How do I know that Allah has forgiven my sins?

Question:
How will I know that Allah has forgiven my sins for which I had asked forgiveness?

Answer:

Short Answer:

Indeed, Allah loves those who turn to him in sincere repentance:

“Verily, Allah loves those who repent and those who purify themselves.” (Surah al-Baqarah: 222)

“…and all of you beg Allah to forgive you all, O believers, that you may be successful.” (Surah an-Nūr:31)

The following are some signs that Allah has accepted and forgiven a person:

1- That the person’s condition will become better than it was before

2- That he/she will continue to fear the sin and its consequences

3- That he/she will purify his/her heart and feel regret 

4- The he/she will feel ashamed and humbled in front of Allah 

Firstly: Making mistakes and falling short are undoubtedly part of human nature and no one will be free of shortcomings in his obedience to Allah, or free of mistakes or forgetfulness or sins. All of us fall short, commit sins, and make mistakes. Sometimes we turn to Allah and sometimes we turn away from Him. Sometimes we remember that Allah is watching and sometimes we become negligent. None of us is free of sin, and we will inevitably make mistakes. We are not infallible.

Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “By the One in Whose hand is my soul, if you did not commit sin Allah would do away with you and bring people who would commit sin then pray for forgiveness.” Narrated by Muslim, 2749. 

And he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Every son of Adam sins, and the best of those who sin are those who repent.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2499; classed as hasan by al-Albaani. 

By His mercy towards weak man, Allah has opened the gate of repentance to him, and has commanded him to turn to Him, every time sin overwhelms him. Were it not for that, man would suffer a great deal of hardship and would not have the drive to draw closer to his Lord; he would lose all hope of His forgiveness and pardon. Repentance is something that is necessary as a result of man’s shortcomings and human failings. 

Being a Muslim, whenever we commit a sin, we should repent and ask for forgiveness from Allah ﷻ.

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said if you were to commit sin until your sins reach heaven, then you were to repent, your repentance would be accepted. – Sunan Ibn Majah 4248

What Quran says about Allah’s Forgiveness:

There are many verses in the Quran which tells us how merciful Allah is, Indeed He is Ar-Rahman the most merciful.

“Say: O ‘Ibaadi (My slaves) who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah, verily, Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft‑Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
[al-Zumar 39:53]

Allah has enjoined repentance on all kinds of people in this ummah: those who are foremost in good deeds, those who follow a middle course, and those who wrong their own selves by doing haram things (Faatir 35:32). 

“And all of you beg Allah to forgive you all, O believers, that you may be successful.”

[al-Noor 24:31] 

“O you who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere repentance!”

[al-Tahreem 66:8]

“Will they not turn with repentance to Allah and ask His forgiveness? For Allah is Oft‑Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
[al-Maa'idah 5:74]

What Hadiths say on Allah’s Forgiveness:

It was narrated from Abu Moosa ‘Abd-Allah ibn Qays al-Ash’ari (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah spreads out His hand at night to accept the repentance of the one who sinned during the day, and He spreads out His hand by day to accept the repentance of the one who sinned during the night, (and that will continue) until the sun rises from the west.” Narrated by Muslim, 2759. 

It was narrated from Abu Sa’eed Sa’d ibn Maalik ibn Sinaan al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “There was among the people who came before you a man who killed ninety-nine people. Then he asked about the most knowledgeable person on earth, and was directed to a hermit, so he went to him, told him that he had killed ninety-nine people, and asked if he could be forgiven. The hermit said, ‘No,’ so he killed him, thus completing one hundred. Then he asked about the most knowledgeable person on earth and was directed to a scholar. He told him that he had killed one hundred people, and asked whether he could be forgiven. The scholar said, ‘Yes, what could possibly come between you and repentance? Go to such-and-such a town, for in it there are people who worship Allah. Go and worship with them, and do not go back to your own town, for it is a bad place.” So, the man set off, but when he was halfway there, the angel of death came to him, and the angels of mercy and the angels of wrath began to argue over him. The angels of mercy said: ‘He had repented and was seeking Allah.’ The angels of wrath said: ‘He never did any good thing.’ An angel in human form came to them, and they asked him to decide the matter. He said: ‘Measure the distance between the two lands (his hometown and the town he was headed for), and whichever of the two he is closest to is the one to which he belongs.’ So, they measured the distance and found that he was closer to the town for which he had been headed, so the angels of mercy took him.” (Agreed upon). 

According to a version narrated by Muslim (2716): “He was closer to the righteous town by a handspan, so he was counted among its people.”

According to a version narrated by al-Bukhari (3470): “Allah commanded (the righteous town) to draw closer and (the evil town) to move away, and he said: “Measure the distance between them,’ and he was found to be closer to (the righteous town) by a handspan, so he was forgiven.” 

According to a version narrated by Muslim: “He leaned with his chest towards it”.  

What are the Conditions of sincere repentance:

• You should give up the sin.
• You should regret having done it.
• You should resolve never to go back to it.

If one of these three is missing, then your repentance is not sincere. If the sin has to do with the rights of another person, then there are four conditions: the three mentioned above and restoring the rights of that person. If it is money or property, etc. it must be returned to him; if it had to do with slandering him etc.,

then you should allow him to insult you in return or ask for his forgiveness; if it had to do with backbiting about him, then you have to ask for his pardon. It is essential to repent from all sins; if a person repents from some, his repentance from the sins from which he repented is valid – according to the scholars who follow the right path – but he must still repent from the rest as well. 

4 signs which confirm that Allah ﷻ has forgiven us:

Here are 4 signs which confirm that Allah ﷻ has forgiven us.

Positive Change:

When Allah ﷻ forgives, he turns the heart of the sinner. Such a person feels happy upon leaving his bad habits and experiences a positive change within. When one starts to feel a positive change, it is one of the signs that Allah has forgiven him.

Read Dua for Forgiveness: Click Here

Giving up the sins:

It is one of the preconditions to ask for forgiveness that you decide in your heart to give up that sin. If you don’t intend to give up that particular sin, it means you are not repenting upon it and hence no forgiveness.

One of the major signs of forgiveness is that a person gives up on the sins.

Feeling ashamed of the committed sins:

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: every son of Adam sins, and the best of the sinners are repentant. – Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2499

Anyone can say that he felt deeply ashamed of his sins, yet it is Allah and the person himself who knows how much guilt he has over his past actions. When feels deeply ashamed over his past deeds, it is truly a sign of forgiveness. 

Peace of Mind:

You might have noticed that gangsters, killers, and those who exploit others make millions every day, but still, they don’t get a good night’s sleep. It is because their subconscious keeps on disturbing them and they don’t have peace of mind. 

Scholars believe that when one is forgiven, he is blessed with a state of calmness. If you don’t have peace of mind.

 If you sincerely repented and ask for Allah’s forgiveness then After that you should not worry about waswaas (whispers) suggesting that his repentance is not accepted, because that is from the Shaytaan and is contrary to what Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) have told us, that repentance is accepted if it is sincere.