has opened the gate of repentance to His slaves, and I send blessings
and peace upon the Messenger of Allah.
I have put together thesefew words for everyone who wants to change
his situation and his actions so as to earn the pleasureof his Creator
and achieve happiness in this world and in the Hereafter. I ask Allah
to make it of benefit to those who read it and tellothers about it,
and I ask Allah to forgive sins both open and secret.
My dear brothers and sisters,
I congratulate you on theoccasion of this blessed month, the month of
repentance, forgiveness and ransom from the Fire, the month of
goodness and blessing, the month of generosity and kindness. I say to
myself, to you and to everyone who is falling short in his duties
towards his Lord (this Arabic poem):
O you who did not have enough of sin in Rajab,
So he continued to disobey his Lord during the month of Sha'baan,
Now these two months have been followed by the month of patience,
So do not let this be a month of sin too.
Recite the Qur'aan and glorify your Lord during this month, striving
your utmost,
For it is the month of glorification and Qur'aan.
The month of Ramadaan has come
So come to Allah, O seeker of good.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:"When the
first night of Ramadaan comes, the devils and demons are chained up,
and the gates of Hell are closed and not one gate of it is opened. The
gates of Paradise are opened and not one gate of it is closed. And a
caller calls out: "O seeker of good, come to Allah; O seeker ofevil,
desist." Allah will have ransomed some people from the Fire, andthat
happens every night."(Narrated by al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Maajah with a
hasan isnaad).
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,"Ameen,
ameen, ameen."It was said, "Messenger of Allah,you climbed up on the
minbar and said, "Ameen,ameen, ameen." He said,"Jibreel (peace be upon
him), came to me and said, "Whoever witnessesthe month of Ramadaan and
is not forgiven so he enters Hell, may Allah casthim away. Say Ameen."
So I said Ameen.""(This hadeeth was narrated by Ahmad and is saheeh).
Yes! Ramadaan has come,so turn to your Lord Whom you have disobeyed,
beseeching Him and fearing Him, regretting and weeping,and say,
"O God of the Universe, I am returning (to You)."
"O Giver of all good things, give me guidance,
For there is no good without guidance.
Overlook my mistakes with forgiveness, kindness and mercy,
For no one else can bestow forgiveness." [Arabic poetry]
My brothers and sisters, ifyou are not forgiven, if your eyes do not
shed tears and your heart doesnot break before your Lord in this
month, then when?
My brothers and sisters, why do you not shed tears for fear of your
Lord even once? Do you not feel that your heart isclose to your Lord
during this month? Do you not think that this is an opportunity for
you to draw closer to your Lord and increase in humility, repentance
and submission, so that it maybe the true beginning of your returning
to your Lord so that you may be more closely connected with Allah?
"While as for those who accept guidance, He increases their guidance and
bestows on them their piety"[Muhammad 47:17]
O man!
Allah rebukes us and tells us (interpretation of the meaning):
"O man! What has made you careless about your Lord, the Most
Generous?"[al-Infitaar 82:6]
Indeed, O man, what has made you careless about your Lord, so that you
have become so audacious in disobeying Him and transgressing
Hislimits? Is it because you are ignoring His blessings? Or because
youforget that He is always watching over you, and that He is
almighty?
"I am the one who closes the doors, striving in sin (in secret),
Although the eye of Allah is watching me.
How patient Allah is with me, when He lets me off
Although I persist in my sin, and He covers me." [Arabic poetry]
My brothers and sisters! Do not look at how small your sin is, but
look at how great is the One Whom you are disobeying. My brothers and
sisters! Do not let Allah be the one whom you care the least about of
all those who are watching you.
Good news for you
Here I bring you good news from your Lord andHis Messenger (peace
andblessings of Allah be upon him). Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
"Say: "O 'Ibaadi (My slaves) who have transgressed against themselves
(by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of
Allah, verily, Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving,
Most Merciful"[al-Zumar 39:53]
And,
"And those who invoke not any other ilaah (god) along with Allah, nor
kill such person as Allah has forbidden, except for justcause, nor
commit illegal sexual intercourse and whoever does this shall receive
the punishment.
The torment will be doubled to him on the Day of Resurrection, and he
will abide therein in disgrace;
Except those who repent and believe (in Islamic Monotheism), and do
righteous deeds; for those, Allah will change their sins into good
deeds, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful"[al-Furqaan 25:68-70]
This is a great blessing and a great deal, for Allah will change your
sins into good deeds! Allah is Most Great. No one misses out on such a
great deal except one who is ignorant or who does not care about this
blessing.
So repent! my dear brothers and sisters, if you want this great deal,
Allah will change your sins into good deeds.
And listen to what your beloved Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) said to encourage people to repent:
"Allah is more delighted with the repentance of His slave than one of
you who suddenly finds his camel laden with supplies after losing it
in a barren land."(Agreed upon)
And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
"Allah says: "O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and put your
hope in Me, I will forgive you no matter what you have done, and I do
not mind. O son of Adam, if your sins were to reach up to the clouds
of the sky, then you were to ask Me for forgiveness, I will forgive
you and I do not mind."
