Note: The following transcript was generated using AI and may contain inaccuracies.
The Prophet ﷺ, when he said:
وَإِنِّي لَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ فِي الْيَوْمِ مِئَةَ مَرَّةً
"I seek Allah's forgiveness a hundred times a day."
He didn't commit a hundred sins a day.
And the Prophet ﷺ is ma'soom—he's protected from all of the major sins and from anything that is deliberate.
So why a hundred times a day?
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَنْ زَكَّاهَا وَقَدْ خَابَ مَنْ دَسَّاهَا
We were speaking about At-Tawbah and Istighfar.
And we didn't really get into the topic of At-Tawbah because we were still talking a lot about Istighfar last time.
And this time, we're going to get into both, insha'Allah ta'ala.
I'm going to begin by talking about the sins that have happened and those that are yet to come.
Great.
And the things that affect the heart and cause it to be distant from Allah.
In the hadith of Al-Aghhar Al-Muzani:
وَكَانَتْ لَهُ صُحْبَةٌ
And he was from the Sahabah, r.a.
He said:
أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ قَالَ إِنَّهُ لَيُغَانُ عَلَى قَلْبِي وَإِنِّي لَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ فِي الْيَوْمِ مِئَةَ مَرَّةً
He said: إِنَّهُ لَيُغَانُ عَلَى قَلْبِي.
He said: "My heart…" This word يُغَانُ—it doesn’t mean to be sealed. It doesn’t mean to be covered in the sense of being cut off from Allah, because that cannot happen to the Prophet ﷺ.
But this word يُغَانُ is like a feeling of something coming between you and Allah—ya'ni, your heart is not like it was before.
And if the Prophet ﷺ said, "I feel this happen to my heart," then what do you think about your heart and my heart?
It's more likely that it will happen to us, and it's more likely that it will be more severe.
إِنَّهُ لَيُغَانُ عَلَى قَلْبِي—I feel something between me, my heart, and Allah.
And indeed, I seek Allah's forgiveness a hundred times a day.
This tells us that the first cure when you feel something come between your heart and Allah is what?
الاستغفار—to ask Allah’s forgiveness.
And that the Prophet ﷺ, when he said:
وَإِنِّي لَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ فِي الْيَوْمِ مِئَةَ مَرَّةً
"I seek Allah's forgiveness a hundred times a day."
He didn’t commit a hundred sins a day.
And the Prophet ﷺ is ma‘soom—he's protected from all major sins and from anything deliberate.
So why a hundred times a day?
The reason I brought this up is to highlight the issue of seeking forgiveness even when you don’t have something specific in mind.
Does that make sense?
Even when it’s not like, “I just did something really bad; let me seek forgiveness.”
Rather, it’s about the action of regularly and consistently asking Allah for forgiveness.
And this is from two angles:
Number one: Because there will be many sins you don’t remember.
There will be many sins you didn’t remember you committed or didn’t even realize you committed.
Number two: It's not just about what you remember—it's about keeping that connection between you and Allah.
Ibn Al-Qayyim r.a. explains how this happens.
He said in Al-Waabil As-Sayyib:
صَدَأُ الْقَلْبِ بِالْأَمْرَيْنِ
There are actually two things that cause this covering or distance between your heart and Allah.
There are two things that cause it:
بِالْغَفْلَةِ وَبِالذَّنْبِ
So yes, sins cause it—we all know that.
If you disobey Allah, your Iman decreases, and your heart becomes further away from Allah.
But there’s something else that causes your heart to feel disconnected from Allah.
And that is Al-Ghaflah—just being unaware, not remembering Allah.
And Allah is not at the front of your mind—you’re thinking about the dunya.
We know the famous hadith of Hanzala Al-Asadi وَكَانَ مِنْ كُتَّابِ الْوَحْي—he was from the people who wrote down the revelation, رضي الله عنه.
He said:
لَقِيَنِي أَبُو بَكَر يَوْمًا فَقَالَ لِي كَيْفَ أَنْتَ يَا هَنْظَلَةَ
"Abu Bakr met me one day and said, ‘How are you, O Hanzala?’”
قَالَ قُلْتُ نَافَقَ هَنْظَلَةَ
He said, “Hanzala has become a munafiq.”
Hanzala is من كتاب الوحي—one of the scribes of revelation.
He writes the Quran.
How can he be a munafiq?
Yet he is saying to Abu Bakr: “I feel I am a munafiq. I think I am a munafiq.”
Abu Bakr said to him:
سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ مَا تَقُولُ
“SubhanAllah! What are you saying?”
سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ
“Glory be to Allah! You are from the righteous companions, the noble people.”
We know your virtue—how can you say that you are a munafiq?
Hanzala then explained:
“When we are with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he reminds us of the Hellfire and Paradise as if we can see them with our own eyes.”
يُذَكِّرُنَا بِالنَّارِ وَالجَنَّةِ كَأَنَّا رَأْيُ عَيْنٍ
“But when we leave the Messenger ﷺ, we get busy with our wives, our children, our businesses, and our daily lives. We think about them, and we forget much of what the Messenger told us about.”
فَإِذَا خَرَجْنَا مِنْ عِنْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ عَفَسْنَا الْأَزْوَاجُ وَالْأَوْلَادُ وَالضَّيْعَاتِ فَنَسِيْنَا كَثِيرًا
“When I am sitting with him, it feels like Jannah is right before my eyes. It feels like Jahannam is right in front of me. Nothing is in my mind except Allah and Ad-Dar Al-Akhirah (the Hereafter).”
“But when I leave the Prophet ﷺ, I start thinking about my wife—what does she need? My children—what do they need? My business—I need to sell this and buy that.”
And I forget how I used to be when I was with him.
Abu Bakr then said something to him:
وَاللَّهِ إِنَّا لَنَلْقَى مِثْلَ هَٰذَا
He said, “Wallahi, we experience the same thing.”
Abu Bakr, who is the best of this ummah after the Prophets and Messengers ﷺ—the best of this ummah after the Prophet ﷺ—said, “Wallahi, we feel the same way. The same thing happens to us.”
“When I am with the Prophet ﷺ, it feels like Jannah is right in front of my eyes. But then I think about my children and my wife, and I get busy.”
فَانطَلَقْنَا إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ
“So we went to the Messenger ﷺ and told him about it.”
I said to the Prophet ﷺ:
نَافَقَ حَنْظَلَةٌ
“Hanzala has become a munafiq.”
The Prophet ﷺ said to him:
وَمَا ذَاكَ؟
“And what is this about?”
Hanzala explained:
“When we are with you, and you remind us of the Hellfire and Jannah, it is as if we can see them with our own eyes.”
تُذَكِّرُنَا بِالنَّارِ وَالجَنَّةِ كَأَنَّا رَأْيُ عَيْنٍ
“But when we leave your presence, we get busy with our wives, our children, and our businesses, and we forget much of what you told us.”
فَإِذَا خَرَجْنَا مِنْ عِنْدِكِ عَافَسْنَا الْأَزْوَاجُ وَالْأَوْلَادُ وَالضَّيْعَاتِ نَسِيْنَا كَثِيرًا
The Prophet ﷺ then swore by Allah and said:
وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ
“By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, if you were to remain in the same state that you are in when you are with me and in constant remembrance of Allah, the angels would shake your hands on the road and in your beds.”
