Question Summary:
I commit sins I am too ashamed to speak of. Please advise me on the best way to repent.

Question Detail:

I am sick and tired of being a bad person and disobeying Allah. 
I am regular in my salaah but do commit sins that I am too ashamed to speak of. Please advise me on the best way to repent (such as some duas, quranic ayah) , and to attain taqwa and the love for Allah in my heart.
Also, I hear people speak of 'salaatul tawba'. Is there such a thing and if so, how should one perform it.

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullāhi wa barakātuh.
Dear brother,
Allah Ta‘ālā is full of mercy and kindness and is always ready to forgive. Never despair of His mercy. Allah Ta‘ālā says:
قلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ 
“Say (on My behalf), ‘O servants of Mine who have acted recklessly against their own selves, do not despair of Allah’s mercy. Surely, Allah will forgive all sins. Surely, He is the One who is the Most-Forgiving, the Very-Merciful.’”
Alhmadulillāh, Allah Ta‘ālā has put in your heart the desire to change and become His obedient slave. This is the first step towards tawbah. Capitalise on this feeling and do not give up or become despondent. Inshā Allah, the following guidelines will be sufficient:
Firstly, find the company of a righteous guide and shaykh in your locality who you can relate to and who has imbibed the qualities of Taqwā and adherence to the Sunnah. Keep his company, confide in him and adhere to his advice.
Secondly, be sincere in leaving sins by cutting off all avenues to sin. For example, if one is overcome by the sin of lust, he should cut off all avenues leading to it, by not keeping television in his home, disabling pictures on the internet, not watching films or movies, not attending places where he would be led to temptation and sin or where there is intermingling of sexes, lowering his gaze when outside and in the marketplace, and so on.
Thirdly, recite the following du‘ā’ after every Fajr and Maghrib prayer, with feeling and devotion:
اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّي لاَ إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ، خَلَقْتَنِي وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ، وَأَنَا عَلَى عَهْدِكَ وَوَعْدِكَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُ، أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا صَنَعْتُ، أَبُوءُ لَكَ بِنِعْمَتِكَ عَلَيَّ، وَأَبُوءُ لَكَ بِذَنْبِي فَاغْفِرْ لِي، فَإِنَّهُ لاَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ
Allaahumma Anta Rabbee; laa ilaaha illaa Anta; khalaqtanee wa ana ‘abduk; wa ana ‘alaa ‘ahadika wa wa‘dika mastataṭa‘t; a‘oodhu bika min sharri maa ṣana‘tu; aboo’u laka bi ni‘matika ‘alayya wa aboo’u laka bidhambee; faghfirlee; fa innahoo laa yaghfirudh dhunooba illa Anta
“O Allah! You are my Lord. There is no deity besides You. You have created me and I am Your slave. And I hold to Your covenant and Your promise as much as I can. I seek protection in You from the evil that I have committed. I confess to You Your blessing over me and I confess to You my sin. So forgive me! For verily, none forgives sin but You.”
Rasūlullāh (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said about this supplication: “Whoever says this in the morning having certainty in it, and dies on that day before reaching the evening, he will be from the inhabitants of Jannah. And whoever says this in the evening having certainty in it, and dies before reaching the morning, he will be from the inhabitants of Jannah.” (Sahīh al-Bukhārī)[1]
Fourthly, as far as possible, perform every Salāh in the masjid. Rasūlullāh (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said: “The congregational Salāh exceeds one’s Salāh in his house and his Salāh in his market by 25 times. When one of you performs wudū’ and excels (in performing wudū’), and he attends the masjid, having no intention besides Salāh, he does not tread one step, except Allah raises him one rank thereby and He removes from him one sin, until he enters the masjid. And when he enters the masjid, he is in Salāh so long as (the Salāh) keeps him (in the masjid); and the angels pray over him for as long as he is in his sitting-place in which he will pray. [The angels say]: ‘O Allah, forgive him! O Allah, have mercy on him!’”[2]
Hence, Salāh in the masjid is a great means of forgiveness and gaining nearness to Allah Ta‘ālā.
Fifthly, recite this du‘ā’ frequently, begging Allah Ta‘ālā for His fear and to protect you thereby from sin:
اللهم إني أسألك من خشيتك ما تحول به بيني وبين معصيتك
Allaahumma innee as’aluka min khashyatika maa taḥool bihee baynee wa bayna ma‘ṣiyatik
“O Allah! Verily, I ask You from Your fear that which will become a barrier between me and Your disobedience.”
The only way to stop deep-rooted and entrenched sins is to develop the fear of Allah Ta‘ālā. This will come by keeping the company of the pious and by working to develop it within yourself.
With regards to Salāt al-Tawbah, Sayyidunā Abū Bakr al-Siddīq (radiyAllāhu ta‘ālā ‘anh) narrated from Nabī (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam):
ما من رجل يذنب ذنبا فيتوضأ فيحسن الوضوء ثم يصلي ركعتين فيستغفر الله عز وجل إلا غفر له
“No man commits a sin, then performs wudū’, and perfects the wudū’, then prays two rak‘ahs, and then begs Allah – Great and Glorious is He – for forgiveness, except he will be forgiven.”[3]
Its procedure is to perform two rak‘ahs of nafl prayer, and then make du‘ā’ to Allah, saying: “O Allah, I seek Your forgiveness from such-and-such a sin. I will never return to it.”[4]
And Allah Ta‘ālā Knows Best
Zameelur Rahman
Student Darul Iftaa
UK
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
www.daruliftaa.net