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- Ways of Access and Signs of Acceptance
Resuming Repentance:
Dear brother, we are still discussing the topic of Repentance which is an important topic in the Ways of Access and Signs of Acceptance, but this time, the topic is inversed, in the sense that it is just as Islam which comes first, then faith, then charity (doing good deeds). When Allah the Almighty says the following Ayah, Ibrahim, peace be upon him replied in the Ayah which comes next:
(When his Lord said to him, "Submit (i.e. be a Muslim)!)
Prophet Ibrahim, peace be upon him, said:
(I have submitted myself (as a Muslim) to the Lord of all worlds (mankind, jinn and all that exists).)
There is an Islam (surrendering to Allah) at the beginning of the road (of Islam), and an Islam at the end of it. Similarly, in the first station of Madarij As-Salikeen (Stations of Seekers) man repents to Allah, and in the last rank of Manazel AsSa'ireen (Ranks of Marchers) he repents too. Therefore, Repentance should be started with, and ended with, as Islam which comes first and then comes last in Muslim's life. Hence, today we are discussing a relevant topic to repentance, but in a more detailed manner. Our topic is Resuming Repentance. Pay attention to the following Ayah:
(Allah has forgiven the Prophet, the Muhajireen (Muslim emigrants who left their homes and came to al-Madinah) and the Ansar (Muslims of Madinah) who followed him in the time of distress after the hearts of a party of them had nearly deviated (from the right path), but He accepted their repentance. Certainly, He is to them full of kindness and most Merciful)
"Allah has forgiven…" means that Allah has accepted their deeds, and so they have been saved in this world and in the Hereafter. Hence, repentance comes at the beginning of the road, it comes at the end of it as well.
Repentance culminates man's good deeds:
Dear brother, man repents to pray, but then he prays to repent. In other words, he prays to have his deeds accepted (by Allah):
(Then, He forgave them (accepted their repentance), that they might beg for His Pardon (repent to Him).)
"He forgave them", means that He afflicted them with calamities in order to seek His Forgiveness, and then He will accept their deeds, as they repent to Him and ask for His Forgiveness:
(Then, He forgave them (accepted their repentance), that they might beg for His Pardon (repent to Him).)
Allah sent them calamities and adversities to make them repent to Him, and after they repented and sought His Forgiveness, He accepted their repentance and forgave them. The believer always repents to Allah and asks for His Forgiveness, because repentance is not a one-time-action, but rather it is an action that is performed frequently. As a matter of fact, repentance is a culmination of man's good deeds. For example, Allah the Almighty says in the Noble Quran describing Prophet Ibrahim, peace be upon him:
(And of Ibrahim (Abraham) who fulfilled (or conveyed all that Allah ordered him to do or convey).)
Have you fulfilled what Allah has ordered you? Allah says:(And most of them We found not true to their covenant, but most of them We found indeed Fasiqun (rebellious, disobedient to Allah).)
Prophet Ibrahim, peace be upon him, fulfilled what Allah ordained upon him:
(And of Ibrahim (Abraham) who fulfilled (or conveyed all that Allah ordered him to do or convey).)
How wonderful such a description is! Fulfilled means Prophet Ibrahim, peace be upon him, was loyal, repentant, and faithful. Allah the Almighty says:
(Allah wishes to accept your repentance)
It means that in order to have your deeds accepted let them be performed purely for the Sake of Allah.
The accepted good deed requires sincerity and righteousness:
For a deed to be accepted by Allah, it should fulfill two conditions:
1) It should be sincere to Allah, namely, it is done only for the Sake of Allah
2) It should be righteous, in the sense that it should accord with the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
(Allah wishes to accept your repentance, but those who follow their lusts wish that you (believers) should deviate tremendously away (from the Right Path)
There is obviously a big difference between those who repent and those who follow their lusts.
Believing in Allah is a matter of time:
Dear brother, when Allah the Almighty addressed Prophet Musa (Moses), peace be upon him, He said:
(And I have chosen you for Myself)
It means "you are mine". Do you know to whom you belong? Soil is for the plant, the plant is for the animal, the animal is for the human being, and the human being is for whom? We belong to Allah, Al-Wahid (the One) Ad-Dayyan (the Judge) Thus, when you belong to other than Allah, you will despise and degrade yourself.