لَوْ أَنَّكُمْ تَدُومُونَ عَلَى مَا تَكُونُونَ عِنْدِي وَفِي الذِّكْرِ لَصَافَحَتْكُمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ فِي فُرُشِكُمْ وَعَلَى طُرُقِكُمْ
Then he said:
وَلَكِنْ يَا حَنْظَلَةُ، سَاعَةً وَسَاعَةً
“But O Hanzala, there is a time for this and a time for that. A time for this and a time for that.”
What is the purpose of this discussion?
The idea of Al-Ghafla—heedlessness—and how it affects the heart.
Hanzala thought he was a munafiq because he did not think about Jannah all the time. He did not think about Allah all the time. He did not think about the Hellfire all the time.
There are times when he thinks about his kids. There are times when he thinks about his family. There are times when he thinks about his dunya and his businesses.
And because of this, he feels his heart becoming distant from Allah. The Prophet ﷺ tells him that this is natural. This is something you cannot avoid. Did the angels shake your hands? No. You do not experience this connection with Allah all the time.
But when this happens, how do you fix it?
When you feel this distance, the Prophet ﷺ said:
إِنَّهُ لَيُغَانُ عَلَىٰ قَلْبِي وَإِنِّي لَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ فِي الْيَوْمِ مِئَةَ مَرَّةً
With istighfar and dhikr.
That is why Ibn Al-Qayyim said:
وَجَلَاءُهُ بِشَيْئَيْنِ
“This covering is removed from the heart by two things.”
بِالِاسْتِغْفَارِ وَبِالذِّكْرِ
“It is removed by seeking Allah’s forgiveness and by remembering Allah.”
And so, when you remember Allah, you feel that connection return to your heart once again. These two things—istighfar and dhikr—are always present in the heart of a believer, to the extent that scholars have discussed which of the two is more important.
Is it more important to engage in istighfar, or is it more important to engage in dhikr? A believer’s heart is always engaged in these acts.
Ibn Al-Qayyim said:
قُلْتُ لِشَيْخِ الْإِسْلَامِ ابْنِ تَيْمِيَّةَ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى سُئِلَ بَعْضُ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ أَيُّهُمَا أَنْفَعُ لِلْعَبْدِ التَّسْبِيحُ أَمِ الِاسْتِغْفَارُ؟
“I asked Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah—or I mentioned to him—that some scholars had discussed which is better for a person: is it more beneficial to engage in istighfar, or is it more beneficial to engage in dhikr?”
And he gave a very interesting answer. He said:
إِذَا كَانَ الثَّوْبُ نَقِيًّا فَالْبُخُورُ وَمَاءُ الْوِرْدِ أَنْفَعُ لَهُ
“If a garment is clean, then applying bukhur (incense) and rose water is good for it.”
“It is nice to apply rose water to your garment when it is clean.”
Then he said:
وَإِنْ كَانَ دَنِسًا فَالصَّابُونُ وَالْمَاءُ أَنْفَعُ لَهُ
“But if the garment is dirty, then soap and water are better for it.”
Then he said to me:
ثُمَّ قَالَ لِي: فَكَيْفَ وَالثِّيَابُ لَا تَزَالُ دَنِسَةً؟
“So what do you think when the garment remains dirty? Then a person must constantly be engaged in istighfar.”
And the Prophet ﷺ didn't have sins to speak of, yet he made istighfar a hundred times a day. This is for us to take as an example—to remember Allah and to cure this issue of ghaflah (heedlessness).
Have you reflected upon the five daily prayers and the benefit of having them spaced throughout the day? They serve as a cure for the ghaflah we experience. We go through periods in the day when we don’t think about Allah as much as we should.
Then we return to prayer and remember Allah. After that, we go back to our daily lives, but then we return to prayer again and remember Allah once more. This is the state of the believer—removing the veils from their heart through istighfar and dhikr.
I brought this statement to highlight that istighfar does not have to be directly linked to committing a sin in that moment. Does that make sense? It’s not necessary that you must have just committed a sin and then immediately seek forgiveness. Rather, istighfar is something you engage in regularly—not only for the sins you may have forgotten but also to keep your heart connected to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Among the proofs for this is a statement from Ali (رضي الله عنه), in which he said:
أَنْتَ الْمُقَدِّمُ وَأَنتَ الْمُؤَخِّرُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ
This is from a hadith narrated by Muslim. He mentioned that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, in the final moments before completing his prayer—between the tashahhud and tasleem—would say:
وَلْيَتَخَيَّرْ مِنَ الدُّعَاءِ أَعْجَبَهُ إِلَيْهِ
"Let him choose the supplication he loves the most at that time."
You can choose whichever du'a you like the most. And among the du'as the Prophet ﷺ would say at that time was:
اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِي مَا قَدَّمْتُ وَمَا أَخَّرْتُ
"O Allah, forgive me for what I have already done and what I have yet to do."
This means that you can seek Allah’s forgiveness not only for what you have done in the past but also for what you have yet to do.
وَمَا أَسْرَرْتُ وَمَا أَعْلَنْتُ
"And for what I did in private and what I did in public."
وَمَا أَسْرَفْتُ
"And for when I exceeded the limits You set."
وَمَا أَنْتَ أَعْلَمُ بِهِ مِنِّي
"And [for] the sins You know about better than me."
This means you can also ask Allah’s forgiveness for sins you don’t remember. You can seek Allah’s forgiveness even for sins you are unaware of.
As for tawbah, which we will discuss shortly, it is slightly different. But in istighfar, you can ask Allah to forgive you for something you don’t even recall committing.
What are you asking Allah for when you make istighfar? You are asking for two things, as we covered last week:
1. Sitr – for Allah to cover up the sin.
2. Al-Wiqayah – for Allah to protect you from the consequences of the sin.
This is similar to the mighfar (helmet) worn in battle—it covers the head and protects from the arrows being shot.
So, you are asking Allah: O Allah, there are things I don’t even know that I did. I don’t remember them. But You know them, and perhaps I deserve to be punished for them, yet I am unaware of how serious they are. Forgive me for all of them.
This falls under the category of seeking forgiveness for things that haven't happened yet or things you are unaware of.
The Difference Between Tawbah and Istighfar
Now, we come to the issue of tawbah and istighfar. Linguistically, what is the difference between the two?
As we mentioned, istighfar means to cover up and to protect. When you seek istighfar, you are asking Allah to:
Cover up your sin.
Protect you from any punishment, consequence, or harm that may result from that sin—whether in this life or the next.
As for tawbah, in the Arabic language, it comes from al-rujūʿ—which means to return. It refers to turning back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Ibn Al-Qayyim gives the example of a person walking on a path that leads to destruction
As Allah ʿAzza wa Jal said:
وَأَنَّ هَٰذَا صِرَاطِي مُسْتَقِيمًا فَاتَّبِعُوهُ ۖ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا السُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ بِكُمْ عَن سَبِيلِهِ
"And indeed, this is My straight path, so follow it, and do not follow other paths, for they will separate you from His way." [Al-Anʿām: 153]
So the question is: If someone is on one of those other paths that take them away from the path of Allah, how do they return to the straight path?
There is no way to get back onto the straight path except by turning one's back on the wrong path and returning to where they were supposed to be. And this is the essence of tawbah.
The word tawbah originally refers to a person on a journey who realizes they are heading in the wrong direction—toward destruction (al-halak). So they turn around, showing their back to that path, and return the way they came.
This is what tawbah truly means: Going back to where you should be.
Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله said:
فَالْإِسْتِغْفَارُ يَتَضَمَّنُ التَّوْبَةَ وَالتَّوْبَةُ تَتَضَمَّنُ الْإِسْتِغْفَارَ وَكُلٌّ مِّنْهُمَا يَدْخُلُ فِي مُسَمَّى الْآخَرِ عِندَ الْإِطْلَاقِ
"Istighfar includes tawbah, and tawbah includes istighfar. Each of them enters into the meaning of the other when mentioned alone."
This is a well-known position of Ibn al-Qayyim. He explains that when istighfar is mentioned alone, it includes tawbah, and when tawbah is mentioned alone, it includes istighfar.
For example, when Allah ʿAzza wa Jal says:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا تُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ
"O you who believe, repent to Allah." [At-Taḥrīm: 8]
Here, tawbah includes istighfar.
And when Nuh عليه السلام said:
فَقُلْتُ اسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّكُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ غَفَّارًا
"So I said, seek forgiveness from your Lord; indeed, He is the Most Forgiving." [Nūḥ: 10]
This includes tawbah as well.
The two are interconnected. It’s not that Nuh عليه السلام is telling people to make istighfar without tawbah, nor is Allah commanding tawbah without istighfar. The two complement each other.
But when both are mentioned in the same sentence, like in:
اسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّكُمْ ثُمَّ تُوبُوا إِلَيْهِ
"Seek forgiveness from your Lord, then repent to Him." [Hūd: 3]
Now, what does this mean?
It suggests that istighfar may be the initial act of seeking forgiveness—asking Allah to pardon. Then tawbah follows, fulfilling its conditions and requirements properly.
This is one way to understand the distinction.
I hope that makes sense to everyone.
In the beginning, you just ask Allah, "O Allah, forgive me. O Allah, pardon me. O Allah, wipe it out. O Allah, don't punish me." But maybe you haven't actually brought all of the conditions of tawbah that are required. You haven't done everything.
And then later, you come to a point where you have regret and determination never to do it again and things like that.
The way Ibn Al-Qayyim, he says, وَأَمَّا عِنْدَ اقْتِرَانِ إِحْدَى اللَّفْظَتَيْنِ بِالْأُخْرَى he said, "When we put one of these words together with the other one:
استغفروا ربكم ثم توبوا إليه
"Make istighfar, then make tawbah."
He said,
فَالْإِسْتِغْفَارُ طَلَبُ وِقَايَةِ شَرِّ مَا مَضَى وَالتَّوْبَةُ الرُّجُوعُ وَطَلَبُ وِقَايَةِ شَرِّ مَا يَخَافُهُ فِي الْمُسْتَقْبَلِ مِن سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِهِ
"Istighfar is asking Allah to keep you safe from something that has happened already, and tawbah is coming back to Allah and asking Him to keep you safe from something you're scared about in the future, from the evil deeds that you might do."
He said, فَهَا هُنَا ذَنْبَانِ There are two sins:
1. ذَنْبٌ قَدْ مَضَى – A sin that has already passed. Istighfar is from this. You're asking Allah, "O Allah, I did something wrong. Protect me from the evil of what I've done."
2. وَذَنْبٌ يَخَافُ وُقُوعُهُ – A sin that you fear will happen in the future. Tawbah is to have the determination not to do it and to return to Allah.
And that means having a determination not to do it again. And if we look at the conditions of tawbah, then the conditions of tawbah are three basic conditions along with one extra condition.
The three basic conditions can be considered past, present, and future:
Past: A person feels regret for what they've done. They feel sorry about what they did.
Present: The person stops doing it.
Future: They intend and make themselves determined not to do it again.
These are the three basic things that are needed in tawbah.
So tawbah contains two things that istighfar doesn't contain. It contains the meaning of going back to Allah—in other words, turning your back on the sin and saying, "I'm done with this. It was the wrong way. It was the wrong behavior. It was the wrong action, and I'm going to turn back to Allah and take a different path."
And it contains a determination not to do it again. And why do you have this determination?
Because you're scared of what might happen to you by sinning like that again and again and again.
So your focus is on not doing it again, as well as regretting what has passed. So literally, it is as though you have turned your back on the sin. You don’t ever want to go back in that direction.
And you're determined not to come to that place again.
As for if that sin involved the rights of other people—for example, backbiting, slander, taking someone’s property, or speaking about someone's honor—whatever it might be, if it involves another person, then there is a fourth condition.
And that fourth condition is making up for what was done.
Making up for what was done involves two very simple things and one that is more difficult.
The first thing is undoing it.
What do we mean by undoing it? For example:
If it was property, return the property.
If it was money, a share of a business, or a house, give it back—whether the person knows or not. The main thing is that it goes back to them.
If you spoke badly about someone, then speak well about them in the same environment and with the same people. Undo what you did.
That in itself is half of the problem, but there is another half.
And that is that you now have to ask that person to forgive you and pardon you for what you did.
So now, you've turned back to Allah. You've turned your back on the sin, saying, "I'm not going back there again."
And you've determined, "I'm not going to do that again in the future."
And you've made up for it by mentioning the person with good.
But now, how do you get that person to forgive you?
If you can speak to them, you might say:
"Akhi, I said something about you." (You don’t have to mention what it was.)
"I did something. It wasn’t my intention to hurt you, but I later thought that you wouldn’t have liked it. Just forgive me if I said something."
The person should forgive you.
وَلْيَعْفُوا وَلْيَصْفَحُوا ۗ أَلَا تُحِبُّونَ أَن يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ
"Forgive and overlook. Don’t you want Allah to forgive you?"
So if someone asks you to forgive them and pardon them, you should forgive and pardon them.
And you shouldn’t say, "What did you say? Why did you say it?"
Don’t worry about it.
Forgive me if I did the same. Let it go so that Allah will forgive you.
But what about if you fear a worse problem that will come from it?
You know this person is a person who, if you speak to them like that, it could ruin relationships, cut the ties of the family, or cause a big problem later on.
So what do you do now?
Now, what you're going to do is you can't go to that person because it's going to make a worse problem.
So what you have to do is you have to make dua for them, and you have to give charity on their behalf, and you have to try to be good to them. And you have to be determined never to do it again.
Perhaps through all those things, Allah will inspire that person to let it go.
And ultimately, that's what will happen on the Qantarah, right? The Qantarah, which is the place where the believers, who are from the people of Jannah, will fix the problems that were between them.
And that Allah will inspire one that their level in Jannah will be raised because they forgave the other person.
But to do that, you have to make sure you never go back to that sin.
And you have to really try to do a lot of good for that person.
Perhaps Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala will inspire that person to forgive you and let it go.
But if you can speak to somebody about it, it's better you speak to them about it and say,
"Akhi, please forgive me in this life so that you don’t have to pay with your good deeds on Yawm al-Qiyamah."
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Another Distinction Between At-Tawbah and Istighfar
Ibn Al-Qayyim, he says:
فَهَا هُنَا أَمْرَانِ لَابُدَّ مِنْهُمَا مُفَارَقَةُ شَيْءٍ وَالرُّجُوعُ إِلَى غَيْرِهِ
فَخُصَّتِ التَّوْبَةُ بِالرُّجُوعِ وَالإِسْتِغْفَارُ بِالْمُفَارَقَةِ
He said, "There are two things you have to have. You have to leave what you're doing, and you have to go back and do something different.
So he said, if we look at the core meaning of Istighfar, in reality, you are trying to leave something.
