إِنَّمَا التَّوْبَةُ عَلَى اللَّهِ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السُّوءَ بِجَهَالَةٍ ثُمَّ يَتُوبُونَ مِن قَرِيبٍ فَأُولَٰئِكَ يَتُوبُ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ ۗ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا ﴿١٧﴾ وَلَيْسَتِ التَّوْبَةُ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ حَتَّىٰ إِذَا حَضَرَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ إِنِّي تُبْتُ الْآنَ وَلَا الَّذِينَ يَمُوتُونَ وَهُمْ كُفَّارٌ ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ أَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا ﴿١٨﴾
The repentance accepted by Allah is only for those who do wrong in ignorance (or carelessness) and then repent shortly thereafter. It is those who Allah will forgive, and Allah is All-Knowing, The Most Wise. Repentance is not (accepted) of those who (continue to) do evil deeds, until when the time of death approaches one of them, he says, “Now I repent”, nor for those who die while they are (still) disbelievers. For them We have prepared a painful punishment. (Surah Nisaa v17 & 18)
In the previous verse, reference to repentance was made. In these two verses, the conditions under which repentance is accepted or not are explained.
The Quraan Majeed has used the words “jahaalah” (ignorance) which apparently gives an impression that the repentance may only be accepted when a sin is committed unintentionally and unknowingly, but if it is committed deliberately, it will not be accepted. However, the word “jahaalah” (ignorance) here does not mean that the person sinning is not aware of it being a sin, or has no intention to commit a sin. Instead, it means that it was the insensitivity and heedlessness of a person towards the evil outcome of sin and its ultimate punishment which became the cause of his audacity to commit it, although he knew that it was a sin, and had approached it with intention and volition as well.
Abul ‘Aaliyah (rahimahullah), a great ‘Aalim amongst the Tabi‘een, relates that the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) would say, “Every sin which a slave (of Allah Ta‘ala) commits is an act of ignorance.” Similarly, the great commentator, Mujaahid (rahimahullah) explains, “Every person who is doing anything in the disobedience of Allah is ignorant while doing it (although he may outwardly be a learned person). (Tafseer Ibni Katheer vol. 3, pg. 37)
Another important aspect which this verse explains as a condition for the acceptance of repentance – one should repent soon without delaying it. The word used in this verse is: “shortly thereafter”. The question is, how much of time will fall under “shortly”? The answer to this is clear from the words of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) when he (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) said, “Indeed Allah accepts the repentance of His slave as long as his soul does not reach his throat (i.e. as long as he is not in the throes of death).” (Sunan Tirmizi #3537)
In short, the explanation of “shortly thereafter” given by Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) himself tells us that virtually a man’s entire life comes under “shortly” and, as such, any repentance which is offered before death shall be acceptable. However, the repentance made by man while in the throes of death is not acceptable.
Moreover, in the light of this explanation, the addition of “shortly thereafter” in this verse serves to indicate that the very lifespan of man is limited, and death, which he may think is far, is actually quite near.
The second verse describes those whose repentance is not accepted by Allah Ta‘ala – those who fearlessly go on committing sins throughout their entire lives yet, when death approaches and the withdrawal of their soul is imminent, they begin repenting. This is very much like Fir‘aun who called out while drowning that he was ready to believe in the Rabb of the Banu Israaeel. In response, he was told that his declaration of faith at that time was of no consequence, because the time set for it was over.
When a person sincerely turns to Allah Ta‘ala in repentance, Allah Ta‘ala will forgive all his sins despite the amount of sin he may have committed. In fact, he will be greatly rewarded for his repentance and his sins may even be turned into good deeds, as explained in many aayaat and ahaadeeth. Moreover, the person who repents becomes the beloved of Allah Ta‘ala.
However, what is necessary is that the repentance is genuine and is offered in sincerity. This repentance stands on three pillars. Firstly, one should regret over and feel ashamed about what he or she has done. Secondly, one should immediately abandon the sin he has committed and he should, for the future too, firmly resolve to stay away from it. Thirdly, one should make amends for what has passed i.e. he should try to take measures to rectify what has happened to the best of his ability such as performing qadhaa salaah, giving back the rights he usurped, etc.
(Adapted from Ma‘aariful Quraan vol. 2, pg. 341)