بِسْم الله الرحمن الرحيم
11-11-1437H
The Prophet ﷺ is teaching his nation to not be heedless about استغفار. The Prophet ﷺ is protected from sin, and yet he asked Allah for forgiveness more than seventy times a day. Why?
1) Because he reached the utmost in certainty and belief in Allah. He knows the greatness of the right of Allah; that no matter how much you worship Him, you would have not fulfilled His right. Allah showers us with countless favours and gifts. We will never be able to thank Him from all of them. When you know the Name of Allah القيوم, you will know that not one drop of blood can move in your veins without Allah moving it for you. We cannot show full gratefulness to Allah for this one favour, so how about the other favours?
2) He is an example for his nation. If he makes استغفار, the Muslims will follow him. If we know that he makes استغفار more than seventy times, we should make it more.
3) It is a type of remembrance of Allah.
Accordingly, What will motivate you to seek forgiveness?
1) Knowing the Greatness of Allah. The more you know His Greatness, the more you will know how insignificant your worship is in comparison to Him. You would perform acts of worship, and ask forgiveness after.
Allah mentioned that the People of Paradise would ask forgiveness before Fajr, after performing the late night prayer in [51:15-18]:
"Verily, the Muttaqun will be in the midst of Gardens and Springs (in the Paradise)"
"Taking joy in the things which their Lord has given them. Verily, they were before this Muhsinun (good-doers)"
"They used to sleep but little by night [invoking their Lord (Allah) and praying, with fear and hope]."
"And in the hours before dawn, they were (found) asking (Allah) for forgiveness,"
You pray five times a day and think that your worship is sufficient in fulfilling Allah's rights when He has a creation which worships Him perpetually, without ever slackening or getting tired?
2) Remember the favours of Allah. You will never be able to thank Allah for all of them, so the solution is to say أستغفر الله.
3) Contemplate on the defects in your worship. When you pray, do you concentrate 100%? Our worship is full of defects, so mend them by saying أستغفر الله.
What causes a person to become heedless about استغفار?
1) Lack of Knowledge about Allah. The more you know Allah, the more you know that you have not fulfilled His rights.
2) Feeling Self-Sufficient. There are people who do not raise their hands and ask Allah. They are busy with the gifts of Allah, and forget about the One who gave them. They see and attach themselves to the means because it is in front of them.
If you think you are not in need of Allah, Allah may take a little favour away from you, and you will see just how much you need Him.
E.g. You start coughing one night and the whole night you are unable to sleep. You will appreciate all the nights you slept whilst being able to breathe properly and soundly.
سيد الإستغفار - The Master of all the Duas for Asking Forgiveness
This دعاء is one of the Morning and Evening supplications, and the reward of saying it is Paradise. But with a condition: Certainty
This is why you should say the دعاء while knowing the meaning and believing in the facts of the meaning.
The Scholars said that this is a comprehensive Dua which covers seeking forgiveness, being humble to Allah, praising Allah, etc.
There are ranks in asking forgiveness. If you want to know the best way to ask forgiveness from Allah, from all the supplications, then it is this دعاء.
Summary of the Dua: You begin praising Allah, confessing that you are His slave, that He created you, that no one deserves to be worshipped except Him.
You remind yourself of the covenant you have with Him, then you seek refuge in Allah from the evil you committed.
You confess you are unable to thank Allah for His favours.
Then you ask for forgiveness and make Tawheed in the acceptance of forgiveness: No One has the power to forgive sins except Him.
"اللهم" - O Allah
"أنت ربي" - You are my Rabb; You are the One who Created me, Sustains me, etc. [Tawheed Ruboobiya]
"لا اله الا أنت" - You admit that no one deserves to be worshipped except Allah. [Tawheed Uloohiyah]
"خلقتني" - No one created me except You.
"و أنا عبدك" - You remind yourself of your status in front of Allah. You are a slave of Allah, standing in front of His door. And this is an honour for you;- to be a Slave of Allah alone.
"و أنا على عهدك ووعدك ما استطعت" - You are fulfilling the covenant of Allah as much as you can. This covenant is the covenant of worshipping Allah alone. And the promise in fulfilling that covenant is the promise of Allah that He will reward you for it and give you Paradise, so you wait for that promise.
You admit that you are unable to fulfill the right of Allah, because it is so great and you are so weak, but you do as much as you can.
"أعوذبك من شر ما صنعت" - You have committed sins and are afraid of Allahs anger, so you escape from Allah to Allah. You seek refuge with Allah from falling back into the same sin, in the punishment of Allah for that sin, that you will enter Hellfire because of that sin.
Then you confess two things:
1) "أبوء لك بنعمتك علي" - The blessings of Allah upon you.
The favours are showered upon us day and night and are continuous and uncountable. You acknowledge that Allah deserves to be thanked and shown gratitude all the time even though you cannot count or perceive all the favours.
2) "و أبوء بذنبي" - Your sins
Confessing your sin is the first step to repentance. A sin is either:
-> Commiting an unlawful action
-> Leaving out an obligation
"فاغفرلي فإنه لا يغفر الذنوب إلا أنت"
You end this Dua practicing Tawheed. No one can forgive your sins except Allah.
If you say this Dua in the Morning or Evening, with sincerity, with a present heart; believing in every sentence you say, believing in the reward, and you pass away that day, you will enter Paradise.
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