The Repentance Master

The Repentance Master

Dr. Bilal Philips

Opening

(بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ - bismillahir-rahmanir-rahim)

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ، نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ

Indeed, all praise is due to Allah. And as such, we should praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness.

وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورٍ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا

And we should seek refuge in Allah from the evil which is within ourselves and the evil which results from our deeds.

مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ، وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ

Whoever Allah has guided, none can misguide. And whoever Allah has allowed to go astray, none can guide.

وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ

And I bear witness that there is no God worthy of worship but Allah, who is without any partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and messenger.

Introduction: Salvation Through Repentance

In the previous episode, we looked at the concept of salvation through repentance, and pointed out that that is the main route by which we can attain salvation.

Repentance is the main route. All of the other artificial systems—by believing in the death of God, who came supposedly as a man to die for human sins—we said that is useless, it's misguidance. Secondly, we said no other human being can act as a confessor of our sins, that we confess to him our sins and he says you're forgiven, and what we've done is gone.

And then, we talked about the principles governing forgiveness, seeking forgiveness from Allah. We said first and foremost, a person should have a sense of sorrow, a sense of wrong having been done. One feels remorse for what one has done.

Secondly, one has to stop doing whatever sin that one seeks repentance for. And thirdly, one must make the intention not to repeat that sin in the future. Then one embarks on repentance by doing whatever actions we can do to fulfill the requirements of repentance, like returning people's property, if the sin that we did involved taking people's property, or it may be some form of atonement for the sin.

Where Allah prescribes, for example, for one to have sexual relations with one's wife during Ramadan, when one is supposed to be fasting, this is a sin. Those sexual relations with one's wife is perfectly halal, perfectly permissible. During the time of fasting, the obligatory fast, one is not supposed to. So if one commits that sin, then part of getting forgiveness is to fast two consecutive months.

Two consecutive months to make up for that sin. If one is unable, one feeds poor people, etc. So there may be acts that need to be done for that repentance to be acceptable.

Sayyid al-Istighfar: The Master of Repentance

Otherwise, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave us a formula, gave us a supplication, a way to turn to God, seeking His forgiveness. And he gave in it a promise that one who does it sincerely—so if one dies in the morning, having said these words of repentance, or dies in the night after having said it in the evening—then one would be among the people of Paradise. Meaning that they would be forgiven their sins sufficiently to get them into Paradise.

And we began to look at that prayer, or that dua. It began:

اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّي، لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6306)

"O Allah, You are my Lord, and there is no God except You."

And we discussed the implications of those first few words. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) told us to then say:

خَلَقْتَنِي وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ

"You created me and I am Your slave."

When we say that You created me, we are accepting that our whole affairs are in God's hands. I'm not, as an individual, in charge of my affairs. You created me, O Allah, and I am Your slave. Meaning, whether I like it or not, I am Your slave.

I might rebel, as people do. And sin is rebellion against God's command. It's rebellion against God's instructions.

But primarily, a person now seeking repentance, turns back to Allah, admits that it is You, O Allah, who created me. I am nothing. I didn't create myself. I don't have control over my affairs. I am fundamentally Your slave. I may not be on a spiritual level. I may be rebelling spiritually. But in these words of repentance, I'm trying to bring myself back into order. Bring my spirit in line with my body.

Because my body is a slave. When I jump up, I fall down. I don't control gravity. I can't. My body is subject to the laws of nature. My heart beats without my telling it to. My stomach digests food without my asking it to, etc.

On Your Promise and Covenant

وَأَنَا عَلَى عَهْدِكَ وَوَعْدِكَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُ

"And I am on Your promise and Your covenant as much as I am able."

There's a promise and a covenant, which I've made. The Ahad, which is originally, this is the oath, which I've made to you, is the oath to obey you. As Allah informed us, when He created the descendants of Adam, at the same time that He created Adam, He created them in the spiritual form. He told them, or He asked them, He questioned them:

أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ

(Quran 7:172)

"Am I not your Lord?" This is in the 7th chapter of the Quran.

Am I not your Lord? And all human beings replied, "Yes, you are." So all human beings made a commitment in that stage of their creation to accept Allah as their Lord. We're all born into this world with that level of consciousness. The oath that we made to God.

