Reference: al-Muntaqaa min Fataawa Shaykh Saalih al-Fowzaan v1 p282-283 no.168
Question: I am a young man and want to repent to Allaah, so what should I do to avoid sins?
Response: Repenting to Allaah is obligatory, and hastening to do so is [also] obligatory; It is not permissible to delay repentence until a later time, because a person does not know when death will approach him.
Allaah (Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala) says:
And the Prophet ﷺ said:
And the meaning of:
...is to hasten; So from the etiquettes of repenting is to hasten to do so and not delay it.
Likewise, once you have repented, you are required to avoid everything which assisted you in committing sin; So you must avoid evil friends and gatherings of evil, because they are the cause for you committing these sins. [Instead] you should seek the company and gatherings of the good, and you should be diligent in attending circles of Islaamic knowledge and [the] remembrance [of Allaah]. Be sure to come early to the masjid [for prayer] and increase in the recitation of the Qur.aan and the remebrance of Allaah (subhaanahu wa Ta'aala). This is what is befitting for the repenter to Allaah [to do]; That he avoids everything which assists him in sinning, and that he draws near to all that is good and that which assists in the worship [of Allaah].
