Repentance must fulfil five conditions:

1 – Sincerity to Allah: A person’s motive for repenting must never be to impress people or to obtain prestige or leadership. He must purify his intention for Allah alone, fearing His punishment and hoping for His reward.

2 – Remorse for the sin: The offence and its absence must not feel the same to him. Rather, he must regret what he has done, feel anguish within, and say, “If only I had not done this.” At the same time he submits to Allah’s decree and destiny and turns to Him in repentance.

3 – Ceasing the sin: He must abandon the act of disobedience if the sin consisted of a forbidden deed, or perform the duty if the sin lay in neglecting an obligation that can still be made up. To persist in the sin while merely hoping to repent is a mistake—one of the false hopes. Some people say, “I seek Allah’s forgiveness and repent to Him for backbiting,” yet they continue to backbite; or, “I seek Allah’s forgiveness for usury,” yet they still consume usury; or, “I seek Allah’s forgiveness and repent to Him for violating people’s rights,” yet they continue to usurp those rights, procrastinating in paying what they owe even though they are able. In such ways a person deceives himself into thinking he is repentant when he is not.

If the sin involves another person’s right, it must be restored to him. Someone who has taken money from another—stolen his wealth—and then claims to have repented must return the money to its owner; without doing so, his repentance is incomplete. The same applies to one who has “eaten people’s flesh,” backbiting a person and reviling him in