My beloved brothers, fear Allah! Fear Allah and repent to Him, as Allah ordered us to do: (يا أيها الذين آمنوا توبوا إلى الله) O you who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere repentance. When the Sahabah would hear Allah say in the Qur’an O you who believe, they would give more attention and listen more carefully because they know that Allah (عز و جل) is talking to them. يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا تُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَوْبَةً نَّصُوحًا عَسَىٰ رَبُّكُمْ أَن يُكَفِّرَ عَنكُمْ سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ Oh you who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere repentance! It may be that your Lord will expiate from you your sins Our sins!! Are muslims allowed to have sins? Is it normal for us in our faith to have sins? Yes of course we are all sinners as our beloved prophet ﷺ said كُلُّ بَنِي آدَمَ خَطَّاءٌ, وَخَيْرُ اَلْخَطَّائِينَ اَلتَّوَّابُون “All the sons of Adam are sinners, but the best of sinners are those who repent often.” And this hadith shows us what is the difference between what is acceptable in Islam and what is not. If a Muslim commits a sin (Thanb or Ma’seyah) and repents to Allah (and performs Tawbah) then this is acceptable in Islam. However, if a muslim commits a sin and insists on that sin, then he is in danger and this is not acceptable in Islam. And actually this conception of Sins in Islam is highly confused by many many muslims. Because all of Muslims know that Sins are forbidden, and not muslims alone, and it is in the nature of human beings as created by Allah () that certain actions are appreciate and other actions are repulsive and abominable. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said " الْحَلاَلُ بَيِّنٌ وَالْحَرَامُ بَيِّنٌ، وَبَيْنَهُمَا مُشَبَّهَاتٌ لاَ يَعْلَمُهَا كَثِيرٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ 'Both legal and illegal things are evident but in between them there are doubtful (suspicious) things and most of the people have no knowledge about them. So We all know deep inside what is Halal and What is not. And we all feel the guilt in our hearts when we are doing a ma’seyah, when we are committing a sin. And what is worse than committing a sin that you know is wrong is committing a sin that you don’t know that it is wrong. And especially nowadays most muslims live a lifestyle that is completely contradicting with the teachings of Islam and we all got used to these lifestyles. It was narrated that Anas ibn Malik that he once said: إنكم لتعملون أعمالاً هي أدق في أعينكم من الشعر، كنا نعدها على عهد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم من الموبقات You indulge in (bad) actions which are more insignificant to you than a hair while we considered them at the time of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) to be great destroying sins" And actually he was talking at that time about the era of Al’Tabe’in, the following era of prophet Muhammad ﷺ. So how about now, more than 1400 years later. So now the question is as follows: How come all muslims know that sins are dangerous for us in our life and in the hereafter and still we find a majority of muslims, unfortunately, committing sins day and night. We all know the danger of sins and its side effects to our hearts. So how come we still commit sins. The answer lies in our corrupted belief about sins and about repentance. Many muslims misunderstand the concept of repentance, the concept of Tawbah. Some of us think that he can do all the sins he wants and just say before his sleep (Sobhan Allah w be Hamdeh) 100 times and then he’s free of all his sins. Which is true that prophet Muhammad ﷺ said that: It was narrated that he said: "Whoever says: ‘Glory is to Allah, and with His Praise (Subḥān Allāh, wa biḥamdih)’ a hundred times, his sins are forgiven, even if they were like the foam of the sea." So, yes it is true that he said that, but we still misunderstand this Hadith. Also some of us believe that we are forced to do sins which is our destiny and that we have no free choice in it. Which is also a misunderstanding of the concept of sins. Also some of us know the famous Hadith that prophet Mohammed ﷺ said that Allah () said: أذنب عبدي ذنباً، فقال: اللهم اغفر لى ذنبي، فقال الله تبارك وتعالى: أذنب عبدى ذنبا، فعلم أن له رباً يغفر الذنب، ويأخذ بالذنب، ثم عاد