09-28-2004, 01:38 AM
Istighfar & Tawbah
In the Name of Almighty Allah
Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
Assalamualaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu
"Material good is nothing compared to the Spiritual.
In the Aghirah (Hereafter) no plea "that others misled"
will avail. Each soul must answer for itself. Whether it
honoured Allah Alone or worshipped something else,
And whether it received or rejected the Teachers sent
by Allah. The Wisdom and Plan of Allah are beyond all
praise: And Mercy and Truth proceed from Him, and
there is no other-none-besides Him."
[synopsis of Surah Al Qasas Verses 61-75],
Wa Ba'd:
According to Imam Ibn ul Qayyim al Jawziyyah, scholars interpret the word
Tawbah (repentance) to mean all of the following:
(i) immediate renunciation of the sin,
(ii) firm intention and determination not to return to the sin ever again,
(iii) regret over having committed a sin, and, if the sin was against the rights
of another human being, then one must also,
(iv) compensate for it.
These are known to be the conditions of Tawbah, or repentance. However, in the words of Almighty Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala and His Beloved Nabee Sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, Tawbah has a wider meaning, and includes not only the aforementioned conditions, but also generally carrying out all the commandments of Almighty Allah Rabbul Ala'meen with persistence. Tawbah also requires disliking and renouncing those people who refuse to repent, encouraging them to repent and advising them against ignoring the practice of repentance. So repentance is the opposite of committing sins in every way, and, in its general sense, does not consist merely of renouncing the sin and regret over it. The word Tawbah is like the word Taqwa, in the sense that the latter is used sometimes in a specific sense where it means, "immediately stopping from disobeying Almighty Allah or carrying out an obligation."
However, the actual meaning of Taqwa is more general: "taking all that Almighty Allah Most Exalted has given us of wealth, children, security and pleasure and all else as a means to protect ourselves from what we dislike or fear in our journey to Him." For this journey is full of pitfalls and replete with the enemies of our soul beginning with our own baser selves that incite us towards evil and unrestrained desires and ensnare us in the traps of Shaytaan whose mission it to prevent us from this journey to our Most Exalted Creator and Sustainer and make us return to baseness and ruin. The essence of Tawbah is to return to Almighty Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala and to adhere to what He loves and renounce that which He dislikes. Tawbah is a journey from the disliked to the liked.
Istighfaar and Tawbah
Istighfar, meaning seeking forgiveness, is mentioned in the Most Glorious Qur'an in two ways: either by itself or coupled with Tawbah (repentance). The single mention of Istighfar (without the mention of Tawbah) finds an example in the saying of Nabee Nuh Alayhis Salam in verse 10 of Surah (71) Nuh:
"Seek forgiveness of your Lord, you all, (for) He is
Oft-Forgiving: He sends the heavens over you raining;"
And in the saying of Nabee Saleh Alayhis Salaam
to his people in verse 46 of Surah (27) Al-Naml:
"If only you ask Allah for forgiveness, you may hope to receive mercy."
Almighty Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala Most Exalted
also informs us in verse 199 of Surah (2) Al-Baqara:
"And ask for Allah's forgiveness. For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
And in verse 33 of Surah (8) Al-Anfal we are told:
"But Allah was not going to send them a penalty whilst you [O Muhammad] were
amongst them; nor was He going to send it whilst they were asking for forgiveness."
The mention of Istighfar coupled with Tawbah appears in the following verses of the Most
Glorious Qur'an: Allow me therefore to proceed by quoting verse 3 of Surah (11) Hud
"(And to preach thus), Seek you the forgiveness of your Lord,
And turn to Him in repentance; That He may grant you
enjoyment, good (and true), For a term appointed, And
bestow His abounding Grace on all who abound in merit!
But if you turn away, then I fear for you the Penalty of
a Great Day."
The enjoyment of all good and true things in life refers to, , to the present life with its limited term, and the abounding Grace refers to the higher spiritual reward, which begins here but is completed in the life to come. We now go to Verse 52 of Surah (11) Hud:
"And, O my people! Ask forgiveness of your Lord (Istighfar),
and turn to Him (Tawbah) in repentance; He will send you the
skies pouring abundant rain, and add strength to your strength:
And do not turn in sin."
The beautiful metaphor about the skies coming down with rain has been obscured unnecessarily in most translations. The country of the 'Ad was an arid country, and rain was they greatest blessing they could receive. We can imagine this being said in a time of famine, when the people performed all sorts of superstitious rites and invocations instead of turning to Almighty Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala in faith and repentance. Further, when we remember that there were, in this tract in ancient times, dams like that at Ma'rib, for the storage of rain water, the effect is still further heightened in pointing to Almighty Allah's care and mercy in His dealing with men.
