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- Ways of Access and Signs of Acceptance
Repentance:
Dear honored brothers, we are discussing a new topic among the series of topics entitled: The Means of Realization and the Signs of Acceptance. The current topic is “Repentance”. Actually, the topic should be entitled the resumption or continuation of repentance, for the believer is a repentant sinner.
((All of the children of Adam are sinners, and the best of sinners are those who repent))
It is through Allah’s mercy that He called upon us to repent and there are many texts in the Quran and the Hadith that ascertain such a fact:
(Truly, Allah loves those who turn unto Him in repentance)
(Allah wishes to accept your repentance)
(Say: "O 'Ibadi (My slaves) who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah, verily Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful)
He who applies the Sunna of the Prophet will never be tortured by Allah:
Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, narrated that Allah Almighty said:
((O My slaves, you commit sins night and day and I forgive all sins, so seek My forgiveness and I shall forgive you.))
And also Allah Almighty said:
(And Allah would not punish them while you (Muhammad ) are amongst them)
Hence, as long as the Sunna of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is alive amongst us, we are safe from any Divine punishment. The amazing thing is:
(Nor will He punish them while they seek (Allah's) Forgiveness)
Dear brothers, you remain within two realms of freedom: either to implement Allah’s instructions or to beseech His forgiveness if you were not of those who implemented them. There follows in the Qudsi relic:
((By My Mightiness and Greatness, if My slave approaches at night, I accept him and if approaches Me in the day, I accept him. If he draws near to Me a hand’s length, I draw near to him an arm’s length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed. And if he asks for forgiveness, I forgive him. If he asks for quittance, I let him and if he repents, I accept his repentance. Whoever returns to Me, I accept him no matter how far he is. And whoever turns away from Me, I approach him and call upon him. Whosoever leaves a sin for My sake, I reward him with many gifts and whoever acknowledges My Will and Power in whatever he does, I make the iron bend for his sake. Whoever seeks to please Me, I seek to please him. My dear people are those who are with Me (i.e. whoever would like to be with Me, let him supplicate to Me and remember Me). Whoever thanks Me, I grant him more blessings. Whoever disobeys Me, I keep the doors of My Mercy open for him, if he returns to Me, I bestow him with My Love, since I love those who repent and purify themselves for My Sake. If they do not repent, I still cure them by hardships to purify them from sins and faults. I reward every single good deed ten foldor seven hundred fold and more . I count every single bad deed as one unless the person repents and asks for My Forgiveness in which case I forgive and I am more Merciful with My slaves than a mother with her child))
The greatest risk that any human being could face is to discover the truth when it is too late:
Dear brothers, the greatest problem that any human being can face is being far away from Allah, negligent of the purpose and reason beyond his being, unaware of the mission that he was assigned for and the message that he should deliver, negligent of the Hereafter, inattentive of the fact that he was created for a Heaven that is as vast as the heavens and the earth and that he was brought to this world only to pay the price of Paradise. He, then, forgot and neglected Paradise and indulged in worldly pleasures, and when the angel of death came, he said:
(He says: "My Lord! Send me back,* "So that I may do good in that which I have left behind!")
Allah said:
(No!)
Dear brothers, the greatest risk that any human being could face is to discover the truth after it is too late:
(He will say: "Alas! Would that I had sent forth (good deeds) for (this) my life! * So on that Day, none will punish as He will punish*And none will bind as He will bind)
(And (remember) the Day when the Zalim (wrong-doer, oppressor, polytheist, etc.) will bite at his hands, he will say: "Oh! Would that I had taken a path with the Messenger ( Muhammad ))
(Say (O Muhammad ): "Shall We tell you the greatest losers in respect of (their) deeds? *Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life while they thought that they were acquiring good by their deeds!)
(Say (O Muhammad ): "The losers are those who will lose themselves and their families on the Day of Resurrection. Verily, that will be a manifest loss!")
