* Sayyid-il-Istighfaar:

Sayyid-il-Istighfaar:
It is related that the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu AlaiheWasallam) once
remarked that the following prayer was Sayyid-il-Istighfaar (the
leader of all the prayer ofIstighfaar).
O Allah! Thou art my Lord.There is no God save thee. Thou art my
Creatorand I am Thy slave. I abide by Thy covenant and promise as best
as I can. I seek refuge in Theefrom the mischief of what I have
wrought. I acknowledge unto Thee Thy favour which Thou hast bestowed
upon me, I also confess my sins; so forgive me, for none forgiveth
sins save Thee.
Says the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam):
"He who will offer repentance and beg the forgiveness of Allah
(Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) reciting this prayer with faith and sincerity
during day-timethen if he died on that day before nightfall, he shall
go to Heaven, and he who will recite it at night, with faith and
sincerity, and then if he died on that night, before day-break, he
shall go to Heaven."
The three Kalimahs of Taubah we have mentioned above are quite easy to remember.
"Blessed, indeed, is the man in whose record the profusion of Taubah
is written."
What has been stated in these lessons of this smallvolume will,
InshaaAllah, suffice for anyone for theattainment of Divine pleasure
and paradise. It seems appropriate here to give a brief resume of the
whole discussion before bringing the bookto a close.
The first principle of Islam and the most essential prerequisite of
deliverance and the attainments of paradise is that a man affirms his
faith in the Kalimah of After that, he should try to acquire knowledge
of the tenets of Islam at least as far as it is necessary to know them
in order to be a good Muslim. His constant endeavour should be to
observe the Islamic teachings faithfully and to carry outsincerely the
Divine commandments regarding the Rights of Allah (Subhaanahu
Wata'aalaa) as well as the Rights of man and good social and moral
behaviour. When there may occur a lapse on his part in respect of
these matters he should feel genuinely sorry over it and repent to
Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) and seek His forgiveness. He should
resolve honestly not to be guilty of the transgression again. If hehas
transgressed against a fellow being by violating his rights or doing
him any other harm he should seek his pardon and make amends for his
fault or misconduct or pay suitable compensation asthe case my be.
In the same way, the effort of a Muslim should always be that the love
of Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) and of His Apostle (Sallallahu Alaihe
Wasallam) and his Faith should be stronger in his heart than that of
anyone or anything else in the world. He should remain steadfast in
faith and waver not in the least form the path of duty to Allah
(Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) and the Prophet (Sallallahu AlaiheWasallam)
whatever the circumstances are. He should also, as a matter of duty,
take some part or another in the preaching and propagation of Islam.
It isan act of outstanding virtue and merit and a most special legacy
of theProphets. In the present age, particularly, its valueis
much greater than that of all other forms of prayers and worships
(other than obligatory) and when a person devotes himself to it, his
devotion to Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa), the Prophet (Sallalla!iu
Alaihe Wasallam) and the Faith also develops and becomes stronger.
Among the other prayers,if possible, one should develop the habit of
Tahajjud. Its auspiciousness is of the very highest.
One must always be on one's guard against sin, specially against the
major sins, like adultery, stealing, falsehood, drinkand dishonest in
monetary affairs.
It is advisable to do someZikr every day. In case it may not be
possible to spare more time for it, one should recite at least
Kalimah-i Tamjid.
Or only and Istighfaar and Durood Shareef, a hundred timeseach,
morning and evening.
Time should also be set aside for the daily reading of the Holy
Quraan. It should be done with due religious respect and reverence.
After every obligatory Salaah and at bedtime the
Tasbeehaat-i-Fatimahmay also be recited.
For those who aspire for more, the advice is to seek guidance from a
spiritual mentor who may be worthy of it. The last thing to be said in
this connection is that the company of true, pious and exalted
devotees of Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) and attachment and
devotionto them is the very elixir of religious and spiritual
existence. If this can fall to the lot of anyone all the rest will
follow automatically.