TAUBAH

Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) sent down His Apostles into the world
and revealed His Books through them so that men may learn to
distinguish good from evil, virtue from vice, andearn for themselves
Divine approbation and deliverence in the life to come by abstaining
from the wicked and the unlawful and adopting what was good and
virtuous. Thus those who reject the faith and refuse to believe in the
Prophets (Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam) and theDivine guidence with
which they had been raised up their whole existence. So to speak, is
one of defiance and transgresion. They are totally indifferent to the
message sent down by Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa). They will have
nothing to do with it. Unless they believe in the Messengers and
Apostles raised up by Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) and in the Holy
Scriptures revealed by Him, and particularly in the Last of the
prophets. Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam) and theDivine
Book he brought, i.e., the Holy Quraan and accept his guidance they
can never hope to attain the good pleasure of Allah (Subhaanahu
Wata'aalaa) and success and salvation in the Hereafter. The denial of
Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa), His Apostles and His Books is not
pardonable. It cannot be condoned. This fact has been made abundantly
clear by every prophet ofAllah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) during his
time. In any case it is essential for the salvationof the Apostates
and Polytheists that they first of all renounce Apostasy and
Polytheism and take to the path of Faith and Monotheism. Without it
salvation is not possible.
Those who believe in the prophets and affirm theirintention to live
according to their teachings also sometimesfall into error. They are
misled by the Devil or by their own baser instincts and impulses into
committing a sin. For such defaulters Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa)
has kept the door of Taubah (Repentance) open.
Taubah means that if a person slips into folly andbe guilty of a sin
or an act of transgression against the law of Allah (Subhaanahu
Wata'aalaa) he should feel genuinely sorry and ashamed over it, and
resolve sincerely not to do so again, and seek theforgiveness of Allah
(Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) with all his heart. It is stated in the Holy
Quraan and the Traditions that by doing only this much a man's sin is
forgiven and he succeeds in winning the pleasure of the Almighty.
It is essential to know that Taubah is not vocal penitence. It is not
at all a matter of uttering so many words of repentance. The sorrow
must be sincere, the shame must be felt in theheart and the resolution
not to repeat the folly and be guilty of the sin again must be totally
genuine.
It is like this, suppose in afit of temper or in a moment of acute
depression a person swallows poison with theintention of killing
himself. But when the poison begins to work and a thousand knives
begin to tear his intestines into pieces andhe knows that death is
near, he repents his folly and cries out in desperation for medical
relief. Now, at that time, his first thought will be that if he
survived he would never touch the poison again or think of committing
suicide. This exactly should be the state of the man who repents after
sin. His heart should be seized bythe fear of Divine Chastisement, the
resolution not to repeat the act again should be an honest resolution
and so also his entreaties to Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) for
forgiveness.
If such a state of feelings is realised by a person in any degree he
should be sure that the stain of sin has been washed way and the gates
of mercy have opened for him. After such a Taubah the sinner is
completely absolved of his sin, he is thoroughly sanctified and
becomes even dearer in the sight of Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) than
he was before, so much so that sometimes a person succeeds in
attaining, through Taubah, a place which would be hard to reach even
after a hundred years of prayer and fasting.
All this that we have said on the subject of Taubah was derived
entirely from the twin sources of the Holy Quraan and the Traditions.
We are going now to consider some of the relevant verses of theHoly
Quraan:
O ye who believe! Turn toAllah with sincere repentance: in the hope
that your Lord will remove from you your illsand admit you to Gardens
beneath which rivers flow. [LXVI:8]
Why turn they not to Allah, and seek His forgiveness? For Allah is
Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. [V:74]
When those come to theewho believe in Our Signs,say: "Peace be on you!
your Lord hath inscribed for Himself (the rule of) Mercy: Verily, if
any of you did evil in ignorance,and thereafter repented, and amended
(his conduct). Lo, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." [VI:54]
"Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) says, 'O My Creatures! you commit
follies day and night and I can forgive them all. So,seek My
forgiveness. I will forgive."
"Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) extends the arms of Mercy and
Forgiveness every night so that the sinners of the day may repent and
seek His pardon and every dayso that the sinners of the night may
repent and seek His pardon and it shall be like this with Allah
(Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) till the sun rises from the West near the
Doomsday."
"A man committed a sin and then he prayed to Allah (Subhaanahu
Wata'aalaa), 'O Lord! I have sinned. Forgive me'.Upon this, the Lord
observed, 'My servant knows that there is a Lord, Allah (Subhaanahu
Wata'aalaa), who can punish him for his sin as well as forgive. I have
forgiven the sin of My servant.' The person abstained from sin as long
as the Lord wished after which he again went astray and fell into
transgression. He once again prayed to Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa),
'O Lord! I have sinned. Forgive me.'The Lord observed, 'My sinning
servant knows that there is a Lord, Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa), who
can chastise him for sinning as well as forgive. I have forgiven the
sin of My servant'. He remained free from sin as long as the Lord
wished and then was again guilty of it. Once again he prayed to Allah
(Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa), 'O Lord! I have sinned. Forgive me'.The Lord
observed, 'My servant knows for certainthat there is a Lord, Allah
(Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa), who can punish as well as forgive him for his
sin. I have forgiven the sin of My servant'."
"One who seeks Divine forgiveness after sin, becomes like one who has
never been guilty of a sin."
