Ramadan Nights : Seek Repentance

Salam Everyone !

I recently came across a picture online, which got me thinking quite a lot. The picture is actually, the second picture on this post. It basically shows a guy checking out somethings on the internet he really shouldn't and wouldn't want other people finding out what it is. However, because he is so caught up in doing this dirty habit in private he has forgotten that the most important being is watching him. Allah of course ! The ayat next to it (you can find it in surat al Nisa ayat 108 ) basically explains how some people are so embarrassed from other humans but not Allah, even thought He is with them all the time and He knows everything they do.

This brings me to the topic, how many of us do/ have done things that we're not really proud of. How many of us sin and brush it off ? Or do certain things, that we know if the prophet was standing right in front of us whilst we were doing these things, we would not have the ability to look up ever again ! If you got that really shameful feeling whilst reading the prophet example, imagine how you would feel in judgement day when Allah subhan wa tallah brings the situation up again and you have to face Him?! 

As humans, it is in our nature to commit sins. Abu Huraryrah once narrated the Prophet to have said ' I swear by the One whose hand is my soul. If you did not commit sins, Allah would have surely gotten rid of all of you and He would have surely brought another people who would commit sins - so that they would then seek Allah's forgiveness and so He would forgive them!' As you can see, Allah expects humans to sin however, He also expects humans to seek His forgiveness - because that is one of the main reasons why we were even created. So we can constantly do Tawabah to Allah.

So how do we repent to Allah ?

1 ) One can repent to Allah, by simply saying 'Istaghferallah' (seeking forgiveness) in all sincerity of quitting and never repeating their sin again and being truly sorry about it.

It is said, that the Prophet Muhammed PBUH used to seek forgiveness 70 times a day ! It is also said, if you ask for forgiveness 70 times (that's saying Istaghferallah x 70 ) all of your sins will be washed out, even if they were the size of the ocean. Of course, there is no limits to how many times you seek forgiveness from God because really, this is a matter between you and Him and only He can be the judge of that.

2) The Prophet PBUH said ' Whoever says it during the day with firm faith in it and dies on the same day before the evening, he will be from the people of Paradise ; and if somebody recites it at night with firm faith in it and dies before the morning he will be from the people of Paradise. '

اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّي لا إِلَهَ إِلا أَنْتَ خَلَقْتَنِي وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ وَأَنَا عَلَى عَهْدِكَ وَوَعْدِكَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُ أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا صَنَعْتُ أَبُوءُ لَكَ بِنِعْمَتِكَ عَلَيَّ وَأَبُوءُ لَكَ بِذَنْبِي فَاغْفِرْ لِي فَإِنَّهُ لا يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلا أَنْتَ

“O Allah! You are my Lord! None has the right to be worshiped but You. You created me and I am Your slave, and I am faithful to my covenant and my promise as much as I can. I seek refuge with You from all the evil I have done. I acknowledge before You all the blessings You have bestowed upon me, and I confess to You all my sins. So I entreat You to forgive my sins, for nobody can forgive sins except You.” [Bukhari]

3) The Prophet PBUH said 'whoever commits a sin, then performs wudhu then offers prayer (2 Rak'ahs) seeking forgiveness of God, God will certainly forgive him.'

Tabarani has also quoted the Prophet PBUH saying  'The Scribe on the left delays registering the sin of a Muslim for six hours. If he repents (within the six hours) and seeks Allah's forgiveness, they drop it off. If he doesn't they write it down as a single sin.'

 The Prophet ﷺ tells us in this hadith: “The Scribe on the left delays registering the sin of a Muslim for six hours. If he repents (within these six hours), and seeks Allah’s forgiveness, they drop if off. If he doesn’t, they write is down as a single sin.” [Tabarani]

4) Tasbeeh is another way of seeking forgiveness and repenting. At the end of every Salah, sit for a few moments and remember Allah and say 'Subhanallah' 33 times, 'Alhamdulilah ' 33 times, 'Allahu Akbar' 33 times and after that say the shahadah ' la illah illa allah wahduh la shareek lah, lah il mulk wa lah il hamd wa howa alla kul shay kadeer'( لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له, له الملك, وله الحمد وهو على كل شيء قدير )  

5) The Prophet PBUH also told us, that when we pray the 5 prayers, fast Ramadan, attend the Friday Prayer , then all of our minor sins will be forgiven,

Also, if we constantly seek forgiveness from God and repent, He turns all of our sins in to good deeds :

"Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work. For them Allah will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.” [Qur'an, 25:70]

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Sometime we avoid seeking forgiveness, out of fear of being rejected or that it will be too hard. But how can you avoid seeking forgiveness from Allah, when it is also a form of worshiping Him? 

Allah says in a Hadith Qudsi :

“O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it.” [Tirmidhi

Subhanallah ! May Allah forgive all of us for our sins whether they are minor or major, for certainly He is the al Ghafoor (the Forgiving)  and Al Tawab (the One who constantly accepts repentance)

Stay Blessed & Ramadan Mubarak,