Note: The following transcript was generated using AI and may contain inaccuracies.
The point is that Allah— We could not imagine a situation in which Allah tells us— "You can only go to Jannah if you don’t sin." But rather, Allah told us what? You will sin. You avoid whatever you can. You stay within the limits as much as you can. And when you sin— You recognize that that’s how you are— And you quickly rush to ask Allah’s forgiveness. Al-ḥamdu lillāhi Rabbil-ʿālamīn. Al-ḥamdu lillāhi Rabbil-ʿālamīn. Waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā ʿabdillāhi wa-rasūlih, nabiyyinā Muḥammad, wa ʿalā ālihi wa-ṣaḥbihi ajmaʿīn. Ammā baʿd... So first of all, my sincerest apologies for being away for such a long time.
We did announce to the brothers in the class that there would be a break. SubḥānAllāh, it was quite a long break. Now, my brothers and sisters— We are on a journey. And this journey is an introduction to the purification of the soul— Tazkiyatun-Nafs. And we started with an introduction to the topic. And then we spoke about— Muḥāsabatun-Nafs— Taking your soul to account. And that was our topic the last time that we sat together on this journey. So now, you guys know a little bit about the topic.
You know what it's about. And we said that it's built upon two fundamental pillars, right? It’s built upon— At-taṭhīr wa-n-namāʾ— Purifying the heart— And building up the heart. The point is that Allah— We could not imagine a situation in which Allah tells us— "You can only go to Jannah if you don’t sin." But rather, Allah told us what? You will sin. You avoid whatever you can. You stay within the limits as much as you can. And when you sin— You recognize that that’s how you are— And you quickly rush to ask Allah’s forgiveness.
Al-ḥamdu lillāhi Rabbil-ʿālamīn. Al-ḥamdu lillāhi Rabbil-ʿālamīn. Waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā ʿabdillāhi wa-rasūlih, nabiyyinā Muḥammad, wa ʿalā ālihi wa-ṣaḥbihi ajmaʿīn. Ammā baʿd...
So first of all, my sincerest apologies for being away for such a long time. We did announce to the brothers in the class that there would be a break. SubḥānAllāh, it was quite a long break.
Now, my brothers and sisters— We are on a journey. And this journey is an introduction to the purification of the soul— Tazkiyatun-Nafs. And we started with an introduction to the topic. And then we spoke about— Muḥāsabatun-Nafs— Taking your soul to account. And that was our topic the last time that we sat together on this journey.
So now, you guys know a little bit about the topic. You know what it's about. And we said that it's built upon two fundamental pillars, right? It’s built upon— At-taṭhīr wa-n-namāʾ— Purifying the heart— And building up the heart.
So last time, we spoke about taking yourself to account. Because you need to know what situation your heart is in before you start doing something to it. You can’t really purify it. You can’t really think about it. You can’t really develop it. You can’t build it— Until you know what it is. You look at it, and you say— "Okay, what do I have?"
After that, what is the next logical process? Or the next logical step on this journey? It is— At-Tawbah wa-l-Istighfār— Asking Allah’s forgiveness and repenting to Him. And this is absolutely critical. Because before we build, we have to clean. Before we develop something and build something— We have to, first of all, clean the place that we are building upon.
And in reality, it’s not the case that we ever stop cleaning it. Because it’s not the case that it ever stops getting dirty. It’s constantly getting dirty. And it’s constantly in a state where it needs to be cleaned.
However— Before we even speak about building on the heart, Developing the heart, And raising īmān— We need to, first of all, clean what is there.
And so the next thing that I want to speak to you about— After Muḥāsabatun-Nafs (taking yourself to account)— Is At-Tawbah wa-l-Istighfār— Asking Allah’s forgiveness and repentance.
Now, this is a very big topic. I think all of you know— When you read the Qur’an— That this topic is mentioned in the Qur’an. I don’t think there is a page that goes by— And Allah knows best— Except that Allah mentions it in connection to this topic.
So there is no doubt that— In this short time that we have together, Perhaps 40 minutes or so— We are not going to cover every single evidence, Or every āyah, Or every ḥadīth.
But I have tried to separate the discussion into parts. And once again— We are going to be primarily basing our explanation upon the works of Imām Ibn al-Qayyim.
We are going to start with a heading, which I have entitled— "Knowing Your Lord." Because in reality— The beginning of asking for forgiveness— Is knowing Allah. And until you know Allah— Your seeking forgiveness will never be in the way that Allah wants from you.
To ask Allah’s forgiveness— You must first know who you are asking forgiveness from.
And there are many evidences for this. From them is the statement of Allah, ʿAzza wa Jall:
"Say, O My servants who have transgressed against themselves! Do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful." (Sūrat Az-Zumar)
"Say, O My servants who have transgressed against themselves..." Which of us didn’t transgress against ourselves? All of us. All of us.
And that’s why— The reality is that our sins hurt us. They don’t hurt Allah. When you disobey Allah— You didn’t harm Allah in any way. But you harmed yourself. And so, you transgressed against yourself.
"Do not despair of the mercy of Allah."
Look at how— The first thing Allah tells you— Is to know Him. To know that Allah forgives all sins. To know that you cannot reach a place where you are prevented from Allah’s mercy— If you ask for it.
So nobody— This is from the greatest calamities that Shayṭān can whisper to a person— To whisper to that person that they cannot be forgiven— Or that Allah will not forgive them.
"Don’t despair of Allah’s mercy. Allah forgives all sins."
And this is evidence that there is no sin—not even shirk—that Allah cannot forgive if a person fulfills the conditions of that forgiveness.
In the case of shirk, they must repent in this life. As for if they die upon it, Allah has promised that He will not forgive it:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَنْ يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ
"Indeed, Allah does not forgive associating partners with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whomever He wills."
But in this life— There is nothing— Whatever you imagine you have done— There is nothing that you cannot be forgiven for. If you just know how to ask for that forgiveness.
And to know how to ask— Is based on knowing the One that you are asking.
So the first thing we've understood is— That there is no one who is outside of the mercy of Allah, ʿAzza wa Jall. No matter how much you transgress against yourself.
And there is no sin that Allah will not forgive— If a person asks Allah’s forgiveness.
And we can summarize all of this with:
إِنَّهُ هُوَ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
Indeed, Allah is Al-Ghafūr—the One who is always forgiving. And Ar-Raḥīm—the One who is always merciful.
And Allah, ʿAzza wa Jall, said:
وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا فَعَلُوا فَاحِشَةً أَوْ ظَلَمُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ ذَكَرُوا اللَّهَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا لِذُنُوبِهِمْ ۚ وَمَنْ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَلَمْ يُصِرُّوا عَلَىٰ مَا فَعَلُوا وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ
"And those who, when they commit an immorality or wrong themselves [by sin], remember Allah and then seek forgiveness for their sins—and who can forgive sins except Allah?—and [who] do not persist in what they were doing while they know."