And you're just trying to get rid of it, and you cover it up, and you don't go back to it.
You're trying to sort of cover it up and cover the consequences and stop doing it.
And if you look at Tawbah, it's all about doing something else—not going back to it again.
So this is two more distinctions.
So he said, وَأَيْضًا فَالْإِسْتِغْفَارُ مِن بَابِ إِزَالَةِ الضَّرَرِ وَالْتَوْبَةُ طَالَبُ جَلْبِ الْمَنْفَعَةِ
He said, "So in reality, what is that? Istighfar is about getting rid of the harm.
We said that covering it up, and it's about getting rid of the harm.
Tawbah is about getting a benefit.
It's not just about getting rid of the harm. You're actually asking Allah to guide you in the future to something better. So you're asking Allah for a benefit.
And with istighfar, what you're really doing is getting rid of a harm. These are all different ways to look at these two, but you remind yourself that actually, they both include one another.
In the ayat of the Quran, when istighfar is mentioned, it is istighfar and tawbah. And when tawbah is mentioned, it's tawbah and istighfar.
When they're mentioned separately, these are the different aspects to it.
Istighfar is about letting go. Tawbah is about the future and not going back to it. Istighfar is about covering it up and not having something bad happen in the past. And tawbah is about not doing it again.
So these are some of the meanings that come from it.
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Al-Kabair and Al-Saghair
We now need to talk about al-kabair and al-saghair.
We know the Prophet ﷺ said in a famous hadith of Mu'adh ibn Jabal:
"Have taqwa of Allah wherever you are, and follow up a bad deed with a good deed; it will wipe it out. And treat the people with the best of manners."
Ibn al-Qayyim, he says in Madarij al-Salikeen:
وَإِن تَجْتَنِبُوا كَذَائِرَ مَا تُنْهَوْنَ عَنْ نُكَفِّرْ عَنكُمْ سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ وَنُدْخِلْكُمْ مُدْخَلًا كَرِيمًا
He says, whenever Allah speaks about dhunub and sayyiat together—both of which, in English, we translate as sins—the word dhunub refers to major sins. And the word sayyiat refers to smaller sins.
First of all, what's the difference between the big sins and the small sins?
The big sins are any sins for which Allah Azza wa Jal has threatened a specific punishment. Whether it's the Hellfire, His anger, His curse, or He explicitly called it kabeer (major) or azheem (serious).
Anything that singles it out.
So anything for which the Hellfire, the punishment of the grave, Allah’s anger, or any specific punishments are mentioned. Or if Allah describes it as being major or serious.
For example, the statement of Allah Azza wa Jal:
وَتَحْسَبُونَهُ هَيِّنًا وَهُوَ عِندَ اللَّهِ عَظِيمٌ
"You think it is something light, but it is a very severe sin in the sight of Allah."
This means it's a major sin. It's a major sin.
So now, Ibn al-Qayyim says, these major sins are often called dhunub. And the minor sins, which are those that are not mentioned with specific punishments, or are not mentioned as being serious or bringing Allah's curse, these sins are often called sayyiat.
And Allah Azza wa Jal speaks about al-maghfirah (forgiveness) and al-takfeer. And takfeer here means expiation. In other words, something wipes something else out.
It means something wipes something else out—like you did something good, and it wiped out something bad. So he says maghfirah is for the big sins because Allah Azza wa Jal is covering them, concealing them, and forgiving them.
As for the issue of just doing a good deed, this is for the small sins—that you do a good deed, and it wipes it out.
For example, you do wudu, and your sins fall away. These are the minor sins.
You pray your salah, and all the sins you did between the previous salah and this salah—pa—wiped out.
You go to Umrah, and your sins are wiped out from the previous Umrah.
You go to Jumu'ah:
العمرة إلى العمرة والجمعة إلى الجمعة كفارة لما بينهما مجتنب الكبائر
أو كما قال صلى الله عليه وسلم
"From one Umrah to the next, and from one Jumu'ah to the next, is an expiation for what is between them—so long as the major sins are avoided."
So what does Ibn al-Qayyim say here?
Generally, when you hear the word sayyiat and you hear the word takfeer, these words are associated with minor sins.
And when you hear dhunub and you hear maghfirah, this is generally associated with major sins.
And the evidence is:
"If you keep away from the major things that we prohibited you from, We will نكفر (i.e., takfeer, meaning We will wipe out) the sayyiat that you have, and We will enter you into a noble place." (Surah Nisaa 4:31)
He said: وَلَفْظُ الْمَغْفِرَةِ أَكْمَلُ مِنْ لَفْظِ التَّكْفِيرِ
He said the word maghfirah is more complete; it can be for small sins, and it can be for big sins. As for the idea of just wiping something out, this is for the saghair (minor sins).
He said: وَلَفْظُ الْمَغْفِرَةِ فَإِنَّ لَفْظَ الْمَغْفِرَةِ يَتَضَمَّنُ الْوِقَايَةَ وَالْحَظَّ، وَلَفْظُ التَّكْفِيرِ يَتَضَمَّنُ السَّتْرَ وَالإِزَالَةَ، وَعِنْدَ الإِفْرَادِ يَدْخُلُ كُلٌّ مِنْهُمَا فِي الآخَرِ
And he said also, these two words come together, and it’s not the case that any of these two words can come together with the same meaning. But generally, the word maghfirah, what does it mean?
He said this word means Allah will protect you and keep you safe. And as for the idea of expiation, this means that Allah will cover it and take it away—in other words, erase one and put the other one in its place.
Is it possible that a person could be forgiven for a major sin because of a good deed that they did? If it’s accompanied with tawbah, yes. And if you feel sorry and then you do a good deed, then that good deed can wipe out the major sin that you did.
In other words, you have tawbah, and along with tawbah, you do good deeds. Along with tawbah, you do good deeds.
And that’s why if you think about the ayah at the end of Surah Al-Furqan:
إِلَّا مَن تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ ٱللَّهُ سَيِّـَٔاتِهِمْ حَسَنَـٰتٍۢ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ غَفُورًۭا رَّحِيمًۭا
"Except for those who repent, believe, and do righteous deeds, for those Allah will replace their misdeeds with good deeds. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful."
Those people who make tawbah, believe, and do righteous deeds—those people, Allah takes all of their misdeeds and replaces them with good deeds because they brought tawbah as well as doing righteous deeds afterward.
But a person shouldn’t rely on just righteous deeds to wipe out major sins that they’ve done.
Any major sins you’ve done, you shouldn’t just say, "Oh, I did major sins, but I’m gonna do good deeds." It should be: "I have to ask Allah’s forgiveness, I have to feel sorry, try not to do it again, and at the same time, I’m going to do good deeds to make up for those bad deeds."
فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ ٱللَّهُ سَيِّـَٔاتِهِمْ حَسَنَـٰتٍۢ
They are the people Allah takes the bad deeds they have done and replaces them with good.
Madarij As-Salikin, Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullah ta'ala, he said:
إِنَّ الذَّنْبَ قَدْ يَكُونُ أَنْفَعَ لِلْعَبْدِ إِذَا اقْتَرَنَتْ بِهِ التَّوْبَةُ مِنْ كَثِيرٍ مِّنَ الطَّاعَاتِ
It’s a very strange statement, but it’s very true. He said a sin you do could end up being more beneficial for you than many good deeds.
