Letter of repentance

Imam as-Sadiq (s), in a wonderful article as a “letter of repentance”, talked about the sins that must be repented of promptly as a moral and legal obligation; the sins that if had not been repaired by true repentance, they would not be removed or omitted from the book of the soul and heart and they would trouble man’s life in this world and subject him to the Divine torment on the Day of Resurrection.

Imam as-Sadiq (s) said, ‘O Allah, I beg You to forgive me any sin that has been related to You and then I committed it again. I beg You to forgive me what I have wasted of Your obligations and rights of prayer, zakat, fasting, jihad, hajj, minor hajj, perfecting wudu’ and ghusl, worshipping at night, glorifying You quite often, expiation for (breaking) oaths, returning to disobedience and every obligation I have neglected. I pray You to forgive me that and all what I have committed of major sins, minor sins, disobediences, bad deeds and lusts intendedly or by mistake, openly or secretly! I repent of that and of shedding blood, disobeying the parents, cutting the relation with the kin, fleeing from jihad, accusing honorable women, eating the monies of the orphans wrongfully, committing perjury, concealing true witnesses, buying Your covenant for a little price, usury, ill-gotten properties, magic, divination, pessimism, polytheism, hypocrisy, thieving, drinking wines, giving short measure and short weight, dissension, breaking covenants, fabrication, treason, breaking protection, (false) swearing, backbiting, talebearing, slandering, defaming, traducing, harming neighbors, insulting one another by nicknames, entering houses without permission, pride, haughtiness, stubbornness, exultancy, injustice in judgment, oppression when angry, fanaticism, supporting the unjust, helping others in sin and transgression, (littleness of family and of wealth and children), suspicion, following lusts, enjoining the wrong, forbidding the right, corruption, denying the truth, flattering the rulers, cheating, stinginess, talking about what I do not know, eating meat of dead animals, drinking blood, eating pork and any meat over which any other name than (that of) You has been invoked, envy, aggression, inviting to debauchery, wishing what You have granted to the others, self-deceit, reminding when gifting, intending to wrong, harming the orphans, chiding the beggars, breaking oaths, wronging any of Your people in his wealth, body and honor, what my eyes have seen, what my ears have heard, what my tongue has uttered, what I have stretched my hands to, what I have moved my feet to, what my skin has touched, what I have talked to myself which is disobedience to You and every false oath.’[1]

In this tradition, Imam as-Sadiq (s) has mentioned different sins that one should repent of and turn sincerely to Allah.