It is very natural for a person to immediately feel repentant after making a mistake. To awaken the feeling of repentance in a person one has to be tolerant of what he does -- if he abuses you, you should be silent; if he throws a stone at you, you must not pelt another stone at him; if he has taken away your wealth by deception, you must bear the loss. If you do not tolerate another person's wrongdoing and take to fighting with him, then instead of becoming repentant his ego will become dominant and he will further turn against you. Patience has the power to subdue people's hearts. This is because patience on your part at another person's misdeeds, develops a feeling of shame and repentance in him. But to awaken this feeling in a person one needs to have the ability to tolerate his wrong actions. This is why the Quran says: "But no one will be granted such goodness except those who exercise patience and self-restraint." (41:35) Keeping patience is not easy. But by being patient, you can make even your dire enemy feel repentant and hence surrender before you.
