Sincere Repentance

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ

Prophet Muhammad (pboh) is reported to have said “Whoever says: La ilaha illa Allah (there is no god but Allah) will enter Paradise”.

 

We need to understand that this is the ‘passport’ for entry into Paradise.  We need to also understand that going to paradise is one thing; but when will we actually enter paradise is another matter.  There would be some who would have to go through the Hell fire before they enter Paradise.  Because of their deeds and actions they will have to go to hell first and then through Allah’s Mercy, He will take them out and enter them into Paradise.  However they will be referred to as the Dwellers of Hell.

 

We don’t want to go to hell, no matter how short the stay.  As a result Allah tells us in many places in the Holy Qur’an that we should constantly beg Him for forgiveness.  For example Allah says in Surah Tahriim;

 

O ye who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere repentance: In the hope that your Lord will remove from you your ills and admit you to Gardens beneath which rivers flow, - the Day that Allah will not permit to be humiliated the Prophet and those who believe with Him. Their light will run forward before them and by their right hands, while they say, "Our Lord! Perfect our light for us, and grant us forgiveness: for Thou hast power over all things”.  (66:8)

 

Allah is addressing the believers in the ayat.  Allah also tells us in another ayat ‘if Allah were to punish men for their wrong-doing, He would not leave, on the (earth), a single living creature’.

 

No matter how much we try at the end of the day we are all humans and we may still commit mistakes knowingly or unknowingly.  And no matter how much faith we may have today we all have past records and it maynot be as we would want it to be.  As result Allah advises us to constantly repent.

 

Repentance is not just a mechanical exercise or lip service as some say.  It demands sincerity.  Sincerity means that I am truly sorry for the wrong I would have committed and for soiling my soul with black spots.  And if you repent sincerely Allah says in the ayat mentioned above; in the hope that your Lord will remove from you your ills and admit you to Gardens beneath which rivers flow.

 

Even if you did something wrong don’t let it hinder you from humbling yourself and begging Allah to forgive you.  It’s very easy to make a mistake and Satan has real capacity and power and knows our weak spots and how to work on them.  However one simple thing can nullify all his power and this it ‘I seek refuge in Allah’.

 

Don’t think for example that you can recite plenty Darood or give lots of charity to balance off your wrong deeds.  Try your best to stay away from evil in totality.  We can’t foster good and evil in our hearts at one and the same time.  Keep struggling and working on your nafs and Allah says that He will make our light bright and shinning. 

 

What we do here every Thursday is to firstly seek repentance for our shortcomings and to also strengthen the other dimension of our personality which is to culture our qalb to resonate Allahu.  If you have Allah in your heart, Satan cannot divert you.  It’s a barrier between you and him.  He is always looking to catch you and will use every method possible as Allah has given him permission.

 

The only thing that will pull us through is belief in our Lord.  Today sadly we are seeing that for some people life has no value.  Keep in mind however that those on the straight path, Allah will help and protect them insha Allah.

 

Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said ‘seek forgiveness and repent more than 70 times a day’.  And He is the Messenger of Allah; therefore if he did it we should try our best to do the same.  And we should always pray for those who have gone before us.  Be generous in this matter and you would have done a service to not only your beloved ones but also ourselves as Allah is Most Merciful and would bless us in the process.

 

We need to always be mindful that life is an onward journey and part of our mission is to send goodness before us.  Begin from now and remove any black sports we’ve stained our souls with by sincerely repenting to our Most Compassionate Lord.

 

May Allah enable us with the capacity to always repent to him daily and may He guide us and protect us from the ills facing society insha Allah.

 

The video presentation of this discourse can be accessed at http://www.youtube.com/markazalihsaan