وَهَذَا مَعْنَى قَوْلِ بَعْضِ السَّلَفِ
He said this is the meaning of the statement of some of the pious predecessors:
قَدْ يَعْمَلُ الْعَبْدُ الذَّنْبَ فَيَدْخُلُ بِهِ الْجَنَّةَ، وَيَعْمَلُ الطَّاعَةَ فَيَدْخُلُ بِهَا النَّارَ
He said it was narrated from some of the Imams of the past that somebody could do a sin and enter Jannah because of it, and do a good deed and enter Jahannam because of it.
Now, the first reaction is: "Is this sincerity? Like, one was sincere, one was…?"
It’s not sincerity.
Somebody could sincerely and truly do a good deed for Allah, and it might enter them into Jahannam.
And someone might do a sin knowingly and deliberately, and it might enter them into Paradise.
How can it be? قَالُوا وَكَيْفَ ذَلِكَ
He said:
يَعْمَلُ الذَّنْبَ فَلَا يَزَالُ نُصْبَ عَيْنَيْهِ، إِنْ قَامَ وَإِنْ قَعَدَ وَإِنْ مَشَى، ذَكَرَ ذَنْبَهُ، فَيُحْدِثُ لَهُ انْكِسَارًا وَتَوْبَةً وَاسْتِغْفَارًا وَنَدَمًا، فَيَكُونُ ذَلِكَ سَبَبَ نَجَاتِهِ
He said the person commits a sin, and it has such an effect on them that it’s in front of their eyes every time they stand, every time they sit, every time they walk—every moment of their life, they see this sin in front of their eyes. So it makes them feel humble and low before Allah, and it makes them repent to Allah and feel sorry for what they’ve done.
And a person:
وَيَعْمَلُ الْحَسَنَةَ فَلَا تَزَالُ نُصْبَ عَيْنَيْهِ، إِنْ قَامَ وَإِنْ قَعَدَ وَإِنْ مَشَى
The person does a good deed, and it keeps being in front of their eyes every time they stand, sit, and walk.
كُلَّمَا ذَكَرَهَا أَوْرَثَتْهُ كِبْرًا
Or he said:
أَنِّي عَجَبًا وَكِبْرًا
And he feels pride.
He feels amazed by what he did. He feels so proud of that good deed. The only thing he can see in front of his eyes is, "That good deed I did." And it makes him proud, and it makes him impressed with himself.
فَتَكُونُ سَبَبَ هَلَاكِهِ
And it becomes the reason for his destruction.
I think we’ll cover one more point, in shaa’ Allah Ta’ala. We’ve covered it, but there’s a point that I wanted to highlight.
And I think we covered most of what I wanted to cover, and the time is short, but there’s one thing I wanted to highlight, which is:
How do you repent from something involving the right of another person when you can’t make up for what you’ve done?
So Ibn al-Qayyim talks about the one who kills someone else.
He says:
وَبَقِيَ حَقُّ الْمَقْتُولِ لَا يُضَيِّعُهُ اللَّهُ، وَيَجْعَلُ مِنْ تَمَامِ مَغْفِرَتِهِ لِلْقَاتِلِ تَعْوِيضَ الْمَقْتُولِ
He says—he’s talking about somebody who kills someone else and then becomes Muslim, for example, or kills someone else and makes tawbah.
Now, Allah will not let the right of that person go.
Agreed?
Allah is not going to let that go.
You cannot say, "The person became Muslim—okay, I’m sorry he killed you, but he became Muslim after that, so you just have to let it go."
No.
Allah ‘Azza wa Jal will not let it go.
But Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala will exchange for that person and give them better in return for leaving that right.
In return for not punishing the person that killed them, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala will replace it with something better.
He said:
وَالتَّوْبَةُ النَّصُوحُ تَهْدِمُ مَا قَبْلَهَا، فَيُعَوَّضُ هَذَا عَن مَظْلَمَتِهِ
He said sincere tawbah wipes out what came before it.
And this person, the sin, that bad—you know, the oppression that they did—it's gonna be made up for.
وَلَا يُعَاقَبُ هَذَا لِكَمَالِ تَوْبَتِهِ
And a person who makes true sincere tawbah, Allah will not punish them for what they did to that other person.
But instead, what Allah Azzawajal will do, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala will replace the rights of that one that was killed by giving them a great reward in Paradise to make up for the fact that their right is not taken from the person that killed them.
He said وَصَارَ هَذَا كَالْكَافِرِ الْمُحَارِبِ لِلَّهِ وَلِرَسُولِهِ صَلَى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِذَا قَاتَلَ مُسْلِمًا فِي الصَّفِ ثُمَّ أَسْلَمَ وَحَسُنَ إِسْلَامُهُ
He said the example of this if you want to know how this works. Imagine a disbeliever who kills a Muslim in a battle and then accepts Islam and is a good Muslim. Happened to the Sahaba, right? Fought in a battle against the Muslims and killed many and then accepts Islam and is a good Muslim after that.
فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ سُبْحَانَهُ يُعَوِّضُ هَذَا الشَّهِيدَ الْمَقْتُولَ وَيَغْفِرُ لِلْكَافِرِ بِإِسْلَامِهِ وَلَا يُآخِذُهُ بِقَتْلِ الْمُسْلِمِ ظُلْمًا
He said rather what will happen is Allah will give a huge reward to the one that was killed to make up for that right, and Allah will not punish the one that killed them because they accepted Islam and Allah promised that Islam wipes out what came before it.
What is amazing about this is the next statement that he says. He said that the tawbah فَإِنَّ هَذِهِ التَّوْبَةَ لِمَا قَبْلَهَا كَهَدْمِ الْإِسْلَامِ لِمَا قَبْلَهُ He said tawbah is the same as just like becoming Muslim again.
Tawbah is the same like you became Muslim again. Just how Allah would forgive for example the likes of let's just say for example Khalid ibn Walid رضي الله عنه when he fought against the Muslims and then he became Muslim and he was a good Muslim.
Just how you would expect Allah عز و جل to forgive him for those people that he fought against them and killed them in battle.
Likewise, the one who makes tawbah is like that. A sincere tawbah that is true to Allah, Allah will wipe out what came before it.
He said وَعَلَى هَذَا إِذَا سَلَّمَ نَفْسَهُ وَانْقَادَ فَعَفَا عَنْهُ الْوَلِيُّ وَتَابَ الْقَاتِلُ تَوْبَةً نَصُوحًا فَاللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَقْبَلُ تَوْبَتَهُ وَيُعَوِّضُ الْمَقْتُولَ
And that's what we said.
And I just wanted to mention that point at the end because a person might say there are some situations I might never be able to make up for what I did.
But sincere tawbah to Allah عز و جل can make up for it by Allah inspiring the person not to take their right and giving them a great replacement in the Akhirah and then forgiving you even for what you did to that person.
But a person should not rely upon this in the sense that they should not say Okay, I'm not going to ask forgiveness.
I'm not going to try. Because it requires تَوْبَةً نَصُوحًا like a person who became Muslim the day they became Muslim.
Does that make sense? It requires تَوْبَةً like the day you became Muslim.
So it's not something that you can just say that Oh, it doesn't matter. I oppressed this person. I hurt this person.
It requires you to really feel terrible about it and to make a true intention never to do it again and to try to make it up to them whatever way you can.
And whatever you can't do and you can't reach it Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى will make up for it if your tawbah is true and sincere.
These are just a few points that I wanted to gather.
Otherwise, I think you know that the topic of istighfar and tawbah is very big.
And it's mentioned throughout the Quran and the Sunnah.