And that's why the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1385 and Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2658)

"Every human being is born in a natural state of belief in God."

Then we said:

وَوَعْدِكَ

"And your promise."

I'm relying on your promise. What is Allah's promise? Allah's promise is that, if we worship Him alone, we obey His commands, He will give us paradise. That is His promise. That is our right on Allah.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said that. His right on us is that we worship Him. And our right on Him is that if we worship Him, submitting to Him sincerely, He would give us paradise.

Seeking Refuge from the Evil We Have Done

أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا صَنَعْتُ

"I seek refuge in You from the evil of what I have done."

So here, Allah informs us through His messenger, that we should seek refuge in Allah from the evil which we have committed, because only He can give us refuge from that evil.

The last two chapters of the Quran were designed for people to seek refuge in Allah. In particular, the second last:

قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ (۱) مِنْ شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ

(Quran 113:1-2)

Allah tells us to say: "I seek refuge in the Lord of the dawn from the evil of what He created."

مِنْ شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ

"From the evil of what You created."

Because only Allah can give us refuge from it. It is by His permission that it takes place, it happens, and only He can provide refuge. We don't seek refuge in other than Allah. We don't seek refuge in charms or amulets or other human beings. Refuge belongs only to Allah.

With that, we'll take a short break here and we'll resume after the break.

After the Break

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ

All praise is due to Allah and may Allah's peace and blessings be on the last messenger of Allah. I'd like to welcome you back to our program, The Repentance Master.

We were discussing prior to the break the issue of seeking refuge in Allah from the evil of what we have done. Because whatever evil we do, that is a sin in and of itself. But it has consequences beyond the act that we do.

So we seek refuge in Allah not only from the act, the individual sinful act that we've done, but also the evil consequences which may build up from that act. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) had said: "Whoever begins an evil way, he introduces a new evil. People weren't familiar with it. He has introduced it. He carries the sin of introducing that evil way as well as the sin of all who follow that way till the end of this world."

So the sin builds up, becomes huge, becomes massive. This is why when we talk about punishments in the life to come, for what seems to be small acts, now reality that the small acts that we consider to be small acts may have huge repercussions over the generations, in the times to come. So we seek refuge.

Acknowledging Allah's Blessings

أَبُوءُ لَكَ بِنِعْمَتِكَ عَلَيَّ وَأَبُوءُ بِذَنْبِي

"I acknowledge Your favor upon me and I acknowledge my sin."

Then we ask Allah to accept our declaration, our recognition that He has been merciful to us. That He has blessed us in many ways. Which in reality should have stopped us from committing this sin.

So on one hand we seek refuge in Allah from the evil consequence of the sin. But we also recognize that really we shouldn't have sinned. That there is really no justification for that sin.

With all the blessings that Allah has put in each and every individual's life, there is no reason why he or she should sin. We should instead be thankful as we are taught to pray:

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

(Quran 1:2)

"All thanks, all praises are due to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds."

That's how we are taught to pray. Give thanks to God. Because there is so much in our lives that we should be thankful for.

What happens is that people tend to forget these various blessings. And instead they start to look at other people and their lives and what they have in their lives. And of course the media tries to pump up our desires for more, another life, a so-called happy life.

So we become dissatisfied with what we have. And in each individual's life there is a lot. Everybody has a lot given to them in their lives. But for one reason or another, we become deluded and we think or imagine that really we have nothing.

So Satan then puts in our ear, why don't you take it? Take for yourself. Life is short, you may as well enjoy. So you commit an evil act in order to gain for yourself some pleasure which is not your right. Every one of those sins involves a level of pleasure. And there is pleasure which is permissible.

There is pleasure which Allah has created in things for us. Where we stay in what is permissible, that pleasure is legitimate. But when we go beyond the bounds, when we break the law, the law of God, then we derive for ourselves illegitimate pleasure.

So in recognizing—in recognizing, oh Allah, the mercies and blessings you have put in my life—I remove from myself any sense of justification for my own sin. And I admit my sin. I admit, I am responsible for it.

I'm not blaming anybody. I'm not saying so and so made me do it, or the devil made me do it, or... I knew what I was doing. It was my choice.

