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Presents : Seeking Allah's Forgiveness
A'uhdu billahi mina Shaitaan rajim, Bismillahi Rahman Raheem
In the name of Allah, the, most gracious, the oft forgiving, the most Merciful
All praises and adorations are due to Allah (Subhan wa Ta'ala) the One who forgives and commands forgiveness. Blessings and salutations upon the noblest of Mankind Muhammad Ibn Abdullah (Sallalahu alaihi wa salam) his household, his companions, his Wives, his children, those who followed him and the entire Muslim Ummah
In shaa Allah, our topic for tonight is *Seeking Allah's forgiveness*
I want each and everyone of us to understand that all perfection belongs to Allah (azza wa jala). I am bound to make mistakes, please accept my little efforts.
*Sincere Repentance - A Sure Path to Forgiveness*
We all make mistakes in our lives and we all commit sins.
We are all human and sometimes tend to lose the path for a while. What do we do when we realise we were wrong?. How do we ensure that our repentance is sincere, consistent and successful?
However, many people find that their repentance begins strong, but then slowly they get weaker and fall back into committing the sin only a short while later.
A person seeking Allah's forgiveness must Believe that Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful
You hear many people say “there’s no point in stopping my sin because I’ve wronged so much I don’t deserve God’s forgiveness, He’ll never forgive me.” If you are one of those people then you need to change your intention
How can you think that way, when Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) says in the Holy Qur’an over and over again that He is All-Forgiving and Most Compassionate? How can you lose faith in Allah’s subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) mercy? He created you and He knows your weaknesses and your faults. Everyone in the world makes mistakes, what makes you the best, is if you turn to Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) and beg for forgiveness.
Here are only a couple of the many examples where Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) mentions in the Qur’an, His love for those who repent and promises to forgive with mercy and compassion.
“And seek forgiveness of Allah. Indeed Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” [Qur’an: Chapter 73, Verse 20]
“And whoever does a wrong or wrongs himself but then seeks forgiveness will find Allah Forgiving and Merciful.” [Qur’an: Chapter 4, Verse 110]
We must never think that Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) will not forgive us. Repent with sincerity and remember that Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) loves His servants and Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) will accept your repentance.
*Below are some steps to seeking Allah's forgiveness*
Step 1: One should seek for forgiveness before it is too late, that is when one is not at his last breaths of life. When one rushes for Allah forgiveness when he realizes he would inevitably die, he might not meet condition of Allah acceptance.
Step 2: One should accept the fact that he has done a sin and regrets sincerely for doing so. Seeking for forgiveness may not be accepted when there is no remorse.
Step 3: If one is committing a sin and wants forgiveness he should immediately stop and desist from continuing with the sin. A person seeking for forgiveness may not get it when he is continuing with the same sin.
Step 4: One should take sincere commitment to himself with Allah (SWA) that he would not be repeating that particular sin as long as he lives and should also know that Allah knows our heart more than we know it ourselves and knows exactly if that sin would be repeated and when exactly. It is hoped that Allah would forgive a sincere heart – which he Himself created and with its weakness.
Step 5: If the sin committed involves right of others, like their wealth, respect, etc, one should return the wealth or appease those whose right he took away or abused.
*Methods of seeking Allah's forgiveness*
*Ask for forgiveness after the Salah (prayers)*
The best time for seeking Allah’s forgiveness is after the Salat. (It goes without saying that we should be regular in offering Salat).
Allah guides us in this matter as well. He, the most Merciful, Says:
surah hud verse 114
“And perform Salaat, at the two ends of the day and in some hours of the night [i.e. the five compulsory Salaat].” (Hud 11:114).
*Asking Allah for forgiveness day and night*
Being steadfast in prayers day and night and constantly asking Allah for forgiveness can help us repent for our sins. Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari (R.A.A) reported: The Prophet (S.A.W) said: “Allah, the Exalted, will continue to stretch out His Hand in the night so that the sinners of the day may repent, and continue to stretch His Hand in the daytime so that the sinners of the night may repent, until the sun rises from the west (start of day of judgment)”. [Sahih Muslim].