(And who turns away from the religion of Ibrahim (Abraham) (i.e. Islamic Monotheism) except him who befools himself?)
In your daily life, sometimes you reject thousands of things out of despising them. For instance, you reject a house because it is small, it is underground, it is too far…etc. Also, you reject to get married to a young woman, because she is not educated, or not religious. In fact, you reject millions of things, because you despise them, but if you reject your religion, then you despise yourself.
(And who turns away from the religion of Ibrahim (Abraham) (i.e. Islamic Monotheism) except him who befools himself?)
There are millions of situations in which you have the choice to accept or reject, but when it comes to faith, your choice will be only a matter of time. How so? The most faithless person on earth (Fir'aunPharaoh) said:
(I am your lord, most high)
Also, he is the one who said:
(I know not that you have an ilah (a god) other than me)
Nevertheless, when he was dying, he said:
(I believe that none has the right to be worshipped but He (Allah) in Whom the Children of Israel believe)
This means that your choice with faith is only a matter of time; either you believe before it is too late, and thus you benefit from your faith, or you will be forced to believe, but then it would be too late. You are a slave, but you can either be a slave to Allah, and thereby you are free because Allah' slave is free and dignified, or you can be a slave to other than Allah, and so you would be a slave to a mean slave.
Let your pride be in your Lord,
So that you would be always honored
Never boast about whatever is mortal
For your pride will be mortal too
Hence, you choose to be a slave either to Allah, or to a mean slave. Actually, those who refuse to worship Allah (and be submissive to Him) are pitiful and worthless in the presence of powerful and influential men. Al-Bayhaqi said in his book Ranks of Faith as reported by Ibn Masoud:
(He who approaches a rich man and bends before him on account of his riches then two-third of his religion is gone.)
Repentance is the beginning of Madarij Al-Salikeen and the end of Manazel As-Sa'ireen:
I would like to repeat, dear brother, repentance is the first station of Madarij As-Salikeen and the last rank of Manazel AsSa'ireen. Allah says:
(When there comes the Help of Allah (to you, O Muhammad, peace be upon him, against your enemies) and the Conquest (of Makkah)* And you see that the people enter Allah's religion (Islam) in crowds* So, glorify the Praises of your Lord, and ask His forgiveness. Verily, He the One Who is Ever ready to accept the repentance, and forgives.)
This Surah is the best example which proves the fact I have just mentioned. At the end (of the Message of the Prophet, peace be upon him) the following took place:
(The Help of Allah came and the Conquest of Makkah)
Also, the people entered Allah's religion:
(Allah's religion (Islam) in crowds* So glorify the Praises of your Lord, and ask His forgiveness; Verily, He the One Who is Ever ready to accept the repentance, and forgives)
Supporting and forsaking:
Dear brother, the truth is that there is an illness, which is like an octopus, awaiting those who succeed in life (most of them become arrogant forgetting that falling down can be done in seconds). I once told you that the road to the top is very hard due to the fact that it is full of all sorts of obstacles such as hillocks, rocks, holes, lowland, hills, dust, heat, and fester. Thus, you may exert huge efforts to reach the top. However, falling down can be done in seconds. Those who succeed in life and boast about that should always remember that the real success is to reach the top and stay at it Thus, whoever is successful in his life, in his calling to Allah, in his trade or in his business, is at risk of being afflicted with a dangerous disease which is arrogance. Keep in mind that the minute you say "it is me", Allah will abandon you, whereas if you say "it is all due to Allah's Favor", He will support you.
The Companions of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, were the best people in their good manners, and even the top among them as stated in a Hadith of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him:
(Allah has chosen me, and He has chosen my Companions for me)
Those Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, were humble in the Battle of Badr and attributed their victory to Allah. Allah the Almighty says:
(And Allah has already made you victorious at Badr, when you were a weak little force)
They were humble and in dire need of Allah in the battle, and that was why they were granted a well-merited victory. However, in the Battle of Hunain, the same Companions with whom Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was, were not humble, and they said:
(Twelve thousands would never be defeated due to fewness.)
