he may face from his own self and from his evil deeds.

Moreover, the sinner is like someone who has taken a road that leads to his destruction and does not bring him to his destination. He is therefore commanded to turn his back on it and return to the road on which lies his salvation, which brings him to his destination and on which lies his success. Two things are thus indispensable: abandoning one thing and returning to another. Repentance is specifically associated with returning, and seeking forgiveness with abandoning…”1.

When repentance alone is mentioned, however, or seeking forgiveness alone, each encompasses the meaning of the other.

Seeking forgiveness is of tremendous importance and lofty rank. As Shaykh al-Islām explained: “It takes the servant from actions disliked by Allah to actions beloved to Him, from deficient deeds to complete ones, and raises him from a lower station to a higher and more perfect one. The worshipper of Allah who knows Him grows every day—indeed, every hour and every moment—in knowledge of Allah and insight into his religion and servitude to Him. He experiences this in his eating and drinking, his sleep and wakefulness, and his words and deeds. He recognizes his shortcomings in maintaining the presence of his heart in the lofty stations and giving them their due. He therefore needs to seek forgiveness throughout the night and at both ends of the day. Indeed, he is constantly compelled to seek it in all his words and states, in both unseen and witnessed circumstances, because of the benefits it contains: attaining good, warding off harm, and seeking greater strength in the deeds of the heart and body grounded in certainty and faith.”2.