Normally, a newborn baby needs to drink colostrum, which is the first secretion from a mammary glands of a mother after giving birth. It contains antibodies to protect the newborn from diseases. And perhaps as sinners, repentance is our colostrum.
The first step towards the sand of intimacy is repentance, which is the first milk to gulp in order to walk towards the secret passageways of maturity, joy, and peacefulness.
Our holier-than-thou attitude cannot guarantee us to remain faultless and continue to be proud of our impeccable manners.
No matter how virtuous we are, every moment in our lives we fall from grace. Whether in secret or in public; be it a minute sin or a huge one, we misbehave.
We are creatures made of clay prone to get infected by the disgusting dirts of our evil-commanding selves.
Once the whispers of our tyrant egos poison our hearts, our repentance must not come to a halt, for we need “antibodies” to keep our hearts pure and healthy.
Repentance is one way to purify our hearts of its viciousness: corruption, immorality, indecency, wickedness, lustfulness, greed, desire and the like.
How fortunate we are to be able to welcome and embrace repentance sincerely, for the All-Forgiving favours us.
How blessed we are to be chosen as we wet our whistles to free us from our misdemeanours, for the Mercifier allows us to enter the door towards blissfulness: His Kingdom.
The pearl of wisdom from the beloved Messenger Prophet Muhammad (saw) who loves to ask forgiveness from God seventy or a hundred times a day is a motivating force to fire us up and beg forgiveness from the Perfect One:
“Whosoever seeks forgiveness from God often, then God makes for him a good ending for every matter of concern and provide for him a way out of every tight situation.”
There is no man who is not a sinner (including myself) and there is no sin that cannot be forgiven (except polytheism).
When we are conscience-stricken for our unrighteousness and ask His Pardon, He will surely grant us absolution for our sins because He is the Most Forgiving, not because we deserve to be forgiven.
If we learn to acknowledge our wickedness, feel remorseful and avoid falling from grace again, then repentance brings an end to the heavy loads and difficulties we are suffering.
To struggle to get rid our souls of its impurities is perhaps the greatest gift that we could receive from the Loving One.
But according to Dhul-Nun, the Egyptian mystic says:
“There are two kinds of repentance, the repentance of return and the repentance of shame. The former is repentance through the fear of Divine punishment, the latter is repentance through the shame of Divine Clemency.
So, what are we waiting for? As we shamefully bow our heads and cry our hearts out for our crookedness, let us beg the Great Judge and seek His Amnesty for our transgressions.
But as we meander along the path of repentance, let us cross-examine ourselves:
What do we really repent for?
from fear to freedom by joywadi 
Very interesting and deep but I really like your words at the end. Certainly ego gets in the way of true closeness to God. I remember in a class many years ago repentance was discussed a a re turning or always turning back to God.
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Thank you Georgina😊❤
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