فأذنب، فقال: أي رب اغفر لي ذنبي، فقال تبارك وتعالى: أذنب عبدي ذنباً، فعلم أن له رباً يغفر الذنب، ويأخذ بالذنب، ثم عاد فأذنب، فقال: أي رب اغفر لى ذنبي، فقال، تبارك وتعالى: أذنب عبدي ذنباً، فعلم أن له رباً يغفر الذنب، ويأخذ بالذنب، قد غفرت لعبدى فليفعل ما شاء A slave committed a sin and he said: O Allah, forgive my sin,' and Allah said: 'My slave committed a sin and then he realized that he has a Rubb Who forgives the sins and punishes for the sin.' He then again committed a sin and said: 'My Rubb, forgive my sin,' and Allah (SWT) said: 'My slave committed a sin and then realized that he has a Rubb Who forgives his sin and punishes for the sin.' He again committed a sin and said: 'My Rubb, forgive my sin,' and Allah (SWT) said: 'My slave has committed a sin and then realized that he has a Rubb Who forgives the sin or takes (him) to account for sin. I have granted forgiveness to my slave. Let him do whatever he likes". So some of us hear this Hadith and misunderstand the last sentence in it and say that Allah has granted me permission to do whatever I like so that’s why I commit sins all day long. Also some of us think that he can commit all the sins he likes then he can pray two Rak’ahs and then get clean of all of his sins. Or instead, some of us think that he can commit all the sins he likes then he can fast the 9th of Moharram, the Day of A’shora’ or the Day of A’arafah then he gets clean of all of his sins. Even some people think that because prophet Muhammad said that fasting the Day of Arafah is an expiation for the preceding year and the following year, then he thinks that by fasting this day you can get all of your sins erased and you get a bonus of one complete year also as Hasanat. Also some of us misunderstand the Qur’anic verse where Allah () says: (إن الله يغفر الذنوب جميعا) Allah forgives all sins. And yes Allah () can forgive us for all of our sins even if they reached the sky. And all of our sins can be changed even to Hasanat by Allah (). But we still misunderstand the key! We still misunderstand the key to all of these blessings from Allah () and the MOST important concept that muslims forget in all of these verses and sayings is REPENTANCE. REPENTANCE “Tawbah” is the ingredient that if it is missing then we cannot get our sins forgiven. Repentance is the ingredient that if it is missing then our sins stay in our records, they don’t get erased. Repentance is the ingredient that if it is missing then we get punished for our sins. And the worst punishment in life for our sins is hardness of the heart. The worst punishment in life for our sins is the piling of the sins and its effect on our hearts. Allah () says in the Holy Qur’an:كلا بل ران على قلوبهم ما كانوا يكسبون No! Rather, the stain has covered their hearts of that which they were earning. This is the worst punishment in life for our sins. The stain on our hearts that makes it hard. Which makes us delay repentance, which then makes us commit more sins, which then makes our heart even harder until we reach the level that our heart misunderstands all of the verses of the Qur’an and all of the sayings of prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which then makes us commit even more horrible sins and get our heart even harder and harder and then we keep going on and on and on in this endless loop until we are faced with the truth that our life is over. We never stop descending in this loop until we find ourselves being punished for all of these sins. And the only thing that can save us from this horrible fate and this endless loop is repentance. Al-Tawbah. Allah () said: So now the question is what is Repentance? What are the conditions that must be fulfilled so that Allah () can accept our repentance? What are the conditions that must be fulfilled so that Allah () can forgive us for all of our sins which we know about and the many more which we forgot or even don’t know about?
There are three conditions for us to do a correct Tawbah. First, we must truly regret what we have done deep inside from our hearts. And if you want to know really if your regret or not, then you must feel sadness in your heart. If you committed a sin and do not feel this sadness in your heart then definitely you did not regret doing that sin. The second condition is that we must intend never to do this sin ever ever again. And this requires actions from you.
