Two of the most repeated names of Allah in the Qur’an are, “Compassionate” and “Merciful”. Allah is very truly merciful to His servants and does not punish them at once for their sins:
“And if Allah were to seize mankind for their wrongdoing, He would not leave on it (the earth) a single moving (living) creature, but He postpones them for an appointed term and when their term comes, neither can they delay nor can they advance it an hour (or a moment).”
By reprieving them, He gives wrongdoers time to ask for forgiveness and to repent. No matter how important the sin one commits, one always has the opportunity to be forgiven if one repents and behaves righteously: “When those who believe in Our signs come to you, Say: ‘Peace be on you:
Your Lord has written Mercy for Himself, so that, if any of you does evil in ignorance, andthereafter repents, and amends (his conduct), then surely He is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.’ ”
Repentance also includes an appeal for support and strength from Allah to help the wrongdoers not to repeat the same misdeeds. The form of repentance accepted by Allah is one that is followed by good deeds:
“And whoever repents and does good has truly turned to Allah with an (acceptable) conversion”
Sometimes an individual may commit the same sin as a result of his soul’s provocation, even after repentance. But this is not an excuse for him not to repent again. He may repent for his evil deeds all throughout his life. And it should be remembered that, it will not be accepted only if one repents when death comes and one begins to dread one’s fate in the Hereafter.
“Allah accepts the repentance of those who do evil in ignorance and repent soon afterwards; to them Allah will turn in mercy:
"Of no effect is the repentance of those who continue to do evil, until death faces one of them, and he says, ‘Now I have repented indeed’, nor of those who die rejecting Faith:
for them have We prepared a punishment most grievous.”