Allah mentions this incident as follows:
(…and on the day of Hunain (battle) when you rejoiced at your great number…)
We all, dear brother, need to learn this lesson at every hour of our lives. When you attribute all your blessings to Allah, He will take care of you, but when you say "I have all these blessings because of my valuable knowledge, my accumulated expertise, my rare and unique major, my noble deep-rooted family, my high position, my abundant wealth…etc, Allah will abandon you, and this sums up the lesson on Monotheism. It was said, "The best thing the slaves of Allah have ever learned is Monotheism).
Man's success lies in reading between the lines:
At the end (of the Message):
(When there comes the Help of Allah (to you, O Muhammad, peace be upon him, against your enemies) and the Conquest (of Makkah)* And you see that the people enter Allah's religion (Islam) in crowds* So, glorify the Praises of your Lord, and ask His forgiveness. Verily, He the One Who is Ever ready to accept the repentance, and forgives)
Our Master Umar Ibn AlKhattab, may Allah be pleased with him, used to greatly honor a kid named Ibn Abbas, and it seemed that some of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with him, were upset about that, so Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, wanted to teach them a lesson, and he asked the kid in front of them what he thought about the first Ayah of Surat An-Nasr, and the kid replied, "It is an obituary of our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him". In fact, when this Ayah was revealed to Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, he knew that his days were nearly over.
(When there comes the Help of Allah (to you, O Muhammad, peace be upon him, against your enemies) and the Conquest (of Makkah)* And you see that the people enter Allah's religion (Islam) in crowds* So, glorify the Praises of your Lord, and ask His forgiveness. Verily, He the One Who is Ever ready to accept the repentance, and forgives)
In literature, there is tragedy and there is comedy. When great people finish their message, and fulfill their purpose in life, their life will be over. Thus, the tragedy ends with the death of the hero, whereas the comedy ends with the marriage of the hero to the young woman he loves. Hence, when Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, fulfilled delivering the Divine Message, his life was over.
(When there comes the Help of Allah (to you, O Muhammad, peace be upon him, against your enemies) and the Conquest (of Makkah)* And you see that the people enter Allah's religion (Islam) in crowds* So, glorify the Praises of your Lord, and ask His forgiveness. Verily, He the One Who is Ever ready to accept the repentance, and forgives)
This is deduced from reading between the lines. Would you ask a person who has got a PhD in Literature, "Can you read this?" Absolutely, you would not, instead you would ask him, "Can you read between the lines?" There is a big difference between the two questions. The majority of people read the lines, whereas the person who has got PhD reads between the lines.
Nowadays, people are distinguished, not by their ability to read the lines, but rather by their ability to read between the lines, and not by merely hearing the news, but rather by understanding what are the underlying messages behind the news. This is what is called "political analysis". There is what is called an analytical reading of the events, as when someone tells you that a military parade is just a hidden message to a certain country, and the maneuvers on the borders are a message to so and so country. Actually, there are people who read the news in depth.
The good deed is the reason of entering Paradise not the price for it:
Dear brother, Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said:
(No one of you will be saved because of his deeds)
The Hadith goes on as follows:
(They (the Companions) said: Not even you, O Messenger of Allah? He said: Not even me unless Allah bestows mercy upon me)
(So do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately, and adopt a moderate course, and none of you should wish for death, for if he is a good doer, he may increase his good deeds, and if he is an evil doer, he may repent to Allah)
I would like to explain here a very delicate matter about how our honorable Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, who is the best of all creations, would not be saved because of his deeds despite the fact that Allah says:
(...enter you Paradise because of that (the good) which you used to do (in the world).)
