11/15/2025
REPENTANCE AND HOPE
“If you find yourself having less hope in God when you make a mistake, then realise that you are only relying on your work, not on God’s Mercy.” - Ibn AtaAllah
In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy
When I have an intention to start or re-start a spiritual journey to God, I have to ask myself: where should I start? And what should I take with me on this journey? Should I recall the good deeds I have done and take them as my provisions in this journey? The answer given by Ibn Ata in these words of wisdom is: No! Do not rely even on your good deeds, rather start your journey to God by simply turning your heart to Him, putting your trust in Him alone, and hoping only for His Mercy and Bounty to carry you through your journey.
However, one might ask: Is not receiving God’s mercy a result of good deeds? And, does God’s mercy and bounty stop when I have no good deeds? The answer is no. Now if God were to take humans immediately to task for all the evil that they do, He would not leave a single living creature upon the face of earth (Quran 16:61). Therefore, it is not a matter of ‘deserving’ or ‘earning’ God’s mercy and bounties. It is a matter of relying on God’s mercy and bounties to receive them despite one’s shortcomings. This is the right start for the right course.
But turning to God and hoping for His mercy must be accompanied by repentance from one’s mistakes and errors. According to God’s universal laws, in order to put something in a certain place, there must be room and space for this addition. Faith and light is no exception. Thus, if we want to fill our hearts with faith, light, and God’s remembrance, we should first find room in our hearts that is not occupied with other sorts of objects and desires. Only then can we fill our hearts with goodness, or, according to the Sufi expression: Purity, then beauty, then light (al-takhalli thum al-tahalli thum al-tajalli).
Therefore, we must start this journey by repenting to God of our shortcomings. And always, O you believers—all of you—turn unto God in repentance, so that you might attain to a happy state! (Quran 24:31).
Repentance should be accompanied by a certain feeling, as Ibn Ata emphasises here in these words of wisdom—hope in God. But why is hope necessary for repentance? And how does this relate to one’s journey? This is what Ibn Ata explains here. He says: “If you find yourself having less hope in God when you make a mistake, then realise that you are only relying on your work, not on God’s Mercy.” This means that if you are keen to rely on God’s mercy and put all your trust in Him, make sure that you are not self-righteous! Do not think that you have achieved virtue because of your efforts and deeds. And among the signs of one’s relying on his deeds, more than on God’s mercy and bounty, is the decrease in hope when one makes a mistake. Hope in Him should always be at the same level.
Scholars count four necessary conditions for a correct repentance. First, one should feel remorse for the mistake he made. Second, one should stop making the mistake, if it is a continuing habit. Third, one should have a sincere determination not to repeat the same mistake in the future. Fourth, if the mistake relates to people’s rights, one must return to people what one owes them. A sincere repentant must meet these four conditions.
The first condition is feeling remorse for the mistake. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Remorse is repentance.” The second condition is to refrain from committing the mistake itself; a hypocrite is one who continues the mistake while claiming repentance from it. The third condition is to have a sincere determination never to repeat the same mistake in the future. One cannot feel regret about a mistake and give it up, while also having an intention to commit the mistake again in the near or distant future.
But if it happens that—God forbid—one falls into the same error again, the only solution is to repeat the same process again, that is, renew the repentance, renew the remorse and regret, and decide not to fall again. And so on. One must know that God is Most Forgiving and Most Merciful. God does not mind accepting one’s (sincere) repentance again and again. On the contrary, God is pleased when His servant repents to Him, as the Prophet said.
As for the fourth condition, scholars say that if the mistake one has committed relates to people’s rights, one must make amends. For example, if one unlawfully takes something, it must be returned. If an injustice is committed, it must be corrected. Scholars also mention that one must seek people’s pardon if one speaks ill of them. And so on.
Ibn Ata assumes the fulfilment of these conditions, and adds that one must have a feeling of hope in the Lord. This is not a “condition” but rather an ethic (with God). These it is who may hope for God’s grace: for God is Much-Forgiving, a Dispenser of Grace (Quran 2:218).
