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ISLAMIC DISCOURSES
Forgiveness from Allah
By Maulana Abdul Salaam
We are all the children of Adam (A.S.). In a hadith reported in Mishkaat, it has been mentioned that our father Adam (A.S.) made a mistake, and as such, so too his children also make mistakes. Adam (A.S) also forgot and he ate from the tree and because of this, his children also have the tendency to forget.
The conclusion is that we also make mistakes and we also forget.
Today is the day of Jumm’ah. It is the best of the days, the chief of all the days. It is one of the best days to turn to Allah (S.W.T.) and ask Him to forgive us for our shortcomings, for our mistakes and for our forgetfulness.
Rasoolullah (SAW) said:
“Every one of the children of Adam is a sinner…..”
In other words, he makes mistakes, he is full of faults, he errs. Then Rasoolullah (SAW) went on to say:
‘The best of all those who make mistakes, commit sins, errs, are those who make tawbah to Allah (SWT)”.
So it is a known fact that we will stumble and we will fall, and we will trip, we will make mistakes and we will err, but Rasoolullah (SAW) has stated that the best of those who make mistakes are those who turn to Allah (SWT) and ask Him to forgive them for their shortcomings, their faults, their mistakes and their forgetfulness.
In the Messenger of Allah (SAW) is the best example for the whole of mankind. And there is a Hadith mentioned in Bukhari Shareef under the chapter of Tawbah and Istighfaar, reported by Abu Hurairah (R.A.) where he said: “I have heard the Rasool (SAW) saying, ‘ By Allah, indeed I ask Allah for His forgiveness and I turn towards Allah(SWT) with repentance in a day, more than 70 times.” and in one narration, ‘more than 100 times’.
Rasoolullah (SAW) is the prince of both the worlds. He is the beloved of Allah. Allah has already forgiven his sins, those sins that were in the past, and those that would be in the future, if there would be any and yet, Rasoolullah (SAW) makes taubah more than 70 times a day in order that he be a grateful servant of Allah, in order that he is mindful of his duties to Allah, in order that he calls upon Allah who is Al Ghafoor, Al Ghaffaar, who is Ghaafir…. as well as to teach his ummah that if he the messenger can do it and he is the Nabi of Allah, then so to must you and I also do this.
And he, the messenger of Allah (SAW) swears by Allah- ‘Indeed I ask Allah for His forgiveness, and I turn towards Him in repentance in a day more than 70 times, more than 100 times.”
And in another narration, Rasoolullah (SAW) said:
“Turn to Allah and ask Him for His forgiveness”.
As such, not a day should pass us in which we do not ask Allah for His forgiveness and turn towards Him more than 70 times, more that 100 times in that day. And this does not mean that we just take a tasbeeh in our hands and say: “Astaghfirullah, Astaghfirullah…” but we should turn towards Allah sincerely, with devotion, with concentration and ask Allah (SWT) to forgive us, to turn towards us with His maghfirat and forgiveness and that He accepts our tawbah and repentance.
That is why Imam Bukhari, under this chapter quoted the verse of the Holy Qur’aan, wherein Allah (SWT) says:
“Oh people, turn towards Allah with sincere repentance, with sincere tawbah.”
Qataada (R.A.) gives us the commentary on this verse.
Allah is saying, ‘Oh mankind, if you are a kaafir, then turn to Allah and ask Him for forgiveness from your kufr and shirk, and embrace Islam. And if you are muslims, turn to Allah and ask Him for your sins to be forgiven.”
And what kind of tawbah…. True, sincere tawbah and repentance. Allah (SWT) loves this.
A man will find Allah regardless of what level he is upon.
He commits wrong, he will find Allah to be forgiving and Allah will forgive him on that level. And if a man is such that he commits more sins, then Allah (SWT) will meet him on that level of being the One who forgives much more. And if a man commits plenty of sins, he will find Allah to be the One who forgives sins in great abundance.
Therefore Allah is telling us:
“Turn towards Him in repentance”.
Rasoolullah (SAW) is also telling us:
“Turn to Allah and seek His forgiveness.”
Rasoolullah (SAW) has told us that we all commit mistakes, but the best of those who commit mistakes, are those who make tawbah and turn towards Allah.
We must however, be careful that we do not reach the stage or that level of attaining pride in one’s ibadaah and worship. We must be aware of Shaitaan and his plots. Sometimes it is that a person becomes a devoted servant of Allah but then Shaitaan whispers into his heart and makes him feel proud, telling him that he is such a pious believer… he is such a regular worshipper coming to the masjid… and soon he begins to look at other people with eyes of insignificance. Allah (SWT) does not like that. Instead, Allah feels happy, very happy when a person commits an error and then cries and turns towards Him in repentance. Allah loves that very much.
Rasoolullah (SAW) has said,
“One who repents from a sin is like that one who has no sin at all.”
The noble scribes, Kiraaman and Kaatibeen, those angels that are noble, that are the scribes, they know what you do. But the angel of the right is the Ameer and the leader, and he tells the angel on the left,
“Wait, do not record that, let some time pass, let some hours pass, let’s see if he will make tawbah!”
And if the person makes tawbah, then that act is not recorded. If we look at an example in the father or the mother where the child has done wrong. The mother and the father are the parents of that child. They are the ones who love the child, they care for the child. The child makes a mistake and comes and says, ‘Mummy I’m very sorry for what I have done, please excuse me and ask Allah to forgive me.”