This āyah is clear in the meaning we’re trying to convey to you— Knowing Allah.
"Those people, when they do a فاحشة..." And a fāḥishah is something terribly wrong. It is normally used for immorality—like zinā and the likes of it. Something horrifically wrong. Way over the boundaries.
"أو ظلموا أنفسهم" "Or they oppress themselves." Because we said that sins hurt you. They don’t hurt Allah.
"ذكروا الله" "They remember Allah." They remember Allah.
And that’s why we say to anyone— And you know yourself better— The situation you’re in. The sins that you’re doing. What you’ve done. The first step— Don’t forget Allah, Subḥānahu wa Taʿālā. Remember Allah.
And look at what Allah said— "ذكروا الله فاستغفروا لذنوبهم"
The "fa" here is important. "Fa" is a letter that indicates immediacy. It means— Immediately, they ask forgiveness for their sins.
Why? Because they know who their Lord is. They know who their Lord is.
And if you wish, recite the statement of Allah, ʿAzza wa Jall:
وَأَمَّا مَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِ وَنَهَى النَّفْسَ عَنِ الْهَوَىٰ فَإِنَّ الْجَنَّةَ هِيَ الْمَأْوَىٰ
"But as for he who feared the position of his Lord and prevented the soul from [unlawful] inclination, then indeed, Paradise will be his refuge."
There are two opinions in the tafsīr of the word maqām. One of them is that the maqām here refers to Allah’s honor and status. If you fear Allah’s names and attributes, You will stop yourself from sin. And you will be from the people of Jannah— Because of your fear of Allah’s names and attributes and what they contain.
And the other opinion is that the word maqām means al-qiyām— Meaning, he fears standing in front of Allah on Yawm al-Qiyāmah.
And both of them are true.
So— A person remembers Allah. And when they remember Allah— What automatically happens?
"فاستغفروا لذنوبهم"
They ask Allah to forgive them— Because they know who Allah is.
If they don’t know who Allah is— Then they will not automatically ask Allah to forgive them. They will fall into one of two extremes.
Either they will say— "Allah will not forgive me," Because they don’t know who Allah is.
Or they will say— "Allah will certainly forgive me, and I’m guaranteed Jannah," Because they don’t know who Allah is.
But those who know who Allah is— They are scared of Allah.
And it was said from the early generations:
"مَا عُبِدَ اللَّهُ بِمِثْلِ الْخَوْفِ"
"Nobody ever worshipped Allah with anything better than fear."
Because Allah is— سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ—Swift in reckoning. شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ—Severe in punishment. شَدِيدُ الْعَذَابِ—Severe in retribution. ذُو ٱنتِقَامٍ—He takes retribution from whom He wills.
He knows everything you do— عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ—All-Knowing, All-Aware. سَمِيعٌ بَصِيرٌ—All-Hearing, All-Seeing.
This makes you scared of Allah, Subḥānahu wa Taʿālā.
But— You don’t go to the other extreme either— Where you despair.
Because the people who despair of Allah— In reality, these are the disbelievers.
The people who despair of Allah— Like Iblīs. Iblīs truly despairs of Allah’s raḥmah. And he deserves to despair of it. Meaning— Allah, Subḥānahu wa Taʿālā, didn’t give him any hope.
So don’t be from people like that.
But— Until you know Allah— You won’t automatically ask for Allah’s forgiveness.
And then Allah emphasizes: There is no one who can forgive your sins except Allah.
By Allah— Every time I speak to someone— For example, among the Christians— (Not every Christian group does this, but it’s common.) They have—what do they call it?— Confession. The Catholics have that.
Where— By Allah— I don’t know something more... Just such a terrible state to be in. That you go to another person and you say— "Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned."
And this person you’re asking? He’s more of a mujrim than you are! He’s a criminal, a mujrim, a liar, and a sinner!
And you go to him and say— "Forgive me, for I have sinned."
And sometimes, SubḥānAllāh, a person might even accept Islam based on that alone. Because nobody forgives sins except Allah.
You don’t go to anyone and say— "Forgive me for what is between me and Allah."
Nobody forgives sins except Allah.
You don’t go to anyone and say, "Forgive me, for I have sinned."
Forgive me for what I did to you—yes.
"Forgive me, I lied."
"Forgive me, I took your things."
"Forgive me, I backbit about you."
But you don’t go to someone and say, "Forgive me for what is between me and Allah."
Nobody forgives sins except Allah.
وَلَمْ يُصِرُّوا عَلَىٰ مَا فَعَلُوا وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ
"And they do not persist in what they were doing while they know."
Be careful here. This is the āyah I wanted for this statement:
"وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ"
"While they know."
They don’t keep going in their sin— Because they know Allah.
They don’t keep falling into ḥarām— Because they know Allah.
So— If you see yourself continuously falling into that sin— That means there’s something wrong in what you know about Allah.
You don’t know enough about Allah.
You’re not remembering Allah enough.
Because if you remembered Allah enough— And you knew who it was that you were sinning against— Then you would be like these people:
وَلَمْ يُصِرُّوا عَلَىٰ مَا فَعَلُوا
"They do not persist in what they were doing."
They won’t continue.
And that shows, my dear brothers and sisters— We fall into sins. But there are certain things worse than others.
And one of the things worse than others— Is continuously doing the same thing without caring about it.
And that’s why even a ṣaghīrah—a minor sin— If you keep doing it again and again— And you stop caring about it— It becomes a kabīrah—a major sin— In the sight of Allah.
Ajeeb! Something small, right? Something that normally— You’d be forgiven just by making wuḍūʾ. You’d be forgiven just by praying. You’d be forgiven just by giving a little charity. You put five dirhams in the box— You’d be forgiven for it.
But— Because you take it so lightly— And you don’t think it’s a big deal— Allah, Subḥānahu wa Taʿālā, raises it— To the level of kabāʾir—the major sins— Like ribā, Like zinā, Like killing someone without right.
Allah puts it right up there— Because you don’t think it’s a big deal.
That you do that sin— Again— And again— And again.
Whereas if you thought it was bad— And you didn’t do it, But sometimes you fell into it by accident— Allah, Subḥānahu wa Taʿālā, would forgive you for it— Just by the good deeds that you did.
And the ḥadīth of Anas ibn Mālik— He said:
سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ يَقُولُ: قَالَ اللَّهُ
"I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say that Allah said..."
Now this statement— "Allah said..." This means— This is ḥadīth qudsī.