Adding strength to strength may refer to an increase of population, as some Commentators think. While other parts of Arabia were sparsely populated, the irrigated lands of the 'Ad supported a comparatively dense population and added to their natural strength in the arts of peace and war. But the term used is perfectly general. They were a powerful people in their time. If they obeyed Almighty Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala and followed the law of righteousness, they would be still more powerful, for "righteousness exalteth a nation." Almighty Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala then tells us in verse 61 of Surah (11) Hud that He sent one of their own brethren - Hazrat Saleh Alayhis Salaam to the people of Thamud: Hazrat Saleh Alayhis Salaam said to his people:
"O my people! Worship Allah: you have no other god but Him.
It is Allah Who had produced you from the earth and settled you
therein: Ask (Istighfar) forgiveness of Him, and turn to Him in
(Tawbah) repentance: for my Lord is (always) near, ready to answer."
Istaghfar: not just to cover up, but total removal of sins. Therefore, Istighfar (seeking forgiveness) singly is similar to Tawbah (repentance); rather, it is indeed repentance. Seeking forgiveness, moreover, fully removes the sin, undoes its effects and prevents its evil, and not merely hides the sins as some people have conjectured. For Almighty Allah Rabbul Ala'meen in His Infinite Mercy and Bounty may cover and hide the sins of those who seek forgiveness and even of those who do not; but Istighfar is more than just a cover. As to his body, man has been produced from earth or clay, and his settlement on earth is a fact of his material existence. We must therefore conform to all the laws of our physical being, in order that through our life on this earth we may develop that higher Life which belongs to the other part of our being, our spiritual heritage. Through the use we make of our health, of our tilth, of our pastures, of material facts of all kinds, will Insha'Allah develop our moral and spiritual nature.
The essence of Istighfar (seeking forgiveness) is that it earns one the prevention from the evil of the sin. Its literal meaning is related to that of Al-mighfar, "what saves and covers the head from discomfort or harm (from sun, sand, rain, etc.)" and covering is necessary to this meaning, but not sufficient: for other coverings of the head like 'Emamah or Qubba' are not called Mighfar. We conclude that something cannot be called a Mighfar unless it provides more than covering: it must also save and protect . It is in this meaning that Istighfar saves one from the punishment as declared in verse 33 of Surah (8) Al-Anfal:
"And Allah was not going to send His punishment
whilst they were asking for forgiveness."
Of course, if one insists on sinning and demands from Almighty Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala forgiveness (without fulfilling its conditions), then this is not a true Istighfar, and it does not prevent the punishment. Istighfar (seeking Almighty Allah's forgiveness) includes Tawbah (repenting), and Tawbah includes Istighfar. Each one is implied by the other in its entirety. This comprehensiveness of the meanings of Istighfar includes its meaning of asking and begging for forgiveness as a shield or cover: cover from our human shortcomings and faults that are harmful and destructive. And the greatest and most harmful of all human shortcomings are our ignorance (of one's faults) and transgression. By virtue of this ignorance and transgression, the enemy drags a human being into what utterly destroys him or her. The shield against these two errors is to be aware of one's faults and be keen to bring out in one's character the God-given virtues of knowledge, justice and righteousness. The more a person ignores his or her human nobility bestowed upon him or her by Almighty Allah Rabbul Ala'meen when Allah breathed into him and her His spirit (Rooh), the more he or she lowers himself or herself to the animalistic ground, and the most his and her ignorance and transgression are fuelled.
My beloved brothers and sisters - when the two words Tawbah and Istighfar are used together, [istighfar is always followed by Tawbah], then the first one [istighfar] means asking for safety from the evil and harm of what has occurred, and the second one [Tawbah] means returning to Almighty Allah Most Exalted and Merciful and begging for safety from the evil of what one fears in future. So here we are concerned with two things: one is the sin that has already committed, and Istighfar (in its specific sense) is to seek protection from its evil effects; and the other is the repetition of the same sin in future, which we fear, and Tawbah is the determination not to ever commit the sin ever again. A complete return to Almighty Allah Jallah Wa'ala [Rujoo] includes and necessitates both of these: Istighfar as well as Tawbah. When used in a couple, both aspects of this return to Almighty Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala are emphasized individually, whereas, when used alone, either one of these two words implies the other.
O Almighty Allah! You are Most Exalted and Merciful: Through Your Infinite Mercy and Bounty, awaken the Muslim Ummah and grant them honour, dignity and liberty from the yoke of imperialist arrogance and hatred. Grant them victory in the fight with the enemies of Your Din. Keep the hearts of this Ummah ever lit with the Light of Islam and the Most Glorious and Noble Qur'an. Shower Your Mercy and Muhabbat upon them. We make Istighfar and we beg for Tawbah at the door of Your Mercy. O Allah! Shower Your everlasting peace and Blessings upon that righteous and elect Servant of Yours - Nabee Muhammad al-Mustapha - Rahmatul Liel Ala'meen; Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam for every movement that takes place throughout the world for the sake of establishing Your Sovereignty, Your Glory, and Your Glorious Din of Haqq. Ameen - Ya Rabbul Ala'meen.
And Almighty Allah knows best.
Was Salamualaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu.
Baarak Allaahu Feekum wa sal-Allaahu wa-sallam
'alaaNabiyyina Muhammad Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam.
Abdul Hamid