Prayer After Repentance Prayer and How to Be Steadfast in Seeking Forgiveness

Dream – No human being is perfect and can escape from mistakes in this world. Every human being must have made small mistakes that may become a drop of sin in their life. As Muslims, Allah SWT always opens the door of forgiveness to His servants who sincerely repent for their mistakes.

Not only praying for forgiveness for all mistakes, humans must also promise not to repeat the same mistakes and always strive to improve themselves.

In addition to prayer, another practice that Dream Friends can do to seek forgiveness from Allah SWT is by performing repentance prayer. As quoted from almanhaj.or.id, the understanding of repentance according to Islamic law is to leave sin out of fear of Allah SWT, consider it bad, regret the sinful act, strongly resolve not to repeat it, and improve whatever can be improved from their deeds.

Although performing repentance prayer and reciting prayers after repentance prayer may seem easy to do, this cannot be considered simple. Because sincerity of heart plays a very important role as there are many temptations that can come back in one's life.

Now, for Dream Friends who want to perform repentance prayer, here are prayers after repentance prayer that you can practice as summarized by Dream through various sources.

Prayer after Repentance Prayer

In repentance prayer, it is not only about performing two rak'ahs of prayer and then finishing. There is a prayer after repentance prayer that is very important for Dream friends to practice. In the prayer after repentance prayer, Dream friends can seek protection from Allah SWT from evil, acknowledge all sins that have been committed, and seek forgiveness from Allah SWT.

After completing the repentance prayer, it is recommended to continue by reciting the remembrance that is recited 100 times with the following wording:

أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ الَّذِي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْهِ

Astaghfirullahal ladzii laa ilaaha illaa huwal hayyul qoyyuumu wa atuubu ilaihi.

Meaning: "I seek forgiveness from Allah, there is no god but Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of existence, and I repent to Him."

Things that Support Repentance

Someone who repents, it does not happen quickly. There is a process in it and of course it requires consistency in doing so. However, it is important to know that in repentance, it is not just about performing prayer and reciting prayers after repentance prayer.

Because at any time, a person can make mistakes again, whether it is the same mistakes or different ones. Therefore, there are things that can support a person in repentance as quoted from dalamislam.com as follows:

A Healthy and Islamic Environment

A healthy and Islamic environment can support a person in repentance. In this environment, fellow Muslims will remind each other of what is good and give advice. So that in such an environment, it will minimize the occurrence of bad deeds that are prohibited by Allah SWT.

This is like the words of Allah SWT in Surah Al-Asr verses 1 to 3 as follows:

وَالْعَصْرِ، إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ، إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ

Meaning: "By time, indeed, mankind is in loss, except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience." (Surah Al-Asr: 1-3).

Performing Other Good Deeds

In repentance, Muslims are not only about performing prayer and reciting prayers after repentance prayer alone. But it is also recommended to do other practices. When doing these practices, then Dream friends will always remember Allah SWT who can make the heart become calmer. This is as explained in the words of Allah SWT through the Al-Ra'd verse 28 as follows:

اَلَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا وَتَطۡمَـئِنُّ قُلُوۡبُهُمۡ بِذِكۡرِ اللّٰهِ‌ؕ اَلَا بِذِكۡرِ اللّٰهِ تَطۡمَـئِنُّ الۡقُلُوۡبُ‌ؕ

Meaning: "(that is) those who believe and their hearts become calm with the remembrance of Allah. Remember, only by remembering Allah will the heart become calm." (QS.Ar-Ra'd: 28).

Conditions of Repentance According to Islamic Law

Repentance certainly has its own requirements that have been determined in Islamic teachings. By fulfilling these requirements, it will determine whether the repentance will be accepted by Allah SWT. Here are some conditions for repentance according to Islamic law that Dream friends need to know:

Regretting Sins

The first condition for repentance is to regret the sin. Regret means acknowledging the sins that have been committed. This is as explained in the hadith narrated by Ahmad as follows:

"Regret is repentance." (HR. Ahmad)

Then it is also explained in the Al-A'raf verse 23:

وَرَبَّنَا اٰمَنَّا فَاغۡفِرۡ لَـنَا وَارۡحَمۡنَا‌ۖ وَاَنۡتَ خَيۡرُ الرّٰحِمِيۡنَ

Meaning: "Both of them said, 'Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers.'" (QS. Al-A'raf: 23)

Stop Committing Sins

The second requirement is to stop committing sins. So, when you intend to repent to Allah SWT, you must promise yourself not to commit the same sin again. And encourage yourself to become a better person.

Not Repeating Sins

When intending to repent, then be consistent in the path of goodness and have a strong determination not to repeat the sin. This is explained in the Al-Imran verse 135:

وَالَّذِيۡنَ اِذَا فَعَلُوۡا فَاحِشَةً اَوۡ ظَلَمُوۡۤا اَنۡفُسَهُمۡ ذَكَرُوا اللّٰهَ فَاسۡتَغۡفَرُوۡا لِذُنُوۡبِهِمۡ وَمَنۡ يَّغۡفِرُ الذُّنُوۡبَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ وَلَمۡ يُصِرُّوۡا عَلٰى مَا فَعَلُوۡا وَهُمۡ يَعۡلَمُوۡنَ

Meaning: "And [they are] those who, when they commit an immorality or wrong themselves [by transgression], remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins - and who can forgive sins except Allah? And they do not persist in what they have done while they know." (QS.Ali-Imran: 135)