Remember Allah Instantly if you sin and implore forgiveness

Allah is cognizant of inherent  the weakness of his servants of being entrapped by evil and get pulled towards sin, lewdness and games and activities that take man away from the remembrance of Allah. Yet Allah Who is Ghafoor (الغفور) - The Forgiving, The Pardoner and Rahim (الرحيم) -  The Most Merciful continues to remind His servants that He is always there to receive their repentance and would certainly forgive them.

The mention of forgiveness and repentance appears at numerous places in Qur'an and we have already shared about a dozens of these verses (please refer to the Forgiveness and Repentance section of our reference page on Selected from Qur'an) so as to continue reminding our brothers and sisters who have mistaken or have fallen into the trap of evil forces to earnestly repent and seek forgiveness of Allah. The 135th verse for Surah 3. Al-i'Imran is yet another verse from Qur'an in which Allah asks His servants to remember Him instantly if they have sinned and implore forgiveness:

وَالَّذِيۡنَ اِذَا فَعَلُوۡا فَاحِشَةً اَوۡ ظَلَمُوۡۤا اَنۡفُسَهُمۡ ذَكَرُوا اللّٰهَ فَاسۡتَغۡفَرُوۡا لِذُنُوۡبِهِمۡ وَمَنۡ يَّغۡفِرُ الذُّنُوۡبَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ وَلَمۡ يُصِرُّوۡا عَلٰى مَا فَعَلُوۡا وَهُمۡ يَعۡلَمُوۡنَ‏ 

(3:135) And those who having done something to be ashamed of or wronged their own souls earnestly bring Allah to mind and ask for forgiveness for their sins and who can forgive sins except Allah? And are never obstinate in persisting knowingly in (the wrong) they have done..

Explaining the meaning of the abovesaid verse, Yousaf Ali defines sin as a sort of oppression of ourselves by ourselves. This follows from the doctrine of personal responsibility, as opposed to that of blind fate or of an angry God or gods lying in wait for revenge or injury on mankind.

And then notes that righteous man, when he finds he has fallen into sin or error, does not whine or despair, but asks for Allah's forgiveness, and his faith gives him hope. If he is sincere, that means that he abandons his wrong conduct and makes amends.

Ibn Kathir adds that  if the servants of Allah commit an error they follow it with repentance and ask forgiveness. 

Qur'an Wiki:

Another quality of the God-fearing is highlighted here. They are those who seek forgiveness whenever they slip into sin and make sure of not knowingly disobeying God’s orders. How compassionate this religion is. Before He calls on people to be compassionate to one another, God, limitless is He in His glory, shows them one aspect of His own compassion of which they themselves are the recipients, so that they may learn.

 

In Islamic terminology, the God-fearing are among the elite of believers. God’s compassion and mercy, however, include among them those who remember God after committing a gross indecency or who wrong themselves and pray to Him for forgiveness of their sins. The term “gross indecency” includes the most ghastly of all sins. This religion of ours, however, is so tolerant that it neither considers those who sink to its depth as outcasts, nor deprives them of God’s mercy. They are not even given the bottom rank among the believers. Rather, they are elevated to the rank of the elite, the God-fearing, on one condition only. That condition is that they should remember God and pray to Him to forgive their sins, that they should not persist with their wrongdoing, knowing that it is sinful, and that they should not unashamedly boast about the sins they have committed. In other words, they should remain within the framework of servitude to God and ultimate submission to Him. By doing so, they remain entitled to His forgiveness, mercy and bounty.

Islam recognizes man’s weakness. Man may always succumb to his physical desires which may bring him down to the depths of gross indecency. His lust, ambitions or temptations may cause him to lose-- control and drive him to disobedience of God. Recognizing this weakness in man, Islam does not adopt harsh punishments, rejecting a sinner altogether and depriving him of God’s mercy when he wrongs himself by committing a gross indecency. In the Islamic view there is something important to add to his credit which is the fact that the light of faith has not been put out altogether in his soul. His heart is not totally hardened, his relationship with God is still alive and he knows that he is merely a servant who slips and makes mistakes, and that he has a Lord who forgives. This weak, sinful creature, then, remains essentially good. He clings to his bond with God and lie does not sever it. He may, then, slip as many times as his weakness imposes on him. Eventually, he will get there, as long as he holds to his bond with God and keeps the light of faith within him. He must always remember God, pray to Him for

forgiveness and acknowledge his submission to Him and refrain from boasting about his sins.

Never does Islam slam the door in the face of a weak sinner leaving him lost in the wilderness. Never does it let him feel permanently rejected, afraid to turn back. On the contrary, it holds for him the prospect of forgiveness. It shows him the way and holds his trembling hand, steadying him and giving him the light he needs to return to his secure refuge. It only requires one thing of him, namely, that his heart and soul are not so hardened so as to make him forget God. As long as he remembers God and keeps alive in his conscience the voice of guidance and maintains in his heart the yearning for God’s grace, then light will shine again in his soul and the seed of faith will burst forth with a new plant.

When your misbehaving son who has run away knows that nothing awaits him at home except flogging, he will never return. But if he knows that there is also a tender hand which will pat his shoulder when he apologizes for his misdeeds and which excuses him when he asks for pardon, he will certainly come back.

Islam knows that side by side with man’s weaknesses and carnal desires there exist strength and sublime aspirations. For this reason, Islam is sympathetic to man in his moment of weakness, places him back on his way to a higher horizon, as long as he remembers God and does not knowingly persist with his wrongdoing. The Prophet says: “He who prays for forgiveness does not persist with his sin, even if he commits it 70 times a day.” (Related by Abū Dāwūd and Al-Tirmidhī.) In doing so, Islam does not advocate complacency, nor does it praise the one who frequently slips or who describes sinful actions as beautiful, as those who call themselves “realists” do. It simply overlooks such errors in order to awaken both hope and a sense of shame within man. Forgiveness by God, the only One to forgive sins, does not lead to complacency; it fills the sinner with shame. Only those who persist and pay no heed remain outcasts. Thus, Islam combines its call to man to aspire to a higher horizon with its mercy and compassion, knowing man’s weakness and capability. It ensures that the door of hope is always open in front of man as it motivates him to exert his utmost in his aspiration towards the sublime.

