Seek Forgiveness for Your Sin Earnestly
- Categories: Asceticism and Heart Softening -
All perfect praise is due to Allah The Almighty. May prayers and
peace of Allah be upon His truthful Messenger; Muhammad, his
family, his companions and those who followed him until the Day of
Resurrection.
These are brief words about
Istighfar "seeking forgiveness", its virtues, its proper times, and
its wordings. Furthermore, we will touch upon fruits of Dhikr
"remembrance of Allah The Almighty" and the best of it. We ask
Allah The Almighty to render it beneficial for all.
Seeking
Forgiveness
Its
virtues:
1. It is an act of obedience
to Allah The Almighty.
2. It is a reason for
forgiving and erasing sins, for Allah The Almighty
Says:
{I said "to them": Ask
forgiveness from your Lord; Verily, He is Oft-Forgiving}. [Nuh
71:10]
Transliteration:
Faqultu istaghfiroo rabbakum
innahu kana ghaffara.
3. Sending rain, for Allah The
Almighty Says:
{He will send rain to you in
abundance}. [Nuh 71:11]
Transliteration:
Yursili assamaa 'alaykum
midrara
4. Increasing wealth and
children, for Allah The Almighty Says:
{And give you increase in
wealth and children}. [Nuh 71:12]
Transliteration:
Wayumdidkum bi-amwalin
wabaneena
5. Entering Paradise, for
Allah The Almighty Says:
{And bestow on you gardens}.
[Nuh 71:12]
Transliteration:
wayaj'al lakum
jannatin
6. Increasing power in its
different forms, for Allah The Almighty Says:
{And add strength to your
strength}. [Hud 11:52]
Transliteration:
Wayazidkum quwwatan ila
quwwatikum
7. Getting good enjoyment,
Allah The Almighty Says:
{That He may grant you good
enjoyment}. [Hud 11: 3]
Transliteration:
yumatti'kum mata'an
hasanan
8. Warding off calamities for
Allah The Almighty:
{Nor will He punish them while
they seek "Allah's" Forgiveness}. [Al-Anfaal 8:33]
Transliteration:
wama kanaAllahu mu'aththibahum
wahum yastaghfiroon
9. It is a reason for
bestowing abounding grace to every owner of grace, for Allah The
Almighty Says:
{And bestow His abounding
Grace to every owner of grace "i.e. the one who helps and serves
needy and deserving, physically and with his wealth, and even with
good words"}. [Hud 11:3]
Transliteration:
Wa yu'ti kulla thee fadlin
fadlahu
10. Worshipers are really in
dire need for asking forgiveness for they usually commit sins day
and night. So whenever they ask Allah The Almighty to forgive them,
Allah The Almighty will forgive them.
11. It is a reason for sending
down mercy for Allah The Almighty Says:
{Why seek you not the
Forgiveness of Allah, that you may receive mercy?}. [An-Naml 27:
46]
Transliteration:
lawla tastaghfiroona Allaha
la'allakum turhamoon.
12. It acts as the expiation
of sins committed at a sitting or gathering.
13. It is a kind of treading
the same path of the Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon
him, for he used to ask forgiveness from Allah The Almighty for
more than seventy times in a single gathering and in another
narration: one hundred times.
Quotes about
Asking Forgiveness
1. It was narrated that
Luqman, may Allah exalt his status, said to his son: "Accustom your tongue to seeking
Allah's forgiveness, for surely Allah The Almighty has moments when
He does not reject any supplicant."
2. 'Ai'shah; Mother of
the Believers, may Allah be pleased with her, said: "It is a fortunate person who "on
the Day of Judgement" finds in his record many Du'aas
"supplications" for forgiveness."
3. Qatadah, may Allah
have mercy upon him, said: "This Qur'an guides you to the
recognition of your illnesses and to their remedies. Your illnesses
are your sins and your medicine is seeking Allah's
forgiveness."
4. Abu Al-Minhaal, may
Allah have mercy upon him, said: "No neighbor of any servant in his
grave is better than "more beloved to him than"
Istighfar."
5. Al-Hasan, may Allah
have mercy upon him, said: "Ask for Allah's forgiveness
frequently in your homes, at your tables, on your roads, in your
markets, at your meetings, and wherever you are. You never know
when you will be granted Allah's forgiveness."