That’s how it should be— With a ḍammah on the dāl— "Ḥadīthun qudsī." Not qudsī! Because al-Quds— That’s a city, Jerusalem! It should be qudsī— "Ḥadīthun qudsī."
That Allah, ʿAzza wa Jall, said:
يَا بْنَ آدَمَ
"O son of Adam!"
And just as a fāʾidah— The correct opinion is— That ḥadīth qudsī is from the speech of Allah, ʿAzza wa Jall. It’s not from the speech of the Prophet ﷺ— But the Prophet ﷺ narrates it from Allah, Subḥānahu wa Taʿālā.
Allah said:
يَا بْنَ آدَمَ، إِنَّكَ مَا دَعَوْتَنِي وَرَجَوْتَنِي، غَفَرْتُ لَكَ عَلَىٰ مَا كَانَ فِيكَ وَلَا أُبَالِي
"O son of Adam! As long as you make duʿāʾ to Me, and you have hope in Me— I will forgive you for whatever you have done— And I do not mind."
This statement— That Allah says: "وَلَا أُبَالِي"
It’s nothing to Me— To forgive every sin you have done. It’s nothing!
For us— Sometimes, to get over something someone did to us— It’s so hard!
You think, "This person did this to me!" "I can't forgive them!" "I can’t get over it!"
But Allah says— "لَا أُبَالِي"
"I don’t care." "I forgive you for everything you did."
As long as you— Make duʿāʾ to Me.
As long as you— Have hope in Me.
I will forgive you for everything you did. And it doesn’t matter anything to Me.
يَا بْنَ آدَمَ، لَوْ بَلَغَتْ ذُنُوبُكَ عَنَانَ السَّمَاءِ ثُمَّ اسْتَغْفَرْتَنِي غَفَرْتُ لَكَ وَلَا أُبَالِي
"O son of Adam! If your sins reached up to the clouds—the roof of the sky—and then you asked My forgiveness, I would forgive you, and I don’t mind. It doesn’t matter anything to Me."
What did Allah ask from you?
الدُّعَاء → Make duʿāʾ to Him.
الرَّجَاء → Have hope in Him.
الِاسْتِغْفَار → Ask Him to forgive you.
يَا بْنَ آدَمَ، إِنَّكَ لَوْ أَتَيْتَنِي بِقُرَابِ الْأَرْضِ خَطَايَا، ثُمَّ لَقِيتَنِي لَا تُشْرِكُ بِي شَيْئًا، لَأَتَيْتُكَ بِقُرَابِهَا مَغْفِرَةً
"O son of Adam! If you came to Me with sins as much as the earth, and you met Me without associating any partners with Me, I would bring you forgiveness equal to the size of the earth."
Allah doesn’t ask anything from you except that:
You make duʿāʾ to Him.
You don’t make any partners with Him.
You have hope in Him.
You ask Him to forgive you.
But what I wanted from this ḥadīth— Is for you to think about how you have to know Allah.
If you didn’t know this about Allah— You might never ask Allah to forgive you.
If you didn’t know that Allah would forgive you with just these small things— You might never ask Allah to forgive you.
Or— You might despair.
Or— You might say, “Allah will not forgive me.”
Or— You might feel heavy in your heart.
But when you know these things about Allah— You say—
"Okay, I did something really bad..."
"But let me just go back over the points..."
1️⃣ I’m going to make duʿāʾ to Allah.
2️⃣ I’m going to ask Allah to forgive me.
3️⃣ I’m going to have hope in Allah.
4️⃣ I’m going to make sure I don’t associate any partners with Allah in anything.
And— It becomes easy for a person to come back to Allah, Subḥānahu wa Taʿālā.
And the ḥadīth of Abū Hurayrah, raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu, About the Prophet ﷺ— In what he says about his Lord— Another ḥadīth— That Allah, ʿAzza wa Jall, said:
A servant of Allah has committed a sin. He said: "O Allah, forgive my sin!"
Allah, ʿAzza wa Jall, said— Allah says— Blessed and exalted—
"I have a servant." "This servant of Mine committed a sin."
And what’s the only thing he brought?
🔹 He knows that he has a Lord who forgives and punishes.
🔹 He knows that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for sins.
Then— He did it again. He did the same sin again.
He said: "My Lord, forgive my sin!"
So far— The only thing he has done— He hasn’t even stopped it.
All he has done— Is he has asked Allah to forgive him— Knowing that Allah can forgive— And knowing that Allah can punish.
And Allah, Subḥānahu wa Taʿālā, says—
"My servant committed a sin—" "And he knows that he has a Lord."
That’s the only thing Allah mentions that he did that was good.
🔹 He knows that Allah can punish him.
🔹 He knows that Allah can forgive him.
Until— Allah says to him:
"Do whatever you want, I forgive you."
Allah said: "Do whatever you want."
Not meaning— That it’s okay for you to do ḥarām— But meaning— That whatever it is that you do from today— You’re going to be forgiven— Just because you knew— That your Lord forgives and punishes— And you asked Him to forgive you.
He’s going to forgive you— Whatever you did.
The ḥadīth is narrated in Bukhārī and Muslim. Some of the narrations say: "I don’t know whether he did it three times or four times."
Here, though— There’s an important point to note.
This doesn’t mean— That he intended to do the sin each time.
Not that he said: "I’ll ask for forgiveness, and while asking, I’m already planning to do it again."
Rather— It means— That he said: "O Allah, forgive me. I’m going to stop."
But then— Again— He fell into it.
If this is the case of the one— Who did the same sin over and over again— Three— Four times— Then what do you think about the one who only did it once? Or only did it twice?
Is he not more deserving of being forgiven?
Of course, he is.
So— We should never feel— That Allah, Subḥānahu wa Taʿālā, Ever closed the door to forgiveness.
But what we need to do— Is we need to realize who Allah is— And then— Ask Allah’s forgiveness.
And in the ḥadīth of Shaddād ibn Aws, raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu, The Messenger of Allah, صلى الله عليه وسلم, said:
سَيِّدُ الِاسْتِغْفَارِ أَنْ يَقُولَ
"The greatest duʿāʾ of istighfār— Sayyid al-Istighfār— the greatest, the best— يعني the king of asking for forgiveness—* is to say:*
اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّي، لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ، خَلَقْتَنِي وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ، وَأَنَا عَلٰى عَهْدِكَ وَوَعْدِكَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُ، أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا صَنَعْتُ، أَبُوءُ لَكَ بِنِعْمَتِكَ عَلَيَّ، وَأَبُوءُ لَكَ بِذَنْبِي، فَاغْفِرْ لِي، فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ.
