repentance

[Umm al_khair]

Explanation of Hadeeth 13 -- Riyaadu assaliheen under the book of Repentance

 

13. Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard Messenger of Allah (PBUH) saying: "By Allah, I seek Allah's forgiveness and repent to Him more than seventy times a day.''[Al-Bukhari].

 

 

Imam annawawi rahimahu Allaah put an intro and said that the scholars had said that repentance is an obligation obligated regarding every sin

and if the sin is a matter between the slave and Allaah, and unrelated to the right of a person it has 3 conditions (to be accepted)

1- the person stops doing the sin

2- regrets doing it

3- makes a determination not to return to it

if one of these conditoins are not fulfilled then the tawbah is not correct

and if the sin is related to a right of a human being, then the conditions will be 4.. those 3 and fulfilling the right to the person so if it were any kind of wealth then he will return it to him and if it was a punishment for a slander then he enables the punishment to be on him and if it was backbitting then he asks for his forgiveness.

Imam annawawi added (the person must repent from all sins) and if he repents from some of the sins then his repentance from these sins is correct but still he needs to make repentance from other sins (meaing other sins also require repentance)

 

and he said that the obligation for tawbah is supported by the evidences from the Qur'aan, Sunnah and concencus of the ummah

24/31 ...............And all of you beg Allâh to forgive you all, O believers, that you may be successful[].

And (commanding you): "Seek the forgiveness of your Lord, and turn to Him in repentance

66/8. O you who believe! Turn to Allâh with sincere repentance!

 

the author (Imam an-Nawawi rahimahu Allaah) mentioned the book of tawbah

meaning to return .. and legally meaning to turn from disobedience of Allaah to His obedience.

 

8/38. Say to those who have disbelieved, if they cease (from disbelief) their past will be forgiven.

The greatest and most obligated form from tawbah is from disbelief to belief.

Next in importance and greatness in obligation is -- seeking forgiveness from the major sins.

third rank -- seeking repentance from the small/minor sins

what's obligated on the person is to make tawbah to Allaah from all sins, and the author mentioned 3 conditions

however following and checking the textual proofs, the conditions can reach 5

1- sincerity

meaing the intention of the person when making the tawabah is to be seeking the face of Allaah the Most Majestic and Mighty and he seeks that Allaah forgives him and pardons him of his sins and does not seek showing off/drawing nearer to people and he does not intend to ward off any harm from authority or people in charge and that Allaah forgives him his sins

2- regret and sorrow

because the person when he feels the regret this regret is an indication that he is true in his tawbah so he grieves for what has occured and humbles himself and he sees himself in need of seeking Allaah with sincerity askig Him to forgive him.

3- that he siezes from indulging in the sin and stops

and this is one of the most important conditions if the sin was the type of abandoning an obligation ie. if someone does not pay the zakaah and abandoned it, and if he intends to do tawbah then it's inevitable that he gives the zakaah which he didn't before same for one who does not treat his parents well

also the same applies if the person severs the ties of kinship then he must establish them.

 

if the sin is the type of doing a haram, then he immediately siezes from that

ie. if the person is indulging in haraam like ribaa (usury)

therefore the obligation is to rid himself from ribaa immediately then cleans out whatever he earned from it and if the sin is like deception, lying to people and the like then he should refrain and sieze from all of that and if it's like earning something haraam then he should return it to the person from whom he took it in an illegal way or asks his forgiveness and if it's like gheebah (backbitting) then he should refrain

so for a person to come and say "I made tawbah to Allaah" while insisting upon abandoning the obligation, or insisting on doing the haraam then this tawbah is unacceptable rather it's like mocking at Allaah

how can one claim that he repents to Allaah while insisting on disobeying him

and he does not intend to ward off any harm from authority or people in charge

 

hadeeth Allah's Apostle saying. "All the sins of my followers will be forgiven except those of the Mujahirin (those who commit a sin openly or disclose their sins to the people). An example of such disclosure is that a person commits a sin at night and though Allah screens it from the public

 

if on the other hand the right is backbitting.. one spoke ill of someone infront of others while him being abscent.

Here the ulamaah disagreed, some saying it's a must to go to him and tell him that he spoke ill about him and hope that he relieves and forgives.

the other opinion is that one does not go to him, rather if he had known of your backbitting then it's a must to go to him and ask his pardon if on the other hand he did not know, then don't go to him and seek Allaah's forgiveness for him and speak good about him in the circles where he used to speak ill about him

as the good deeds wipe out and remove the bad deeds and this opinion is more correct.

