[And seek forgiveness of your Lord and turn to Him in repentance whereupon He will grant you a fair enjoyment of life until an appointed term.] Hūd:3
In sūrah Hūd Allāh commands us to do Istighfār (seek forgiveness) then He commands us to do Tawbah (turn to Him in repentance).
Which raises an important question: what is the difference between the two?
Their meanings are almost identical. Yet they are two completely different actions, and in order to fulfil Allāh’s command, we must understand what they require.
Istighfār is to shun the sinful acts of disobedience, transgressions, and to shun all forms of shirk, all the while seeking His forgiveness.
Tawbah, on the other hand, is turning to Allāh alone, remorseful over the wrongs you have sent forth, whilst performing the prescribed acts of worship and good deeds.
These āyāt tell us of the successful combination: Remove the bad then do good. Thus Allāh mentions Istighfār then Tawbah.
And your reward in this world? The Goodly Life, what many crave but only a few enjoy.
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