Rich Meaning of Repentance(Tawbah) and Seeking Forgivness(Istighfaar)

Scholars interpret tawbah (repentance) to mean all of the following: (i)
immediate renunciation of the sin, (ii) firm intention and determination to not
return to the sin ever again, (iii) regret over having committed a sin, and, if
the sin was against the rights of another human being, then one mast also, (iv)
compensate for it.

These are known to be the conditions of tawbah, or repentance. However,
in the words of Allah and His Messenger, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, tawbah
has a wider meaning, and includes not only the aforementioned conditions, but
also generally carrying out all the commandments of Allah with persistence.
Tawbah also requires disliking and renouncing those people who refuse to
repent, encouraging them to repent and advising them against ignoring the
practice of repentance. So repentance is the opposite of committing sins in
every way, and, in its general sense, does not consist merely of renouncing the
sin and regret over it.

The word tawbah is like the word taqwa, in the sense that the latter is
used sometimes in a specific sense where it means, "immediately stopping
from disobeying Allah or carrying out an obligation." However, the actual
meaning of taqwa is more general: "taking all that Allah has given us of
wealth, children, security and pleasure and all else as a means to protect
ourselves from what we dislike or fear in our journey to Allah." For this
journey is full of pitfalls and replete with the enemies of our soul beginning
with our own baser selves that incite us towards evil and unrestrained desires
and ensnare us in the traps of Satan whose mission it to prevent us from this
journey to Allah and make us return to baseness and ruin. The essence of tawbah
is to return to Allah and to adhere to what He loves and renounce that which He
dislikes. Tawbah is a journey from the disliked to the liked.

Istighfaar and Tawbah

Istighfar, meaning seeking forgiveness, is mentioned in the Qur'an in
two ways: either by itself or coupled with tawbah (repentance). The single
mention of istighfar (without the mention of tawbah) finds an example in the
saying of Nuh(AS) in the Noble Qur'an:

"Seek
forgiveness of your Lord, you all, (for) He is Oft-Forgiving: He sends the
heavens over you raining;" [10:11]

And in the saying of Saleh to his people: "If only you (were to) ask
Allah for forgiveness, you may hope to receive mercy." [27:46]

Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, also says: "And seek forgiveness of Allah, for Allah is
Forgiving, Merciful." [2:199]

The mention of istighfar coupled with tawbah appears in the following
verses: "Ask
forgiveness of your Lord, then turn to Him; He will provide you with a goodly
provision to an appointed term and bestow His grace on every one endowed with
grace, and if you turn back, then surely I fear for you the chastisement of a
great day." [11: 3]

"And, O
my people! Ask forgiveness of your Lord (istighfar), then turn to Him (tawbah);
He will send on you clouds pouring down abundance of rain and add strength to
your strength, and do not turn back guilty." [11:52]

Istaghfar: not just cover up, but total removal of sins. Therefore,
istighfar (seeking forgiveness) singly is similar to tawbah (repentance);
rather, it is indeed repentance. Seeking forgiveness, moreover, fully removes
the sin, undoes its effects and prevents its evil, and not merely hides the
sins as some people have conjectured. For Allah may cover and hide the sins of
those who seek forgiveness and even of those who do not; but istighfar is more
than just a cover.

The essence of istighfar (seeking forgiveness) is that it earns one the
prevention from the evil of the sin. It is in this meaning that istighfaar
saves one from the punishment:

"And
Allah was not going to send his punishment whilst they were asking for
forgiveness." [8:33]

Of course, if one insists on sinning and demands from Allah forgiveness
(without fulfilling its conditions), then this is not a true istighfar, and it
does not prevent the punishment. Istighfar (seeking forgiveness) includes
tawbah (repenting), and tawbah includes istighfar: each one is implied by the
other in its entirety.

This comprehensiveness of the meanings of istighfar includes its meaning
of asking for forgiveness as a shield or cover: cover from our human
shortcomings and faults that are harmful and destructive. And the greatest and
most harmful of all human shortcomings are his ignorance (of one's faults) and
transgression. By virtue of this ignorance and transgression, the enemy drags a
human being into what utterly destroys him. The shield against these two errors
is to be aware of one's faults and be keen to bring out in one's character the
God-given virtues of knowledge, justice and righteousness. The more a person
ignores his human nobility bestowed upon him by Allah when Allah breathed into
him His spirit (rooh), the more he lowers himself to the animalistic ground,
and the most his ignorance and transgression are fuelled.

When the two words tawbah and istighfar are used together, (always
istighfar followed by tawbah), then the first one (istighfaar) means asking for
safety from the evil and harm of what has occurred, and the second one (tawbah)
means returning to Allah and begging for safety from the evil of what one fears
in future.

So here we are concerned with two things: one is the sin that has
already occurred, and istighfar (in its specific sense) is to seek protection
from its evil effects; and the other is the repetition of the same sin in
future, which we fear, and tawbah is the determination to not do it again. A
complete return to Allah (rujoo`) includes and necessitates both of these:
istighfar as well as tawbah. When used in a couple, both aspects of this return
to Allah are emphasized individually, whereas, when used alone, either one of
these two words implies the other.

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