May Allah help us understand Qur'ān and be always ready to remember Allah if we faulter and instantly invoke His infinite mercy to forgive us. May Allah help us to act upon the commandments of Allah contained therein. Aameen.

You may read this post in our series of posts related to: Al Qur'an guides and helps those who sincerely seek Divine guidance and help

For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.

Photo | Reference: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 

Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully.

An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs of the Qur'ān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that the exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.  

In order to augment and add more explanation as already provided, additional input has been interjected from following sources: 

• Towards Understanding the Quran
• Tafsir Ibn Khatir
• Muhammad Asad Translation
• Javed Ahmad Ghamidi / Al Mawrid
• Al-Quran, Yusuf Ali Translation
• Verse by Verse Qur'an Study Circle

In addition, references of other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites.

If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook

Follow @IslamUltimate

Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on social media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Qur'ān - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.

Read More

Seek forgiveness of Allah and turn to Him in repentance - Surely Allah is Ever Merciful, Most Loving

We have published a number of verses from Qur'an in which asking for forgiveness and seeking repentance of Allah has been stressed. The 90th verse of Surah 11. Hud selected today is no different. But here stress is more on the Mercy and Love of Allah for His servants. This verse is basically attributed to Prophet Shuaib / Shu`ayb (peace be upon him) who tried his utmost to motivate his people to leave the life full of sin, ask forgiveness of their past sins and seek repentance from the Creator of the Universe. He reassured them that the mercy and love of Allah will wash away their sins provided they are sincere. But his people did not listen to him.

We should not be like people of Prophet Shu`ayb and must invoke mercy and love of Allah for it is His mercy and Love that can iron out our sins as if we are freshly born.

وَاسۡتَغۡفِرُوۡا رَبَّكُمۡ ثُمَّ تُوۡبُوۡۤا اِلَيۡهِ​ؕ اِنَّ رَبِّىۡ رَحِيۡمٌ وَّدُوۡدٌ‏ 

(11:90) Seek the forgiveness of your Lord and turn to Him in repentance. Surely my Lord is Ever Merciful, Most Loving.

Prophet Shuaib (peace be upon him) brought the attribute of love of Allah for His creation specially to the notice of his people in order to induce them to give up despair and turn to Allah for forgiveness for their evil deeds, so as to say: Allah is not hard hearted and cruel, and cherishes no feelings of enmity towards His creatures. He does not desire to punish them anyhow as if He were to derive pleasure from their torture. As a matter of fact, He inflicts punishment on you only when you transgress all limits and that, too, for the good of mankind. Therefore if you feel ashamed of your sins and repent of these, you will find Him Forbearing, for He loves His creation very much.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) has explained the same thing by citing a parable. He said: Suppose one of you was traveling in a waterless desert and lost his camel on whom he had laden all his provisions for the journey. He made a thorough search for the missing camel, but in vain. Then, in despair of his life, he lay down under a tree. Then, all of a sudden, the camel with all the provisions intact on it appeared before him. Just imagine his happiness. Allah is more pleased than that man, when a sinful servant returns to Him in penitence. There is another incident even more effective than this related by Umar: Once some prisoners of war were brought before the Prophet (peace be upon him). One of them was a mother whose infant child had been lost. This had made her so restless and uneasy that she would hold any child she came across close to her breasts and suckle it. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) saw this, he put this question to the bystanders: Can you imagine that this mother would ever throw her own child into the fire? We replied, never; not to speak of throwing it into the fire, she would do her utmost in every possible way to prevent it from falling into the fire. Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Allah is much more merciful to His servants than this mother is to her child.

Let us consider the same thing from another point of view. It is Allah Who has created love in the hearts of the mother and the father for their child, and without this parental love, they would never have shown the care and the sacrifice they shower on their child; nay, they would have even become its enemies because of the trouble and inconvenience they have to bear for it. From this, it is quite evident that the love of the Creator of this parental affection for His own Creation must be far greater than this parental love.

Qur'an Wiki:

Shu`ayb uses the kindest and gentlest terms in order to assure them of God’s mercy and compassion. Thus He tries all methods of admonition and remonstration in the hope that his people’s hearts will open up and respond to the truth. They, however, are so hardened in their erring ways and in their misconceptions of values and motives that their response remains negative. We have seen an example of their response in their mocking at Shu`ayb and his prayer.

For detail meaning of the two attributes of Allah mentioned in this verse, please vsit our links below that are part of 99 Attributes of Allah:

• Ar Rahim (الرحيم) -  The Most Merciful
• Al-Wadud (الودود) - The Most Affectionate

May Allah help us understand Qur'ān and help us to act upon the commandments of Allah contained therein. Aameen.

For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.

Photo | Reference: | 1 | 2 | 

Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully.

An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs of the Qur'ān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that the exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.  

In order to augment and add more explanation as already provided, additional input has been interjected from following sources: 

• Towards Understanding the Quran
• Tafsir Ibn Khatir
• Muhammad Asad Translation
• Javed Ahmad Ghamidi / Al Mawrid
• Al-Quran, Yusuf Ali Translation
• Verse by Verse Qur'an Study Circle

In addition the references of other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites.

If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook

Follow @IslamUltimate

Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Qur'ān - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.

Read More

Allah's acceptance of repentance is only for those who commit evil and then soon repent

Man is always attracted to evil and lewdness and falls into the evil temptations of the Satan. Some repent soon after but many keep on falling in the pit of sins and find difficult to retreat. Some are found saying that their life has so much been ruined by the evil doings that they lose hope in being forgiven by Allah. 

But they forget that Allah is the most gracious and merciful Who awaits His servants to show sincere remorse and regret so that they should be forgiven. So much so that Allah promises that He will continue to forgive those who repent their sins and seek forgiveness from Him till just before the angel of death knocks at their door. 