Sometimes, hope is lost, and one asks himself: How should I look forward to God’s grace after making all these mistakes? How will God accept my repentance? This questioning itself is a mistake! A feeling that your mistakes are too great and too many for God to forgive goes against the very belief in God, the Merciful. This will cause one to lose hope in God’s mercy and eventually lead to despair and hopelessness. And who—other than those who have utterly lost their way—could ever abandon the hope of their Sustainer’s grace? (Quran 15:56).
One who loses hope is not really relying on God. Rather, one is relying on his weak self, limited mind, and humble actions. Of course, this does not mean that he should stop working and say that he has hope. This is also wrong. Relying on God is a feeling in the heart while the body is in action.
Here, Ibn Ata says that, regardless of how grave one’s mistakes, they should not affect one’s hope in God’s mercy. If one repents sincerely to God, God surely will accept his repentance. The Prophet is reported to have said: “A person who has repented of a sin sincerely is exactly like the person who has never sinned at all.” And he said: “God says: O son of Adam, as long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind! O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth, I would forgive you, and I shall not mind.”
Hope should not be affected by the gravity of one’s mistakes. Rather, one should make a sincere intention to repent to God and simply expect His mercy. The Prophet also said: “God says: I am as My servant expects Me to be! So, let him think of Me as he wishes.”
Here Ibn Ata says, if you find yourself having less hope in God when you make a mistake, then realise that you are only relying on your work, not on God’s mercy. And this meaning is similar to the meaning of the hadith in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) says: “None amongst you can enter Paradise because of his deeds alone.” The Companions asked: “God’s Messenger, not even you?” The Prophet said: “Not even myself, unless God bestows His forgiveness and mercy on me.”
In this hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) says: “There is none whose deeds alone would entitle him to enter Paradise.” Does this mean that we lose hope in God’s mercy? Of course not. What is meant is that we must not to rely on our deeds, but place our trust in God’s mercy. This is the same message that Ibn Ata conveyed in his words of wisdom.
But so much hope should not turn into a feeling of immunity, that is, to feel immune and saved from God’s punishment, regardless of what you do. And they say, “The fire will most certainly not touch us for more than a limited number of days” (Quran 2:80). This verse was revealed regarding some of the previous nations, those who believed that they are God’s chosen people, regardless of their actions and regardless of what they do in this life. Nowadays, some Muslims think that as long as they are Muslims, they can do whatever they want and they will not be harmed. God says: But none feels secure from God’s deep devising save people who are lost (Quran 7:99). Hope should not become a false state of immunity or a guarantee that God will bestow His mercy regardless of what one does. The only guarantee is one’s actual admission to Paradise. Abu Bakr al- Siddiq (may God be pleased with him) said: “I would not feel safe from God’s deep devising even if one of my feet was in Paradise and the other is still outside.”
Thus, we should strike a balance between hope and awe. Balance is a universal law that we must struggle to find in everything. Balance in repentance is to repent sincerely to God, not only out of hope in His mercy but also out of fear of His repayment.
Some disbelievers have an illusion of hopelessness. They might want to turn to their Lord, but they think that He will never forgive the evil they did. Therefore, they continue in their wrong ways. God says: Your Sustainer has willed upon Himself the law of grace and mercy—so that if any of you does an evil deed out of ignorance, and thereafter repents and lives righteously, God shall be Much- Forgiving, a Dispenser of Grace. And thus clearly do We spell out Our messages so that the path of those who are lost in sin might be distinct [from that of the righteous who repent] (Quran 6:54–55). The sinner is the one who rejects this divine offer of repentance. Here we must strike a balance between hope and awe.
Thus, the first step on this path is to affirm your hope in God’s mercy and simply turn your heart to Him. This is the first stop in the long, or short journey.
Dr. Jasser Awda (The Journey to God: Reflections on The Hikam of Ibn AtaAllah)
