He who seeks repentance (from the Lord) before the rising of the sun from the west (before the Day of Resurrection), Allah turns to him with Mercy.  

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: «مَنْ تَابَ قَبْلَ أَنْ تَطْلُعَ الشَّمْسُ مِنْ مَغْرِبِهَا تَابَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ۔»  

from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ who said, "Allah ﷻ stretches out His Hand during the night to accept the repentance of the sinners of the day, and stretches out His Hand during the day to accept the repentance of the sinners of the night. ˹This will continue˺ until the sun rises from the west.  

عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ قَالَ: «إِنَّ اللَّهَ ﷻ يَبْسُطُ يَدَهُ بِاللَّيْلِ لِيَتُوبَ مُسِيءُ النَّهَارِ، وَيَبْسُطُ يَدَهُ بِالنَّهَارِ لِيَتُوبَ مُسِيءُ اللَّيْلِ, حَتَّى تَطْلُعَ الشَّمْسُ مِنْ مَغْرِبِهَا۔»  

“I came to Ṣafwān b ʿAssāl al-Murādī to ask him about wiping over the socks, so he asked: ‘What has brought you, O Zirr?’ So I said: ‘The desire for knowledge.’ So he said: ‘Indeed, the angels lower their wings for the seeker of knowledge, out of pleasure with what he is seeking.’

So I said: ‘Indeed there is some doubt in my chest concerning wiping over the socks after defecation and urination, and you were a man from the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ, so I came to you to ask you: Have you heard him ﷺ mention anything concerning that?’ He said: ‘Yes, he ﷺ used to order us, that when we were travelers’ - or - ‘in travel, to not remove our socks for three days and nights except, from sexual impurity, but not from defecation, urination, and sleep.’”

He said: “Have you heard him ﷺ mention anything concerning love?” He said: “Yes. We were with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on a journey when a Bedouin with a loud voice called upon him (saying): ‘O Muhammad!’ So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ responded to him with a voice similar to him (saying): ‘Come.’ So we said to him: ‘Woe to you! Lower your voice for you are with the Prophet ﷺ, and you have been prohibited from this.’ He said: ‘By Allah, I will not lower (my voice).’ The Bedouin said: ‘Can a person love a people and yet not catch up to them ˹in terms of good deeds˺?’ He ﷺ said: ‘A person is with whomever he loves on the Day of Judgement.’”

So ˹the Prophet ﷺ˺ kept on talking to us until he mentioned a gate in the direction of the west with the width of seventy years journey - or a rider would travel its width - for forty or seventy years.” Sufyan added: “In the direction of Shām, Allah created it the day He created the heavens and the earth, being open – that is, for repentance – and it shall not be shut until the sun rises ˹from that direction˺ (on the Last Day).”  

أَتَيْتُ صَفْوَانَ بْنَ عَسَّالٍ الْمُرَادِيَّ أَسْأَلُهُ عَنِ الْمَسْحِ عَلَى الْخُفَّيْنِ فَقَالَ: مَا جَاءَ بِكَ يَا زِرُّ؟ فَقُلْتُ: ابْتِغَاءَ الْعِلْمِ۔ فَقَالَ: إِنَّ الْمَلاَئِكَةَ تَضَعُ أَجْنِحَتَهَا لِطَالِبِ الْعِلْمِ رِضًا بِمَا يَطْلُبُ۔

قُلْتُ: إِنَّهُ حَكَّ فِي صَدْرِي الْمَسْحُ عَلَى الْخُفَّيْنِ بَعْدَ الْغَائِطِ وَالْبَوْلِ وَكُنْتَ امْرَأً مِنْ أَصْحَابِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ فَجِئْتُ أَسْأَلُكَ هَلْ سَمِعْتَهُ يَذْكُرُ فِي ذَلِكَ شَيْئًا؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ، كَانَ يَأْمُرُنَا إِذَا كُنَّا سَفَرًا أَوْ مُسَافِرِيِنَ أَنْ لاَ نَنْزِعَ خِفَافَنَا ثَلاَثَةَ أَيَّامٍ وَلَيَالِيَهُنَّ إِلاَّ مِنْ جَنَابَةٍ، لَكِنْ مِنْ غَائِطٍ وَبَوْلٍ وَنَوْمٍ۔

فَقُلْتُ: هَلْ سَمِعْتَهُ يَذْكُرُ فِي الْهَوَى شَيْئًا؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ، كُنَّا مَعَ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ فِي سَفَرٍ فَبَيْنَا نَحْنُ عِنْدَهُ إِذْ نَادَاهُ أَعْرَابِيٌّ بِصَوْتٍ لَهُ جَهْوَرِيٍّ: يَا مُحَمَّدُ! فَأَجَابَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ عَلَى نَحْوٍ مِنْ صَوْتِهِ: «هَاؤُمُ۔» وَقُلْنَا لَهُ: وَيْحَكَ اغْضُضْ مِنْ صَوْتِكَ فَإِنَّكَ عِنْدَ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ وَقَدْ نُهِيتَ عَنْ هَذَا۔ فَقَالَ: وَاللَّهِ لاَ أَغْضُضُ۔ قَالَ الأَعْرَابِيُّ: الْمَرْءُ يُحِبُّ الْقَوْمَ وَلَمَّا يَلْحَقْ بِهِمْ؟ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ: «الْمَرْءُ مَعَ مَنْ أَحَبَّ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ۔»

فَمَا زَالَ يُحَدِّثُنَا حَتَّى ذَكَرَ بَابًا مِنْ قِبَلِ الْمَغْرِبِ مَسِيرَةُ عَرْضِهِ أَوْ يَسِيرُ الرَّاكِبُ فِي عَرْضِهِ أَرْبَعِينَ أَوْ سَبْعِينَ عَامًا۔ قَالَ سُفْيَانُ: قِبَلَ الشَّامِ خَلَقَهُ اللَّهُ يَوْمَ خَلَقَ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ مَفْتُوحًا - يَعْنِي لِلتَّوْبَةِ - لاَ يُغْلَقُ حَتَّى تَطْلُعَ الشَّمْسُ مِنْهُ۔