Thanks for the reply's everyone:smile:
I have two more questions I hope can be answered, Insha-Allah.
Can a person who does a sin countless times still repent too?
:wasalamex
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (Peace be upon him), from among the things he reports from his Lord (mighty and sublime be He), is that he said:
A servant [of Allah's] committed a sin and said: O Allah, forgive me my sin. And He (glorified and exalted be He) said: My servant has committed a sin and has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for them. Then he sinned again and said: O Lord, forgive me my sin. And He (glorified and exalted be He) said: My servant has committed a sin and has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for them. Then he sinned again and said: O Lord, forgive me my sin. And He (glorified and exalted be He) said: My servant has committed a sin and has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for sins. Do what you wish, for I have forgiven you.
It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari).
It is therefore important to know what true repentance entails. Sincere repentance has the following conditions:
1. The person must recognize that he or she has committed a sin and truly regret having done so.
2. The person must have a sincere resolve never to commit the sin again.
3. The person must turn to Allah in humility and ask for forgiveness.
4. If the sin had caused harm to someone else, the person must make every attempt to redress the harm.
This does not mean that if the person falls weak and returns to the same sin in the future, his or her former repentance is null and void. What is needed is a serious commitment in the heart never to commit the sin again. The doors to repentance are always open.
http://islamtoday.com/show_sub_section.cfm?main_cat_id=29&sub_cat_id=0
So yeah, even if a person sins continuously - so long as they repent and don't give up of Allah's Mercy. And whenever repenting, intend not to do the sin again - then Allah will be willing to forgive them. If they continue sinning without repenting, then this is much more harmful than never repenting.
Can a person still be guided if he is sincere and wants to be guided?
Will it ever be too late to have the seal removed from his heart, eyes and ears?
The more you distance away from Allah, the more harder it may be to return to Him because of what you mentioned. This is why you'll find that those who do really evil sins drown in them and if it wasn't for their sincerity and trust in Allah, they would remain misguided. This is why those who do less sins are more likely to return back to Allah more easily, because they have less sins and barriers to return back to Allah with.
Allaah Almighty says (translation of the meaning):
“O My slaves, all of you are astray except those whom I guide, so ask Me for guidance, and I will guide you. O My slaves, all of you are hungry except those whom I feed, so ask me for food and I will feed you. O My slaves, all of you are naked except those whom I clothe, so ask Me for clothing and I will clothe you. … O My slaves, if the first of you and the last of you, your humans and your jinn, were to stand on a single plain and ask of Me and I were to give each one what he asked for, that would not cause any loss to Me greater than what is lost when a needle is dipped into the sea.”
Narrated by Muslim (2577).
There is also a hadith qudsi which states that;
The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said: Allah the Almighty said:
I am as My servant thinks I am (1). I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself; and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assemble better than it. And if he draws near to Me an arm's length, I draw near to him a fathom's length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed.
(1) Another possible rendering of the Arabic is: "I am as My servant expects Me to be". The meaning is that forgiveness and acceptance of repentance by the Almighty is subject to His servant truly believing that He is forgiving and merciful. However, not to accompany such belief with right action would be to mock the Almighty.
It was related by al-Buhkari (also by Muslim, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn-Majah).
All of mankind is astray except those who take them steps towards Allah, in sincerity and with the intention of searching for the truth. Then once they turn to Allah for that guidance and ask Him of it - then He is the One who guides the hearts. And those who are sincere in wanting to turn away from Allah, and have the intention that they want to be rebellious against Him - even when the truth becomes clear and manifest to them - then they are lead astray, while they throw themselves into destruction while they perceive it not.
This is explained in the Qur'an when Allah says:
By the night when it covers
And [by] the day when it appears
And [by] He who created the male and female,
Certainly, your efforts and deeds are diverse (different in aims and purposes);
As for him who gives (in charity) and keeps his duty to Allah and fears Him,
And believes in the best [reward],
We will make smooth for him the path of ease (goodness).
But he who is greedy miser and thinks himself self-sufficient.
And denies the best [reward],
We will make smooth for him the path for evil;
And what will his wealth benefit him when he goes down (in destruction).
Truly! Ours it is (to give) guidance,
And truly, unto Us (belong) the last (Hereafter) and the first (this world).
Therefore I have warned you of a Fire blazing fiercely (Hell);
None shall enter it save the most wretched,
Who denies and turns away.
But the righteous one will avoid it -
[He] who gives [from] his wealth to purify himself
And not [giving] for anyone who has [done him] a favor to be rewarded
But only seeking the countenance of his Lord, Most High.
He surely will be pleased (when he will enter Paradise).
[Qur'an Surah Layl (the Night) 92]
If you are sincere in wanting to be guided, Allah will help you earn His pleasure and reward. Whereas if you aren't sincere, then you will go astray and cause harm to yourself.
When Iblis/satan/shaytan disobeyed Allaah, he said;
[Iblees] said, "My Lord, because You have put me in error, I will surely make [disobedience] attractive to them on earth, and I will mislead them all
"Except Your chosen, (guided) slaves among them." (mukhliseen)*
(Allah) said: "This is the Way which will lead straight to Me."
Indeed, My servants - no authority will you have over them, except those who follow you of the deviators.
[Qur'an 15: 39-42]
*The word in that verse is mukhliseen, which comes from the word Ikhlaas - which means sincerity. It is clear from the verse that satan/iblis will mislead the servants of Allah except those who are sincere to Him.
Shaytan hates it when you repent to Allah, and he will attempt to beautify a sinful act while making you remember that Allah is the Most Merciful - however once you commit that sin, you will feel bad and shaytan will make you feel helpless to the extent where he will say that you're too sinful to repent and gain Allah's Mercy.
But know that this is a great trick from shaytan, continue asking Allah for forgiveness since all of the children of Adam sin. Have a balanced feeling of love, hope and fear. This is healthy because it helps you to avoid sin, aswell as hope for Allah's Mercy if you ever did fall into it.
Like everyone else said, listen to the lecture insha Allah.
And Allah knows best.