Meaning of Repentance
The way to remove that fear is Tawbah (repentance) and knowing that God is the Most Compassionate and the Most Merciful and that His mercy surpasses His anger.
Let’s now discuss what Tawbah means according to the Quran and Hadiths.
Tawbah means return and in the Quran, it has been attributed to both God and humans. “Certainly Allah has turned (mercifully) to the Prophet and those who fled (their homes) and the helpers who followed him in the hour of straitness after the hearts of a part of them were about to deviate, then He turned to them (mercifully); surely to them He is Compassionate, Merciful.” (Verses 117-118 of Surah At-Tawbah)
Tawbah for God means turning mercy and favor to people and for mankind means returning from bad deeds and sins to good deeds and virtues. So in every Tawbah, we see two favors from God: First, turning mercy to the sinner so that he would understand he is on the wrong path and, therefore, repent and return from the wrong path. And the second one is accepting one’s Tawbah.
It is like a father who gives some money to his son for doing business. The son buys some goods to sell them for a profit and the father buys them from him for a good price. Here the father has done two favors to the son.
Thus, a man’s Tawbah is placed between two Tawbahs of God. First God gives him the opportunity to realize the ugliness of sins and wrongdoings and then he regrets and repents. Then God accepts his repentance.
The Quran put it this way: “… then He turned to them (mercifully); surely to them He is Compassionate, Merciful.”
