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[editor's note: please review the article:
http://islameasy.org/Taubah_Benefits.php ]

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Tau'bah (Seeking Forgiveness)
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Allah (Subhanahu WaTaala), the all-Merciful and all-Forgiving, declares in the Holy Qur'an:

'Say: O My slaves who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah, verily Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.' [Qur'an 39: 53]

It is the nature of mankind to be forgetful and to commit sins. However, Allah has given us the ability to rectify ourselves by turning to Him and begging for His forgiveness. Our mountains of evil deeds are nothing before the vast ocean of the mercy of Allah.

Abu Dhar RadiyAllahu `anhu reports that Rasulullah Sallallahu `alaihi wasallam in a Hadith Qudsi (a hadith in which the Blessed Prophet s quotes Allah) said: 'Indeed Allah the Almighty and Majestic says:

'O My slave! Verily, as long as you worship Me and have hope in Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done; O My slave! If you meet Me with an earthful of sins, but do not associate any partner with Me, I would grant you a forgiveness as great as the whole world.' (Musnad Ahmad)

Committing sins may make you sorrowful, depressed and deeply disappointed with yourself. But if you return to Allah with a few tears and beseech Him for mercy, He will certainly forgive you. There is no other door to knock to solve our issues. None can forgive sins except Him. He calls us to the abode of peace (Paradise); He is the Almighty who hides our faults and He alone can replace our bad deeds with good deeds.

The door of repentance is always open for a person until he dies or until the sun rises from the west, whichever comes first. When something is a necessity Allah provides it in abundance like air and water. Since we are always sinful and negligent of Allah and Satan and the self are always inciting us towards evil, therefore tau'bah is provided in abundance so we can turn back to Allah.

Allah has created a solution to every sickness even if it may be the poison of a snake. Satan and sins are a major sickness and the cure for it is in tau'bah and istighfar, crying in front of Allah with deep regret in the heart.

Whenever our tau'bah breaks we should make tau'bah again. Some people despair and think they are sinners and will go to Hellfire. Tau'bah is so powerful that it can take a person from the lowest levels of Hellfire and raise him to the highest levels of Paradise.

Allah (Subhanahu WaTaala), the Lord of Mercy, puts mercy in the hearts of every mother in the world by which they love and care for their children. We make mistakes but Allah overlooks our faults. Our worship and good deeds are not perfect but Allah accepts them and multiplies the reward.

Do not fall into minor sins. Minor sins leads to major sins the way a spark may start a fire and burn down a house. A believer should run away from sin as one runs away from a snake. Even a minor sin makes a true believer restless as if a mountain is above his head and is about to fall on him and crush him.

Make a U-turn in life, wash off your slate of deeds ' eliminate the bad deeds and protect your good deeds.

Method of making Tau'bah:
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One should make sincere tau'bah to Allah for one's sins. The requisites of tau'bah are the following:
1. To immediately abstain from the sin.
2. To regret and wish one had never indulged in the sin.
3. To resolve to never commit the sin again.

4. If one have violated the rights of another person it is necessary to seek forgiveness from that person.

After making sincere tau'bah be confident in the acceptance of your tau'bah. Allah (Subhanahu WaTaala) is all-Merciful and all-Forgiving. He is always ready to accept the repentance of His sinful slaves. Allah says in Surah Al-e-Imran:

'And those who, when they have committed Fahishah or wronged themselves with evil, remember Allah and ask forgiveness for their sins - and none can forgive sins but Allah - And do not persist in what (wrong) they have done, while they know.' [Al-Qur'an 3:135]

After repenting, one should try to live according to the will of Allah u i.e. the Qur'an and Sunnah. This will bring the utmost peace and tranquility into one's life.

Benefits of Tau'bah:
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The Qur'an describes the story of Prophet Nuh (AS),

"I said (to them): Ask forgiveness from your Lord; Verily, He is Oft-Forgiving; He will send rain to you in abundance; And give you increase in wealth and children, and bestow on you gardens and bestow on you rivers. " [Surah Nooh ,chapter 71:10-12]

One who makes Tau'bah reestablishes his relationship with the Creator of the heavens and earth.

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