Grand Ayatollah Shirazi Defines Repentance as Mutual Return Between God, Individual

During another daily scholarly session in the month of Shawwal, Grand Ayatollah Sayed Sadiq Hosseini Shirazi answered questions from attendees on various jurisprudential matters, including the concept of repentance.

Grand Ayatollah Shirazi explained that “repentance” signifies a return. He clarified that this concept applies to both God and humans, citing prayers that ask God to “return” to the supplicant as the supplicant returns to Him. Therefore, when an individual repents, they are essentially expressing regret for their sins and returning to God, while simultaneously asking God to return to them.

He further elaborated on the implications of repentance: if someone commits a sin, such as neglecting a mandatory act like daily prayers for a day, and then repents by regretting their omission and performing the missed prayer, their past sins are not reinstated even if they commit the same or another sin again.