We are sharing two verses (verses 17-18) from Surah 4. An Nisa (The Women) in which both extremes of Allah's promise of forgiveness are spelt out:

اِنَّمَا التَّوۡبَةُ عَلَى اللّٰهِ لِلَّذِيۡنَ يَعۡمَلُوۡنَ السُّوۡٓءَ بِجَهَالَةٍ ثُمَّ يَتُوۡبُوۡنَ مِنۡ قَرِيۡبٍ فَاُولٰٓـئِكَ يَتُوۡبُ اللّٰهُ عَلَيۡهِمۡ​ؕ وَكَانَ اللّٰهُ عَلِيۡمًا حَكِيۡمًا‏ 

(4:17) (And remember that) Allah's acceptance of repentance is only for those who commit evil out of ignorance and then soon repent. It is towards such persons that Allah turns graciously. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.

وَلَيۡسَتِ التَّوۡبَةُ لِلَّذِيۡنَ يَعۡمَلُوۡنَ السَّيِّاٰتِ​ ۚ حَتّٰۤى اِذَا حَضَرَ اَحَدَهُمُ الۡمَوۡتُ قَالَ اِنِّىۡ تُبۡتُ الۡـٰٔنَ وَلَا الَّذِيۡنَ يَمُوۡتُوۡنَ وَهُمۡ كُفَّارٌ ​ؕ اُولٰٓـئِكَ اَعۡتَدۡنَا لَهُمۡ عَذَابًا اَ لِيۡمًا‏ 

(4:18) But of no avail is repentance of those who do evil until death approaches any one of them and then he says: 'Now I repent.' Nor is the repentance of those who die in the state of unbelief of any avail to them. For them We have kept in readiness a painful chastisement.

The Arabic word tawbah means 'to return, to come back'. A man's tawbah after he has sinned means that God's servant, who had turned away from his Master in disobedience, has repented, and has returned to obedience and service. On the other hand, tawbah on the part of God means that the attention of the Master, which had turned away from His erring servant, has once again turned towards him. In this verse, however, God makes it clear to His servants that tawbah is acceptable only from those who commit errors inadvertently and out of ignorance. Such persons will always find the door of God open for them whenever they turn to Him in repentance.

But this tawbah is not for those who pile sin upon sin throughout their lives in sheer indifference to God and who cry for pardon as soon as they see the angel of death approaching. The Prophet (peace be on him) has warned against this attitude in the following words: 'God accepts the repentance of a slave until the gurgling (of death) begins.' (Tirmidhi, 'Da'wat', 98; Ibn Majah, 'Zuhd', 30; Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 2, pp. 132 and 153, and vol. 3, pp. 425 - Ed.) For when the last leaf of a man's book of life has been turned, what opportunity remains for a man to return to righteous conduct? Likewise, if a person spends even the very last moment of his life in a state of disbelief and then on the threshold of the Next Life he comes to discover that the facts are quite contrary to what he had imagined, what sense is there for him to seek forgiveness?

Note the fine touch. A sin may be fashionable, and people may sin together without compunction. When one of them is faced with Death, he repents, but that sort of repentance is no good.

Ibn Kathir in his Tafsir of these two verses notes that Repentance is Accepted Until one Faces death. Allah states that He accepts repentance of the servant who commits an error in ignorance and then repents, even just before he sees the angel who captures the soul, before his soul reaches his throat. Mujahid and others said, "Every person who disobeys Allah by mistake, or intentionally is ignorant, until he refrains from the sin.'' Qatadah said that Abu Al-`Aliyah narrated that the Companions of the Messenger of Allah used to say, "Every sin that the servant commits, he commits out of ignorance.'' `Abdur-Razzaq narrated that, Ma`mar said that Qatadah said that, the Companions of the Messenger of Allah agreed that every sin that is committed by intention or otherwise, is committed in ignorance.'' Ibn Jurayj said, "Abdullah bin Kathir narrated to me that Mujahid said, `Every person who disobeys Allah (even willfully), is ignorant while committing the act of disobedience.''' Ibn Jurayj said, "`Ata' bin Abi Rabah told me something similar.'' Abu Salih said that Ibn `Abbas commented, "It is because of one's ignorance that he commits the error.'' 

`Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said about the Ayah, (and repent soon (afterwards)), "Until just before he (or she) looks at the angel of death.'' Ad-Dahhak said, "Every thing before death is `soon ﴿afterwards﴾.''' Al-Hasan Al-Basri said about the Ayah, (and repent soon afterwards), "Just before his last breath leaves his throat.'' `Ikrimah said, "All of this life is `soon ﴿afterwards﴾.''' 

Imam Ahmad recorded that Ibn `Umar said that the Messenger said, (Allah accepts the repentance of the servant as long as the soul does not reach the throat.) This Hadith was also collected by At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah, and At-Tirmidhi said, "Hasan Gharib''. By mistake, Ibn Majah mentioned that this Hadith was narrated through `Abdullah bin `Amr. However, what is correct is that `Abdullah bin `Umar bin Al-Khattab was the narrator. 

Allah said, (It is they to whom Allah will forgive and Allah is Ever All-Knower, All-Wise.) Surely, when hope in continued living diminishes, the angel of death comes forth and the soul reaches the throat, approaches the chest and arrives at the state where it is being gradually pulled out, then there is no accepted repentance, nor a way out of that certain end. 

Hence Allah's statements, (And of no effect is the repentance of those who continue to do evil deeds until death faces one of them and he says: "Now I repent,'') and, (So when they saw Our punishment, they said: "We believe in Allah Alone...'') [40:84] Allah decided that repentance shall not be accepted from the people of the earth when the sun rises from the west, as Allah said, (The day that some of the signs of your Lord do come, no good will it do to a person to believe then, if he believed not before, nor earned good through his faith.) [6:158]. 

Allah said, (nor of those who die while they are disbelievers.) Consequently, when the disbeliever dies while still a disbeliever and polytheist, his sorrow and repentance shall not avail him. If he were to ransom himself, even with the earth's fill of gold, it will not be accepted from him. Ibn `Abbas, Abu Al-`Aliyah and Ar-Rabi` bin Anas said that the Ayah: (nor of those who die while they are disbelievers), was revealed about the people of Shirk. 