These Traditions show how Merciful and Oft-Forgiving is the Lord. To
get emboldened by them and to start indulging freely in sinful
activities on the strength of Taubah is not worthy of a Muslim. Such
verses and Traditions should, onthe contrary, lend greater strength to
the love of Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa). They should make one feel
that it really was the height of meanness to act against the wishes of
such a Compassionate and Benevolent Lord. If a master be of a most
kind and affectionate nature, would it become his servants to pay back
his kindness and affection by violating his wishes and disobeying his
commands?
What these verses and Traditions seek to conveyis that should a person
succumb to the temptations of the Devil or to his own ignoble desires
and inclinations and commit a sin he mustnot despair of the mercy of
the Lord and lose all hope of salvation. He should, on the other hand,
turn his back immediately on the lapseand try earnestly to remove its
stain through Taubah, by begging Allah(Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa), in all
sincerity, His forgiveness. The Almighty, in His Infinite Mercy, will
forgive and instead of being angry with him, Hewill become even more
pleased for regretting sincerely what he had done and turning to Him
hopefully for remission. ATradition states:
"When a man turns to Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) after sin and
repents sincerely for his folly it makes Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa)
even happier than a rider whose mount may have thrown him down in a
vast desert and fled awaywith all the journey's provisions laden on
its back, and, when the rider may have resigned himself to his fate
and satdown under a tree to wait for his death, the animal may return,
all of a sudden, with the provisions intact and the rider may catch
hold of itand blurt out (stupidly) in sheer joy, 'O Allah (Subhaanahu
Wata'aalaa), Thou, indeed, art my slave and me thy Master'." The
Prophet (Sallallahu AlaiheWasallam) says, "The pleasure, this person
feels after getting his mount back, Allah (Subhaanabu Wata'aalaa)
Almighty is pleased more than that ifhis sinner servant repents."
If, after knowing these verses and Traditions, someone still fails to
seekDivine forgiveness and approbation by offering repentance for his
sins through Taubah and resolving not to fall into error again he,
emphatically, is most unfortunate.
Many people are inclinedto take a most complacent attitude, towards
Taubah. They say, "We are healthy and strong, so what's the hurry? We
will do Taubahbefore dying." Brothers! This is an extremely dangerous
deception which the Devil practices on us. Deprived as he hashimself
of Divine Mercy and Beneficence and earned a permanent abode in the
Hell, he wants us also to go his way. No one knows when death may
strike. Thus, we should considerevery day to be the last day of our
lives and lose no time in begging the forgiveness of Allah (Subhaanahu
Wata'aalaa) if and when we have been guilty of an evil. This, alone,
is the path of wisdom. It is stated candidly in the Holy Quraan that:
Allah accepts the repentance of those whodo evil in ignorance, and
repent soon afterwards; to them will Allah turn in mercy, for Allah is
full of knowledge and wisdom. Of no effect is the repentance of those
whocontinue to do evil, until death faces one of them, and he says,
"Now have I repented indeed!" Nor ofthose who die rejecting faith: for
them have We prepared a punishment most grievous. [V:17-18]
We should catch time by the forelock and realise the value of life
that is left to us. We should not put off Taubah by a moment; we must
not procrastinate. We ought to set about, at once, reforming our ways.
Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) alone knowswhen death is going to make
its call on us, and then, it may be too late. Who can tell whether, at
that time, we will get theopportunity to offer Taubah or not?
Brothers! We all have seen people dying. The general experience is
that a person dies in the same state in which he has led his life. It
does not happen that a personmay have spent all his days in folly and
negligence and, then, suddenly repented and turned into a saint a day
or two before his death. Hence, a man who wants to die in a state of
Taqwaa, for him it is necessary to become pious in his lifetime. Then
alone can he hope to die as a good Muslim, by the grace of Allah
(Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa), and to be raised up with the faithful and the
righteous in the Hereafter.
If after offering repentance for a sin a person may be guilty of the
same sin again there is no need for him to feelso frustrated over it
as to lose faith in Divine Mercifulness. He should offer Taubah
quickly again, and if again he may break it, he should not hesitate in
offering itonce more even if it be a thousand times. Whenever he will
repent with a sincere heart it is the promise of Allah (Subhaanahu
Wata'aalaa) that He will accept his repentance and forgive him. The
benevolence of the Lord, and His Paradise, is infinite.
Words of Taubah
From the foregoing it would have been clear that in words or language
a person may offer Taubah Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) will listen
and accept his penitence.But the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihe
Wasallam) has laid down certain specific phrases or prayers in this
regard which he used to recite himself. These prayers, surely, are
most auspicious, most worthy of His acceptance and most pleasing to
Him. Weare reproducing some of these here for you to learn by heart
and recite for seeking divine forgiveness.
I beg the forgiveness of Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) save Whom there
is no God, the living, the Eternal. Unto Him do I turn penitent.
The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam) has said, "Whoever will offer
penitence to Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) and implore His forgiveness
through this Kalimah, Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) will forgive him
even if he has fled ofJihad which is a most mortal sin in the sight of
Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa)."
And again: "Whoever willrecite this Kalimah thrice before going to
sleep Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) will forgive his sins even though
theymay be as profuse as the foam of the sea."
Sometimes the sacred Prophet (Sallallahu AlaiheWasallam) used to
recite only (I implore the forgiveness of the Lord). It is a very
brief phrase and we should try to cultivate the habit of repeating it
every now and then.

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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