"O Allah, You are my Lord. There is no god worthy of worship except You. You created me, and I am Your servant. And I am following Your promise and Your covenant as much as I can. I seek refuge with You from the evil that I have done. I confess to You the blessings You have given me—I acknowledge that all of them are from You. And I confess my sins. So forgive me, for no one forgives sins except You."
And this— Really, if we wanted to make a new heading for it— We could put it under the heading of:
الاعْتِرَافُ
Confessing— That you truly committed a sin.
And you could take the other ḥadīth as well— Because I put these two together— Knowing Allah— And confessing your sin.
But we can put another heading, just to make it clearer:
Confessing: The Next Step
That is— Admitting that you did something wrong.
Because how will you ask Allah for forgiveness— Now that you know—
✔️ That Allah forgives and punishes.
✔️ That Allah is Most Merciful.
✔️ That you have hope in Allah and fear of Allah.
But the next step— You must first confess that you did something wrong.
And that's why— Here, the person says:
أَبُوءُ لَكَ بِنِعْمَتِكَ عَلَيَّ، وَأَبُوءُ لَكَ بِذَنْبِي
"O Allah, I confess to You the blessings You have given me—I admit that all of them are from You. And I admit that I have committed sins."
And I think this is something where a lot of us fall short sometimes.
The reason we fall short— Is that we don’t really appreciate how much we sin.
And in some aḥādīth, it is mentioned— That we sin بِاللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ— All night and all day.
But when we speak to people— Especially among practicing Muslims— A lot of us feel like we don’t sin that much.
Because we look at the people around us— Right?
وَمَا أُبَرِّئُ نَفْسِي
"I do not declare myself to be innocent."
We look at some people around us and we say:
"Look, that brother doesn’t pray—" "But I pray."
"That brother drinks alcohol—" "But I don’t drink alcohol."
"That person is in a bad relationship—" "But I’m not in a bad relationship."
So— The Shayṭān starts to whisper to you:
"See? You're in a good place. You don’t commit sins."
And this— Is so, so dangerous.
Because the Shayṭān wants to take you— From one problem— And throw you into another one— Which is just as bad— And might even be worse— Than the situation of the people you're looking at.
And that is— To believe that you don’t sin.
There are so many types of sins:
1️⃣ The sins of leaving the farāʾiḍ (obligations).
2️⃣ The sins of doing the muḥarramāt (forbidden things).
Separate between them.
For example—
✔️ The sins of leaving something Allah commanded you to do.
✔️ The sins of doing something ḥarām.
For example—
Allah told you to be good to your parents. Not being good to them— That’s a sin.
Or— The sin of doing something ḥarām.
And many times— We forget about the tongue.
A person says: "Oh, I didn’t do anything that bad."
"I didn’t commit zinā."
"I don’t deal with ribā."
But— There are aḥādīth that indicate— That when you accuse your brother— And you speak about his honor behind his back— It is worse than zinā.
And it is narrated that it is worse than ribā.
So before you start to declare yourself innocent— And say: "Al-ḥamdu lillāh..." Allah saved me from those things—
But maybe you fell into something with your tongue— Something greater than what the person you're looking at fell into.
And what about al-ghaflah— Neglect— Leaving the things Allah commanded— Just not being aware of what Allah gave you to do?
Allah gave you a bigger responsibility— Because Allah gave you the niʿmah of practicing Islam.
And Allah taught you— And Allah gave you a chance to learn.
And many times— We just didn't give thanks to Allah— For that blessing that He gave us.
And you can carry on— And talk about—
✔️ The sins people don't know about.
✔️ The things people should have done.
✔️ The gratitude you're supposed to show.
✔️ The patience you're supposed to show.
All the times— That your heart just switched off from Allah, subḥānahu wa taʿālā.
All the times— That you threw back the blessing that Allah, ʿazza wa jall, gave you.
There are too many sins.
And if you really see somebody— That's why they used to say—
The ʿālim sees their sins— Like a mountain that's about to crush them.
And the jāhil sees their sins— Like a fly— You know, just keeps swatting it away— They don't see it to be a big thing.
Confessing to Your Sins
Al-Imām Ibn al-Qayyim, raḥimahu Allāh, said— Explaining this ḥadīth— The ḥadīth Sayyid al-Istighfār—
He said— This istighfār— The first thing that it contains— Is that the servant admits to:
✔️ Allah’s Lordship (rubūbiyyah).
✔️ Allah’s right to be worshipped (ulūhiyyah).
✔️ The Oneness of Allah (tawḥīd).
This is important. Knowing Allah. Right?
We said— How istighfār is connected to knowing Allah.
You're confessing— That nobody can forgive you except Allah.
That is ar-rubūbiyyah— Allah’s Lordship.
That Allah alone is the One who holds your forgiveness— Not the priest. Not the pastor. Not the rabbi. Not the Imām.
Allah alone holds your forgiveness. Not those people.
And that’s Allah’s rubūbiyyah.
That is only for Allah— From the things that only Allah does.
And as for Allah’s ulūhiyyah— Allah’s right to be worshipped—
You don't ask that forgiveness— From anyone except Allah.
You don't go to the grave of someone— And say— "Oh so-and-so, ask Allah to forgive me."
But you ask— Allah, directly. Between you— And Allah— Alone.
And the Oneness of Allah—
اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّي، لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ
"O Allah, You are my Lord. There is no god worthy of worship except You."
The Oneness of Allah.
So— This duʿāʾ— It contains:
✔️ Allah’s Lordship (rubūbiyyah).
✔️ Allah’s right to be worshipped (ulūhiyyah).
✔️ Allah’s names and attributes (al-asmāʾ waṣ-ṣifāt).
اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّي
"O Allah, You are my Lord."
"Rabbi"— Is from the names of Allah.
لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ
"There is no god worthy of worship except You."
So— It contains all the types of the Oneness of Allah.
And Ibn al-Qayyim, raḥimahu Allāh, said—
وَالْاعْتِرَافُ بِأَنَّ خَالِقَهُ الْعَالِمُ بِهِ
"And the person admits—" That their Creator knows them.
They confess— That their Creator is the one who knows them.
اللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا فَعَلْتُ
"Allah knows what I have done."
And there—
إِذَا أَنْشَأَهُ نَشْأَةً تَسْتَلْزِمُ عَجْزَهُ عَنْ أَدَاءِ حَقِّهِ وَتَقْصِيرُهُ فِيهِ
"Allah, ʿazza wa jall, has created you—" "In such a way—" That you will never be able to perfectly fulfill Allah’s right. And you will fall short in it.
This is amazing— If you think about it.
Allah didn’t create you as angels. Right?
Allah didn’t make you— Malaʾikah.