Imam Ahmad recorded that Usamah bin Salman said that Abu Dharr said that the Messenger of Allah said, (Allah accepts the repentance of His servant, or forgives His servant, as long as the veil does not drop.) They asked, "And what does the drop of the veil mean '' He said, (When the soul is removed while one is a polytheist.) Allah then said, (For them We have prepared a painful torment), torment that is severe, eternal and enormous.

Muhammad Asad Explanation: 

The expression min qarib " مِنۡ قَرِيۡبٍ ", which here implies nearness in time, could also be rendered as "soon", i.e., soon after having committed the evil deed; most of the classical commentators however, hold that in this context it denotes the time before the actual approach of death. This interpretation is borne out by the next verse.

Javed Ahmad Ghamidi Explanation: 

The actual word is: جَہَالَۃ. Though it also means “ignorance” it is predominantly used to mean committing a sin or some mischief while being overwhelmed by emotions. Thus in Arabic it generally occurs as an oposite of self-control (hilm) instead of knowledge (‘ilm).

The Qur’an has determined these two cases of acceptance or rejection of repentance. After this, one case remains: a person was not able to repent right after his sin; however, he did not delay repentance till his death. In this case, the Qur’an is silent and in the words of Imam Amin Ahsan Islahi, this silence creates hope as well as fear and the purport of the Qur’an also seems that one should remain between hope and fear in this case. He says that in spite of this what comes to his mind is the fact that such people would hopefully attain salvation through the intercession of the Prophet (sws) because in their case there is no reason for it to be prohibited.(See: Amin Ahsan Islahi, Tadabbur-i Qur’an, vol. 2, 267)

Verse By Verse Quran Study Circle Explanation: Lessons:

• We learn that a person may commit a sin for several reasons. It could be that he did not know that it was a sin. Or it could be that he knew it was a sin but he fell for his temptations and committed an act of disobedience.
• We learn after one realizes his mistake then he should not delay repentance because no one knows when they will take their last breath. One must sincerely turn to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala in repentance immediately after realizing their mistake.
• Repentance will not be accepted at the time of death, therefore do not miss your chances.

So how should one repent? First of all we must accept the responsibility of having sinned or done something not accepted by Allah: We must recognize that we have done wrong. Then second we should sincerely regret our wrongdoing: We must have true remorse for doing wrong and for the pain and problems we've caused. And in case someone has been hurt, we must seek his forgiveness. And then we must make a sincere resolve for not repeating  sin or wrongdoing or evil thing: We must be committed never to repeat the act regardless of the temptations or situation. 

But since man is so weak to control himself, he may falter again. So he must repeat the steps mentioned above and continue doing and Allah promises to accept his repentance and will forgive him. But one must not delay his repentance for one never knows when death befalls him, for then when angel of death approaches him and he sees his death is now inevitable, then he has ran out of time and for such sinners, the verse 18 quoted above should serve as a warning.

May Allah help us understand Qur'ān and help us to act upon the commandments of Allah contained therein. Aameen.

For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.

Photo | Reference: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |

Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully.

An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs of the Qur'ān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that:

• The plain translation has been taken from the Qur'ān officially published by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. [1]
• The exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi. [2]  

In order to augment and add more explanation as already provided by [2], additional input has been interjected from following sources: 

• Towards Understanding the Quran
• Tafsir Ibn Khatir
• Muhammad Asad Translation
• Javed Ahmad Ghamidi / Al Mawrid
• Al-Quran, Yusuf Ali Translation
• Verse by Verse Qur'an Study Circle

In addition the references of  other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites.

If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook

Follow @IslamUltimate

Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Qur'ān - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.

Read More

Our Lord! Forgive those who repent and follow Your Path

There is much stress on repentance and forgiveness in the Qur'ān for despite clear  directions contained in the Qur'ān and guidance provided by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, believers are tend to make mistakes, err and get disheartened when they do so. The burden of disarray and deviation from the directed path of truth is much too heavy to carry and true believers cannot be at rest unless they have a hope of acceptance of repentance and being forgiven by the Almighty Allah. 

And when the believers are praying and supplicating, the angels up in the Heavens are moved too and very obediently intercede on behalf of the repenting servants of Allah for their forgiveness. Here is one such verse to this effect:

الَّذِينَ يَحْمِلُونَ الْعَرْشَ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهُ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَيُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا رَبَّنَا وَسِعْتَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ رَّحْمَةً وَعِلْمًا فَاغْفِرْ لِلَّذِينَ تَابُوا وَاتَّبَعُوا سَبِيلَكَ وَقِهِمْ عَذَابَ الْجَحِيمِ 

"The angels that bear the Throne and those that are around to extol your Lord's glory with His praise, they believe in Him, and ask forgiveness for the believers, saying: “Our Lord! You encompass everything with Your Mercy and Knowledge. So forgive those that repent and follow Your Path, and guard them against the chastisement of Hell." (Surah 40. Al-Mu'min: 7)

This verse was specially revealed for the consolation of the companions of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, who were feeling greatly discouraged at the impudence and rebellious attitude of the disbelievers of Makkah as against their own helplessness, as if to say: Why do you feel grieved at what these mean and worthless people say? You have the support of the angels who bear the divine Throne and of those who stand around it. They are interceding with Allah for you. The mention of the angels who bear the divine Throne and of those who stand around it, has been made, instead of the common angels, to impress the fact that not to speak of the common angels of divine kingdom, even the angels who are the pillars of this kingdom, being nearest in rank and station to Allah, bear deep sympathy and regard for you.

Ibn Kathir interprets this verse as:

Allah tells us that the angels who are close to Him, the bearers of the Throne, and the angels who are around Him -- all glorify the praises of their Lord. They combine glorification (Tasbih) which implies that He is free of any shortcomings, with praise (Tahmid) which is an affirmation of praise. (and believe in Him,) means, they humbly submit themselves before Him.  (and ask forgiveness for those who believe) means, for those among the people of earth who believe in the Unseen. Allah commanded that His angels who are close to Him should pray for the believers in their absence, so it is a part of the angels' nature that they say Ameen " آمین " when a believer prays for his brother in his absence.