6. Once, a Bedouin
said: "Whoever wants to
live among us has to seek Allah's forgiveness great deal, for rain
sent down by seeking forgiveness."
Favorable
times of Seeking Forgiveness
It is permissible to seek
forgiveness at all times; however, it will be obligatory at the
times of committing sins. Moreover, it is recommendable at the end
of all righteous actions such as seeking forgiveness thrice after
every prayer, seeking forgiveness after performing Hajj and the
like.
In addition, it is desirable
to seek forgiveness in the last hours before dawn for Allah The
Almighty praised those who seek His forgiveness in the last hours
before dawn.
Different
Wordings of Istighfar
1. Sayyid Al-Istighfaar is the
best way of seeking forgiveness. It is that the servant says: "O
Allah, You are my Lord, there is no God except You. You have
created me and I am Your slave and I am keeping my promise and
covenant to You as much as I can. I seek refuge with You from the
evil of what I do. I acknowledge Your blessing and I acknowledge my
sin, so forgive me, for there is none who can forgive sin except
You". [Al-Bukhari]
Transliteration:
Allahumma anta rabbiy laa
ilaaha illa anta, khalaqtani wa ana 'abduka wa ana 'ala 'ahdika wa
wa'dika ma astata'tu. A'oodhu bika min sharri ma sana'tu, aboo'u
laka bi ni'matika 'alayya wa aboo'u laka bi dhanbi, faghfir li fa
innahu laa yaghfir al-dhunooba illa anta
2. "I seek forgiveness from
Allah" [Al-Bukhari]
Transliteration:
Astaghfirullah
3. "O my Lord! Forgive me"
[Al-Bukhari]
Transliteration:
Rabb iIghfir lee
4. "O Allah, I have done great
injustice to myself, so grant me forgiveness for no one forgives
sin except You". [Al-Albani, authentic]
Transliteration:
Allahumma inni thalamtu nafsi
faghfir li, Fa'innahu laa yaghfir al-dhunooba illa
anta.
5. "O my Lord, forgive me and
accept my repentance, for You are the Accepter of Repentance, Most
Merciful". [Al-Albani, authentic]
Transliteration:
Rabbi ighfir li wa tubb
'alayya innaka anta At-Tawwaab Ar-raheem
6. "O Allah, I have done great
injustice to myself and no one forgives sin except You. So grant me
forgiveness from You and have mercy on me, for You are the
Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful". [Agreed upon]
Transliteration:
Allahumma inni Thalamtu nafsi
Thulman katheeran wa laa yaghfir al-dhunooba illa anta, faghfir li
maghfiratan min 'indika warhamni innaka anta Algh-Ghafoor
Ar-Raheem
7. "I ask forgiveness of Allah
the Almighty, besides Whom there is no god, the Ever-Living, the
Eternal, and I repent to Him". [Al-Albani, authentic]
Transliteration:
AstaghfiruAllah Al-'Atheem
alladhi laa ilaaha illa huwa Al-hayyu Al-qayyoom wa atoobu
ilayhi
Fruits of
Dhikr "Remembrance of Allah The Almighty"
There are many
benefits and fruits of Dhikr, amongst them are:
1.
Drive Satan away.
2.
Pleases Ar-Rahmaan "the Most
Gracious" i.e. Allah The Almighty.
3.
Relieve from worry and
distress.
4.
Bring happiness and
cheerfulness.
5.
Brighten the
face.
6.
Increase one's
provision.
7.
Makes Allah The Almighty loves
His worshiper.
8.
Makes the worshiper love Allah
The Almighty, observe Him, knows Him, return to Him and bring him
near to Him.
9.
Makes the person in
remembrance get accustomed to the remembrance of Allah The
Almighty.
10.
Revive the heart.
11.
Erase sins.
12.
Benefits one at the times of
hardships and difficulties.
13.
Eliminates feelings of
alienation between the worshiper and his Lord.
14.
It is a reason for sending
down tranquility, mercy and angels.
15.
Keeps one busy from Gheebah
"Backbiting", Namimah "tale-bearing" and obscene
speech.
16.
Protect one from regret on the
Day of Resurrection.
17.
It, along with crying in
seclusion "i.e. crying when one is alone from the fear of Allah The
Almighty" include one among those whom Allah will shade on the Day
of Resurrection with the shade of His Throne.
18.
Guards one against forgetting
Allah The Almighty.