لَا يَعْصُونَ اللَّهَ مَا أَمَرَهُمْ وَيَفْعَلُونَ مَا يُؤْمَرُونَ
"They do not disobey Allah in what He commands them, and they do whatever they are ordered to do."
Allah made the angels— They don’t disobey Him.
But as for you and me— Allah made us— In a way that— We have to sin.
We’re not saying— That our sins are the fault of Allah. Never.
Our sins— Are our fault.
But Allah made you— In such a way— That the nature He placed within you— Is a nature where you will sin.
And that's why— It is narrated— That if you didn’t sin— Allah would replace you— With a people— Who would sin— So that they would ask His forgiveness— And Allah would forgive them.
So the question is— What’s the ḥikmah— The wisdom?
Why did Allah make you— In a way that you sin?
We said— It’s our fault, right? But why make us like that?
He made you like that— So that you recognize— His Lordship (rubūbiyyah). His right to be worshipped (ulūhiyyah).
And so— You ask His forgiveness.
Would you imagine— How it would be— If Allah said to us—
"You can only go to Jannah—" "If you don't sin."
You only go to Jannah— On the condition that you never sin.
Some of the Sahābah thought that was true. Right?
There are a couple of āyāt in the Qurʾān— Where the Sahābah— They thought— It was true.
One is the āyah in Sūrat al-Anʿām: ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَلَمْ يَلْبِسُوٓا۟ إِيمَـٰنَهُم بِظُلْمٍ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ لَهُمُ ٱلْأَمْنُ وَهُم مُّهْتَدُونَ The Sahābah heard this āyah— And they took it to mean— That if you sin— You're going to Jahannam. You're going to be punished. Because they understood— That there are three types of ẓulm— ✔️ Ẓulm—meaning shirk. ✔️ Ẓulm—meaning hurting other people. ✔️ Ẓulm—meaning sins. They took it as meaning sins. So they understood— That the only way you can be safe— From Allah's punishment— Is to never sin at all. And they said— "O Messenger of Allah—" وَأَيُّنَا لَا يَظْلِمُ نَفْسَهُ "Which of us doesn't sin?" "All of us sin!" "We cannot be saved then!" And he ﷺ said to them— "It's not like you think." "You misunderstood the āyah." "Rather, the āyah is like Luqmān said to his son—" يَـٰبُنَىَّ لَا تُشْرِكْ بِٱللَّهِ ۖ إِنَّ ٱلشِّرْكَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيمٌ "My son, do not make a partner with Allah." "Indeed, shirk is the greatest kind of oppression." The point here is— That when the Sahābah heard the āyah— The initial feeling they had— Was that the āyah is saying— "You must never sin—" "If you want to be from the people of Jannah." Whereas what the āyah is actually saying— Is that you must never make a partner with Allah— If you want to be safe— And from the people of Jannah. So that's one thing.
Another Example The āyah in Sūrat al-Baqarah: لِلَّهِ مَا فِى السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِى الْأَرْضِ ۗ وَإِن تُبْدُوا۟ مَا فِىٓ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَوْ تُخْفُوهُ يُحَاسِبْكُم بِهِ ٱللَّهُ When this āyah was revealed— It was hard upon them. This āyah— Effectively says— That every sin you think of in your mind— You're going to be punished for it. That's what the āyah says. ✔️ Whether you do it. ✔️ Or even just think about doing it. Even just thinking about the sin— In your mind— يُحَاسِبْكُمْ بِهِ ٱللَّهُ "Allah is going to take you to account for it." Allah is going to punish you for it. And it was hard upon them— Until Allah revealed— The last two āyāt— In which Allah, ʿazza wa jall, said— رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذْنَا إِن نَسِيْنَا أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا "O our Lord, do not take us to account if we forget—" "Or if we make a mistake." And Allah, ʿazza wa jall, said— قَدْ فَعَلْتُ "I have granted this to you." "O Allah, do not take us to account if we forget." "Do not take us to account when we make a mistake." And Allah said— "I have granted this to you." "Whatever you do—" "I will not take you to account for your mistakes." "I will not take you to account when you slip." "I will not take you to account when you forget."
The point is— We could not imagine a situation— Where Allah tells us— "You can only go to Jannah if you don't sin." But rather, Allah told us— "You will sin." ✔️ Avoid whatever you can. ✔️ Stay within the limits as much as you can. And when you do sin— You recognize— That this is how you are. And you quickly rush— To ask Allah's forgiveness. وَالْإِعْتِرَافُ بِأَنَّهُ عَبْدُهُ And you confess— That Allah is your Master— And you are His slave. الَّذِي نَاصِيَتُهُ بِيَدِهِ وَفِي قَبْضَتِهِ You realize— That your forelock (nāṣiyah)— Is in Allah's Hands. And if Allah wills— He can put you into Jahannam. And He would not oppress you in anything. There is no way— لَمَا هَرَبَ لَهُ مِنْ There is no way for you— To escape Allah. وَلَا وَلِيَّ لَهُ سِوَاهُ And there is no one— Who is going to protect you— Except Allah.
What Comes Next? ثُمَّ الْتِزَامُ الدُّخُولِ تَحْتَ عَهْدِهِ And then— You say to Allah— "I am going to try my best—" "To stick to what You have told me to do." But there is another extreme. A person might say— "Well, if Allah created me like that—" "I might as well take advantage of my life—" "Before the inevitable happens." But the Muslim is not like that. He says— "I confess to all those things—" "And I am going to do my best." الَّذِي أَهِدَهُ إِلَيْهِ عَلَى لِسَانِ رَسُولِهِ That which the Messenger ﷺ— Brought to us. وَأَنَّ ذَلِكَ بِحَسَبِ اِسْتِطَاعَتِ And that is— As much as I can do. The best of what I can do. لَا بِحَسَبِ أَدَاءِ حَقِّكَ He says— "O Allah, I am not even saying to You—" "That I am going to fulfill Your right." "Because I cannot fulfill Your right." "I am just saying to You—" "That I will try whatever I can—" "To do as much of it as I can." Knowing that— I am never— Going to be able to give You what You deserve.