However, in the Hadith of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, he stated clearly that entering Paradise is not due to righteous deeds. Well to be able to understand the point of the reason behind entering Paradise and the Price for it, think of a house that is worth 180 million Liras, and its key which costs only 20 Liras (which is nothing compared to the price of the house). When you become upright, and when you pray, fast, perform Hajj, lower your gaze, pay Zakat, earn Halal money and raise your children properly, you will have the key to Paradise. It is narrated in the relic that Allah says:
(Enter it (Paradise) by My Mercy, and divide it among you by your good deeds)
Let me give you another example to clarify this point. A father told his son who is in the 8th grade, "O son, if you get the highest mark, I will buy you the most expensive bicycle". This son got the highest mark, but instead of going to his father, he went directly to the salesman and asked him for a bicycle! Of course, the salesman will not give the boy the bicycle, as the father needs to pay the price first. The boy fulfilled the condition to get the bicycle, but the means to get it is through his father, not the salesman.Similarly, man's deeds are only the reasons behind being admitted to Paradise, not the price for it. Thus, whoever mistakenly thinks that his deeds are sufficient to allow him to enter Paradise should repent to Allah for having such a belief. Believing wrongly that your deeds are enough for you to be admitted to Paradise is a grave sin. If someone says, "I have done a great deed, so that I would be admitted to Paradise" he falls into the hidden Shirk. Therefore, repentance should be performed also at the end of the road. That is why it was said, "The sin, which is followed by remorse and humbleness, is much better than the act of obedience, which is followed by pride and arrogance."
Pride contradicts submissiveness:
In some cases, man's belief in Allah weakens due to boasting about something he has done thinking that it is a great deed, while in fact this very deed could be the barrier which veils him from Allah.
(Had you not committed sins then I would have feared something much greater than it (arrogance).)
What is considered a grave sin? It is pride. If a person receives unexpectedly many guests, and he has nothing to offer them except a small amount of yogurt, he can diluted it with water and ice to fill enough glasses of yogurt for everyone to enjoy. However, if he adds one drop of petrol to that drink, it will be spoiled immediately, and no one would be able to drink even a drop of it. Similarly, pride spoils the good deeds, and thereby an arrogant person does not enter Paradise.
(No one will enter Paradise who has pride in his heart equal to the weight of a grain of mustard seed.)
You are a slave to Allah the Almighty, so the more knowledge, honor, or blessings He grants you, the more humble and grateful to Him you should be. Humbleness is a trait of those who are successful in Allah's Sight. Imam Ash-Shafi'i said, "The more I learn, the more I realize how ignorant I am".
(...And they will never encompass anything of His Knowledge except that which He wills…)
Whoever is allowed to perform a good deed should melt out of love for Allah:
Dear brother, a person once donated a house to a charitable organization, and that house was to teach young poor girls how to sew using sewing machines, and thereby turning them into active girls instead of begging people in streets. Later on, that organization organized a ceremony to honor the donor of the house, and one of the speakers said to him, "O great donor, you know you could have been among the people who benefit from our organization, and you could have been standing in a long queue with your ID to collect a charity of 300 Liras before Eid-ul Fitr. Also, you would have been asked to sign and stamp your finger print to confirm the receipt of the amount". The main point is that when someone is a charity-giver, not a charity-receiver, he should know that this is due to Allah's Favor upon him, so you can be in need of charity even if you are intelligent.
(O Allah! ...The greatness of the great will be of no avail to them against you)
Brightness does not work in Allah's Sight, because what counts is uprightness. Therefore, if Allah allows somebody to do good deeds, or He blesses him with a successful business or trade, or a good source of living, that person should melt out of love for Allah, because he could be someone in need instead.
A man was sitting with his wife eating chicken, and there was a knock at the door. When the wife answered it, she found a beggar asking for food, so the wife went back to the kitchen to bring a piece of chicken for the man at the door, but her husband refused and told her to send him away. To make a long story short, the relationship between the husband and wife deteriorated and ended up with divorce. After a while, Allah blessed that woman with another husband, and one day, while they were having their lunch which was also chicken, there was a knock at their door, so the husband asked his wife to answer it, but upon seeing who was there, the wife came back shocked and confused, so he asked her, "Who is it?" She replied, "He is my ex-husband, and he is begging for some food!" At that moment, her husband looked at her and said, "Do you know who really I am? I am the first beggar who once came to your door." Accordingly, when man is proud and arrogant, Allah the Almighty will punish him:
(Verily, (O Muhammad, peace be upon him) the seizure (punishment) of your Lord is severe and painful)
Beware of becoming arrogant.
