**Say, “O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah . Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.”
**
[Qur’aan 39:53]
Narrated Ibn `Abbas:
**Some pagans who committed murders in great number and committed illegal sexual intercourse excessively, came to Muhammad and said, “O Muhammad! Whatever you say and invite people to, is good: but we wish if you could inform us whether we can make an expiration for our (past evil) deeds.”
So the Divine Verses came: ‘Those who invoke not with Allah any other god, not kill such life as Allah has forbidden except for just cause, nor commit illegal sexual intercourse.’ (25.68) And there was also revealed:-- ‘Say: O My slaves who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah.’ (39.53)**
[Sahih Al-Bukhaari Hadith No. 334]
Do not let your sins stop you from turning to Allah. He will forgive all your sins if you turn to Him in sincere repentance. As long as you are alive, the doors of repentance are open.
Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
**
Prophet of Allah (ﷺ) said: "There was a man from among a nation before you who killed ninety-nine people and then made an inquiry about the most learned person on the earth. He was directed to a monk.
He came to him and told him that he had killed ninety-nine people and asked him if there was any chance for his repentance to be accepted. He replied in the negative and the man killed him also completing one hundred.
He then asked about the most learned man in the earth. He was directed to a scholar. He told him that he had killed one hundred people and asked him if there was any chance for his repentance to be accepted. He replied in the affirmative and asked, ‘Who stands between you and repentance? Go to such and such land; there (you will find) people devoted to prayer and worship of Allah, join them in worship, and do not come back to your land because it is an evil place.’
So he went away and hardly had he covered half the distance when death overtook him; and there was a dispute between the angels of mercy and the angels of torment. The angels of mercy pleaded, ‘This man has come with a repenting heart to Allah,’ and the angels of punishment argued, ‘He never did a virtuous deed in his life.’
Then there appeared another angel in the form of a human being and the contending angels agreed to make him arbiter between them. He said, ‘Measure the distance between the two lands. He will be considered belonging to the land to which he is nearer.’
They measured and found him closer to the land (land of piety) where he intended to go, and so the angels of mercy collected his soul".**
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
In another version: “He was found to be nearer to the locality of the pious by a cubit and was thus included among them”. Another version says: "Allah commanded (the land which he wanted to leave) to move away and commanded the other land (his destination) to draw nearer and then He said: "Now measure the distance between them.’
It was found that he was nearer to his goal by a hand’s span and was thus forgiven". It is also narrated that he drew closer by a slight movement on his chest.
Narrated Mu’awiyah:
**I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: Migration will not end until repentance ends, and repentance will not end until the sun rises in the west. **
[Sunan Abi Dawud Hadith No. 2479]
It was narrated that Ibn Ma’qil said:
“I entered with my father upon ‘Abdullah, and I heard him say: ‘The messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Regret is repentance.” My father said: ‘Did you hear the Prophet (ﷺ) say: “Regret is repentance?” He said: ‘Yes.’”
[Sunan Ibn Majah Hadith No. 4252]
Abu Musa (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
**The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Allah, the Exalted, stretches His Hand during the night so that those who commit sins by day may repent, and He stretches His Hand in the day so that those who commit sins by night may repent. He keeps doing so until the sun rises from the West”.
**
[Sahih Muslim Hadith No. 2759]
Narrated Shaddad bin Aus:
**The Prophet (ﷺ) said “The most superior way of asking for forgiveness from Allah is: 'Allahumma anta Rabbi la ilaha illa anta, Anta Khalaqtani wa ana Abduka, wa ana 'ala ahdika wa wa'dika mastata'tu, Audhu bika min Sharri ma sana’tu, abu’u Laka bini’matika 'alaiya, wa abu’u laka bidhanbi faghfir lee fa innahu la yaghfiru adhdhunuba illa anta.”
The Prophet (ﷺ) added. “If somebody recites it during the day with firm faith in it, and dies on the same day before the evening, he will be from the people of Paradise; and if somebody recites it at night with firm faith in it, and dies before the morning, he will be from the people of Paradise.”**
[Sahih Al-Bukhaari Hadith No. 6306]