19.
Guards one from Nifaaq
"hypocrisy".
20.
It is the easiest and less
difficult act of worship. In spite of this fact, it equals freeing
a slave and rewarded by great rewards that are better than that of
any other act of worship.
21.
It is the tree of
Paradise.
22.
Satisfies the heart and
fulfills its needs.
23.
Strengthens the wills and
determinations of the heart.
24.
Disperses the worries,
distresses and sadness of the heart.
25.
Strengthen and fortify one
against the soldiers of Satan.
26.
Makes one pay much attention
to the affairs of the Hereafter and forget about that of the
worldly life.
27.
It acts as the essence and
essential part of gratefulness and the whoever does not remember
Allah The Almighty is not grateful.
28.
The most honorable person in
status before Allah The Almighty is the one who keeps his tongue
moist with the remembrance of Allah The Almighty.
29.
Eases the hardness of the
heart.
30.
Entails the mercy of Allah The
Almighty and supplications of His angels.
31.
All the acts of worship are
imposed only for establishing the remembrance of Allah The
Almighty.
32.
Allah The Almighty expresses
His pride to His angels about those who remember Him
most.
33.
Eases difficulties, lessens
hardships and eases matters.
34.
Bring bless to
time.
35.
Has a magnificent effect in
achieving safety. In fact, there is nothing more beneficial for the
one who has serious fears than the remembrance of Allah The
Almighty.
36.
Enables one to defeat his
enemies.
37.
Strengthens the power of the
heart.
38.
Mountains and desert express
their pride and be pleased with those who remember Allah The
Almighty on their grounds.
39.
Constant remembrance in roads,
homes, while traveling and staying and in all places strengthens
the belief of the worshiper in the Day of
Resurrection.
40.
Has a different distinguishing
taste other than any act of worship.
The Best
Wording of Dhikr
"Glory be to Allah, Praise be
to Allah, There is no God except Allah, and Allah is the Most
Great".
Transliteration:
Subhaan Allah,
Alhamduli-llaah, Wa Laa Ilaha Ilaa Allah, wa Allahu
Akbar
Such words are the best words
of remembering Allah The Almighty after the Noble Qur`an and they
are also from the Noble Qur`an. [Based on an authentic hadith
reported by Muslim]
The Great
words of Dhikr include:
• "there is no strength and
power except with Allah".
Transliteration:
Laa hawla wa laa quwwata illa
Billaah
It is one of treasures of
Paradise [Based on an authentic hadith reported by Al-Bukhari]. In
fact, it has an amazing effect in easing difficulties, alleviating
burdens and elevating one to sublime degrees.
• "Glory and praise be to
Allah",
Transliteration:
Subhaan Allahi wa bi
hamdihi
Whoever says it one hundred
times a day all his sins even if they were as much as the foam of
the sea. [Reported by Al-Bukhari]
• "Glory and praise be to
Allah, glory be to Allah the Almighty".
Transliteration:
Subhaana Allah wa bihamdih,
subhaan Allah il-'Atheem
They are two words which are
light on the tongue and heavy in the scale, and beloved to the Most
Merciful. [Agreed upon]
• "There is no God except
Allah Alone, with no partner or associate His is the sovereignty
and to Him be praise".
Transliteration:
Laa ilaaha ill-Allah wahdahu
la shareeka lah, lahu'l-mulk wa lahu'l-hamd
Whoever says it ten times in a
day, will have "a reward" equivalent to freeing four slaves of the
children of Isma'eel "Ishmael" and whoever says it one hundred
times in a day one hundred Hasanaat "good deeds" will be recorded
for him, one hundred Sayi'aat "bad deeds" will be erased from him,
will have "a reward" equivalent to freeing ten slaves, and he will
be protected from Satan for that day. [Reported by
Al-Bukhari]
Conclusion
The fruits of Dhikr
"remembrance" can be perfectly attained by doing great deal of it,
concentrating on saying them, adhering firmly to the Adhkar of the
two ends of the day "Morning and evening remembrance", sticking to
the restricted Adhkar and that are not restricted to a particular
time, and keeping away from innovations and transgressing the
limits of the rulings of religion.
May peace and blessing of
Allah be upon our Prophet; Muhammad, his family and his
companions.
Dar
Al-Qaasim
Translated by Wathakker Website
en.wathakker.net