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The man who found his camel
The Prophet ﷺ described Allah's joy at a servant's repentance through the story of a traveler who lost everything in the desert, then found it again.
The Prophet ﷺ told a story to show how Allah receives a person who turns back to Him:
Narrated Anas ibn Malik:
Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His servant, when he turns to Him, than one of you who was riding his camel in a waterless desert, carrying his food and drink, and lost it. Having given up hope, he lay down in the shade, despairing of ever finding his camel. Then suddenly he found it standing in front of him. He took hold of its reins and, out of overwhelming joy, said: "O Allah, You are my servant and I am Your Lord." He made this mistake out of extreme joy.
Picture the traveler. He is alone in the desert, and his food, water and ride are gone. He has given up and lain down in the shade. Then he looks up and the camel is standing in front of him. His joy is so great that he mixes up his words.
The Prophet ﷺ said that Allah is more pleased than this man when a servant repents. A shorter version of the same hadith is also recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari.
Allah loves those who keep coming back#
In Surah Al-Baqarah, the Quran says: Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant (2:222). The Arabic word, tawwabin, describes people who turn back again and again. Repentance is something you return to every time you slip.
Sincere repentance#
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ تُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ تَوْبَةً نَّصُوحًا عَسَىٰ رَبُّكُمْ أَن يُكَفِّرَ عَنكُمْ سَيِّـَٔاتِكُمْ وَيُدْخِلَكُمْ جَنَّـٰتٍ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ يَوْمَ لَا يُخْزِى ٱللَّهُ ٱلنَّبِىَّ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ مَعَهُۥ ۖ نُورُهُمْ يَسْعَىٰ بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَبِأَيْمَـٰنِهِمْ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَآ أَتْمِمْ لَنَا نُورَنَا وَٱغْفِرْ لَنَآ ۖ إِنَّكَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
O you who have believed, repent to Allāh 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 Allāh 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."
The verse asks for sincere repentance, in Arabic tawbah nasuha. Imam an-Nawawi explained that repentance for a sin between a person and Allah has three conditions: stop the sin, regret it, and firmly intend not to go back to it. If the sin involved another person's rights, there is a fourth: put things right with them, such as returning what was taken.
Bad deeds replaced with good#
إِلَّا مَن تَابَ وَءَامَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلًا صَـٰلِحًا فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ ٱللَّهُ سَيِّـَٔاتِهِمْ حَسَنَـٰتٍ ۗ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا
Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work. For them Allāh will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever is Allāh Forgiving and Merciful.
This verse comes right after a list of very serious sins. For those who repent, believe and do good, Allah does more than wipe the slate clean. He replaces their bad deeds with good ones.
The way back is open#
Whatever has happened, you can turn back to Allah today. And when you do, He is more pleased with your return than that traveler was when he found his camel.
Sources
- 01Sahih Muslim 2747Sahih
- 02Sahih al-Bukhari 6309Sahih
- 03Quran 2:222
- 04Quran 66:8
- 05Riyad as-Salihin - Imam an-Nawawi, Chapter on repentance, introduction
- 06Quran 25:70
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