So whenever believers are weak, overpowered and beleaguered by hopelessness or have erred and feel weak for being subjected to Divine chastisement, they are being consoled here and encouraged to repent if they have lost faith in the mercy of Allah and are being given the glad tidings that even the closest and specially picked up angels who support the Divine throne are constantly interceding on their behalf so that Allah, the Al Ghafur, the Ar Rahim, forgives them and saves them form chastisement of hell.

   

May Allah help us understand Qur'an and help us to act upon the commandments of Allah contained therein. Aameen.

For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an

You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Quran.

Photo | Reference: | 1 | 2 | 3 |

Reading the Holy Quran should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully.

An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs of the Holy Qur'an from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that:

• The plain translation has been taken from the Holy Quran officially published by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. [1]
• The exegesis of the chapters of the Holy Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi. [2]  

In order to augment and add more explanation as already provided by [2], additional input has been interjected from following sources: 

• Towards Understanding the Quran
• Tafsir Ibn Khatir
• Muhammad Asad Translation
• Javed Ahmad Ghamidi / Al Mawrid
• Al-Quran, Yusuf Ali Translation
• Verse by Verse Qur'an Study Circle

In addition the references of  other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites.

If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook

Follow @IslamUltimate

Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Holy Qur'an - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.

Read More

Selected Verses from Quran: Surely your Lord is abounding in His Forgiveness

Allah being our Creator and Creator of the entire universe is very compassionate and merciful. Unlike the perception by atheists and disbelievers that there is more talk of hell and chastisement in Qur'an than forgiveness if one errs or sins. We have already posted a number of verses of Qur'an in our many previous posts that call for the believers to continue to ask for Allah's forgiveness after due repentance of their errors and omissions and Allah will surely forgive them. It is even said that Allah will keep forgiving the sins of His servants till the time the angel of death finally appears. 

In fact, Allah is not overly exacting and severe in His judgement. He is not on the look out for trivial omissions and lapses on the part of His creatures in order to punish them. Allah is prepared to condone minor omissions, and may even spare a man from being presented with a charge-sheet provided his record is free of major sins. But if a man's record is full of major transgressions, he will be required to explain all the sins he has committed - both major and minor. 

Continuing with the series of selected verses from Qur'an, today we share the 32nd verse of Surah 53 An Najm which reassures the believers of Allah's promise and reassurance of His abundant forgiveness for those who sincerely repent and seek forgiveness:

اَلَّذِيۡنَ يَجۡتَنِبُوۡنَ كَبٰٓـئِرَ الۡاِثۡمِ وَالۡفوَاحِشَ اِلَّا اللَّمَمَ​ؕ اِنَّ رَبَّكَ وَاسِعُ الۡمَغۡفِرَةِ​ؕ هُوَ اَعۡلَمُ بِكُمۡ اِذۡ اَنۡشَاَكُمۡ مِّنَ الۡاَرۡضِ وَاِذۡ اَنۡتُمۡ اَجِنَّةٌ فِىۡ بُطُوۡنِ اُمَّهٰتِكُمۡ​ۚ فَلَا تُزَكُّوۡۤا اَنۡفُسَكُمۡ​ ؕ هُوَ اَعۡلَمُ بِمَنِ اتَّقٰى

"on those who avoid grave sins and shameful deeds, even if they may sometimes stumble into lesser offences. Surely your Lord is abounding in His Forgiveness. Very well is He aware of you since He produced you from the earth, and while you were still in your mothers' wombs and not yet born. So do not boastfully claim yourselves to be purified. He fully knows those that are truly God fearing."

Before we proceed further for the explanation of this verse, we must first grasp the essential differences between major and minor sins. Herein under are the three elements turn an act into a major sin:

(1) Violation of rights - be it either the rights of God, of parents, of other human beings or even of one's own self. The greater a person's rights, the greater is the sin in violating them. Hence sin is characterized in the Qur'an as wrong-doing (zulm). It is for the same reason that associating others with God in His divinity is called the 'great wrong' in the Qur'an. See, for example, (Surah Luqman 31: 13.)

(2) Insufficient fear of God, and arrogance and indifference towards Him, as a result of which man does not heed God's commandments, even willfully violates them, and deliberately desists from carrying them out. The greater the brazenness, temerity and fearlessness with which one disobeys God, the more heinous is the sin in His eyes. It is for this reason that sin is also termed ma'siyah (disobedience) and fisq. See, for instance, (Surah al-Baqarah 2: 26, 61); (Surah al-Hujurat 49: 11); (Surah al-Munafiqun 63: 6); (Surah Hud 11: 59); (Surah AI 'Imran 3: 112); (Surah al-Nisa' 4: 42); (Surah al-Ma'idah 5: 78); and passim for verbal forms derived from the word ma'siyah and fisq - Ed.)

(3) Sin is aggravated by breaking those bonds and relationships on which the peace and tranquility of social order rest. These bonds include the relationship between a man and his Lord, as well as that between a man and his fellow-beings. The more important a bond is, the greater is the harm done to the peace of human society when that bond is broken. Likewise, the stronger the expectation that the sanctity of a certain bond will be honoured, the greater is the sin incurred through its desecration. Let us take the case of unlawful sexual intercourse in its various degrees. This act is inimical to the existence of a sound social order and is therefore a major sin. But in certain cases the sin becomes even graver. For instance, it is more serious if committed by a married person than by one who is unmarried. Similarly, unlawful sexual intercourse with a married woman is graver than with an unmarried woman. Again, to commit this act with one's neighbours is more heinous than with others, and to commit this act with women within the prohibited degrees, such as one's sister, daughter or mother, is far more abominable than with others. Further still, it is a much graver sin to commit such an act in places of worship than elsewhere. The difference in the degree of such sinfulness is based on the considerations we have mentioned above. Wherever the sanctity "of a relationship is normally respected, wherever there is a bond which deserves to be held sacred, and wherever the disruption of a particular relationship is likely to result in greater harm and corruption, the gravity of the sin increases. This is why in certain places the Qur'an uses the term fujur to denote sin. See, for instance, (Surah al-Qiyamah 75: 5); (Surah al-Infitar 82: 14); (Surah al-Shams 9l: 8.)