I just wanted to bring together a few points that we could talk about it in the light of tazkiyatun nafs.
And we can talk about the role that tawbah and istighfar plays in cleaning the heart.
Because in reality, what we've seen is that there are two things that we really need to clean our heart.
Tawbah and istighfar is part of cleaning the heart.
And part of cleaning the heart is also remembering Allah عز و جل. Because it cleans the heart from being heedless.
And if we bring these things together, inshaAllah, this is the foundation of cleaning the heart.
And then we can talk about the second part which is developing the soul with praiseworthy attributes. InshaAllah, which is the second half of what we're going to talk about bi-idhnillahi ta'ala.
So inshaAllah ta'ala, we can take a few questions if we have a little bit.
Anyway, I think we have five minutes. We don't really, but we can make five minutes.
We can take a couple of questions inshaAllah.
So the non-Muslims, they have huquq, right? That's the first thing we need to understand. That non-Muslims have rights.
Whether they are living in a Muslim country or not, they have rights.
The rights are different. When they're living in a Muslim country, they have even more rights.
Because they have the right of the musta’man, the one who has been given a guarantee of security by the wali al-amr.
And if the ruler said to them, you're safe in my country, you're welcome here, you're safe. So they have even more rights than they had before.
But they had rights before.
Like for example, the right that you explain Islam to them, that you transmit Islam to them. That's one of their rights.
And the right that if they did not harm you or drive you out of your home, or fight you on behalf of your religion, أن تبروهم وتقسطوا إليهم That you are kind towards them and that you are fair towards them.
And so on.
So these rights will be taken to account for Yawm al-Qiyamah as well.
So the rights of the non-Muslims are important.
But here's a different scenario.
The question is regarding somebody who was not a Muslim and then that person became Muslim.
And after that, and you oppressed them or you took from their rights before Islam.
If we said the non-Muslims have rights as non-Muslims, then as Muslims, he has even more of a right to punish.
And so as a Muslim, maybe the difference is that you can approach that person and you can say to them, forgive me for what I did or pardon me if I did something.
Because what they have done is wiped out.
The mistakes they have made are gone when they accepted Islam.
But the mistake you made towards them, it still remains on the account unless you ask them to forgive you and Allah Azawajal knows best.
Okay, so now there's two non-Muslims.
There was an oppression between them in Jahiliyyah, right? And then one of them accepted Islam. Well, I don't know that there's anything different from what we said already. Like, I think the same idea, right? He's going to say to the person, forgive me.
And he's going to ask Allah. The only difference is when you make dua for a non-Muslim, your dua has to be centered around hidayah. It can't be, for example, "Oh Allah, you know, pay them back the money I took" or "Give them back any."
It has to be, "Oh Allah, guide them and make up for what I did." Because if you're not making dua for their guidance, you're not doing what's in their best interest. Other than that, I'm not sure I know of any answer more than that.
But that doesn't mean there isn't one; it's just that I don't know more than that. Like, as much as I know about the issue, and Allah knows best.
No, because if you become Muslim, everything that you did before is wiped out automatically.
There are two things that wipe out everything bad you've done. One is becoming Muslim, and the other one is repenting to Allah—tawbah—going back to Allah and asking Allah sincerely to forgive you. These things wipe out everything that you've done.
Islam, in a general sense, wipes out everything, and tawbah wipes out the things you make tawbah for. When you make tawbah for one thing, it gets wiped out. When you make tawbah for another thing, it gets wiped out, and so on.
And the other things which we mentioned, like Hajj, Umrah, Jumu'ah, and things like that. But the main, most important one out of everything is tawbah. And if a person becomes Muslim, all their bad deeds get wiped out.
So it doesn't matter what they did. But the question is, then how will that person who they killed feel? Allah will give them a very special place in Jannah because that person is not going to be punished. Does that make sense?
That is a very interesting point.
That is a very interesting point.
So this question is in the situation of this issue—the last one we mentioned—of someone being killed. What happens if that person is killed wrongfully as a disbeliever?
Wallah, the thing is that the disbeliever, when they die, Allah Azzawajal doesn't keep any good deeds for them.
Allah turns them all to habā’an manthūra—turns all of their deeds into scattered dust.
So they don't have anything—any blessing—to get. There is nothing for them to get. But still, justice will be done for everyone, right? Allah will not leave anything without justice.
But that person doesn't have anything good to hope for if they died without Islam, with the conditions that they got the message, they chose not to accept it, and they died without Islam.
That person doesn't have anything good to be kept for them. But Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala will ask about it.
Because the first thing that will be asked about is the spilling of blood. And the first thing that will be asked about in a person's personal affairs is the salah.
And Allah Azzawajal knows best..
So if somebody doesn’t forgive the other person, the issue is that it has to be made fair between them on Yawm al-Qiyamah. So either Allah will inspire that person to forgive them on Yawm al-Qiyamah, or that person will have to give them from their good deeds or take their bad deeds to make up for it. And that’s why, in reality, the scholars call it ذنب لا يترك.
Meaning, it’s a sin Allah will never leave alone. He’s never going to leave it.
Something has to be done. Yes, it’s true—if the person is being obstinate and not kind, perhaps, perhaps Allah will inspire them on Yawm al-Qiyamah. But otherwise, you don’t have a choice. As we said, it’s going to be good deeds and bad deeds that are exchanged if a person doesn’t forgive.
Now we say to the brothers and sisters: you should forgive, because this is a means for Allah to forgive you and make your account easy for you by your forgiving other people. But still, good deeds and bad deeds will be exchanged between them.
So the thing is, going back to ma‘asiyah after tawbah is something that is normal.
Right? It happens. Because at the end of the day, what is needed for you in tawbah is determination.
يَعْنِي الْعَزَمُ أَنْ لَا يَعُودَ—He’s got determination.
Does that mean he will never go back? No, sometimes he might go back. And we mentioned the hadith in the beginning—we mentioned last week—the hadith:
أَذْنَبَ عَبْدِي ذَنْبًا—My servant committed a sin.
فَعَلِمَ أَنَّ لَهُ رَبًّا يَغْفِرُ الذَّنْبَ وَيَأْخُذُ بِالذَّنْبِ ثُمَّ عَادَ فَأَذْنَبَ—He does it again and again.
ثُمَّ عَادَ فَأَذْنَبَ—He does it again.
And Allah says to him:
اِعْمَلْ مَا شِئْتَ فَقَدْ غَفَرْتُ لَكَ—Do whatever you want; I have forgiven you.
Why? Because every time he was sincere.
Every time he did it, his tawbah was nasuh. He really meant it.
He said, “Allah, I’m never gonna go back to it again. I’m never gonna do it again.”
ثُمَّ عَادَ—But he did it again.
“Oh Allah, I’m not gonna go back to it again.”
ثُمَّ عَادَ—The problem is if he wasn’t sincere.
Like when a person says استغفر الله, but then he’s already thinking about doing it again.
But if he’s really sincere, then Allah will forgive him each time—if he is really, really sincere and he doesn’t want to go back to it, but he falls into it again.
At the same time, are we as Muslims happy with that?
Ibn al-Jawzi mentioned رحمه الله تعالى: Just because this happens doesn’t mean you can be happy with it.
You should be sad about it. That—SubhanAllah!—how did I do this again after I said I was not going to do it again?
So the second time, you are even stronger. But maybe still.
The third time, you are stronger. But even still.
But you should not be happy that you are saying, “Never mind, I did it again, but I made tawbah again.”
