What is repentance?
Repentance is one of the fundamentals of Islam. The Arabic word for repentance is Taubah. Translated literally this means 'to return'. So in other words, repentance means to leave what Allah has prohibited and to return to what he has commanded.
For a non-Muslim, repentance is accepting Islam and becoming Muslim, i.e. testifying that there is no god except Allah, and accepting that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was the last messenger of Allah. Unless a person repents from the sin of associating partners with Allah or not believing in Him, they will not be forgiven for any other sins.
For a Muslim, their belief in Allah along with their repentance is a means by which to be forgiven for all other sins.
Before the issue of repentance is discussed any further, there are three important principles in Islam relating to sin that need to be understood:
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every person is born free of sin
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no person is ever held responsible for another's sins
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sins are those actions done with intention
These will now be discussed on the next page, "The Nature of Sin".
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