The third condition for tawbah is to not return in the future, and if one intends to return when the opportunity is there then the tawabah is incorrect ie. if the person used to spends his wealth in sin .. like buying intoxicants or committing adultery/getting drunk, then he was touched by poverty upon he said "O Allaah I repent seeking your forgiveness" while lying intending that if the situations will improve as previously then he would return to these illegal practices this is the tawbah of the incapable.

[4:18] And of no effect is the repentance of those who continue to do evil deeds until death faces one of them and he says: "Now I repent;" nor of those who die while they are disbelievers. For them We have prepared a painful torment.

[40:84] So when they saw Our punishment, they said: "We believe in Allaah Alone and reject {all} that we used to associate with Him as {his} partners.

[40:85] Then their Faith could not avail them when they saw Our punishment. {like} this has been the way of Allaah in dealing with His slaves. And there the disbelievers lost utterly {when Our Torment covered them}.

 

[6:158] Do they then wait for anything other than that the angels should come to them, or that your Lord should come, or that some of the Signs of your Lord should come {i.e. portents of the Hour e.g., arising of the sun from the west}!

 

The day that some of the Signs of your Lord do come, no good will it do to a person to believe then, if he believed not before, nor earned good {by performing deeds of righteousness} through his Faith. Say: "Wait you! we {too} are waiting."

 

the ulaamah rahimahum Allaah also spoke about the matter of acceptance of tawbah from a certain sin while insisting upon others would it be acceptable or not?

3 sayings: 1- that the tawbah is correct, tawbah from a sin is correct while the person is insisting upon other sins

2- tawbah is not acceptable from a certain sin while insisting upon another

3- it is detailed: if the sin upon which he insists is of the same kind of the sin which he repented then it's not acceptable

tawbah from a sin is correct while insisting on another however the person will not be given the title of the one who repented in general and does not deserve to be praised as those who fully repent because he didn't

and his repentance is still imperfect he repented from a certain sin so the sin will be lifted off him in that sense but he is not to be described as a person who repented in general rather it's to be said his tawbah is imperfect and and short this is the saying one would feel comfortable towards as he will not be described as fully repented and not be deprived from the tawbah of that specific sin. The person must repent from all sins and he rahimahu Allaah spoke the truth as many verses insight and call to the tawbah and make clear the merits and rewards of the tawbah.

Allaah made it clear that he loves the oft repenting .. those who repent after making sins

[24:30] Tell the believing men to lower their gaze {from looking at forbidden things}, and protect their private parts {from illegal sexual acts, etc.}. That is purer for them. Verily, Allaah is All-Aware of what they do.

[24:31] And tell the believing women to lower their gaze {from looking at forbidden things}, and protect their private parts and not to show off their adornment except only that which is apparent {like hands},

and to draw their veils all over Juyubihinna {i.e. necks and bosoms, etc.} and not to reveal their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husband's fathers, their sons, their husband's sons, their brothers or their brother's sons, or their sister's sons,

or their {muslim} women {i.e. their sisters in Islaam, or the {female} slaves whom their right hands possess, or old male servants who lack vigour, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex.

And let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment. And all of you beg Allaah to forgive you all, O believers, that you may be successful.

 

he salaah Allaahu alahi wa salaam commands us to do tawbah while he alahi assalaatu wa assalalm makes tawbah more than us

15 Anas bin Malik Al-Ansari (MayAllah be pleased with him) the servant of the Messenger of Allah narrated: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Verily, Allah is more delighted with the repentance of His slave than a person who lost his camel in a desert land and then finds it (unexpectedly)".

[S.O.S]

Dear brothers and sisters,

Here are some thoughts of a sinner among sinners.

 

My dear tongue...

 

My peak of reflection, yet my lack of it

The ease of my pain, yet the cause of it

The peace of my reign, yet the terror of it

My means of affection, yet my barrier to it

Speaker of best words, yet the worst words

Key the doors of Jannah, yet to Jahannamah

Centre of misery and master of sinful slippery

 

O my dear tongue, listen to me carefully...

