How are repentance and seeking forgiveness connected to supplication?
2026-09-21
T72 · Ibn Taymiyyah
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah
شيخ الإسلام أحمد بن تيمية
Selected explanation · Selected source passage(s) — fully translated
The opening completes a quoted hadith dialogue. The passage then distinguishes the benefit of asking forgiveness from the separate conditions for genuine repentance; it does not make persistence in sin into repentance. The English translates every displayed Arabic paragraph; this selection is not the complete surrounding work. Square brackets identify translator-supplied clarification.
النص العربي
المقتطف
قَالُوا: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ: إذًا نُكْثِرُ قَالَ: اللَّهُ أَكْثَرُ} فَمِثْلُ هَذَا الدُّعَاءِ قَدْ تَحْصُلُ مَعَهُ الْمَغْفِرَةُ وَإِذَا لَمْ تَحْصُلْ فَلَا بُدَّ أَنْ يَحْصُلَ مَعَهُ صَرْفُ شَرٍّ آخَرَ أَوْ حُصُولُ خَيْرٍ آخَرَ فَهُوَ نَافِعٌ كَمَا يَنْفَعُ كُلُّ دُعَاءٍ. وَقَوْلُ مَنْ قَالَ مِنْ الْعُلَمَاءِ: الِاسْتِغْفَارُ مَعَ الْإِصْرَارِ تَوْبَةُ الْكَذَّابِينَ، فَهَذَا إذَا كَانَ الْمُسْتَغْفِرُ يَقُولُهُ عَلَى وَجْهِ التَّوْبَةِ أَوْ يَدَّعِي أَنَّ اسْتِغْفَارَهُ تَوْبَةٌ وَأَنَّهُ تَائِبٌ بِهَذَا الِاسْتِغْفَارِ فَلَا رَيْبَ أَنَّهُ مَعَ الْإِصْرَارِ لَا يَكُونُ تَائِبًا فَإِنَّ التَّوْبَةَ وَالْإِصْرَارَ ضِدَّانِ: الْإِصْرَارُ يُضَادُّ التَّوْبَةَ لَكِنْ لَا يُضَادُّ الِاسْتِغْفَارَ بِدُونِ التَّوْبَةِ.
English translation
English translation reviewed against the displayed Arabic by SalafAlSalih editorial preparation (AI-assisted); explanatory additions appear in square brackets or separate notes.
Selected explanation
They said, “O Messenger of Allah, then we shall make many [supplications].” He said, “Allah has more [to give].” With a supplication like this, forgiveness may occur; if it does not, some other evil must be averted or some other good obtained. It is therefore beneficial, just as every supplication is beneficial. As for the statement of some scholars that seeking forgiveness while persisting [in sin] is the repentance of liars, this applies when the person seeking forgiveness says it as an act of repentance, or claims that his seeking forgiveness is repentance and that through it he is repentant. There is no doubt that while persisting [in the sin], he is not repentant: repentance and persistence are opposites. Persistence contradicts repentance, but it does not contradict seeking forgiveness without repentance.
Source and editorial notes
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 10/319
مجموع الفتاوى
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā
Arabic passage checked against the cited volume and printed page. English reviewed against every displayed Arabic paragraph on 14 October 2026.