—Mighty and Majestic is He—and His words, “so that you may succeed,” mean: in order that you attain true success. Success (al-falāḥ) is to gain what one seeks and to be spared what one fears.
Repentance is obligatory for every sin. Never belittle any sin; do not say, “This one is minor—Allah will overlook it,” for sins may accumulate upon the heart—Allah protect us—until it is darkened and the door to goodness is shut, just as Allah the Exalted says, “No indeed! What they have done has rusted over their hearts” (Q 83:14). So repent to Allah for every transgression.
In the hadith cited by the author from Abū Hurayrah, the Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever swears by al-Lāt or al-ʿUzzā should declare lā ilāha illā Allah (there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah).” Al-Lāt was an idol worshiped by the ignorant in pre-Islamic times, and so was al-ʿUzzā, as Allah says, “Have you considered al-Lāt and al-ʿUzzā, and the third one Manāt?” (Q 53:19-20). They used to swear by these idols just as they swore by Allah, saying, “By al-Lāt,” or, “By al-ʿUzzā.” When a person says, “By al-Lāt and al-ʿUzzā,” how is this to be treated? With pure monotheism. If someone swears by other than Allah, he should immediately say lā ilāha illā Allah. Polytheism is cured by affirming divine oneness; hence the Prophet said, “let him declare lā ilāha illā Allah,” treating the wrong with its opposite.
Likewise, whoever says, “Come, let me gamble with you,” must give charity, for this too is treating the wrong with its opposite. Gambling is the contest for a stake—what people today call a bet: “I bet you such-and-such,” and they wager money or the like. Whoever makes such a statement has uttered something forbidden. He must repent, and part of his repentance is to give in charity whatever he had hoped to acquire through that gamble; this is another form of curing an evil with its contrary.
Similarly, it is said that whoever has neglected an obligatory act should repent to Allah and increase in righteous deeds so that those good works may remedy the shortcoming.
We ask Allah the Exalted to turn to us and to you in mercy and to grant us success in what He loves and is pleased with.
Chapter: What one should say and do after committing a prohibited act
Allah the Exalted says, “If a prompting from Satan provokes you, seek refuge in Allah” (Q 7:200).
He also says, “Indeed, those who are mindful of Allah—when a visitation from Satan touches them, they remember, and behold, they see clearly” (Q 7:201).
And He says, “Those who, when they commit an indecency or wrong themselves, remember Allah and ask forgiveness for their sins—and who forgives sins but Allah?—and do not persist in what they have done knowingly. For such people the recompense is forgiveness from their Lord, and gardens beneath which rivers flow, to abide therein forever. How excellent is the reward of those who do good” (Q 3:135-136).