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Istighfar (Seeking Allah’s Forgiveness) - By Shaykh Ashraf Salah
Istighfar (Seeking Allah’s Forgiveness)
By Shaykh Ashraf Salah
Dear
Muslims:
Allah (SWT) commanded His Messenger (PBUH) – even though he is the most
pious of mankind - to be sincere in religion and frequently seek for
forgiveness when He said that which translates to: “So know (O Muhammad) that
their is no deity except Allah and ask forgiveness for your sin and for the
believing men and believing women.” (Muhammad: 19). Allah (SWT) also says:
"So take a straight course to Him and seek His forgiveness."
[Fussilat (41):6].
Allah (SWT) even commanded his Prophet (PBUH) to remember Him and seek
His forgiveness after he finally finished the conveyance of his Lord’s Message,
He (SWT) says that which translates to:
“When the victory of Allah has come, and the conquest (of Makkah), And
you see the people entering the religion of Allah in multitudes, Then exalt
(Him) with praise of your Lord and ask forgiveness of Him.” (An-Nasr: 1-3).
The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), therefore used to seek Allah’s
forgiveness frequently during the day and night and said of himself, ‘I swear
by Allah, I seek Allah’s forgiveness and repent to Him seventy times a day.’
(Bukhaari).
Abu Daawood narrated on the authority of Ibn ‘Umar that he said, ‘We
used to count the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) in a single sitting, saying, ‘O my
Lord, forgive me and accept my repentance. Indeed, You are the One Who accepts
repentance, the Most-Merciful” one-hundred times’.
Muslim also reported that the last thing the Prophet
(PBUH) used to say in his prayer just before saying Salaam was, ‘O my Lord,
forgive me my former and latter sins; the sins I committed secretly and the
ones I committed openly. Forgive me for my negligence and forgive for me the
sins that You know better than I (that I committed). You are the One who brings
forward (whatever You Will) and delay (Whatever You Will) and there is no deity
except You.’ Moreover, it is related that the Prophet (PBUH) when he finished
his Prayer, he would seek forgiveness three times and say: “O' Allah.. You are
'As-Salam [One free from flaws], and from You comes Salam [peace, or safety],
blessed are you O' haver of glory and kindness.” [Muslim].
Dear
Muslims:
Allah (SWT) is well aware that peoples weaknesses and deficiencies make
them commit sins; It is because of this that He (SWT) opened the door of hope
and forgiveness and enjoined them to resort to His favours and grace. He (SWT)
is Merciful to those who seek Him and near to those who call unto Him. Mistakes
and negligence are part of man’s nature and no human being is exempt from this.
At-Tirmidhi and others reported on the authority of Anas ibn Maalik
(RAA) who said, ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) saying: “Allah (SWT)
says, ‘O son of Adam! As long as you call unto me and seek (forgiveness from)
me, I will forgive you for all of the sins that you may commit and I do not
care (how many they amount to). O son of Adam! If you come to me with what is
almost as much as the earth (in volume) in sins, but you meet me without having
associated any partner with Me in worship, I will give you the same amount of
forgiveness.’
The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) ‘By He in whose hand is my soul, if you
did not sin, Allah (SWT) would wipe you out and bring into existence people who
did sin, ask Allah (SWT) for forgiveness - and He would forgive them.’
(Muslim). It is the characteristic of the resolute and faithful Muslims; they
often turn to Allah (SWT) with a great deal of Istighfar and repent sincerely
without despair or impatience. Their hearts are filled with the fear of Allah
(SWT) and their feet are firmly placed doing good deeds.
“(They are) the patient, the true, the obedient, those who spend (in
the way of Allah), and those who seek forgiveness before dawn.” (Aal-‘Imran:
17).
These are the pious people, those who observe their obligations,
perform acts of obedience and seek Allah’s forgiveness. Among the good deeds
that they do are that “They used to sleep but little of the night (invoking
their Lord and praying, with fear and hope. They used to seek forgiveness
before dawn)” (Adh-Dhariyat: 17-18).
