from what is commanded and forbidden. The believer is commanded to do what is enjoined, refrain from what is prohibited, and patiently endure what is decreed, as Allah Most High says:
“If you remain patient and mindful of Allah, their plotting will not harm you at all.”
And He says in the account of Joseph:
“Whoever is mindful of Allah and patient—surely Allah does not let the reward of those who do good go to waste.”
Being mindful of Allah means doing what Allah has commanded and refraining from what He has forbidden. Hence Allah Most High says:
“So be patient; surely Allah’s promise is true. Seek forgiveness for your sin, and glorify your Lord with praise in the evening and the morning.”
Thus, alongside seeking forgiveness, He commanded him to be patient. All servants, from the first to the last, must seek forgiveness. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said in an authentic hadith:
“O people, repent to your Lord! By the One in whose hand is my soul, I seek Allah’s forgiveness and repent to Him more than seventy times a day.”
He also said:
“A cloud comes over my heart, and I seek Allah’s forgiveness and repent to Him a hundred times a day.”
And he used to say:
“O Allah, forgive my sins, my ignorance, my excesses in my affairs, and whatever You know better than I do. O Allah, forgive what I have done mistakenly and deliberately, in jest and in earnest—all of these are found in me. O Allah, forgive what I have done in the past and what I may do hereafter, what I have concealed and what I have made known, and whatever You know better than I do. You are the One who brings forward, and You are the One who holds back.”
It is related that Adam, the father of humankind, sought his Lord’s forgiveness and repented to Him; his Lord then chose him, accepted his repentance, and guided him. And it is related that Iblīs, the father of the jinn—may Allah curse him—persisted in his disobedience, invoking divine decree as his justification; so Allah cursed him and cast him away. Whoever sins, repents, and feels remorse has thus taken after his father—and whoever takes after his father is not to be faulted.