So I admit it. I don't deny it. And of course this is essential for people to change.

One has to admit one's error. That's the foundation of change. If one can't admit one's error, one can't accept that each individual is responsible for his or her sins. If we are blaming others for it, then we can't change.

So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) told us here to admit. Admit before God our sins. Take responsibility, full responsibility for our sins.

None Forgives Sins Except Allah

فَاغْفِرْ لِي فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6306)

"So forgive me. So forgive me. For indeed, none forgives sins except You."

We ask Allah's forgiveness. Here, it's directed only to Allah, not to anybody else.

Although, as we said earlier, if we have committed a sin against any human being, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) told us: "If you have committed a sin against your brother, any other fellow human being, Muslim or non-Muslim, then ask their forgiveness. Tell them, correct yourself. Get them to forgive you here in this life, so that you don't suffer in the next life."

Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) had said on one occasion to his companions: "Do you know who is the truly bankrupt person?" And they said, the one who has no money. No dirhams or dinars.

He said, no. That's not the truly bankrupt individual. The truly bankrupt individual is one who comes before Allah with all his good deeds. But, he slandered this one. He struck that one. He stole the wealth of this one. He humiliated that one.

He committed so much harm against other human beings, that those people are lined up, taking their rights from him. What do they do? They take from his good deeds. Add it to their scale, to make up for the sins which he committed against them.

And they keep coming, one after the other. Taking away from his good deeds, until his scale of good deeds becomes empty. But they're still coming. So what then? No more good deeds to be taken. So those people who come after that point, they take from their scale of evil deeds, and put it on his scale, along with his own evil deeds.

And those pile up, until he's just washed away by them into hell. This is the consequence. That is the person, who in the end, is truly bankrupt. He comes thinking he has all his good deeds, but he ends up with none. In fact, his evil deeds have become multiplied, and his good deeds erased. That's the truly bankrupt person.

So, one should seek forgiveness and correct whatever errors one has committed against other human beings, their fellow human beings. Then, ask Allah's forgiveness, because none can forgive besides Him.

His forgiveness ultimately can protect that individual, even if he didn't fulfill the requirements of correcting himself with regards to other human beings. If he failed here. However, he did turn to Allah, sincerely in repentance. Allah's forgiveness could ultimately make up for his lack of seeking the forgiveness of other human beings.

Because ultimately, Allah's forgiveness overrides all. And Allah's forgiveness is so great, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If a person comes before Allah with an ocean of sins, with the sins like the bubbles that collect on top of the ocean, Allah can forgive him."

And this is the divine law. Allah can forgive all sins, if a person dies in that state, even without asking Allah's forgiveness, except for shirk. Seeking forgiveness from Allah, sincerely, then erases all automatically.

The Promise of Sayyid al-Istighfar

So, his dua, as we said in the very beginning, Sayyid al-Istighfar, the repentance master, is one which can protect one from the evil consequences of sin, if recited or if said sincerely, in the morning and in the evening.

As the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "One who dies after having said it in the morning sincerely, or dies in the evening after having said it in the afternoon, the evening, sincerely, then they will be forgiven their sins and put in paradise at the end of this world."

Summary: The Path to Salvation

So, in summing up, salvation lies in the hands of each and every one of us. We turn to Allah, we should turn to

Allah, for forgiveness, asking his forgiveness.

But for that forgiveness to function, to be of benefit, then we should do so sincerely. There should be a sense of remorse for our sin, we should stop doing what we were doing, and should make the intention not to do it again in the future.

And there are righteous acts that we can do prayers, our daily obligatory prayers, wipes out sin. Umrah, going to Umrah, minor pilgrimage to Mecca, Hajj, the major pilgrimage, all of this erases sin.

And in the midst of it all, we turn back to Allah, recognize our sins, and ask his forgiveness.

أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ

"I ask Allah's forgiveness."

We should say that, as Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, he used to do that more than a hundred times every day. I ask your forgiveness, O Allah.

And use this prayer, the repentance master.

Closing

With that, dear viewers, I would like to thank you for being with us in this episode of the program, The Repentance Master.

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

End of Khutbah