A Reality to Think About If you think about it— Let me explain one way— In which you can never give Allah what He deserves. Let’s say you pray a prayer. That prayer— That you pray— Is a gift from Allah. A blessing from Him. So you have to thank Allah— For that blessing. Okay— You thank Allah— For that blessing. That thanks— That Allah gave you— The ability to do— Is a gift from Allah. That you have to thank Him for— Again. In other words— Whatever you do— You will never be able to— Fulfill Allah’s right. That’s assuming— You never sinned— Ever. Now add to that— The sins you did— And the blessings Allah gave you— You cannot do it justice. But you can only do— The best you can. And that doesn't mean— That you fall short— And say— "I’m going to do this—" "I’m going to do that—" No— You say— "I am going to try—" "Whatever I can—" "To stay away from it." And when I fall into it— And then Ibn Qayyim said after all of that: فَإِنَّهُ غَيْرُ مَقْدُورٌ لِلْبَشَرِ "No human being can fulfill Allah's right." فَلِهَذَا كَانَ هَذَا الدُّعَاءُ سَيِّدَ الْإِسْتِغْفَارِ وَهُوَ مُتَضَمِّنٌ لِمَعْنَى الْعُبُودِيَّةِ "This is the reason why this duʿāʾ is called the greatest duʿāʾ of istighfār because it encompasses the real meaning of being a slave to Allah." All of that duʿāʾ is confessing that Allah is your Lord and you are His slave, and if He wants to punish you, He can punish you, and that you are not going to be able to do everything that He has and He deserves, but you just try your best to do as much as you can, and you ask Allah to forgive you, and you realize that Allah عز وجل is your Lord. So all of that came under the first topic of asking forgiveness. And I'm only going to mention one more small topic now, and then we're going to stop. We'll continue the topic of asking forgiveness and tawbah next week.
What is the meaning of Al-Istighfār? If we look at the language, the original meaning of the ghayn (غ), the fā (ف), and the rā (ر) comes with the meaning of covering and concealing. It comes with the meaning of covering up something and concealing it. And that's why a mighfar (مِغْفَر) is the helmet you wear on your head that stops you from getting shot in the head with an arrow—it covers your head. That's the original meaning. But Ibn al-Qayyim is clear here that that's not the real, that's not the core of the meaning here. There's another meaning that comes along with it, and that other meaning that comes along with it is protection. Because just for Allah to cover your sin is not enough. Because Allah might cover the sin of even the disbeliever, and they might have done a sin, and Allah never exposed them in front of everybody for doing it. That in itself is not enough. But to cover and protect— And that's why Ibn al-Qayyim says: "They are wrong when they say the meaning is covering." The meaning is covering and protecting. And that's why the helmet on your head, or the shield, the chain mail that you wear, the armor you wear—it doesn't just cover you, it covers you and it protects you. He said: "Al-istighfār al-mufrad ka al-tawbah."
What does he mean by al-istighfār al-mufrad? He means when istighfār comes by itself in the Qur'an, without the word tawbah mentioned, he said it's the same as tawbah. بَلْ هُوَ التَّوْبَةُ بِعَيْنِهَا "Rather, it is really what tawbah is, it's exactly the same thing." مَعَ تَضَمُّنِهِ طَلَبَ الْمَغْفِرَةِ مِنَ اللَّهِ "With it including the request for maghfirah from Allah." وَهُوَ مَحْوُ الذَّنْبِ وَإِزَالَةُ آثَارِهِ وَوِقَايَةُ شَرِّهِ "And it is wiping out the sin, removing its traces, and protecting from its harm." لَا كَمَا ظَنَّهُ بَعْضُ النَّاسِ أَنَّهَا السِّتْرُ "Not as some people think that it just means covering." He said: The real meaning when you have istighfār is asking Allah for maghfirah, and it means asking Allah to wipe out the sin, to take away the consequences of it, because your sins have consequences, right? They're going to affect you in your life— Bad things are going to happen to you tomorrow. Bad things are going to happen to you on Yawm al-Qiyāmah. So you're asking Allah— "Wipe it out!" You're asking Allah— "Take away the consequences!" You're asking Allah— "Protect me from the evil of it!" Not like some people think— That istighfār is just to cover up. Because Allah conceals things from people— Those He forgives and those He doesn’t forgive. The reality is— It is protection. And that’s why when you want to protect your head, you don’t wear an ʿimāmah (turban).
It's a very, very subtle point that Ibn al-Qayyim made. When you see people wearing these hats— If I want to protect my head and people are shooting at me, I don’t wear a hat like this. What’s his point? The point is—this hat covers my head. It covers my head, right? This hat I’m wearing—it covers my head. But it’s not going to protect me if someone’s shooting at my head.
Likewise, just covering your sin is not going to protect you on Yawm al-Qiyāmah. Just that nobody knew about it. Rather, what you need is for it to be covered and protected. And that’s why he said— A turban is not called a mighfar. Rather, a mighfar is something that covers your head and protects it. And that’s why al-istighfār is that which covers your sin and protects you from the consequences of it. And he quoted the āyah: وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَأَنتَ فِيهِمْ وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ مُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَهُمْ يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ "Allah will not punish these people while you, O Muhammad ﷺ, live among them, and Allah will not punish them as long as they ask for forgiveness." And that’s why it’s famously said about this āyah— Allah promised you that He will not punish you based on two things. One of them has gone, and only one of them is left. He promised He will not punish you as long as the Prophet ﷺ is alive among you— And he is not alive among us anymore. And He promised you that He will not punish you as long as you ask for forgiveness. فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُعَذِّبُ مُسْتَغْفِرًا "For indeed, Allah does not punish the one who is in the habit of asking for His forgiveness." This is in Madārij al-Sālikīn. And that’s a good place for us to stop, In shāʾ Allāh Taʿālā.
We have a lot of discussion after that— A lot of points, In shāʾ Allāh Taʿālā, about seeking forgiveness and tawbah, and what it means. We should be able to finish that topic next week, In shāʾ Allāh Taʿālā.
Summary of the Discussion That was a long introduction to it. We understood what it means— It means to cover and protect. So we're asking: "O Allah, cover it up and protect me, so that I don't suffer the consequences of the sin that I did." Ibn al-Qayyim mentions it as being the same as tawbah in reality. But tawbah, as we’re going to talk about, has its own conditions. So you can see that in some ways, istighfār is lighter than tawbah, in the sense that tawbah has its own conditions—which we will talk about next week, In shāʾ Allāh. To a certain extent, you may do istighfār and still not have brought all the conditions of tawbah. But at least you're asking: "O Allah, cover it up and don’t make for me any negative consequences—لَا فِي الدُّنْيَا وَلَا فِي الْآخِرَةِ—don’t make me suffer consequences in this world, and don’t make me suffer for this sin in the Ākhirah."