The word fawahish mentioned in the verse above applies to all those acts whose abominable character is self-evident. In the Qur'an all extra-marital sexual relationships, sodomy, nudity, false accusations of unchastity, and taking as one's wife a woman who had been married to one's father, are specifically reckoned as 'shameful deeds' (fawahish). In Hadith, theft, taking intoxicating drinks and begging have been characterized as fawahish, as have many other brazenly indecent acts. Man is required to abstain from them both openly and in secret.

The word lamam as found in the original is used for a small quantity of something, or its slight effect, or its mere closeness, or its existence for a short time. This word is used to express the sense that a person did not commit an act but was very near to committing it.

On the basis of its usages some commentators have taken the word lamam in the meaning of minor sins. Some others have taken it in the meaning that a person should practically reach very near a grave sin but should desist from actually committing it. Still others take it in the sense of a person’s remaining involved in a sin temporarily and then desisting from it. And according to some it implies that a person should think of, or wish, or intend to commit a sin but should rake no practical steps towards it. In this regard, the views of the companions and their immediate followers are as follows:

Zaid bin Aslam and Ibn Zaid opine, and a saying of Abdullah bin Abbas is also to the same effect, that it signifies those sins which the people had committed in the pre-Islamic days of ignorance, then after embracing Islam they refrained from them.

Another view of Ibn Abbas is, and the same is also the view of Abu Hurairah, Abdullah bin Amr bin Aas, Mujahid, Hasan Basri and Abu Salih, that it implies a person’s being involved in a grave sin or indecency temporarily, or occasionally, and then giving it up.

Abdullah bin Masud, Masruq and Shabi say, and the same has also been reported from Abu Hurairah and Abdullah bin Abbas in authentic traditions, that this implies a person’s approaching the very point of a grave sin and crossing all its preliminaries but then restraining himself at the final stage, e.g. a person goes out with the intention of stealing but refrains from it in the end, or has close association with other women, but refrains from committing adultery.

Abdullah bin Zubair, Ikrimah, Qatadah and Dahhak say that this signifies those minor sins for which no punishment has been prescribed in the world nor any threat of punishment held out in the Hereafter.

Saeed bin al-Musayyab says that this implies one’s thinking of a sin in the mind but restraining himself from committing it practically.

These are the different explanations which have been reported in the traditions from the companions and their immediate followers. The majority of the later commentators and doctors of law and jurists are of the opinion that this verse and verse 31 of Surah An-Nisa:

اِنۡ تَجۡتَنِبُوۡا كَبٰٓـئِرَ مَا تُنۡهَوۡنَ عَنۡهُ نُكَفِّرۡ عَنۡكُمۡ سَيِّاٰتِكُمۡ وَنُدۡخِلۡـكُمۡ مُّدۡخَلًا كَرِيۡمًا‏

(4:31) But if you avoid the major sins which you have been forbidden, We shall remit your (trivial) offences,53 and cause you to enter an honourable abode.

classify sins into two main kinds: the major sins and the minor sins, and these two verses give man the hope that if he abstains from the major sins and open indecencies, Allah will overlook his minor errors. Although some distinguished scholars have also opined that no sin is minor and the disobedience of Allah is by itself a major sin, yet as stated by Imam Ghazali the distinction between the major and the minor sins is something which cannot be denied, for the sources of knowledge of the Shariah values and injunctions all point to this.

As for the question, what is the distinction between the major and the minor sins, and what kinds of sins are major and what kinds of them minor? we are satisfied that: Every such act is a major sin which has been forbidden by a clear ordinance of the divine Book and the Shariah of the Prophet (peace be upon him), or for which Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) have prescribed a punishment in the world, or have held out a threat of punishment in the Hereafter, or have cursed the one guilty of committing it, or given the news of infliction of punishment on those guilty of committing it. Apart from this class of sins all other acts which are disapproved by the Shariah, come under the definition of minor sins. Likewise, the mere desire for a major sin, or an intention to commit it, is also not a major sin but a minor sin; so much so that even crossing all the preliminaries of a major sin does not constitute a major sin unless one has actually committed it. However, even a minor sin becomes a major sin in case it is committed with a feeling of contempt for religion and of arrogance against Allah, and the one guilty of it does not consider the Shariah that has declared it an evil worthy of any attention and reverence.

That is, the forgiveness for the one guilty of minor sins is not for the reason that a minor sin is no sin, but for the reason that Allah Almighty does not treat His servants narrow-mindedly and does not seize them on trifling faults; if the servants adopt piety and abstain from major sins and indecencies, He will not seize them for their minor errors and will forgive them magnanimously on account of His infinite mercy.

Allah's attributes of Mercy and Forgiveness are unlimited. They come into action without our asking, but on our bringing our wills as offerings to Him. Our asking or prayer helps us to bring our minds and wills as offering to Him. That is necessary to frame our own psychological preparedness. it informs Allah of nothing, for He knows all. As Allah knows our inmost being, it is absurd for us to justify ourselves either by pretending that we are better than we are or by finding excuses for our conduct. We must offer ourselves unreservedly such as we are: it is His Mercy and Grace that will cleanse us. If we try, out of love for Him, to guard against evil, our striving is all that He asks for.

May Allah help us understand Qur'an and help us to act upon the commandments of Allah contained therein. Aameen.

For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an

You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Quran.

References: | 1 | 2 | 3 |

Reading the Holy Quran should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully.

An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs of the Holy Qur'an from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that:

• The plain translation has been taken from the Holy Quran officially published by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. [1]
• The exegesis of the chapters of the Holy Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi. [2]  

In order to augment and add more explanation as already provided by [2], additional input has been interjected from following sources: 

• Towards Understanding the Quran
• Tafsir Ibn Khatir
• Muhammad Asad Translation
• Javed Ahmad Ghamidi / Al Mawrid
• Al-Quran, Yusuf Ali Translation
• Verse by Verse Qur'an Study Circle

In addition the references of  other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites.

If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook

Follow @IslamUltimate

Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Holy Qur'an - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.

Read More

Four Things a Muslim Should Never Leave

Islam is a wonderful religion for it provides immense opportunities to a true believer to live a blessed life. And the most amazing thing is that to be blessed, one doesn't have to work very hard. Small things, gestures, prayers, thankfulness and repentance is all what is needed to draw blessing from Allah.