He who is negligent of Allah is like non-reasoning creatures and is destined to hellfire
Dear bothers, he who is negligent of Allah enjoys the world in the same way that non-reasoning creatures (animals) do:
(and the Fire will be their abode)
He who is negligent of Allah:
(They are only like cattle; nay, they are even farther astray from the Path. (i.e. even worst than cattle))
He who is negligent of Allah:
(They are as blocks of wood propped up)
He who is negligent of Allah:
(The likeness of those who were entrusted with the (obligation of the) Taurat (Torah) (i.e. to obey its commandments and to practise its legal laws), but who subsequently failed in those (obligations), is as the likeness of a donkey who carries huge burdens of books (but understands nothing from them))
Well-being and happiness are needs for every human being:
Dear brothers, Allah Almighty says:
(And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone))
The most important idea in repentance is that one should recognize the purpose and secret of one’s existence in this world. If you are able to know the secret for your existence, your deeds will be righteous, and consequently you will reach happiness and safety – which are two basic needs for every single human being. Ignorance is what causes misery to man for the ignorant person harms himself more than his foe could ever do. There is a specific Quranic verse that clarifies the reason for your existence:
(And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone))
The purpose of worship is love of Allah and obeying Him:
Worship, as you well know, is a voluntary act of obedience, merged with heartfelt love, founded on certitude of knowledge and leads to eternal happiness.
((O, children of Adam! I did not create you so as to seek companionship through you after being lonely, or to seek your help on a matter in which I was inefficient, or for the sake of a benefit or for warding off harms. but I created you so you can worship Me constantly and thank Me a lot, and praise Me day and night.))
Allah has created you for Him. Minerals were created for plants, plants were created for animals, and animals were created for human beings. So, for whom were you created? You were created for the One Judge, Allah. Dear brother, when you choose this world, you are abandoning your humanity and the mission to which you were assigned. Hence, you should know the secret, reason and purpose beyond your existence. When you know that you were created for Paradise, only then would you pursue it.
((O, son of Adam, I created everything in this universe, so don’t burden yourself, and I created you to worship me so don’t play around, and don’t be consumed in what I granted you and forget about what I ordered you))
((When a sinner servant turns back to Allah and repents, a caller calls those in the heavens and earth to congratulate him as he has reconciled with Allah))
The happiness achieved by he who repents from his sins:
Dear esteemed brothers, there is no greater happiness than that which overwhelms the heart of a man who repents; by Allah, it is as if mountains were lifted off his chest.
((The one who repents from a sin is like the one who did not sin))
((O son of 'Adam, I do not care if your sins reach the height of the heaven, then you ask for my forgiveness, I would forgive you))
(Allah wishes to accept your repentance, but those who follow their lusts, wish that you (believers) should deviate tremendously away from the Right Path)
He who repents to Allah is rescued from His punishment but he does not reap the rewards of collective repentance:
Dear esteemed brothers, there is a significant point that will be clarified in the following verse in which Allah Almighty says:
(And all of you beg Allah to forgive you all, O believers)
What does the word “all” mean? By way of example, you own a cellphone and you have 50 friends who do not own any cellphones; what then would be the use of your phone? However, when your friends have cellphones as you do, you would feel the value of owning a phone since you could contact any of your friends anytime. Similarly, if a human repents alone, he/she would be rescued but he/she will not be able to reap the fruits of this religion.
If you were seated in a place where all women are veiled, you would come to understand the meaning and value of hijab. What does it mean when an employee heads to his work, a student to his education a merchant to his trade? When people are engaged and occupied with the mission of construction and building their nation, it becomes elevated and civilized. However, what would happen if people engaged and were obsessed with sexual gratification day and night, incessantly at all times even during working hours? Life would be corrupted, and therefore:
(And all of you beg Allah to forgive you all, O believers, that you may be successful)
Sometimes, a man could find himself in an extremely immoral environment, but he would still be able to be upright. He would be greatly rewarded by Allah and he would be rescued from His punishment but the society, as a whole, would not reap the rewards of collective repentance. Actually, collective repentance entails that people are honest, trustworthy, kind, fair-minded, and do not betray one another. Living in such a society is, indeed a blessing. Therefore:
((When your leaders are the best among you, your affluent ones are generous, and your matters are decided through mutual consultation among yourselves then the surface of the earth is better for you than its interior (i.e. life is better than death). But when your leaders are the worst of you, your affluent ones are stingy and your women are made in charge of your affairs, then the interior of the earth is better than its surface (i.e. death is better than life))
Allah Almighty did not order us to repent except that He will accept and forgive us:
Dear brothers,
(And all of you beg Allah to forgive you all, O believers)
This is an order, and every order in the Noble Quran entails obligation. A believer repents numerous times in compliance with the approach that the Prophet (PBUH) commands us to adopt:
((Verily, I seek repentance from Him a hundred times a day))
We should repent from every thought and every single thing for Allah Almighty is Merciful and the Accepter of Repentance. In fact:
(Truly, Allah loves those who turn unto Him in repentance and loves those who purify themselves (by taking a bath and cleaning and washing thoroughly their private parts, bodies, for their prayers, etc.))
