In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Allah Almighty says,
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَتَّبِعُوا۟ خُطُوَٰتِ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنِ ۚ وَمَن يَتَّبِعْ خُطُوَٰتِ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنِ فَإِنَّهُۥ يَأْمُرُ بِٱلْفَحْشَآءِ وَٱلْمُنكَرِ ۚ وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُۥ مَا زَكَىٰ مِنكُم مِّنْ أَحَدٍ أَبَدًا وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُزَكِّى مَن يَشَآءُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ ﴿٢١[Qur'an, An-Nur 24:21]
O you who have believed, do not follow the footsteps of Satan. And whoever follows the footsteps of Satan - indeed, he enjoins immorality and wrongdoing. And if not for the favor of Allah upon you and His mercy, not one of you would have been pure, ever, but Allah purifies whom He wills, and Allah is Hearing and Knowing. (21)
The year is coming to an end. The new year will give us the opportunity to start afresh and set new goals so we can do better than this year. It is now critical to take a year-end spiritual inventory of ourselves and review of our relationship with Allah, our Creator, Lord of the Worlds. But do not fall into the trap of rushing through it; be honest with yourself, make sure you learn lessons from it, avoid making the same mistakes and persist with successful ways to reach your ultimate goal, which is Allah Himself and the eternal bliss of the next life.
Making mistakes and falling short are undoubtedly part of human nature and no one will be free of shortcomings in his obedience to Allah, or free of mistakes or forgetfulness or sins. All of us fall short, commit sins, and make mistakes. Sometimes we turn to Allah and sometimes we turn away from Him. Sometimes we remember that Allah is watching and sometimes we become negligent. None of us is free of sin, and we will inevitably make mistakes. We are not infallible.
Hence the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wassallam) said: “By the One in Whose hand is my soul, if you did not commit sin Allah would do away with you and bring people who would commit sin then pray for forgiveness.” [Muslim]. And he (sallallahu alayhi wassallam) said: “Every son of Adam sins, and the best of those who sin are those who repent.” [at-Tirmidhi]
By His mercy towards His weak slave, Allah has opened the gate of repentance to him, and has commanded him to turn to Him, every time sin overwhelms him. Were it not for that, man would suffer a great deal of hardship and would not have the drive to draw closer to his Lord; he would lose all hope of His forgiveness and pardon. Repentance is something that is necessary as a result of our shortcomings and human failings.
Allah has enjoined repentance on all kinds of people in this Ummah: those who are foremost in good deeds, those who follow a middle course, and those who wrong their own selves by doing disliked and prohibited (haraam) things.
ثُمَّ أَوْرَثْنَا ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱصْطَفَيْنَا مِنْ عِبَادِنَا ۖ فَمِنْهُمْ ظَالِمٌ لِّنَفْسِهِۦ وَمِنْهُم مُّقْتَصِدٌ وَمِنْهُمْ سَابِقٌۢ بِٱلْخَيْرَٰتِ بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ ٱلْفَضْلُ ٱلْكَبِيرُ ﴿٣٢[Qur'an, Fatir 35:32]
Then we caused to inherit the Book those We have chosen of Our servants; and among them is he who wrongs himself, and among them is he who is moderate, and among them is he who is foremost in good deeds by permission of Allah. That [inheritance] is what is the great bounty. (32)
Allah Almighty says,
وَتُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ ﴿٣١ ...[Qur'an, An-Nur 24:31]
...And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed. (31)
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ تُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ تَوْبَةً نَّصُوحًا عَسَىٰ رَبُّكُمْ أَن يُكَفِّرَ عَنكُمْ سَيِّـَٔاتِكُمْ وَيُدْخِلَكُمْ جَنَّـٰتٍ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ يَوْمَ لَا يُخْزِى ٱللَّهُ ٱلنَّبِىَّ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ مَعَهُۥ ۖ نُورُهُمْ يَسْعَىٰ بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَبِأَيْمَـٰنِهِمْ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَآ أَتْمِمْ لَنَا نُورَنَا وَٱغْفِرْ لَنَآ ۖ إِنَّكَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌۭ ﴿٨[Qur'an, At-Tahrim 66:8]
O you who have believed, repent to Allah with sincere repentance. Perhaps your Lord will remove from you your misdeeds and admit you into gardens beneath which rivers flow [on] the Day when Allah will not disgrace the Prophet and those who believed with him. Their light will proceed before them and on their right; they will say, "Our Lord, perfect for us our light and forgive us. Indeed, You are over all things competent." (8)
Repentance is essential from every sin, even if it is something between a person and Allah and has nothing to do with the rights of another person. There are three conditions of repentance:
1- You should give up the sin
2- You should regret having done it
3- You should intend and resolve never to go back to it.
If one of these three is missing, then your repentance is not sincere. If the sin has to do with the rights of another person, then there are four conditions: the three mentioned above and rectify that sin with the other person, to the extent possible. If it is money or property, etc, it must be returned to him; if it had to do with slandering him etc, then you have to make amends to him and ask for his forgiveness; if it had to do with backbiting about him, then you have to ask for his pardon. If you are unable to restore the rights of that other person you have wronged, at the very least make du'a and do some type of goodness on behalf of the person and hope that Allah will make the person content in the Day of Judgment.
Let's now turn to Allah Almighty and ask Him for forgiveness.
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلتَّوَّٰبِينَ وَيُحِبُّ ٱلْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ ﴿٢٢٢ ...[Qur'an, Al-Baqarah 2:222]
Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves." (222)
May Allah accept our repentance and forgive all our sins and shortcomings. May Allah forgive our parents and shower them with His mercy and accept our good deeds. May Allah grant us true wisdom and nearness to Him and grant us tawfiq (success) to the highest station. May Allah bless the remaining days of our lives and protect us from heedlessness and disobedience and enable us to do righteous deeds. Ameen.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.
Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
Related Archives
Let's Repent
Carrying the Legacy of the Messenger of Allah
Year-end Spiritual Inventory and Review
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