indeed, in the Qur’an, this attribute is used for Prophet David (as) (Isra, 17/10), Prophet Solomon (as) (Sad, 38/30), and Prophet Job (as): 

“For Prophet Job (as): What a beautiful servant he is. He was truly one who always repented/turned to Allah, supplicating and imploring Him.” (Sad, 38/44).

In conclusion;

Repentance is turning away from visible sins and everything else and returning to the Truth:

Inâbe is turning away from unseen sins in the inner world, all kinds of material and spiritual obstacles, and turning towards Allah.

Evbe is turning towards Allah by sincerely begging and pleading with Him.

Evbe is an inner ache.

According to some scholars, repentance actually consists of three parts: the beginning is repentance, the middle is inabe, and the end is evbe.” (See Kuşeyrî, p.94).

From a Sufi perspective, seeking refuge in Allah out of fear of punishment is repentance; becoming lost in Him out of a desire to preserve one’s status and rank is inâbe; and closing oneself off from everything other than Him is evbe.

Vesselam.

Source:

T.D.V, Islamic Encyclopaedia, entry on ‘Repentance’.

D.İ.B, Islam with Hadiths, vol. 2, p. 97.