How happy will that mother feel! How happy will that father feel! Two brothers had an argument, one was the oppressor and the other was the oppressed one. How happy will the brother feel when the other brother comes to him and says I am sorry, I did you wrong. He will certainly feel very happy.
That happiness is in no way comparable to the happiness of Allah when a person turns towards Allah and says:
“Oh my Lord, I am sorry, I have committed mistakes, time and time again. Oh Allah, You are You. And I am me. I am accustomed to committing sins, and You are accustomed to forgiving sins, for Your name is Al Ghafoor so forgive me.”
To describe this happiness we go into Bukhari Shareef in which there is a narration from Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood (RA) that explains it so beautifully. Under the same chapter of Tawbah and Istighfaar in Bukhari Shareef, Al Haarith (RA) said:
“I heard from Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood, two ahadith. One of them is from the Nabi (SAW) and the other one is from himself. Then he quoted the two ahadith.
Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood (RA) said:
“Indeed a believer sees/looks at his sins as though he is sitting underneath a mountain, which he fears will fall upon him. He doesn’t consider his sins to be slight and insignificant, that is a mu’min, a believer. If a major sin is committed, he wouldn’t rest until he makes tawbah. And through the barakaat of his other a’amaal and actions and through Istighfaar and his seeking forgiveness, the minor sins are forgiven.”
Such a person doesn’t consider his sins to be insignificant. He considers his sins to be like a person who is sitting underneath a mountain which he fears will fall upon him and crush him.
Then Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood said:
“And an evil person, sees his sins like a fly which passes by his nose and he did like this, indicating his brushing away the fly.”
One of the sub-narrators of this hadith, Abu Shihaab-while quoting this hadith, he indicated with his hand above his nose. That’s how an evil person sees his sins…. like a fly passing by his nose, and he brushed it away.
This is the hadith of Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood from himself.
The other hadith which Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood told Haarith Ibn Suwaid (RA) was from the Rasool (SAW) in which he said:
“Allah is happier with the tawbah and repentance of His slave than a man who alighted and encamped at a place in which there is danger and with him is his mode of transport, that is, his camel or horse. Upon this beast of his, is his food and drink so he has some comfort. He is in a dangerous spot, a spot of peril but he has his transport and upon that are his food and his drink.
Anyhow, he laid down his head and he slept for some time, then he got up in this place, in such a state that his transport has gone, his camel has departed, his horse is nowhere in sight. So what is understood is that he goes out now in search for his transport, upon which is his food and his drink. It’s a danger zone, he’s in the middle of the desert, wild beasts are around, or he is in the jungle, searching for this beast of his. He searches until the heat becomes severe, until the thirst becomes severe, or whatever Allah (SWT) wants. When that happens, he says to himself, “let me return to my place, let me return to where I had encamped.” So he returned and he slept for some time. Then he awoke and raised his head up, lo and behold, his camel, his mode of transport was right in front of him.
Can you imagine how happy this man will be, can you imagine he is in a suffering journey in the Sahara Desert, in the Kalahari Desert, in the Arabian Desert, in the jungle. The thirst is severe, hunger is severe, and there is danger. He had his transport, he had his provisions and he lost everything. He goes out searching, looking, until he becomes tired, until he becomes thirsty, so he returns to his place and sleeps for some time. Despite all the worries, he sleeps and then he gets up, and lo and behold his transport, his camel is in front of him with the food and drink. How happy he will feel! We can imagine his happiness.
Rasoolullah (SAW) has said:
“Allah is happier with the tawbah and repentance of a person, than the slave of His who does in this way.”
So therefore, let us turn to Allah, Al Ghafoor, He is the Forgiving, let us turn towards Him and ask Him to forgive us and pardon us for our mistakes.
And what is the best way of turning to Allah? Under the chapter of the same book, Imam Bukhari tells us of such a dua which we should try to learn. Rasoolullah (SAW) has said that this dua is known as ‘Sayyidul Istighfaar’- the chief and the head of all istighfaar and forgiveness. The dua is as follows:
Oh Allah, You are my Lord
There is no God except You
You created me and I am your servant
And I am upon your covenant and promise to the best of my ability
I will try to uphold it and keep it, and not break it
I seek refuge in You from the evil of that which I have done
I acknowledge all of Your favors which You have bestowed upon me
And I confess of me my sins towards You
So Allah, forgive me, indeed no one forgives sins, but You
Rasoolullah (SAW) said:
“Anyone who says this dua during the day time, and died in that day of his, with firm belief in it, before he finds himself in the night, then he is from the people of Jannah. And anyone who says it during the night, with firm belief in it, and he dies in that night of his, before he wakes up in the morning, he is from the people of Jannah.”
Subhaanallah! We should learn this Istighfaar and if we say it in the day, like today or any other day, and we should happen to die after having said this with firm belief, then we shall be of the people of Jannah, Insha Allah.
And if we say it in the night with firm belief in it, and we should die in that night before waking up in the morning, then we shall also of the people of Jannah, Insha Allah.
What a simple formula- Subhaanallah- to be amongst the people of Jannah.
It is for you and I now to reap from these plantations and take the fruits.
Ameen.
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