Repentance and Seeking Forgiveness

Allah (‫ )سبحانه وتعالى‬mentions in the Holy Qur'an, Say: "O my Servants who have transgressed
against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah. for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-
Forgiving, Most Merciful. - (Holy Qur'an 39:53)

Allah (‫ )سبحانه وتعالى‬mentions in the Holy Qur'an, "and oh believers all of you beg Allah for
forgiveness so that you may be successful." - (Holy Qur'an 24:31)

Allah (‫ )سبحانه وتعالى‬mentions in the Holy Qur'an, "O you who believe, turn to Allah with a
faithful repentance..." - (Holy Qur'an 66:8)

Hadhrat Abu Hurayrah (‫ )رضي ا عنه‬has narrated that the Holy Prophet ( ) said: By Allah verily
I ask Allah for forgiveness and repent to Him more than seventy times a day. - (Bukhari)

Hadhrat Umar bin Al Khattaab (‫ )رضي ا عنه‬has narrated that the Holy Prophet ( ) said: Verily
Allah the Almighty will accept the repentance of his servants right until the last moments of his
death - (Tirmidhi)

Hadhrat Abu Musa Ash'ari (‫ )رضي ا عنه‬has narrated that the Holy Prophet ( ) said: verily Allah
the Almighty spreads open His arms of forgiveness every morning so the one who disobeyed Him
during the day can repent to Him, and spreads open His arms of forgiveness throughout the night so
the one who disobeyed Him in the day can seek His forgiveness and repent to Him and this will
continue untill the day the sun rises from the west. - (Muslim)

Hadhrat Abu Hurayrah (‫ )رضي ا عنه‬has narrated that the Holy Prophet ( ) said: The one who
repents prior to the rising of the sun from the west Allah will accept his forgiveness. - (Muslim)

Hadhrat Anas bin Malik (‫ )رضي ا عنه‬has narrated that the Holy Prophet ( ) said: Allah becomes
even more happier when you repent to him than the happiness of one of you who is in a barren land
and he has all his belongings on a conveyance and he loses it, he becomes despondent at finding it
and waits for death to overcome him, to his utter amazement he finds it in front of him, due to
excessive happiness and joy as a result of finding his conveyance with all his belongings, as a slip
of the tongue he utters Oh Allah, I'm your Lord and You are my servant, one can imagine how
happy he must be, Allah (‫ )سبحانه وتعالى‬when the lost servant finds his direction and repents to
Allah (‫)سبحانه وتعالى‬, Allah becomes even more Happier. - (Bukhari, Muslim)

Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri (‫)رضي ا عنه‬, has narrated that the Holy Prophet ( ) said: In the times
before you there was a man who commited ninety nine murders, he asked for the most learned on
the earth and was directed to a monk. He told the monk that he had killed ninety nine people and
was looking for a path to repentance and if there was any chance for his repentance to be accepted.
The monk replied in the negative and the man killed him making it one hundred murders. He again
asked for the most learned on the earth and was directed to a scholar. He told the scholar that he has
commited one hundred murders and was looking for a path to repentance and whether there was any
chance of his repentance to be accepted. He replied in the affirmative and asked who stands
between you and repentance? Go to such and such a land and there you will find people devoted to
prayer and the worship of Allah. Join them in worship and do not come back to your land because it
is an evil place. He left straight away and upon reaching halfway death overtook him; there was a
dispute between the angels of mercy and the angels of torment. The angels of mercy pleaded that
this man has come with a repenting heart to Allah. The angels of torment replied, he never did a
virtuous deed in his life and he has commited one hundred murders. Allah sent an angel in the form
of a human being and the contending angels agreed to make him arbitrator between them. He said,
measure the distance between him and the two lands and he will be considered belonging to the
land to which he will be closer towards. Allah commanded the land which he left to move away and
distance itself from him and the land to which he was going to come closer to him and narrow up on
him. They measured and found that the land to which he was intending to go was closer by a cubits
length. In one narration it is mentioned that Allah ordered his body to move slightly from the chest.
It was thus concluded that the angels of mercy may collect his soul. - (Bukhari, Muslim)

Allah (‫ )سبحانه وتعالى‬mentions in the Holy Qur'an, "If any one does evil or wrongs his own soul
but afterwards seeks Allah's forgiveness, he will find Allah Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful." - (Qur'an
4:110)

No sin is too big when it comes to repentance and no sin is regarded small when it is done with
consistency.

In light of the above virtues I would encourage all brothers and sister to make part of their daily
routine to recite at least 1000 times every morning and evening ASTAGHFIRULLAH. This will be
a means of forgiveness for the sins that we commit daily inshaAllah.

Shaykh Muhammad Ashraf Hansrot

An Excerpt from a Jumma Lecture Delivered at the Thornton Heath Musjid & Islamic Centre