Today a friend shared four things with me that a Muslim should never leave to stay blessed and receive Allah's unlimited rewards and bounties for Allah is always on the lookout for His servants who are busy remembering Him and seeking His pleasure. 

Without going into any further premise, let me go down straight to these small four acts which would take him closer to Allah:

Being Thankful to Allah
Yes, simply thankfulness. If we carry out a reappraisal of ourselves, we will find that Allah has given us far more than we truly deserve, and many of these blessings have been without even asking. Instead of lamenting of not having what others have, we must always be thankful for what we have and other do not have. A very large portion of the world population lives in deprivation and utter poverty. But we only look towards those who have a better car, house, job or worldly pleasures better than us. But we never compare ourselves with those who are suffering and cannot even afford a good meal in a day.

So thank Allah all the time for what has been given to us and what others do not have. The more one thanks Allah, the more pleased Allah is and gives them more:

وَاِذۡ تَاَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمۡ لَـئِنۡ شَكَرۡتُمۡ لَاَزِيۡدَنَّـكُمۡ​ وَلَـئِنۡ كَفَرۡتُمۡ اِنَّ عَذَابِىۡ لَشَدِيۡدٌ‏ 

"Also call to mind when your Lord proclaimed: "If you give thanks, I will certainly grant you more; but if you are ungrateful for My favours, My chastisement is terrible." [Surah Ibrahim 14:7]

In the above verse, Allah promises more to those who thank Him and are grateful to Him for having been blessed. But along with it comes a warning too: "But if you are ungrateful for My favours, My chastisement is terrible." 

Allah tests His servants by giving them more even without asking to see whether they are grateful to Him or boast to others of their own abilities due to which they are being better than others. When such an approach of being ungrateful starts to take place, it invokes Allah's wrath and needless to mention "Allah's chastisement is terrible."

So always be grateful and thankful to Allah for it will usher in more blessings to you and your family. And do not forget to help others who have been blessed less as Allah has blessed us for we never truly deserved His bounties.

Remembering Allah
No matter in which condition you may be, never forget to remember Allah. The more you remember Allah, the more He will remember you:

فَاذۡكُرُوۡنِىۡٓ اَذۡكُرۡكُمۡ وَاشۡکُرُوۡا لِىۡ وَلَا تَكۡفُرُوۡنِ

"So remember Me and I shall remember you; give thanks to Me and do not be ungrateful to Me for My favours." [Surah Al Baqarah 2: 152]‏  

The above quoted verse says it all and is an add up to what has been written earlier. Those who remember Allah, they will be reciprocated accordingly. In fact remembering Allah is thanking Him so as not being ungrateful to Him for His favours. Offering prayers five times a day no matter where one may is the best form of thanking Allah. 

Praying (Dua)
Dua (prayer) is the most powerful tool in the hands of a true Muslim to invoke Allah's pleasures and goodwill. Those who profusely pray to allah whenever in need or even otherwise are never returned empty handed:

وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادۡعُوۡنِىۡۤ اَسۡتَجِبۡ لَـكُمۡؕ اِنَّ الَّذِيۡنَ يَسۡتَكۡبِرُوۡنَ عَنۡ عِبَادَتِىۡ سَيَدۡخُلُوۡنَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِيۡنَ

"Your Lord said: “Pray to Me, and I will accept your prayers. Surely those who wax too proud to worship Me shall enter Hell, utterly abased.” [Surah Mu'min 40:60]

Allah categorically says here that "you should not pray to others but pray to Me." To understand the spirit of this verse well, three points should be comprehended properly:

• First, man should pray only to Allah and not the wordily deities who are themselves dependent upon Allah's mercy. Pray to the One Who is All- Hearing and All-Seeing and is Possessor of supernatural powers. And the real motive of prayer for man is the internal feeling that the natural means and resources of the material world are not enough to remove any of his troubles and to fulfill any of his needs, or are not proving to be enough. Therefore, a true believer must invoke that Being even without having seen Him; he invokes Him at all times, at all places, and under all circumstances; he invokes Him in solitude, aloud as well as in a low voice, and even in the depths of his heart. He does so inevitably on the basis of the belief that that Being is watching him everywhere, is also hearing whatever he has in his heart, and possesses such absolute powers that, it can come to the help of the supplicant wherever he is, and can help him out of every trouble and difficulty. After having known this truth about the prayer, it remains no longer difficult for man to understand that the one who invokes another than Allah for help, commits shirk absolutely and purely and clearly, for he believes those attributes to be belonging to the other being, which only belong to Allah. Had he not believed the other being to be an associate of Allah in the divine attributes, he would never have even thought of invoking it for help.
• Second, one should fully understand that man’s merely thinking about a being that it is the possessor of powers and authority, does not necessitate that it should actually become possessor of the powers and authority. Being possessor of powers and authority is a factual matter, which is not dependent on somebody’s understanding or not understanding it. The one who is actually the Possessor of the powers will in any case remain the Possessor whether man regards Him so or not. And the one who is not in reality the possessor, will not be able to have any share whatever in the powers only because man has believed it to be possessing the powers. There is none else in this Universe, who may have any power to hear the prayers and to answer them or reject them. Those who entertain the belief that some prophets, saints, angels, jinns, planets or imaginary gods also are shareholders in the powers, the reality will not change in any way whatsoever. The Owner will remain the Owner and the helpless servants will remain the servants.
• Thirdly, the one who invokes others than Allah behaves like the supplicant who takes his petition to a government office, but leaving aside the real officer who has authority, presents it before one of the other supplicants who may be present there with his petition, and then starts imploring him humbly, saying: you possess all the powers, and yours is the only authority here; so, you alone can fulfill my needs. Such a conduct, in the first place, is in itself highly foolish, but in a case like this it also amounts to high insolence, because the real officer who has the authority, is present and before his very eyes applications and petitions are being made before another, apart from him. Then this ignorance and folly reaches its height when the person before whom the petition is being presented makes the petitioner understand over and over again that he himself is a petitioner like him and possesses no power at all, and that the real officer who has the powers is present, and he should make his petition before him. But in spite of this counsel and warning, the foolish person goes on saying: You are my lord, you alone can fulfill my need.