Whoever claims self-reliance has fallen into Shirk:
Dear brother, some scholars of the matters of the heart, said, "He who claims self-reliance, has fallen into Shirk". If a person arrogantly says, (like what Qaroon (Korah) once said), "I have earned this money all by myself and only by my own effort and the sweat of my brow", he is considered s arrogant. Allah tells us about what Qaroon claimed by saying:
(He said: This has been given to me only because of the knowledge I possess)
On the other hand, the true believer, whose heart is enlightened says, "Allah has honored me by granting me this certificate, this business, this wife, these kids, this house…etc", and he says that because he deeply believes in this fact, not just out of politeness. The true believer really sees and feels the blessings which Allah has bestowed on him, whereas the non-believer sees only himself, his effort and his work, and these things veil him from Allah. Thus, who really needs to repent? The successful people in particular:
(…and taught you that which you knew not. And Ever Great is the Grace of Allah to you (O Muhammad, peace be upon him).)
When Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, entered Makkah to liberate it from Shirk, he entered it in a very humble way, bowing down his head and leaning on his camel, till the top of his turban nearly touched the neck of his camel, out of his humbleness to Allah. While Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, the genius of this Ummah (Islamic nation), was delivering Friday Khutbah (sermon), he moved to an irrelevant topic saying, "O Umar, do not forget that you were only a shepherd working for Aal-Makhzoom and taking care of their camels for little amount of money" Then he resumed his Khutbah. After he finished the Khutbah and descended Al-Minbar (the pulpit), Abu Dharr Al-Ghaffari, may Allah be pleased with him, asked him, "O Commander of the Believers, what did you mean by the out-of-context words you said amid your speech?" He replied, "While I was preaching, my ownself talked to me arrogantly telling me that nothing veils me from Allah, and that I am at the top of the Muslim Society, so I had to put my ownself in its right place."
When Allah honors someone by bestowing a blessing on him,, he should always remember his status 30 years ago, for instance, and think of what his job was. He might work in a department store, but later on Allah honored him by making him get a high degree, which enabled him to have a successful business. In brief, when man remembers who he is, he keeps down to earth, but when he forgets his origin, he becomes self-conceited. Our Master, Umar bin Abdul Aziz, may Allah be pleased with him, once asked Umar bin Muzahem, who was one of the great men "O Umar, never leave me alone, and when you see that I am misguided or going astray, grab me from my clothes, bring me back to my senses and say, 'O Umar, fear Allah, for you will die one day".
Man's success lies in having good entry and exit:
The main point on which I would like to focus in this lecture is the importance of repentance after success, since there is a great risk of falling into pride and arrogance after becoming successful. This explains why our Master Umar bin Abdul Aziz, may Allah be pleased with him, used to reauthor the following delicate Ayat whenever he entered the Khilafah Assembly:
(Think, (even) if We do let them enjoy for years* And afterwards comes to them that (punishment) which they had been promised* All that with which they used to enjoy shall not avail them)
Allah the Almighty says:
(…My Lord! Let my entry (to the city of Al-Madinah) be good, and (likewise) my exit (from the city of Makkah) be good. And grant me from You an authority to help me (or a firm sign or a proof).)
Some Ayat in the Quran are rhetorically concise, and we can notice the rhetorical style in this Ayah, which indicates a delicate hint. Allah does not stop at "Let my entry be good", because both the entry and the exit should be good. A person can be honest at the beginning of his project, but later on he may become dishonest as he accepts huge illegal amounts of money. For example, someone may construct charity hospital where patients pay fair money for their treatment, but later on the owner of the hospital starts to think of the enormous profits he could have made had he asked the patient to pay more money for their treatment, forgetting that the hospital is supposed to be charity project. Therefore, man may have "a good entry", but he may not have "a good exit". The Ayah is very crucial indicating that success lies in having a good end just like the good start. You might start a deed or a project with a very sincere intention to do good, but your success is manifested in ending up in the same way you start (with good and sincere intentions).
(…My Lord! Let my entry (to the city of Al-Madinah) be good, and (likewise) my exit (from the city of Makkah) be good. And grant me from You an authority to help me (or a firm sign or a proof).)
Dear brother, as Madarij As-Salikeen which start with repentance, Manazel As–Sa'ireen should end with repentance as well. Performing Repentance to Allah should be at the beginning and at the end, and better yet, it should be an on-going performance. In fact, when man gets used to repent all the time, he will always be with Allah.
