Forgiveness

FORGIVENESS

The human personality comprises the body and the soul. The soul is pure and is made from light. The light use by Allah to make the soul is special and is not a part of what He used to create the universe. He gave a Command and the soul came into existence.

As regards the body, it was created from clay. It is physical in nature and composition; it has physical desires like to feel hungry. It has the capacity to do good or evil, i.e. to do what is permissible or to do what is not permissible. The physical desire is called nafs. It wants that its physical needs be satisfied. It is not concern whether the satisfaction is from permissible sources or non-permissible sources. As a result it can cause a person to commit sins.

About the working of the nafs Allah says:

• • • 
“The nafs is prone to do evil” (12:53).

Before man was sent on earth, Adam as a complete human being dwelt in the Garden of Eden. Allah wants every person to return and live in the Garden forever; as a result He has given man the recipe for correct and proper living in order that both the body and the soul shall be fit to return there.

A person is supposed to do what is permissible and avoid what is prohibited, as what is prohibited, when done will cause some spots to soil the soul. The spots on the soul can cause a person to be burnt in the hell fire.

Allah says:

         •     
Nay, but whosoever hath done evil and his sins surrounds him, such are rightful owners of the fire, they will abide therein (2:81).

Allah has prescribed a way of removing the dark spots from the soul; and that is through repentance. When a person commits a wrong, he should seek forgiveness from Allah for it as soon as he realizes that a mistake was committed. He should not put off doing so, otherwise it can cause him harm. Concerning seeking repentance Allah says:
     •        
Forgiveness is not for those who do ill deeds until when death approaches one of them he says, Lo, I repent now (4:18).

If a person does not repent and death should overtake him he will be punished for the sin he committed. In this connection Allah says:
     
Those who earn evil will have a reward of the like evil (10:27).


All through our lives we need to be constantly begging our Lord for forgiveness of those wrong things we may have done knowingly and unknowingly. We must do two (2) things;
1. Beg Allah for forgiveness as soon as we realize that we did a wrong thing. Allah says:

                     

Forgiveness is only incumbent on Allah towards those who do evil in ignorance and then turn quickly (in repentance) to Allah (upon realization that a sin was committed) (4:17)

When Adam realized that he sinned he begged Allah most sincerely.

When we pray to Allah to forgive us for our sins, we pray for forgiveness for the sins we commit knowingly and for those we commit unknowingly. For those we commit unknowingly it may not be too difficult for us as Allah knows that we do not have knowledge of all things, and as a result we can commit mistakes, for example, out of forgetfulness. Take for example, a fast is not broken if one eats out of forgetfulness.

However, when one knows that he is doing a wrong thing and continues to do so he will be required to pay the fine. In this connection Allah directs that punishment must be prescribed for such wrongs that were done with knowledge that what was being done was a wrong thing. Examples of these are:

Allah says:

    

A thief male or female should have their hands cut off (5:30).

If a person knowingly have marital relation with his wife while he is fasting he is required to keep sixty days fast or feed sixty poor people.

A person can save himself from being punished for a crime committed by seeking repentance and making amends. Take for example, if a person is found guilty for a crime but honestly repents and seeks forgiveness, he/she can be forgiven. In this connection Allah says:
           •    
Whoever repents after committing a crime, and amends his conduct, Allah turns to him in forgiveness, for Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful. (5:39)

Prophet Muhammad (pboh) is reported to have said:

Allah the Most Exalted said: O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with a world full of sins and meet Me without making anything a partner to Me, I would come to you with a similar amount of forgiveness (Tirmidhi).

One way of ensuring that one's burden can be light on the Day of Judgment is to do as much good as possible in this life, as good deeds remove from our records some of our sins. Allah says:
 •   
Verily, goods deeds annul evil deeds (4:14).

Brothers and sisters, because death can come upon us at any time we must not delay in asking for forgiveness and making amends for the mistakes we may have committed. In this connection Allah says:
      •     
Hasten to ask for forgiveness from your Lord, and a Garden whose width is that of the skies and the earth, prepared for the righteous. (3:133)

May Allah forgive us for our sins and may He join us with the righteous in the Garden of Paradise.

Eid Sermon--2009

EID UL FITR 2009-09-13
Sermon

Allah says in the Holy Qur'an

Verily, Allah loves those who turn to Him constantly, and He loves those who keep themselves pure and clean. (2:222)

A true Muslim is a special person as he is enjoined upon to purify his body mind and soul.

Regarding the purity of the body, Allah has directed us to observe the following

• We are ordered to keep our garments clean. Allah says: Keep your clothes clean. (74:4)
• At the time of prayer a Muslim has to make ablution or even take a bath if it is necessary. Allah says: O you who believe, when you prepare for prayer, wash your faces and your hands to the elbows, pass your wet hands over your heads and wash your feet up to the ankles. And if you are in a state of ceremonial impurity, bathe your whole body. (5:6)
• Allah wants that what we consume as food and drink should be pure and clean. He says: They will ask you what is lawful to them (for food); say: Lawful unto you are all good and pure things.

Because Allah loves cleanliness, He has directed the believers to observe certain etiquette when dealing with His House and Book. He says: This is indeed an honourable Qur'an in a Book well guarded, which none shall touch except those who are clean. (56:77-79)

He wants only the pure to enter His House. He says:

O you who believe, Verily, the idol-worshippers are unclean, so do not let them enter the Sacred House after this year. (9:28)

A True Believer must take care of his internal purity just as he has to observe the prescribed acts of external purity. Islam puts great emphasis on the cleanliness of the mind and the soul just as it places on the cleanliness of the body. For example, Allah says:

Allah wants believers to have a pure heart. He says:

Truly, he will prosper that brings to Allah a pure heart (26:89)

He also wants us to have pure and clean desires. He says:

Truly, he succeeds who purifies it, and he fails who corrupts it. (91:9-10)

Allah wants us to have a heart that is free from stains. He says:

By no means, but on their hearts is the stain of the (ill) which they do. (83:14)

While the body is physical and the acts of cleanliness are physical the mind and the soul require such attention that will have positive impacts on them, and the believer is required to avoid the things that can add impurities to them. Allah calls them by different names in the Holy Qur'an, e.g. rijsun (disease), najasun (impurities), ra'nun (spots), etc.

It can be difficult at times to avoid committing mistakes especially when we are dealing with society. Sometimes we may get involved in back-biting, cursing, abusing, etc.

But Allah in His Wisdom has been very kind to the Believers as He has prescribed an Institution which He made one of the Foundation principles of Islam, and that is Fasting.

Fasting helps us to control ourselves, internally and externally, thereby helping us to purify ourselves in all the different dimensions of life. It is perhaps because fasting is designed to benefit the Believer in every way that Allah says: If you fast it is better for you.

Today as we have assembled to celebrate Eid, take note that as a result of the benefits you have acquired during Ramadan through your efforts, you would have ascended a few rungs of the ladder on your way to your Lords.

He is the Lord of the Ascending Stairways (70:3)

Allah calls the way to return to Him the path that is steep. (90:11)

So that if you found at times, that fasting was a bit difficult, you will understand to climb is more difficult than to fall down.

We should resolve today that we are not going to spoil what we have gained through fasting, etc. in Ramadan, but we are going to continue to build on it as our Goal is to meet our Lord and greet Him and get the blessings and benefits He has prescribed for the Believers. Remember Allah says:

Whoever is desirous of meeting his Lord, let him work righteousness, and in the worship of his Lord, admit no one as a partner. (18:110)