Actually, Allah is waiting for us to repent, and some said that: He only ordered us to repent so that He accept our repentance, and He did not order us to ask for His forgiveness except to forgive us, and He did not order us to call upon him but to answer us.
(Truly, Allah loves those who turn unto Him in repentance and loves those who purify themselves (by taking a bath and cleaning and washing thoroughly their private parts, bodies, for their prayers, etc.))
Important Hadith related to the topic of repentance:
There are a number of extremely significant texts in the Prophetic sayings that are concerned with repentance, such as:
((Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His believing servant than a man who loses his camel and provisions of food and drink in a waterless desert. Stricken with thirst, and losing hope, he says: I will go back to the place where I have been before and sleep myself to death))
One time, a university professor, in the Faculty of Arts, told us that we will not be able to grasp and relish pre-Islamic poetry except if we lived in the desert for 10 days. In other words, if a man loses his camel in the desert, his death becomes 100% certain. This man, when he lost his camel, was certain that his death was near and certain:
((He says: I will go back to the place where I have been before and sleep myself to death. He places his head upon his hands, waiting for death. When he wakes up, he finds his camel standing before him, with all his provisions. The man, out of boundless, joy says: 0 Lord, Thou art my servant and I am Thine Lord. He commits this mistake out of extreme delight. Allah is more pleased at the repentance of His servant than that person (who found his lost camel and provisions)))
Have you heard of a more accurate description that conveys the extent of Allah’s love towards you when you repent?
((Allah is more pleased at the repentance of His servant than that person (who found his lost camel and provisions))
Accordingly, there is an extremely meaningful hadith in which the Prophet (PBUH) says:
((By Allah, Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His servant than the pleasure of the lost after finding his way, the sterile after having children, and the thirsty after drinking water))
He who did not have children for 20 years and then his wife became pregnant: how happy is he?
((By Allah, Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His servant than the pleasure of the lost after finding his way, the sterile after having children, and the thirsty after drinking water))
Repentance is about knowledge, state of affairs and deeds:
Dear brothers, this is an important topic. Repentance emerges from knowledge, a state of affairs and deeds. He who does not attend knowledge assemblies does not know that which is allowed (halal) from what which is forbidden (haram). From which sin would he repent? He would claim that he is innocent of all offences for he commits major sins without even knowing.
Hence, knowledge informs the believer of what he should repent. When you attend knowledge seminars and religious lectures, you will be able to differentiate the good from the evil; the truth from falsehood; the halal from haram. You will, then, be able to repent. In other words, when you study the linguistic rules of the Arabic language, you will be able to discover any errors if you listen to someone reading a text from a book. However, if you did not study the language, and the reader made a hundred linguistic mistakes, you would never realize that. Accordingly, you will not discover your mistakes unless you pursue knowledge. By way of example, when could a patient suffering from high-blood pressure be able to cure himself? The answer is extremely simple: when he knows that he has high-blood pressure, for if he does not know, he will not be able to take any precautions or medicine.
If that person is not able to know the difference between halal and haram, then how could he repent? Repentance is based on knowledge; so seek knowledge in order to repent from a wrong financial dealing or an illicit relationship. There are forbidden commercial transactions and there are prohibited ways in selling and purchasing; when would you discover the truth? When you seek knowledge.
Consequently, he who engages in the financial market without fiqh or knowledge will fall into usury whether he likes it or not. I often wonder at those who consider seeking knowledge an auxiliary or additional deed that could be done atleisure. In fact, seeking knowledge is fundamental for it is the path through which truth and falsehood, good and evil, halal and haram are identified and differentiated. It is the path through which one is able to discover the purpose and secret behind one’s existence.
Ignorance is man’s most ferocious enemy for an ignorant human brings much harm upon himself; more harm than his foe could ever do. Such is the value of knowledge. Seek knowledge in order to repent, and in order to understand where the trouble or error lies. Sometimes, it lies in the profit-making method and the penalty for money accumulated through forbidden means is the destruction of that money. You become hesitant, and someone tells you: whichever way you go, it’s a dead-end. Of course, there is a significant foundation of which you are not aware: knowledge.
Concerning your state of affairs, there should be a clarification: If someone, while walking in a garden, comes across a snake, he would deal with it according to the law of cognition, emotion and behaviour. However, if he tells a man: “There is a scorpion on your shoulder” and that man remains calm, tranquil, and smilingly replies: “Thank you for this observation, may Allah reward you”. Did he hear what he was told? He certainly did not, because if he did hear or understand, he would have jumped in terror, raised his voice and took off his coat.
