A tifl once asked Huzoor (may Allah be his Helper) a similar question and Huzoor responded by saying, “There is one way to know if you have been forgiven and that is if you abstain from wrong acts in the future. If you keep repeating your mistakes it means you are not forgiven but if you stop and have no desire to do that wrong thing again you can consider that Allah has accepted your repentance”.

This demonstrates the fact that the true essence of repentance lies in never repeating the action again. God bestows His grace on those who repent with absolute sincerity and a longing to be forgiven. Huzoor further said:

You should always have the habit of seeking forgiveness from Allah and doing Istighfar as much as possible. It is not necessary that Allah the Almighty will forgive instantly. There are narrations that show it can take much longer. For example, there is a story of an elder who sought forgiveness for a very long period and it was only after thirty years had passed that he was forgiven by Allah. At that time, Allah Almighty said that He was now accepting all the prayers that the man had made over the past thirty years.^[i]

Similarly, during a meeting with Khuddam from Germany, on February 9, 2019, a Khadim asked Huzoor, “When a man seeks forgiveness, can he take the standard of his worship to the extent that he knows he has been forgiven?”. Huzoor (may Allah be his Helper) responded by saying:

“If a person does not turn back to the same sins, and mistakes and he begins to hate those very things, then his repentance has been accepted”. Huzoor further stated, “It is not necessary that Allah Almighty reveals onto you that you have been forgiven… Allah Almighty has His own ways. If you were informed, then you would commit a new sin every day and then seek forgiveness for it. Hence, Allah has kept us in suspense that we continue to seek forgiveness and repent.”

Huzoor (may Allah be Helper) continues by saying:

Even the Prophets used to repent so that they can elevate their ranks. Even if your repentance is approved, continue to seek forgiveness and repent, and Allah will continue to elevate your status, and you begin to hate sin. This is true repentance…You should be concerned with the fact that Allah does not allow you to return to the misdeeds, as [there is] much effort that man puts into staying away from evil and Satan.^[ii]

References:

[i]. Diary, London, Feb-Mar 2018, Abid Khan sahib, p. 38-39

[ii]. Transcribed from a video, This week with Huzoor [February 15, 2019], Mulaqat with Germany Khuddam, February 9, 2019