Connection to Tazkiyat al-Nafs And we realize why it’s built upon knowing Allah. And that’s why—if you see this meaning of Tazkiyat al-Nafs— We finish with this. We said Tazkiyah goes between two meanings, right? 1️⃣ التَّطْهِيرُ – Purification & Cleaning 2️⃣ النَّمَاءُ وَالزِّيَادَةُ – Growth & Increase Have you noticed how the two can’t be separated? ✔️ You build knowledge of Allah → It cleans your heart. ✔️ You clean your heart → It allows you to build knowledge of Allah. The two of them cannot be separated. You cannot say— "I will only clean my heart, but I will not put anything there, I will not build anything there." Rather— ✔️ You build knowledge of Allah → It cleans your heart. ✔️ You clean your heart → It allows you to build knowledge of Allah. We mentioned purification (cleaning) first because that’s the nature, right? We want to try to purify our hearts. But in reality— You can’t even clean your heart without building the knowledge of Allah within it. And that’s why Tazkiyat al-Nafs— The word Zakat comes from these two meanings. And they don’t really separate from each other. We're constantly in this process of adding things to our hearts, building and developing what is within our hearts by knowing Allah—His Names, Attributes, and Actions. Likewise, that leads us to cleanse our hearts and purify our souls from the things that we fall into. We can take maybe 5–10 minutes for a few questions, In shāʾ Allāh Taʿālā. I don’t want to be too late tonight, In shāʾ Allāh, and I’m also conscious about the masjid. But since I’ve been away for quite some time, we should at least give them some time for questions.
Providing an Option for the Sisters What I will try to do next time—if I can be reminded by the AMAU team— Maybe Māhir can remind me— Is to set up an option for the sisters. There is a good website where they can log on and ask questions, because right now we’re kind of giving the brothers all the advantages here.
Does Istighfār Wipe Away Major Sins? You had a question— "Does istighfār wipe away the major sins?" We’re going to come to that next week in detail. Does istighfār wipe away the major sins? Yes, it does—to a certain extent. What we need to understand is— Ibn al-Qayyim takes the position that: ✔️ Istighfār is Tawbah, and Tawbah is Istighfār. ✔️ They are only separate when they are mentioned together. In other words— You can either do istighfār and tawbah, Or you do istighfār, which means tawbah. So he actually brings the two together. In that sense, it wipes out major sins.
However, if a person doesn’t really regret what they’ve done, but still asks Allah to forgive them— 👉 Can sins still be wiped out? Sins can be wiped out. But what cannot wipe out major sins is just doing good deeds. Like the ḥadīth, Ibn al-Qayyim has a discussion about it. He says that the word is normally used for minor sins only. And that’s why the Prophet ﷺ said: وَأَتْبِعِ السَّيِّئَةَ الْحَسَنَةَ تَمْحُهَا "Follow up a bad deed with a good deed, and it will wipe it out." Ibn al-Qayyim says this applies to minor sins. And major sins require tawbah. But in the first place— Istighfār either contains tawbah, or it leads to it.
Summary of Istighfār & Tawbah The best way of summarizing it is: ✔️ Istighfār is either something that leads you to tawbah (as the first step), ✔️ Or it includes tawbah, in which case it wipes out major sins. Allah ʿAzza wa Jal knows best.
The Ruling on Backbiting a Non-Muslim Question: "What is the ruling on backbiting a non-Muslim?" It doesn’t come under the title of ghībah itself, because ghībah was defined by the Prophet ﷺ as: ذِكْرُكَ أَخَاكَ بِمَا يَكْرَهُ "Mentioning something about your brother that he dislikes." However, that doesn’t mean it’s okay to do. And that is because of two reasons:
Why Backbiting a Non-Muslim is Not Allowed ❶ It leads to the habit of ghībah When you do it, it becomes a habit—a mannerism that you keep doing. So, سدًّا للذريعة (blocking the means), it's prohibited. ❷ It stops people from entering Islam It gives a bad impression of Islam, and it stops people from entering Islam when they see Muslims treating them badly.
For these two reasons, it’s not allowed to backbite a non-Muslim. However— It doesn’t come under the ruling of ghībah itself, because ghībah was limited by the Prophet ﷺ to being between Muslims. But it’s still not something we should do because of: ✔️ Bad manners—which leads a person to do it all the time. ✔️ The negative impression it gives about Islam.
Exceptions to Ghībah It’s also important to note that all types of ghībah have exceptions. Imām al-Nawawī رحمه الله تعالى and others mentioned them. Whenever there is a need to mention something, to the extent of that need, Islam allows it.
Examples of Permissible Ghībah ❖ Court Cases If you go to court and the judge asks: "Did you witness that brother doing that ḥarām?" You can’t say: "I can't mention something about my brother that he dislikes!" In this case, the need for justice overrides it. ❖ Marriage If someone comes to you and asks: "What do you think about this brother?" Example of Permissible Ghībah in Marriage If someone comes to you and says: "I'm thinking of him for my sister." You can't say: "I can't say something about him because he wouldn't like it." Whenever there is a need, the Sharīʿah allows for that need to be addressed. But don’t go beyond the need—like some people do. They say: "No, there was a need—you know, it was burning inside my heart to say something!" That’s not a need. Instead, just mention the good about people.
Does Backbiting a Non-Muslim Fall Under Major Sins? Wallāhi, I don't recall exactly what some scholars mentioned regarding whether it comes under kabāʾir (major sins) if done to a non-Muslim. Maybe, if I can research it for next week, I'll try to bring you a quote about it, In shāʾ Allāh.
Will Allah Ask You About Sins If He Wipes Them Away? That’s a very good question— If Allah wipes out your sins, will He still ask you about them or not? The answer is: ✔️ Whether He asks or not, nothing bad will happen to you as a result of it.
Some scholars said: ✔️ When a sin is wiped out, it is erased from your record. You will not find it in your book at all. Others said: ✔️ Al-maḥw (the wiping away of sins) means the removal of its effects. But it doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t be written in your book.
But what all scholars agreed upon is: ✔️ There will be no negative consequences for you. ✔️ It will not make you sad. ✔️ It will not bring punishment. ✔️ It will not cause you any trouble— Whether it is written or not. Allah ʿAzza wa Jal knows best.
Will Your Sins Still Be in Your Personal Record? Scholars differed a lot on this issue— Will you find that sin written in your record when you receive it? (Not in Al-Lawḥ al-Maḥfūẓ, but in your personal record). There’s a difference of opinion, and they spoke a lot about it.
How Do You Make Istighfār for Sins You Don’t Remember? This is something we’ll talk about next week in detail. But I'll just mention one small point— One way to make istighfār for sins you don’t remember is to say: اللهم اغفر لي ما قدمت وما أخرت، وما أسررت وما أعلنت، وما أسرفت، وما أنت أعلم به مني، أنت المقدم وأنت المؤخر، لا إله إلا أنت
Meaning of the Duʿāʾ "O Allah, forgive me for what I have done in the past, and what I will do in the future." "Forgive me for what I did in secret, and what I did in public." "Forgive me for when I crossed all boundaries." "Forgive me for what You know better than me." "You are Al-Muqaddim (the One Who brings forward), and You are Al-Muʾakhkhir (the One Who delays). There is no god except You."