Every time, you should feel sad that you did it again. But at the same time, it can happen.
And it doesn’t mean that you’re a terrible person or a munafiq because you did something bad again.
That’s the nature of Bani Adam—we keep falling into mistakes. But each time, we should be sincere.
So this issue of al-‘afw—the word al-‘afw, or Allah’s name Al-‘Afuww—means wiping out.
And it means two things.
It means concealing, and it means—or rather, it means three things—concealing, protecting, and wiping out.
So when you say that Allah Subhanahu wa Ta‘ala is Al-‘Afuww, it means that He wipes out the sin completely, He doesn’t take you to account for it, and He doesn’t impose any consequences on you.
They say, with regard to al-maghfirah and al-‘afw, that al-‘afw relates to wiping out the sin.
That’s what I remember—that it gets wiped out.
And that al-maghfirah relates to protecting you from it or concealing it.
And we mentioned it more in the Names of Allah, in the difference between Al-Ghaffar and Al-‘Afuww and Al-Ghaffar.
We mentioned it there in more detail.
Maybe if you go back to it, I spoke about it more there.
But what I remember off the top of my head is that al-‘afw is more connected to the wiping out of the sin, and that al-maghfirah is connected to protecting you from it.
So you could be protected from it, and it can also be wiped out so that you don’t find it in your record at all.
And the scholars differed: Are we going to see the sins that Allah wiped out?
Are we going to see them in our record or not?
Some of them said, “We will see them, but they will not hurt us.”
And others said, “We will not even see them at all.”
And for example, the statement of Allah, فَأُولَٰئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ حَسَنَاتٍ Allah is going to replace their bad deeds with good ones.
Will you see those bad deeds?
Some of them said, you’ll see them, but they will not harm you at all. You’ll see them like they don’t have any effect on you.
And others said, you won’t even see them at all. Allah will replace them completely with good deeds.
And Allah ‘Azza wa Jall knows best.
The scholars differed about it because of the statement of Hajj. The Prophet ﷺ said, مَنْ حَجَّ فَلَمْ يَرْفُثْ وَلَمْ يَفْسُقْ رَجَعَ كَيَوْمِ وَلَدَتْهُ أُمُّهُ He said that whoever makes Hajj, and he doesn’t—يَعْنِي رَفَثْ is either intimacy or bad language. The word رَفَثْ comes for both. And الفُسُوق is like to do open sins, major sins.
So he doesn’t do major sins, he doesn’t fall into intimacy, which is not permitted for him in Ihram, and he doesn’t fall into bad language and shouting and getting angry—he will return like the day that his mother gave birth to him.
Generally, the most common thing you read is that they say that the صغائر for sure, that’s counted. But still, that the كبائر requires tawbah.
So what it means—and it seems to me—is that if the person makes Hajj sincerely, Allah ‘Azza wa Jall will inspire them to make tawbah in that Hajj.
And this, in shā’ Allāh, the tawbah together with the Hajj will take away the major sins and the minor ones, in shā’ Allāh.
If they have a true Hajj, their Hajj should include tawbah. It shouldn’t be the case that they just make Hajj and say, "I’m not gonna make tawbah, my Hajj will take away my major sins."
This doesn’t go with the principle that we mentioned, right? That’s the problem.
Even if that ḥadīth would seem to indicate it, it doesn’t go with all of the aḥādīth that we have.
So to me, the best way of reconciling between it is to say that the Hajj that a person makes tawbah and turns back to Allah—this is the Hajj that Allah will wipe out their minor and major sins.
But as for the Hajj where a person is not willing to make tawbah for the things they’ve done, then this person—perhaps we cannot guarantee to them that their Hajj will wipe out the sins that they did.
And Allah ‘Azza wa Jall knows best.
We still have a lot of questions, but we’ll take two, three more, in shā’ Allāh.
Yes?
So this issue of ghaflah—ghaflah, what does it mean to be heedless?
So there’s no doubt that there are types of heedlessness that fall into ḥarām, and there are types that don’t.
The type which Ḥanẓalah mentioned doesn’t fall into that which is ḥarām.
And the evidence is that the Prophet ﷺ did not rebuke him for it.
He didn’t say to him, "What you’ve done is ḥarām, tawbah ilā Allāh, make tawbah." He didn’t.
He said, سَاعَةً وَسَاعَةً—There’s a time for this and a time for that.
But the ghaflah which is prohibited is, for example, the ghaflah which leads to leaving the farā’iḍ or the wājibāt.
You leave the farḍ.
Or the ghaflah which causes you to do the ḥarām.
So ghaflah, being unaware—ghaflah just means not being aware, right? Not thinking.
If you’re not thinking, and that not thinking leads to you doing ḥarām or leaving farḍ, then this becomes itself ḥarām.
But if it’s a case of just not being fully aware of Allah Subḥānahu wa Ta‘ālá and the Ākhirah, then this is, to a certain extent, something that people go through.
However, what we did say is that a person shouldn’t be content with it.
And you shouldn’t be happy and say, "Alḥamdulillāh, I had two hours where I didn’t remember Allah Subḥānahu wa Ta‘ālá."
No, you should criticize yourself for it.
But it’s something which is a reality.
Everybody will go through it.
And the Prophet ﷺ did not rebuke Ḥanẓalah for it or tell him that what he had done is a major sin or something terrible.
But there is no doubt that ghaflah, which leads to you committing ḥarām or which leads to you missing the farḍ.
This, for example: فَوَيْلٌ لِلْمُصَلِّينَ الَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنْ صَلَاتِهِمْ سَاهُونَ—The people who neglect their prayer from its proper time.
This is a ghaflah which is ḥarām. But maybe we can go into it in more detail in subsequent lessons, in shā’ Allāh.
Because we didn’t really—we mentioned it in passing, but we didn’t really go into it in a lot of detail, in shā’ Allāh.
Yes, an excellent question.
So if you have wronged someone, but that person is not aware of it at all—completely unaware—should you then go to that person and tell them, or should you just repent between you and Allah and make du‘ā’ for them and all that?
I don’t think it matters whether the person is aware or not, but it matters what the consequence of you telling them is.
So the person could be aware, and you tell them, and you know they’re going to hit the roof, and they’re going to ruin the relationship with you, and they’re going to cut their family ties and everything—it’s going to go really bad.
So this person, you don’t approach him.
There could be a person who doesn’t know what you did, but they’re a very easygoing person.
And you can go to that person and say, "I feel, wallāhi, you know, all of us sometimes we fall into things and we say things—you don’t have to tell them what you said, but just that I feel like maybe I might have taken your rights or I might have said something. Just forgive me."
"Yeah, of course, okay, we all do this, we forgive each other, never mind."
But if you feel that you’re going to make the situation worse by telling them, because like you said, they don’t know about it and it’s just going to make it worse, it’s just going to sour the relationship—then in this case, Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said that in this case, you don’t tell the person because you’re going to make the situation worse, not better.
You’re going to make divisions between people, not bring people together.
But sometimes, you know the person has an easygoing personality, so you can tell them, in shā’ Allāh.
So, for example, praying is very good.
For tawbah, a person anyway, when they want to learn a du‘ā’, there are some great resources like Ḥiṣn al-Muslim—Fortress of the Muslim—they can just read the du‘ā’.
But to pray is very good—pray two rak‘āt.
Nobody commits a sin and then prays two rak‘āt and asks Allah to forgive them except that Allah will forgive them for it.