 

You are a blessing from Allah, who enabled me to call upon Him through you, to recite the Qur’aan and to be means of worship. Thus hereby I order you to repent, to make supplication and ask for forgiveness every day and every night, lest you taste the tree of Zaqquum, lest you be begging and wishing to turn into dust in vanity, lest you be doomed in the punishments of a tormenting Hellfire!

 

Jazaakal-Laah for the reminder sister, we keep forgetting the importance of repentance; may Allah forgive us all for our sins.

 

WCWW

[S.O.S]

State of repentence

by Imam ibn-ul Qayyim al-Jawziyyah

 

The state of repentance, tawbah, is at the beginning, the middle and the end of all states of submission to the will of Allah. The servant who seeks the pleasure of Allah never abandons tawbah. He remains in the state of tawbah until his death. Whatever his state of belief, the servant makes tawbah his constant companion. Thus, tawbah is at the beginning and at the end of his servitude to his Creator. His need for tawbah at the end, just as at the beginning, overrides, and supersedes all other needs. Allah says: "And turn to Allah altogether (make tawbah), O you who believe so that you may succeed," (24:31)

 

The verse above is contained within a Madinan Surah (revealed after the migration to Madinah), in which Allah addresses the people of emaan, who are the best of His creation. He calls upon them to make tawbah "turn in repentance" to Him after they had already believed, gone through hardships, trials of faith, executed patience, migrated and performed jihad. Allah then made success conditional on perfecting such tawbah, as the effect is often conditional on the cause. No one can hope for success, except: those who make tawbah. Allah says: "And those who do not make tawbah are indeed the dhaalimoon (wrongdoers)." (49:11)

 

Allah divides His servants into two categories only: the repentant and the wrongdoers. There is no third category. Allah calls those who do not make tawbah, "dhaalimoon" (wrongdoers and transgressors) and no one is more of a wrongdoer and a transgressor than a person who does not repent for his evil actions. This state is a result of a person's ignorance of his Lord and the rights due to Him, as well as, his own defects and the evil of his deeds. The Prophet, sallallahu alayeh wa sallam, is reported to have said: "O people, make tawbah to Allah. By Allah, I make tawbah to Him more than seventy times each day." (Bukhari)

 

His companions used to count for him in each congregation his saying one hundred times: "My Lord, forgive me and accept my repentance, for You are At-Tawwab (the One who accept repentance), Al-Ghafoor (The Oft Forgiving)." The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, is also reported to have said: "No one will be rescued (on the Day of Judgment) by his deeds. They (his companions) asked even you Messenger of Allah? He said, even me, unless Allah would grant me His mercy and Grace."

 

May Allah's blessings and peace be upon His Messenger, the most knowledgeable among His creation of Him, His Rights, His Greatness and what servitude He deserves. He is the most knowledgeable of servitude and its requirements and the most committed in servitude to Allah.

 

The Starter (Fatihah) of Tawbah

 

Tawbah is the return of the servant to Allah. It is also his turning away from the path of those with whom Allah is angry and those who are astray. This returning cannot be done except by Allah's guidance to the Straight Path. The servant will not attain guidance except through Allah's help and the servant's submithrough tawheed. Suratul-Fatihah explains this concept in the most complete and eloquent manner.

 

Whoever appreciates Surat-ul-Fatihah and gives it is right estimate, through knowledge, contemplation upon its facts and by living its directives, will realise that one cannot recite it, with the true recitation of a servant, unless one makes sincere tawbah. The perfect guidance to the Straight Path cannot be attained with the indifference to sins or the persistence on sins. Indifference to sins negates the knowledge of guidance. Persistent sinning negates the intention and the will of the servant. Thus, tawbah will not be valid except after one recognises the sins, admits to them and seeks to rid oneself of their evil consequences.

