Surah At-Tahrim
Chapter 66 · Verse 8 · Revealed in Madinah
“O you who have believed, repent to Allah with sincere repentance. Perhaps your Lord will remove from you your misdeeds and admit you into gardens beneath which rivers flow [on] the Day when Allah will not disgrace the Prophet and those who believed with him. Their light will proceed before them and on their right; they will say, "Our Lord, perfect for us our light and forgive us. Indeed, You are over all things competent."”
Translation: Saheeh International
Listen to recitation
Mishary Rashid Alafasy
Reflection — Ibn Kathir
Teaching One's Family the Religion and Good Behavior
`Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from Ibn `Abbas;
قُواْ أَنفُسَكُمْ وَأَهْلِيكُمْ نَاراً
Reflection — Maarif ul Quran
Commentary
تُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّـهِ تَوْبَةً نَّصُوحًا (...turn to Allah with a faithful repentance...66:8). The word taubah, literally, means 'to turn' or 'to return', in the sense of turning or withdrawing from sins. In the terminology of the Qur'an and Sunnah, it signifies 'to regret committing sins in the past and to firmly resolve abstaining from them in future'. Taubah is qualified in the verse by the word نصوح nasuh. If it is taken as the infinitive of nasaha / nasihah, it signifies 'to make pure and sincere'; and if it be derived from nasahah, it signifies 'to repair clothes by sewing'. In terms of the first meaning, the expression nasuh signifies sincere/faithful [ repentance ], free from pretence and hypocrisy. In this interpretation, a sinner is required to regret the sins he has committed and give them up purely for the pleasure of Allah and for fear of Divine chastisement. In terms of the second meaning, nasuh would signify that 'the sinner is required to repair the torn clothes of righteous deeds'. Sayyidna Hasan Basri (رح) says that taubatan nasuha signifies that a person should regret his past evil actions, and make a firm resolve never to repeat them. Kalbi says the phrase taubatan nasuha signifies that a person should pray for pardon with his tongue, regret in his heart, and should prevent the limbs of his body from committing sins in the future.
What does this verse bring up for you today?