So praying is very good.
As for fasting, generally, it’s okay, but not specifically.
I wouldn’t want someone to make it a habit that, for example, every time I do a sin, I specifically fast a particular day—because sharī‘ah didn’t come with that specific detail, right?
But if a person just says, "Look, I’ve done sins, and I want Allah to forgive me, I’m going to fast"—there’s no harm in it.
But you see the difference between the habit of the prayer and the habit of the fasting?
The habit of the prayer is proven from the Prophet ﷺ, that when you commit a sin and you pray two rak‘āt and you ask Allah ‘Azza wa Jall to forgive you, then Allah Subḥānahu wa Ta‘ālá will forgive you for it.
And fasting is proven generally from the point of good deeds.
It’s just, "I want to do good deeds. I want to do righteous deeds, so I want to fast."
But I wouldn’t say that every time a person does tawbah, they should particularly precede that tawbah with a specific fast—because I don’t see that the sharī‘ah came with that exact methodology, right?
It’s something to do sometimes, but not to make it a habit like that—so it doesn’t become a habit that didn’t come in the sharī‘ah.
And Allah knows best.
It’s a different question, though. It’s not on our topic, but it’s a good question.
That somebody who is killed before they can complete an action they wanted to do, which was a good intention—Allah will raise them according to their intention.
Because this has happened before.
It happens when Allah wants to destroy a people—like the statement of Allah ‘Azza wa Jall in Sūrat al-Anfāl:
وَاتَّقُوا فِتْنَةً لَا تُصِيبَنَّ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مِنكُمْ خَاصَّةً
"Shield yourself from a trial that doesn’t affect only the wrongdoers among you."
Meaning that there are good people in a town and bad people.
And the bad people do so many bad things—Allah destroys the whole town.
So now, who died?
The bad people died, and the good people in the town also died.
They all died because Allah destroyed the whole town.
He didn’t say, "I’m going to leave this person and take this person."
Like the ḥadīth:
أَنَهْلِكُ وَفِينَا الصَّالِحُونَ
"Will we be destroyed when there are righteous people among us?"
The Prophet ﷺ said:
نَعَمْ إِذَا كَثُرَ الْخَبَثُ
"Yes, if khabath (evil, corruption) becomes widespread."
If lots of bad things—people do lots of bad things—maybe everybody will be destroyed.
But what will happen?
They will be raised by their intention:
إِنَّمَا الأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ
"So Allah will look at their intention—that you had a good intention—and Allah will give them the reward of that intention that they had."
Does that make sense?
But they have to be Muslim for that condition, okay?
It can’t be that the person was not Muslim and said, "You know, next year I’m going to become Muslim."
He has to be Muslim and he wanted to do something good but died before he could do it.
Allah will reward him for the intention that he had to do good.
Did that make sense?
He was a non-Muslim, but then he... But he had to accept Islam.
You cannot—it’s not enough to just want something yet.
You have to actually do it.
You can’t say, "Well, I wanted to do it."
That’s why we tell people: you have to not delay.
You have to accept Islam quickly. Don’t delay.
Because maybe in that delay—next year—you don’t know what’s written for you.
Maybe you’ll walk into a bus and you’ll die.
Like, you never know, right?
That’s why a person can’t delay in doing something good.
Because sometimes when you delay, Allah might take away the chance to do good forever.
So there’s no doubt, as you said, that tawbah and istighfār are associated with good things happening to you and calamities being removed.
There’s a famous saying:
مَا نَزَلَتْ مُصِيبَةٌ إِلَّا بِذَنْبٍ وَمَا رُفِعَتْ إِلَّا بِتَوْبَةٍ
"No calamity ever happened except because of sin, and it was never lifted except because of tawbah."
There’s no doubt.
But just the fact that you are doing istighfār doesn’t stop Allah from testing you.
Because Allah ‘Azza wa Jall said:
وَنَبْلُوكُمْ بِالشَّرِّ وَالْخَيْرِ فِتْنَةً
"We will test you with bad things and good things."
So the Prophet ﷺ made istighfār and tawbah all the time.
Yet he went through hardships and calamities.
And that doesn’t take away from that istighfār.
It’s that sometimes a sin came to you, and when you make istighfār, Allah ‘Azza wa Jall raises it immediately.
And sometimes, Allah will raise it later on for a wisdom that is with Him.
So you should never feel like, "Allah is not accepting my tawbah."
For example, "I'm not having children."
Even though Allah ‘Azza wa Jall said:
فَقُلْتُ اسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّكُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ غَفَّارًا يُرْسِلِ السَّمَاءَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِدْرَارًا وَيُمْدِدْكُمْ بِأَمْوَالٍ وَبَنِينَ
"I'm not able to have kids, and I'm making istighfār."
But Allah ‘Azza wa Jall tests you for a time.
It's not the case that the first moment you say استغفر الله, that Allah Subḥānahu wa Ta‘ālā will remove every calamity or every test in your life.
But everything happens at the time that is best for you, and Allah knows best.
It means the small sins. That's the ma‘rūf—that’s the well-known tafsīr of it.
إِلَّا اللَّمَمْ—except for the small sins.
Now, we have to understand: what is a small sin?
A small sin, we said, is the one that is not mentioned with a specific punishment, etc.
But also, it's something that is not done continuously.
And that's why Allah ‘Azza wa Jall said in Sūrat Āl ‘Imrān:
وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا فَعَلُوا فَاحِشَةً أَوْ ظَلَمُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ ذَكَرُوا اللَّهَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا لِذُنُوبِهِمْ وَمَن يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَلَمْ يُصِرُّوا عَلَى مَا فَعَلُوا وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ
So even the kabīrah could come into it under one angle.
Something that you did without intending it, without going back to it, without continuing it—you did it, and straight away you realized it was wrong, and you turned back to Allah ‘Azza wa Jall.
This can be for the things that Allah Subḥānahu wa Ta‘ālā excuses.
Because the statement here that matters is:
وَمَن يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَلَمْ يُصِرُّوا عَلَى مَا فَعَلُوا وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ
They don’t keep on doing the same thing over and over again.
Mostly, it refers to the minor sins.
But even a major sin that you only did one single time—and you immediately regretted it, and you immediately turned back to Allah—this is from the things that you hope that Allah Subḥānahu wa Ta‘ālā will forgive for a person.
And Allah ‘Azza wa Jall knows best.
Qawwali—I would love to stay personally all night; I have no problem.
But I think we’ve taken the time from the masjid and from the brothers and sisters.
And I really appreciate all of your time and your listening and your good questions.
We ask Allah Subḥānahu wa Ta‘ālā:
اللهم اغفر لنا ما قدمنا وما أخرنا وما أسررنا وما أعلنّا وما أسرفنا وما أنت أعلم به منّا أنت المقدم وأنت المؤخر لا إله إلا أنت
We ask Allah Subḥānahu wa Ta‘ālā:
اللهم آت نفوسنا تقواها وزكّها أنت خير من زكّاها أنت وليّها ومولاها
We ask Allah to forgive us.
We ask Allah to teach us beneficial knowledge.
We ask Allah Subḥānahu wa Ta‘ālā to give us taqwā and tazkiyah for our souls.
That is what Allah Subḥānahu wa Ta‘ālā made easy for me to mention.
Allah knows best.
Waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ‘alā nabiyyinā Muḥammad wa ‘alā ālihi wa ṣaḥbihi ajma‘īn.
