Chapter I: Repentance
Hope and fear are two medicines, but they are applicable to various diseases. He whose fear is strong has given up this world wholly and burdened himself with additional burdens and confined himself within narrow provision. To him the causes of hope are many while the causes of fear are few. He who repeatedly commits sins and is despaired of repentance for many sins inspite of his will for repentance should be treated with the cause of hope so that he may expect acceptance of his repentance.
If he who is misguided and engaged in sins and still hopes for God's mercy, is like that person who is treated with honey inspite of his body being very heated. This is the way of the fools and the illiterate.
THERE ARE FOUR MODES OF GIVING UP SINS
(1) The first mode is to remind the verses of fear to the sinners and transgressors. The Prophet said : The sun does not rise and no darkness comes down without the two angels communicating with each other by four voices. One angel says :
How good it would have been if men were not created. Another says : How good it would have been if after creation of men they knew the cause of their creation. Again the first angel says : How- good it would have been if after knowing the cause of creation of men they worked according to their knowledge. In another narration, how good it would have been if they discussed with one another about what they knew. Another angel says : How good it would have been if they repented for not doing what they knew. An earlier sage said : When a man commits a sin, the angel of the right side calls the angel of the left side : Don't write it for six hours with your pen. If he repents and seeks forgiveness, he does not write it. If he does not seek forgiveness, he writes it.
Another 'ancient sage said. When a man commits a sin, the
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ground underneath that place seeks permission to sink down with him under the abyss and the sky above his head seeks permission to fall upon him. Then God says to that ground and the sky : Keep yourself away from My servant and leave him, as you have not created him. If you had created him, you would have shown him mercy. Perchance he will repent to Me and I may accept his repentance. Perchance he will do good works in place of it and I will grant him reward. In the spirit of this, God says : God restrains the heavens and the earth to fall down. If they fall down, who is there besides Him to hold them back?