 

Seeking Refuge from Sin

 

The first aspect of tawbah, then, is to see how one was taken away from seeking the pleasure of Allah, by committing sins. Next, one has to recognize that Allah didn't safeguard him from sin. One should also ponder how happy one was while sinning and being persistent on the sin, while knowing with surety that Allah ever watches over whatever is done in the heavens or on the earth. If the servant had sought refuge in Allah, he would not have gone away from the guidance of obedience, "And whoever holds firmly to Allah, then he is indeed guided to a Right Path." (3:101)

 

If one's holding onto Allah is firm, one would never be forsaken by Allah, "And hold firmly to Allah, He is your Mawlaa (Protector) and what an excellent Mawlaa and what an excellent Naseer (Helper)." (22:78)

 

In other words, whenever we hold firm to Him, He will become our Protector and He will support us against our nafs (inclinations) and the Shaytan. These two enemies, the nafs and Satan, are the ones that do not leave the servant for even a moment. Their enmity is more harmful to the servant than the enemies from without. Attaining victory over such enemies is more difficult, and the servant's need for such a victory is far more important. The degree of help rendered to defeat these enemies is dependent upon the degree of our dependence and holding onto Allah. If we do not hold firmly to Allah, we will go away from Allah's protection. This is indeed the true loss. Allah could have aided us in staying away from sins, however, because we deserted Him, we were allowed to listen to any obey our nafs. If He wished to protect us, the sin would not have found a way to get to us.

 

When the servant becomes heedless of the consequences of sin, he finds pleasure when he satisfies unlawful desires. This pleasure in disobedience is evidence of his ignorance of the Greatness of the One of disobeys, and his ignorance of the evil consequences of sins and evil actions. His pleasure with sin has concealed all of this from his sight. In fact, his pleasure with sin is more harmful to him than perpetrating the sin itself. The believer can never have any pleasure from sin. He cannot have complete satisfaction with it. On the contrary, he would not even pursue it, except with grief in his heart. But the intoxication of the desires obscures one from feeling this remorse. When the heart becomes empty from such grief and one is happy with sin, then one should question his faith and weep for the death of his heart. If one were alive, he would be sad for the perpetration of any sin, big or small. The evil effects of sin, more times than not, go unnoticed in us and in our brothers and sisters in Islam. Diligences in constant self-evaluation is necessary in leading us away from sin and its destructive ends. One can do this by focusing on the following.

 

1. The fear of dying before making tawbah.

 

2. Remorse about the good that was missed because of the disobedience of Allah.

 

3. Working seriously on regaining what has been missed.

 

If one becomes completely heedless then one becomes persistent, which means constant disobedience with the intention to perform the sin again and again. This by itself is another sin that could be far greater than the first. Part of the punishment for sin is that it leads to a greater sin, then another, and so on until it completely and certainly destroys the person if he does not repent.

 

Persistence on sin is another sin. Not attempting to rectify the sin means persistence on it and satisfaction with it. This is the sign of ruin. Worse than all of that, is the commission of sin in public when we are sure that Allah watches and sees everything from above His Throne. If we believe that Allah watches us, yet we proceed to commit sins publicly, this is a great contradiction. But if we don't believe that He watches us, then we are completely out of the realm of Islam.

 

There are two considerations for a sinner: lack of embarrassment from Allah knowing that Allah's sight watches over all, and lack of fear to go out of the deen. Therefore, one of the conditions of the acceptance of tawbah is that a person should firmly believe that Allah was watching and that He will always watch over him. He sees everything during the perpetration of sins.

 

The reality of tawbah is to return to Allah is not sound or complete without the knowledge of the Lord's names and attributes and their manifestations within Himself and in the world. The repenting servant should know that he was running away from his Lord, captured in the grip of his enemy. He didn't fall into the claws of his enemy except as a result of his ignorance of his Lord and his daring to go against Him. He should know how and when he became ignorant, and how and when he was captured. He should believe that tawbah requires great determination and complete awareness to rescue himself from the enemy and be able to return and run back, to his Lord Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim. He should realise that returning to his Lord is actually turning away from the road of destruction, where his enemy had taken him. He should know the number of steps taken away from his Lord and the efforts and obstacles that he must strongly work on to get back to the Straight Path.

[S.O.S]

Repentence

by Imam Shaafici

 

Al-Muzni who is Aboo lbraaheem Isma`eel ibn Yahya said:

 

"I entered upon ash-Shaafi'ee during his illness which resulted in his death, so I said to him: 'What is your condition?' He replied: "I am journeying from this world, and departing from my brothers, drinking from the cup of death, and upon Allaah - Exalted is His remembrance - arriving. And no! By Allaah, I do not know if my soul is travelling towards Paradise or the Fire!" Then he started to weep, and he said:

 

'In You, the Creator, I raise my longing, And even if I am, O possessor of kindness and generosity, an evildoer, a criminal,

 

When my heart became constricted and my paths became narrow,

 