Seeking Forgiveness for Shirk (Without Knowing) Even in the issue of shirk, there’s a duʿāʾ: اللهم إني أعوذ بك أن أشرك بك وأنا أعلم، وأستغفرك لما لا أعلم "O Allah, I seek refuge in You from committing shirk while I know, and I ask for Your forgiveness for what I did without knowing."
Allah’s Blessing in Making You Aware of Your Sins We'll properly discuss next week the issue of sins we don’t remember. But one of the great blessings of Allah— It’s a great niʿmah— 👉 Allah makes you aware of your sins. Like we said— Many people become unaware of their sins. So, if Allah makes you aware of them, it’s a great blessing.
How Remembering Sins Leads to More Istighfār The real answer is— If you start making istighfār, Allah will give you tawfīq to remember more sins. This is based on the statement of Allah: وَيَزِيدُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ اهْتَدَوْا هُدًى "Allah increases in guidance those who are guided."
The Urgency of Istighfār So— ✔️ When you do something good, ✔️ And then you ask Allah for forgiveness for a sin you remembered, ✔️ Allah will remind you of another sin—so you ask forgiveness again. ✔️ And then another one, and another one— And you won’t be in a state of heedlessness (ghaflah). 👉 And Allah knows best. Because you went through that urgency— It’s an excellent question when we see the need for urgency in istighfār. And Allah says: فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا "So they sought forgiveness—immediately." There's a sense of urgency; we see sins all the time. Is it an exaggeration to make istighfar all the time? No, this is the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ in general because the Prophet ﷺ said: وَإِنِّي لَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ فِي الْيَوْمِ مِئَةَ مَرَّةً In some of the ahadith, he mentions: سَبْعِينَ مَرَّةً "I ask Allah's forgiveness in a day a hundred times." However, a person—yes, anything can reach a level of waswas where they feel like they can't speak or say any words without istighfar. But the idea of just being someone who is making istighfar regularly—if they see something wrong, they say استغفر الله, and then again they see something else, استغفر الله—this is a beautiful thing. As long as the person does not reach a level where they cannot function, where they are not in a level of waswas that prevents them from functioning, but rather they are just making istighfar throughout the day for the things they see, then it seems to me that this is closer to what the Sunnah tells us to do. So we should try to be like that—people who, when a sin comes to us, we make istighfar right away, not that we delay it until tonight or until we pray. Inshallah, we have one or two more questions.
I will take from the brothers in the back, and then we'll draw a line so everyone can get up now. Salam to all. For sure, it's amazing.
The issue of confessing to Allah is not about telling Allah what you've done—Allah already knows what you've done. It is about confessing that you admit it was a sin. It’s not from Allah’s side. So you're not saying: "O Allah, You didn’t know that I did this, but I’m telling You I did it." Rather, it is a confession in the sense of: "O Allah, I recognize and admit to You that this thing I did is a sin, and I admit to You that I should not have done it. I admit to You that You deserve far greater than that." Now, it's not about the words you say, but that's the feeling—that's the sense in which you make du'a. When you say استغفر الله, you are saying: "O Allah, I confess that what I have done, that thing that I have done, I admit that it is a sin." And that involves two things: Admitting it is a sin. Admitting that no one forgives it except Allah. Or even three things: Admitting the blessings of Allah. Admitting that it is a sin. Admitting that no one forgives it except Allah. That level of admission, acceptance, or confession—that's what is intended by the hadith. And Allah عز و جل knows best.
It doesn't have to be something you say. It doesn’t have to be: "O Allah, I did this sin." But it has to be a feeling that you feel while you ask Allah's forgiveness. For example, some sins are mentioned explicitly, and a person might mention them. There are examples coming, inshallah ta'ala, in the du'a where a person might mention them. Even in the ayat that mention Musa عليه السلام, when he says: وَقَتَلْتُ نَفْسًا Meaning, the ayat where Musa عليه السلام mentions that he killed a person: وَلَهُمْ عَلَيَّ ذَنْبٌ فَأَخَافُ أَن يَقْتُلُونِ "They have a sin upon me, and I fear they will kill me." There are examples like that. But it doesn’t have to be the case that a person mentions every sin they did and describes what they did. Rather, when they are asking Allah's forgiveness, they should feel in their heart that what they did was wrong.
Last one from the brother here. The ayah you mentioned: وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَأَنتَ فِيهِمْ If we look at this ayah—even if sometimes an ayah might be revealed about a particular group of people—there's a principle in tafseer: العبرة بعموم اللفظ لا بخصوص السبب "What we look at is the generality of the wording rather than the specific reason for revelation." No doubt, the first people the ayah was revealed about—the context of the ayah—was regarding the mushrikeen. But if you look at how the scholars of tafseer and the Sahaba took it after that, they took it generally. So they would say that Allah promised you two means of being saved: He promised you to be saved while the Prophet ﷺ is alive among you. And as long as you make istighfar. So Allah took one away, and He left one for you. They took it like that. They didn't take it as being only for the mushrikeen. Rather, they took it to apply to the mushrikeen and to anyone else who deserves adhab (punishment).
Now, the question is: If a mushrik asks Allah's forgiveness, does that mean Allah will lessen their adhab? I think the first thing to say is that a mushrik’s istighfar is not accepted by Allah سبحانه وتعالى in the first place— Because they did not bring the condition of istighfar, which is tawheed—the oneness of Allah سبحانه وتعالى and Islam. That’s why, if they did not bring Islam, their istighfar does not count in the first place. However, there is evidence that their istighfar can lessen or delay their punishment. The last ayah in Surah Al-Furqan: قُلْ مَا يَعْبَأُ بِكُمْ رَبِّي لَوْلَا دُعَاؤُكُمْ "Say: My Lord would not care for you were it not for your supplication." If it wasn’t for the du'a that you made, Allah would have destroyed you by now. If it wasn’t for the fact that you people still—from time to time—make du'a, Allah would have destroyed you. So, it is possible that even the mushrik—their adhab could be delayed, or they could have more of a chance, because they keep coming back to Allah عز و جل from time to time. Meaning, Allah might give them more of a chance. Otherwise, their istighfar is not accepted by Allah سبحانه وتعالى. Even though the context of the ayah came in the discussion of the مشركين, and Allah عز و جل knows best. I think, inshallah ta'ala, we’ll stop it there. جزاكم الله خيرا to all of you for your time and attention. Inshallah ta'ala, we will be continuing every week until Ramadan.
Next week, we have the same topic, but we have some more points to make. And that is what Allah made easy for me to mention. Allah knows best. والصلاة والسلام على نبينا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين.