*Using Allah’s names to ask for His forgiveness*
While seeking forgiveness, Allah’s names concerning His Attributes of forgiveness and kindness should be used. Among the perfect Names of Allah, the Majestic and Most High, is Al-‘Afuww (He who pardons), and Al-Ghafoor (He who forgives), and Al-Ghaffaar (The Oft-Forgiving). Allah, the Majestic and Most High, loves our calling upon Him by His names and worshipping Him by that which His names demand. As He said:
Surah Al-A'raaf verse 180
“And Allah has the most excellent and perfect names, so worship and invoke Him by them” (Al-A’raaf ,7:180)
The Prophet has said in a hadith reported in the two Sahihs’ from Abu Hurairah , “Allah has ninety-nine names. Whoever memorizes and is mindful of them (ahsaahaa) will enter Paradise.”
(Al-Bukhari, vo1. 8, no. 419 and Muslim, no.6476.)
However, ‘… memorizing and being mindful of them …’ (ihsaa), is not merely writing these names on a piece of paper and reciting them, as some people do. Scholars have explained that ‘ihsaa’ of the names comprises of three stages. The first of these is to memorize the names. The second is to understand their meanings. And the third is to call upon Allah by these names in context of the calling.
Staying away from forbidden matters and performing the obligatory deeds
Allah tells us in the Quran that doing good deeds can help us in erasing our bad deeds. He says in the Quran:
Surah Hud 114
“Verily, the good deeds remove the evil deeds (i.e. small sins). That is a reminder (an advice) for the mindful (those who accept advice).” (Hud 11:114)
Focusing on the obligatory acts and steering clear of what Allah has forbidden, thus helps one distance from sins.
If an evil action has been committed, it should be followed up with a good one. Righteous actions expiate the evil actions as the Prophet (S.A.W.S) said:
“The five daily prayers and one Jumu’ah to the next, and one Ramadan to the next Ramadan, is expiation for what lies between them as a long as one refrains from the major sins.” [Sahih Muslim]
And he said: “One Umrah to the next is an expiation for what is in between them” [Sahih Al-Bukhari]
*Practicing self control*
One can stay away from sins by practicing self control. We can practice self control using that the prophet (S) taught us. For example, we are asked to stem anger by reciting A’udhu Billahi min ash-shaytaan-i’r rajeem (I seek refuge in Allah against the accursed Satan), whenever we get angry and are about to do or say something in a fit of anger. Sins pertaining to fulfillment of desires in the haraam, forbidden way, require self control as well. This should be accompanied with supplications to Allah, as we constantly need His help to strengthen ourselves. To help us in such situations where self control needs to be brought forth, we should think of the rewards that Allah Most Merciful has promised those who exercise patience and restrain themselves from reacting with anger or in any negative manner. Those rewards should not be lost!
Weeping out of fear of Allah
Anas bin Malik (R.A.A) reported: The Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.S) delivered a Khutbah to us the like of which I had never heard from him before. In the course of the Khutbah, he said: “If you knew what I know, you would laugh little and weep much”. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
Abu Hurairah (R.A.A) reported: Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.S) said, “One who weeps out of fear of Allah, will not enter Hell till milk returns back in the udder…” [At-Tirmidhi].
*Conclusion*
Seeking forgiveness with the hope of gaining Allah's mercy is what every Muslim should always do. A Muslim should forgive others if he/she wants to be forgiven by Allah (azza wa jala)
Only Allah forgiveness
He is the oft forgiving
Most gracious
Most Merciful
May Allah forgive us all. Ameen
Assalamu alaikum waramotullah wabarakattuh!!!
SPEAKER : Opebiyi Abdul Raheem Opeyemi (Abu Hussain)
References:
- The Noble Qur'an
- Sahih Al-Bukhari
- Sahih Muslim
- Islamic Book of Jurisprudence
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