He did not understand for if there is no great reaction, then there was no accurate cognition, and thus no behaviour follows.
Conduct is based on emotion, and emotion is based on cognitive perception. Hence, a renowned sociologist claimed that the rule governing behaviour is as follows: Cognitive perception, emotion, and conduct. One perceives and then is emotionally moved into action. A person, by way of example, realizes that there is a snake; such a perception made him disturbed and afraid, and his disturbance and fear moved him to run away, or to kill the snake. If no conduct or action is observed, then it entails that there is no emotion. And when no emotion is present, then it follows that no cognitive perception has been generated. This constitutes a major problem. So, make this law your way of life for repentance is about knowledge, state of affairs and deeds. Actually, the deeds are related to the past, present, and future: In the past, there was remorse and a determination to rectify sins, and in the present there is a state of refraining from committing sins, and in the future there will be a resolution to never return to them again. Repentance is about knowledge, state of affairs and deeds. The Prophet summarized it, peace and blessings be upon him, in one word. He said:
((Regret is repentance))
In other words, one comprehends, then regrets and consequently takes action: knowledge, state of affairs and deeds.
Islam is essentially the abstinence from wrongdoing and service of others:
Dear brothers, you should believe that:
((Desisting from one speck of sinful deeds is better than performing eighty supererogatory pilgrimages after the obligatory pilgrimage of Islam))
Islam is essentially captured in the abstinence from wrongdoing and in the service of other human beings. Hence, when Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, was retreating in the mosque of the Prophet (PBUH), and saw a miserable man, he asked him what was the reason for his sadness. The man told him that he was indebted and unable to fulfill his debts; so Ibn Abbas asked him: To whom are you indebted? The man replied: To so and so”, thus Ibn Abbas said: Would you like me to talk to your creditor? The man said: If you wish to do so. Ibn Abbas, therefore, got up to leave the mosque. Another man shouted to him: Have you forgotten that you are in retreat (i’tikaf)? Ibn Abbas answered: No, by Allah, but I have heard the owner of this grave, and he has been with us not a long ago, (pointing at the Prophet’s grave and crying) that: The reward for whoever watches over the needs of a brother of his and takes care of them is greater than that for fasting for a month and staying in retreat (i’tikaf) in my mosque
((Desisting from one speck of sinful deeds is better than performing eighty supererogatory pilgrimages after the obligatory pilgrimage of Islam))
Religion is about good deeds, for watching over the needs of a brother of mine is greater than fasting for a month and staying in retreat in my mosque:
((All people are servants of Allah, and the closest to Him is the best among them to mankind))
Dear brothers, Umar Ibn El Khattab and Abdul Rahman Ibn ‘Ouf, may Allah be pleased with them, were in Medina once and saw a convoy. Umar told him: Come, we should guard this convoy. Then Umar heard the weeping of a child so he went towards him and told his mother: “Feed your child” and he went back to his place. He heard the child crying again, so he told his mother the same thing and went back to his place. When he heard him crying again, Umar became angry and told his mother: “Feed him.” The mother replied in anger: “Why are you interfering? I am trying to wean him” He said: “Why are you doing that?” She replied: “Because Umar does not prescribe child support except for children who are already weaned.” Biographers reported that he cried, hit his forehead and said:” “Misery is for Umar. How many Muslim children did you kill?” And when he prayed Fajr in the mosque, he cried to the extent that no one could understand what he was reciting. He said: “O Lord, did You accept my repentance so I would congratulate myself, or did You reject it so I would console myself?”
If only the human being realizes that there will be an extremely meticulous interrogation and retribution. There is not one drop of blood, shed on earth since the day of Adam until the Day of Judgement that will not be avenged in the Hereafter:
(Does man think that he will be left Suda [neglected without being punished or rewarded for the obligatory duties enjoined by his Lord (Allah) on him]?)
("Did you think that We had created you in play (without any purpose), and that you would not be brought back to Us?")
Repentance is a manifestation of Allah’s mercy to humanity:
Dear brothers, as long as the heart is beating, as long as we are still alive, let us haste in repentance for it is a mercy from Allah:
((If you come to me with enough sins to fill the earth, I shall forgive you and not care))
Allah is waiting for us and:
(Truly, Allah loves those who turn unto Him in repentance)
(Allah wishes to accept your repentance, but those who follow their lusts, wish that you (believers) should deviate tremendously away from the Right Path)