Dear
Brothers And Sisters In Islam:
Istighfar is not merely empty words that are uttered, but rather these
words must be rooted in the heart. One should have regret for the sins that he
has committed and be determined never to commit them again. Some ‘Ulama’ said,
‘The required Istighfar is the one that prevents a person from persistence in
the sin that they have committed - and this Istighfar must be rooted in the
heart and not be a mere utterance. Whoever makes Istighfar with his tongue and
is still persistent in his sins, then this Istighfar itself needs a new
Istighfar (which is sincere).’ Some scholars also said, ‘Whoever makes
Istighfar and yet is not sincere in this is a liar and the one who seeks forgiveness
for his sin and continues committing it is like the one who is deriding his
Lord’.
On
the other hand, the Prophet (PBUH) also taught his nation the best form of
Istighfar. He (PBUH) said, “The best form of Istighfar is to say: ‘O Allah, You
are my Lord, none has the right to be worshipped except You. You created me and
I am Your servant. And I abide by Your covenant and promise as best I can, I
take refuge in You from the evil of which I have committed. I acknowledge Your
favour upon me and I acknowledge my sin, so forgive me, for verily none can
forgive sin except You.’ Whoever says this in the day with certainty and then
dies before nightfall will be among the people of Paradise and whoever
says it in the night and dies before daybreak will be among the people of Paradise .” (Bukhaari). Transliteration for Istighfar
mentioned in the foregoing Hadith is: (Allahumma 'anta rabbee,
la 'ilaha 'illa'anta, khalaqtanee, wa 'ana ‘abduka, wa 'ana ‘ala ‘ahdika wa
wa‘dika mastata‘tu, 'a‘outhu bika min sharri ma sana‘tu, 'aboo'u laka
bini‘matika ‘alayya, wa 'aboo'u bithambee, faghfirlee fa'innahu la yaghfiru
'aththunooba 'illa 'anta).
Dear Muslims:
We need istighfar to constantly purify and cleanse our
hearts. We are not born in sin, but we are born in weakness. We are prone to
fall prey to the many temptations that are part of our test in this life. And
when we do fall and commit a sin, it produces a dark spot in our hearts.
In the beginning we commit the wrong
hesitatingly and feel bad about it. If we do not turn back, we get used to it,
so it just feels normal. Then a stage comes when vice becomes virtue and virtue
vice. We defend and advocate evil and shun good. But there is hope for those
who seek hope. No matter how corrupt we might have become, we can always correct
ourselves. We can repent and seek forgiveness from our Beneficent and Merciful
Creator Who is always ready to forgive those who turn to Him in sincerity.
Dear Muslims:
The act for which we perform Istighfar is
not necessarily a sin, or an act of disobedience to Allah; it also includes our
shortcomings. As we realize Allah's immense favours to us, all of our
thankfulness and devotion clearly appears to be inadequate. As we realize the
grandeur of Allah, Most High, our acts of worship and obedience clearly are
seen to be insufficient. The higher a person is on the scale of taqwa, piety
and God consciousness, the greater is this sense of inadequacy. Consequently
the greater is his practice of Istighfar.
Istighfar
is a means of enhancing that consciousness of Allah (SWT) and strengthening our
relationship with Him. We turn to no one except Allah (SWT) in repentance. We
confess our deepest errors, shortcomings, failures, and sins to Him (SWT) and
Him alone. Istighfar, thus, is a most intimate conversation with Allah. And
during that conversation we are at our humblest. We can thus why Istighfar is
the essence of our servitude and submission to Allah!
Dear
Muslims:
Making much
Istighfar removes sorrow and distress, saves one from awkward situations and
brings provision from unexpected sources. The Prophet (PBUH) said: “Whoever
makes Istighfar frequently, Allah (SWT) will provide a way for him out of every
distress and provide for him from sources he could never expect.” (Abu Dawood,
Ibn Majah).
Also, if there is a lot of Istighfar among the Muslims and it is done
sincerely, Allah (SWT) will prevent calamities and different types of
tribulations from affecting them. Allah (SWT) says that which translates to:
“And Allah (SWT) would not punish them while they seek forgiveness.” (Al-Anfal:
33).
Therefore fear Allah (SWT) and remember that it is only those who have
faith and piety that reflect and take lessons from the vicissitudes of life.
Turn to Allah (SWT), hold fast to His Book, follow the sunnah of His Messenger
(PBUH), obey and please Allah (SWT) and make a lot of Istighfar. These are some
of the major factors that bring peace and security to the Muslim ummah and
guarantee its protection.
May Allah (SWT) help us
to do whatever pleases Him, bless, guide and forgive us all. (Ameen).
thank you
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