So these are the three conditions for Repentance: Regret from the heart, the intention of stopping this sin forever and returning people’s rights. This is how you do Tawbah!! Thus repentance is not sitting on the couch and saying with our mouths “I repent to Allah” or “Astaghfer Allah Al’Azim” 100 times, then after finishing he goes to commit a sin and insist on doing it and go against Allah’s commandments. Tawbah is not an act of the tongue, it is an act of the heart. If you want to do a Tawbah, then use your heart not your tongue. If you want to do Tawbah, don’t let Satan deceive you in misunderstanding Allah’s sayings. If you want to do Tawbah, remember that you can go to hell. It’s not just because you’re a Muslim that you have a green card to enter Heaven. Even if you have tons of good deeds, without a faithful heart you can commit small sins that can make you go to hell. If you want to do a Tawbah, then don’t just think that Hasanat can erase Say’at, don’t think that good deeds can erase bad deeds, but also know that the opposite is true. Dear Brothers, Listen carefully to this frightening hadeeth. A hadeeth that can cause a child to grow white-haired if it is truly reflected on our hearts. It was narrated that Thawban said that prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: " لأَعْلَمَنَّ أَقْوَامًا مِنْ أُمَّتِي يَأْتُونَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ بِحَسَنَاتٍ أَمْثَالِ جِبَالِ تِهَامَةَ بِيضًا فَيَجْعَلُهَا اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ هَبَاءً مَنْثُورًا " . قَالَ ثَوْبَانُ : يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صِفْهُمْ لَنَا جَلِّهِمْ لَنَا أَنْ لاَ نَكُونَ مِنْهُمْ وَنَحْنُ لاَ نَعْلَمُ . قَالَ : " أَمَا إِنَّهُمْ إِخْوَانُكُمْ وَمِنْ جِلْدَتِكُمْ وَيَأْخُذُونَ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ كَمَا تَأْخُذُونَ وَلَكِنَّهُمْ أَقْوَامٌ إِذَا خَلَوْا بِمَحَارِمِ اللَّهِ انْتَهَكُوهَا " . “I certainly know people of my nation who will come on the Day of Resurrection with good deeds like the mountains of Tihamah, but Allah will make them like scattered dust.” Thawban said: “O Messenger of Allah, describe them to us and tell us more, so that we will not become of them unknowingly.” He said: “They are your brothers and from your race, worshipping at night as you do, but they will be people who, when they are alone, transgress the sacred limits of Allah.” They are the muslims that when they are alone, they start committing all kinds of sins. They are the muslims that when they are alone, they don’t care that Allah () is watching the from above Seven Heavens. They are the muslims that have delayed repentance from their sins and never considered that some of their good deeds can be turned to dust because of the sins that they did not repent to Allah from. Dear brothers in islam, I say this and ask Alláh Az w Gal for forgiveness for me, you and all Muslims for every sin. Invoke Him for forgiveness, Invoke him for forgiveness from your heart not from your tongue, for He is the Most Forgiving and the Most Merciful. Dear Brothers in Islam, Allah () says in the Holy Qur’an قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful." We should not take parts of an Ayah and let our minds interpret it the way it wants. In this Ayah Allah () mentions that he forgives all sins. But this is only applicable for those who repent. This is only applicable for those who have committed sins and want to repent but are afraid that Allah might not accept them. In this Ayah Allah () approaches those people and tells them Do not despair from Allah’s mercy no matter how many your sins are currently. No matter how many your sins were, still Allah can forgive you and accept you if you repent to him. But in the same time do not let his mercy prevent you from fearing him. As muslims we should have in our hearts both feelings. We should have in our hearts both Fear from Allah and Expecting Allah’s mercy .