Repentance

He remains in Turning away from wrong actions by turning to the Concealer of faults and the Knower of all secrets is the basis of those who travel to Him, the initial investment of those who finally profit, the first step in the quest for His Face, the key to putting right whatever is not correct, and the primary stage in the selection of those who will be brought close to HIm.
The station of the turning in repentance is at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end. The servant who seeks HIm never abandons it.

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He remains in it until his death. If he moves on to another station, he takes it with him and arrives with it. Turning in repentance is the beginning of the servant and his end. Allah the Most Exalted, says:
"And turn to Allah together, O you who believe, so that you may succeed" (24:31)
This verse is from a Madinan chapter in which Allah addresses the people of Imaan (faith) and those who have been honoured from amongst His creation. He called upon them to turn in repentance to Him after they had called upon them to turn in repentance to HIm after they had already believed, made hijrah (migration), and fought jihad. Then He made success conditional on repentance, using the word 'may' in order to make the believers aware that they could only hope for success if they turned to HIm in repentance, may Allah make us follow in their footsteps.

Extract form 'The Purification of the Soul' (pg.152) - Compiled from the works of Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah and Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (May Allah have mercy on their souls)