Keeping these three things in view, one should try to understand what Allah has said here: Call upon Me, I shall answer your prayers, it is for Me to accept them.

In the verse above, Dua (prayer) and ibadat (worship) have been used as synonyms. The prayer of the first sentence has been called worship in the second. This makes it explicit that prayer itself is worship, rather the essence of worship.

According to Numan bin Bashir, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: The prayer is the very essence of worship. Then he recited this verse. (Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Abu Daud, Nasai, Ibn Majah, Ibn Abu Hatim, Ibn Jarir). According to Anas, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Prayer is the marrow of worship. (Tirmidhi). Abu Hurairah says that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Allah becomes angry with him who does not ask Him for anything. (Tirmidhi).

It would be pertinent to mention here the enigma that often causes confusion in the minds is also resolved. In connection with prayer, people say that when the evil or the good destiny is in the control of Allah and whatever He has already decreed in accordance with His dominant wisdom and expedience has to take place inevitably. What is then the use of the prayer? This is a serious misunderstanding which destroys the importance of prayer from the heart of man, and with this false notion even if man prays, his prayer would be soulless. The above verse of the Quran removes this misunderstanding in two ways:

• In the first place, Allah says in clear words: Call upon Me: I will answer your prayers. This proves that fate or destiny is not something which, God forbid, might have tied the hands of Allah Himself also, and the powers to answer the prayer might have been withdrawn from Him. The creatures have no power to avert or change the decrees of Allah: but Allah Himself certainly has the power to change His decrees and decisions on hearing a servant’s prayer and petition. 
• The other thing that has been stated in this verse is that whether a prayer is accepted or not, it is never without an advantage. The servant by presenting his petition before his Lord and by praying to Him acknowledges His Lordship and Supremacy and admits his own servitude and helplessness before Him. This expression of servitude is in itself worship, rather the essence of worship of whose reward the servant will in no case be deprived, irrespective of whether he is granted the particular thing for which he had prayed or not.

The aspect of prayer (dua) is explained in the sayings of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Salman Farsi relates that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Nothing can avert destiny but the prayer. (Tirmidhi). That is, no one has the power to change the decisions of Allah but Allah Himself can change His decisions, and this happens when the servant prays to Him.

However, while praying one must be very mindful of one's language. Abu Hurairah says that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Whenever one of you prays, he should not say: O God, forgive me if You so please, show me mercy if You so please, grant me provisions if You so please, but he should say definitely: O God, fulfill my such and such need. (Bukhari).

There the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Pray to Allah with the certainty that He will answer it. (Tirmidhi). The servant’s prayer is granted provided that he does not pray for a sin or for severing connections with the kindred. 

Continuous Astaghfar [Repentance]
"Astaghfar" means to pray to Allah that He may protect the supplicant from the evil consequences and poisonous influences of His transgressions and misdeeds, both in this world and the hereafter.

وَمَا كَانَ اللّٰهُ لِيُعَذِّبَهُمۡ وَاَنۡتَ فِيۡهِمۡ​ؕ وَمَا كَانَ اللّٰهُ مُعَذِّبَهُمۡ وَهُمۡ يَسۡتَغۡفِرُوۡنَ‏ 

"But Allah was not to chastise them while you are in their midst; nor was Allah going to chastise them while they sought His forgiveness." [Surah Anfal 8:33]

Asking for forgiveness of Allah is to accept that one has sinned or done a bad deed that may have hurt others. But repentance  / astaghfar means taking a solemn pledge of not repeating the sin again. Those who recognize that they have been negligent and heedless and have been guilty of iniquity, and thus seek Allah's forgiveness and strive to reform themselves are one of the most liked servants of Allah. For they not only acknowledge their sins and ask for forgiveness, but also pledge to reform themselves so as not to repeat any such act that displeases Allah.

Allah promises the believers that those who wholeheartedly confess and sincerely repent, would be forgiven:

فَمَنۡ تَابَ مِنۡۢ بَعۡدِ ظُلۡمِهٖ وَاَصۡلَحَ فَاِنَّ اللّٰهَ يَتُوۡبُ عَلَيۡهِؕ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ غَفُوۡرٌ رَّحِيۡمٌ‏ 

“But whosoever repents after his crime and does righteous good deeds (by obeying Allah), then verily, Allah will pardon him (accept his repentance). Verily, Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful." [Surah al-Maa’idah 5:39]  

Usually Muslims say "Astaghfirullah" when they see someone doing an utterly bad deed. Astaghfirullah  literally translates to "I seek forgiveness in Allah". But remember, as explained earlier, forgiveness is the first step, which must be followed by repentance for without pledging wholeheartedly not to reform oneself, asking for forgiveness bears no meaning.

So what do we do when we err, sin or do a wrong thing? Here are four steps one should so straightaway:

• Ask forgiveness from the one who we have harmed and try to make good the loss so incurred to him
• Beg for mercy and forgiveness from Allah (glorified and exalted be He).
• Regret from the heart of the heart for the sin so committed.
• Refrain from re-committing a sin or misdeed immediately.
• Take a solemn pledge never to return to any sin or wrongdoing again.

Here it must be remembered that the sin / wrongdoing or transgression involved infringes on the rights of other (s), then one must return the infringed rights back to the individual to whom they belong. And then thereafter, try one's level best not to sin, err, or do a thing that is contrary to teachings of Islam.

Remember no priest, saint or a holy man can listen to your confession and assure you of your forgiveness. This matter is directly between the sinner and the God. For Allah is the Most Ever Forgiving and in fact All Forgiving. It is for this attribute of Allah that He is called Al Ghaffar  (الغفار) - The All-Forgiving, The Absolver,  Al-Ghafur (الغفور) - The Forgiving, The Pardoner, Al-'Afuw (العفو) - The Pardoner 

For details please read our earlier post on Repentance which also contains an enlightening commentary on "How do we know that our repentance has been accepted."

Photo | References: | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Photo | For more Q&A about understanding Islam click here

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