(الخوف و الرجاء) Having only one of them can cause our doom. Expecting only Allah’s mercy will cause us to commit sins and then do not repent from them. While only fearing Allah will cause us to despair because no matter how faithful we are we will still commit sins. But the number and significance of your sins depend on how fast you repent to Allah and how much do you fear him in your heart. Allah () mentioned in the Qur’an وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْتُونَ مَا آتَوا وَّقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ أَنَّهُمْ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ رَاجِعُون And they who give what they give while their hearts are fearful because they will be returning to their Lord When Lady A’aisha (رضي الله عنها و أرضاها) heard this Ayah, she asked prophet Muhammad ﷺ أَهُوَ الرَّجُلُ الَّذِي يَزْنِي وَيَسْرِقُ وَيَشْرَبُ الْخَمْرَ قَالَ " لاَ يَا بِنْتَ الصِّدِّيقِ - وَلَكِنَّهُ الرَّجُلُ يَصُومُ وَيَتَصَدَّقُ وَيُصَلِّي وَهُوَ يَخَافُ أَنْ لاَ يُتَقَبَّلَ مِنْهُ Is this the one who commits adultery, steals and drinks alcohol?’ He said: ‘No, O daughter of Siddiq – rather it is a man who fasts and gives charity and prays, but he fears that those will not be accepted from him.’” This is the effect of fear in your heart. The fear from Allah will cause you to repent from your sins. The fear from Allah will cause you to worship Allah more sincerely. The fear from Allah will cause you to hasten to good deeds. And if we observe the lives of the Sahabah, we will find them in extreme sincerity to Allah because of their extreme fear of Allah. It was reported that Abu-Bakr Elseddiq (رضي الله عنه و أرضاه) cried very often and say to the people Cry, and if you did not cry then make yourself cry. And when he would engage into a Prayer he would stand like a stick in the ground from his fear of Allah. And when Prophet Mohammad ﷺ was dying he said to Lady A’aisha (رضي الله عنها و أرضاها) "Order Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer." She replied," Abu Bakr is a soft-hearted person and when he stands at your place, he will weep (so he will not be able to lead the prayer)." It was also reported that Omar Ibn ElKhattab (رضي الله عنه و أرضاه) when he read Surat AlTur and reached the Ayah that says (إن عذاب ربك لواقع) (Indeed, the punishment of your Lord will occur.) He cried so much that he got ill. And he also had two black lines in his face from weeping too much. It was also reported that Othman Ibn Affan (رضي الله عنه و أرضاه) if he visited a grave, he would cry until his beard gets wet and say (If I stand between Heaven and Hell between Ganna and Nar where I will not know my fate, then I wish to be sand before I know my fate.) So this is how the Sahabah were. ……… Dear brothers in islam, Fear Allah! Fear Allah because this fear will guide you in your life. This fear will soften your hearts and prevent it from getting hard. This fear will get you closer to Allah. This fear will stop you from committing sins. And even if you slip and commit a sin, this fear will urge you to repent to Allah as soon as possible. So Fear Allah! It was reported that a man asked Al-Hasan ibn Aly (رضي الله عنه و أرضاه) about this kind of speech. The speech that makes you fear, the speech that makes your heart shake. So he replied that Wallahy to accompany those who make you fear until you reach your safety is better than accompanying those who assure you until you reach your doom. Dear brothers in islam, Allah () says in the holy Qur’an أَلَمْ يَأْنِ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَن تَخْشَعَ قُلُوبُهُمْ لِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَمَا نَزَلَ مِنَ الْحَقِّ وَلَا يَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِن قَبْلُ فَطَالَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْأَمَدُ فَقَسَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ ۖ Has the time not come for those who have believed that their hearts should become humbly submissive at the remembrance of Allah and what has come down of the truth? And let them not be like those who were given the Scripture before, and a long period passed over them, so their hearts hardened So repent to Allah, Perform Tawbah as soon as possible. Perform Tawbah before you find yourself infront of Allah (). Perform Tawbah before we stand the presence of our Lord. Perform Tawbah before he confronts us with all of our sins. Perform Tawbah before your heart hardens and you find it too late.
1 Comment
Mohammad Hanieh
10/8/2020 10:14:48 pm
Very good
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