And he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:"Allah says, "O
My slaves, you commit sins by night and by day, but I forgive all
sins. So ask Me for forgiveness and I will forgive you."
And he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:"Allah
stretches forth His hand by night to accept the repentance of those
who sinned during the day, and He stretches forth Hishand by day to
accept the repentance of those who sinned during the night. (This will
continue)until the sun rises from the west."
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saw
a woman looking for her young son among the prisoners of war. When she
found him, she embraced him and gave him her breast. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,"Do you think that she
could throw her child into the fire?"They said, "No." He said,"Allah
is more merciful towards His slaves than this woman istowards her
child."
Allah is Most Great! After knowing of this generosity, can we ignore
the matter of repentance? Can we delay repenting?O Allah, glory be to
You, how merciful You are. Glory beto You, how kind You are.Glory be
to You, how generous You are.
"When my heart grew hard and I did not know where to turn,
I made the hope of Your forgiveness my way out.
I thought that my sin was so great, but when I compared it
To Your forgiveness, my Lord, Your forgiveness was greater.
You never cease to forgive sin, and You never cease
To be generous, out of Your bounty and kindness." [Arabic poetry]
Be frank with yourself
What is keeping you from repenting and following the path of
righteousness? I can imagine you saying, "My family, community and
friends. I am afraid of repenting then going back to my sin. My sins
are so many, how can I be forgiven? I am worried about my family and
my wealth." I say to you: Do you think that you will say that to your
Lord on the Day when you meet Him? No, by Allah! These are imaginary
obstacles which can only be overcome by one who fears his Lord.
"If the soul had great ambitions,
The body would be exhausted by trying to fulfil the desires of the
soul." [Arabic poetry]
Be proud of your religion, and sincerely resolve to do good and to
continue doing so, putting your trust in Allah. And remember the mercy
of your Lord and the vast extent of His forgiveness.
My brother, if the Angel of Death were to come toyou at this moment,
would you be content to meet your Lord in this state? My brother,
please do not run away from yourself or try to avoid checking on
yourself. If you do not check on yourself today, then in your grave
you will regret it, at the time when regret will be of noavail.
A new beginning
Know that repentance is not limited only to this month it may take
place during this or any other month. But why should your new
beginning not take place in the month of goodness and blessing? A man
may be born twice, on the day when he emerges from the darkness of his
mother's womb into the light of this world, and on the day when he
emerges from the darkness of sin into the light of obedience. So be
like this.
I advise you, my friend, to catch up with good people who will benefit
you even after you die byAllah's Leave by making du'aa for you. Catch
up with them and keep company with them wherever they come and go; be
patient with them until you meet your Lord,then it may be said to you
and to them:
"Salaamun 'Alaykum (peace be upon you) for you persevered in patience!
Excellent indeed is the final home!"[al-Ra'ad 13:24 interpretation of
the meaning]
A story and an attitude
There was a man who was with the righteous, then he left them and
started to fall short in his religious commitments. One day he was
going ona trip, and his car overturned on the road. He was
resuscitated, thenhe died.
The sad news came. We prayed over him, and he was taken and placed in
his grave. His grave was filled with bricks and earth, and he would
never come back. Tears flowed and hearts were filled with grief. One
of the righteous people, I think he was righteous, but Allah knows
best and I do not praise anyone before Allah, who was one of his
former friends,sat by his grave with his head bowed, making du'aa for
him.
Thus I knew what kind offriends could benefit a man after his death.
My brother, beware lest you become one of thoseof whom Allah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"And (remember) the Daywhen the Dhaalim (wrongdoer, oppressor,
polytheist) will bite at hishands, he will say:
"Oh! Would that I had taken a path with the Messenger (Muhammad).
"Ah! Woe to me! Would that I had never taken so and so as a Khaleel
(an intimate friend)!
He indeed led me astray from the Reminder (this Qur'aan) after it had
come to me."
And Shaytaan (Satan) is to man ever a deserter in the hour of need"
[al-Furqaan 25:27-29]
Before the door is closed
My dear brother, before the door is closed, decidefrom now, and do not
delay, the path that you want to follow, which will be your path in
this world and in the Hereafter.
What great joy and happiness is to be found when a person comes back
to his Lord, regretting (his sin) and joining the caravan of the
righteous. By Allah it is joy which no one tastesexcept those who
experience this.
My brother in Allah, if youhave resolved to repent and turn back to
your Lord, then know that there are conditions which must be met
whenrepenting:
1- Regret for what is past.
2- Giving up the sin.
3- Resolving not to go back to it. But if you do itagain, then repent
to Allah again but your resolve must be genuine.
4- The repentance must come before the death-rattle reaches the throat
and before the sun rises in the west.
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