I took my hope in Your pardon and forgiveness as an opening and an escape,

 

My sins seemed very great to me but when I compared them to Your forgiveness,

 

I found Your forgiveness to be greater,

 

You are and still remain the only One who can forgive sins,

 

You grant and forgive out of Your benevolence and generosity,

 

Perhaps the One who is the source of all goodness will forgive and overlook my mistakes,

 

And will hide the sins and burden that I accumulated,

 

My sins seemed very great to me, so I turned (to You) in humility,

 

Were it not for my contentment in you, I wouldn't, O my Lord, have seen any comfort at all,

 

So if You forgive me, You would have forgiven a sinner, A rebellious, oppressive tyrant still sinning,

 

So my crime is very great, past and present, But Your forgiveness that embraces Your servant is greater and higher,

 

So whomsoever holds fast to Allaah is truly saved from mankind, And whomsoever's hopes are in Him, will be far removed from any regrets.'

 

In translating these lines of poetry I have exercised a certain degree of freedom in order to preserve the emotive content as well as making it readable in the English language. [Translator Note]

[S.O.S]

10 causes that remove punishment for a sin:

 

Shaykh ul Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

 

The punishment for a sin committed by a believer is removed in ten ways:

 

1) He repents to Allah (taubah), so Allah accepts his repentance, for the one who repents from sin is like the one who has no sin.

2) He seeks forgiveness from Allah (istighfar), so Allah forgives him.

3) He does good deeds that erase his sin for good deeds erase bad ones.

4) His believing brethren pray for him or seek forgiveness for his sins during his life or death.

5) Or they [ask Allah] to bestow on him as gift from the reward for their deeds, with which Allah benefits him.

6) His Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam, intercedes for him.

7) Allah tests him with trials in this world which expiate his sin.

8) Allah tests him in al-Barzakh (the intermediate life in the grave, between the death and the Day of Judgment) which expiates his sin.

9) Allah tests him in the various stages of the Day of Judgment which expiates his sins.

10) Or the Most Merciful of those who have mercy has mercy on him.

Whoever, then, is missed by these ten cannot blame anyone but himself.

[raula]

Advice on how to control your desires

 

The advice of Ibraaheem ibn Adham by Sister Laila Mabrûk (source:the Islaamic network)

 

A man came to Ibrahim ibn Adham, may Allah be pleased with him, and said, "Abu Ishaq, I am unable to control my lower self. Please give me something to help me with it."

"If you accept five conditions," said Ibrahim, "and are able to put them into practice, your disobedience will not cause you any problem."

"Just tell me what they are, Abu Ishaq!" the man said.

"The first is that when you want to disobey Allah you do not eat anything He provides."

"Then how will I get anything to eat? Everything on the earth is from Him!"

"So is it right to eat His provision and disobey Him at the same time?" replied Ibrahim.

"No, it is not. What is the second condition?"

"When you want to disobey him, move off His land."

"That is even more difficult! Exclaimed the man. "In that case where will I live?"

"Is it right to eat his provision and live on His land and then to disobey Him?" asked Ibrahim.

"No, it is not. What is the third condition?"

"When you want to disobey Him in spite of eating His provision and living on His land, find a place where He will not see you and disobey Him there."

"What do you mean, Ibrahim? He knows everything that happens even in the most hidden places!"

"So is it right to disobey Him when you eat His provision and live on His land and when you know that He can see everything you do?"

"It certainly is not!" the man replied. "Tell me the fourth condition."

"That when the Angel of Death arrives to take your soul, you say to him, 'Give me a reprieve so that I can repent and act righteously for Allah.'"

"But he won't listen to me!"

"Then if you cannot ward off death long enough to give yourself time to repent, and you know that when it comes there will be no reprieve, how can you hope to be saved?"

"What is the fifth?"

"That when the angels of the Fire come to you to take you to the Fire, you do not go with them."

"They will take me whether I like it or not!" exclaimed the man.

"So how can you hope to be saved?"

"Enough, enough, Ibrahim! I ask Allah's forgiveness and I turn to Him!"

The man's repentance was sincere and from that time on he was assiduous in his worship and avoided acts of disobedience until the day he died.

Taken from the book: The Day of Rising Published by Dar al-Taqwa Ltd. 1997

 

******it touched me because of its simplicity in explanation.

 

jzk.