al-Tawba ila Allah
- Author died
- 1439 AH
- Editions
- Dār Balansiyyah lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzī‘
al-Tawba ila Allah (Repentance to God) is a treatise on Islamic spirituality and jurisprudence by the Saudi scholar Salih al-Sadlan (d. 1439 AH / 2017 CE), focusing on the theological foundations, legal rules, and practical dimensions of repentance in Islam.
Composition and Editions
The author originally composed the work in 1406 AH. After three printings were exhausted, al-Sadlan prepared a revised fourth edition completed in Riyadh on 29 Rabi' al-Awwal 1416 AH, in which he incorporated additional scriptural evidence from the Quran and the Sunnah along with brief explanatory notes.
Content and Structure
The work defines repentance linguistically as "turning back" (al-ruju'), and legally as abandoning a sin out of fear of God, recognizing its ugliness, experiencing genuine remorse, resolving firmly never to repeat it, and making amends where possible. The treatise is organized into thematic discussions covering the concept and rulings of repentance:
- Virtues and Quranic Meanings: The text outlines various Quranic usages of the term tawba, including remorse (al-nadam), pardoning (al-tajawuz), and turning away from an act, highlighting the divine promise of forgiveness and spiritual blessings.
- Obligation and Immediacy: Repentance is presented as an immediate duty (fard 'ala al-fawr), and the author asserts that delaying repentance (ta'khir al-tawba) is itself an independent sin that necessitates repentance.
- Conditions and Validity: Sincere repentance requires devotion solely to God (ikhlas), immediate cessation of the transgression, deep remorse, a firm commitment to abandon the sin permanently, and the absence of persistent inner intent to relapse ('adam al-israr).
- Time Limits: The treatise explains that the window for repentance remains open throughout a person's life until the moment of the death rattle (al-ghargara) or until the major cosmic sign of the sun rising from the west occurs.
- Types of Sins and Redress: The book divides sins into those against God's rights and those concerning human rights (huquq al-adamiyyin). For unfulfilled divine duties that can be made up (such as missed prayers, fasts, or expiations), performance or compensation is required alongside repentance. For infringements against people involving property or physical injury, restitution or seeking pardon is required; where direct restoration is impossible (such as hidden slander or backbiting), the offender must pray for the victim, seek their forgiveness, and speak well of them in the gatherings where the wrong occurred.
- Specific Sins and Omissions: Al-Sadlan discusses repenting from the omission of recommended good deeds (tark al-hasanat), as well as specific major violations, including polytheism (shirk), disbelief (kufr), hypocrisy (nifaq), religious innovation (bid'a), fornication and slander (zina and qadhf), usury (riba), and tyranny (zulm).
- Practical Guidance and Signs: The work addresses practical means to sever attachment to sin, the validity of repentance for a person physically incapacitated from repeating an offense, and the signs of genuine repentance, such as an improved moral state after turning back to God.
- Doctrinal Issues and Tiers of Penitents: The author examines whether relapsing into a sin revives the liability of previously forgiven offenses, concluding that the correct view is that past sins erased through repentance do not return. The book concludes by categorizing penitents into four descending spiritual ranks based on their steadfastness upon repentance until death.
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