Reminder: Tau'bah

Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah . Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful."
Qur'an, 39: 53

❤ السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته 

Masha'allah today for Jummah Fahad was asked to be the imam and do the kutbah. It was his first time ever. I am really proud and happy for him to have this blessing. I always told him that his personality and charismatic characteristics could be used strongly in Islam. He now seen what I meant and hopes to insha'allah in the future to gain the position as an imam.

Today I want to share with you all what Fahad chose and put together for his kutbah topic. He chose Tau'bah. I myself learned some things I didn't know and found this a beautiful subject to share. Repentance and forgiveness from Allah. Allah knows what's in our hearts and perhaps some of you don't know that our bad deeds can and will be forgiven. We should all be reminded of Allah's mercy and how blessed we are.

It is nature of mankind to be forgetful and to commit sins. However, Allah has given us the ability to rectify ourselves by turning to Him and begging for His forgiveness. Our mountains of evil are nothing before the vast ocean of Allah's mercy.

Abu Dhar RadiyaAllahu 'anhu reports that Rasulullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam in a Hadith Qudsi (a hadith in which the Blessed Prophet quotes Allah) said: "Indeed Allah the Almighty and Majestic says:
"O My slave! Verily, as long as you worship Me and have hope in Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done; O My Slave! If you meet Me with an earthful of sins, but do not associate any partner with Me, I would grant you a forgiveness as great as the whole world."

Committing sins may make you sorrowful, depressed and deeply disappointed with yourself. But if you turn to Allah with a sincere heart and beseech Him for mercy, He will certainly forgive you. There is no other door to knock at when looking to solve our issues. None can forgive sins except Him. He calls us to the abode of peace (Paradise); He is the Almighty who hides our faults and He alone can replace our bad deeds with good ones.

The door of repentance is always open. When something is a necessity Allah provides it in abundance like air and water. Since we are always sinful and negligent of Allah, Satan and ourselves are always inciting us towards evil. Tau'bah is provided in abundance so we can turn back to Allah.

Allah has created a solution to every sickness even if it may be the poison of a snake. Satan and sins are major sicknesses and the cure for them is in tau'bah and istighfar, crying in front of Allah with regret in the heart.

Whenever our tau'bah break we should make tau'bah again. Some people despair and think they are sinner and will go to Hellfire. Tau'bah is so powerful that it can take a person from the lowest levels of Hellfire and raise him to the highest levels of Paradise.

Allah (SWT), the Lord of Mercy, puts mercy in the hearts of every mother in the world by which they love and care for their children. We make mistakes but Allah overlooks our faults. Our worship and good deeds are not perfect but Allah accepts them and multiplies the reward.

Do not fall into minor sins. Minor sins lead to major sins the way a spark can start a fire and burn down a house. Even a minor sin makes a true believer restless as if a mountain is above their head and is about to fall and crush them.

Make a U-turn in life, wash off your dirty slate - eliminate the bad deeds and protect the good ones.

Method of Making Tau`bah:
1. To immediately abstain from the sin.
2. To regret and wish one had never indulged in the sin.
3. To resolve to never commit the sin again.

"And those who, when they commit an immorality or wrong themselves [by transgression], remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins - and who can forgive sins except Allah ? - and [who] do not persist in what they have done while they know."
Qur'an, 3: 135

After making sincere tau`bah be confident in the acceptance of your tau`bah. Allah (SWT) is all-Merciful and all-Forgiving. He is always ready to accept the repentance of his sinful slaves. Allah says in Surah Al-e-Imran:

After repenting, one should try to live according to live according to the will Allah, the Qu`ran and Sunnah. This will bring the utmost peace and tranquility into one's life.

Benefits of Tau'bah

The Qu'ran describes the story of Prophet Nuh,

"And said, 'Ask forgiveness of your Lord. Indeed, He is ever a Perpetual Forgiver. He will send [rain from] the sky upon you in [continuing] showers. And give you increase in wealth and children and provide for you gardens and provide for you rivers. What is [the matter] with you that you do not attribute to Allah [due] grandeur"
Qur'an, 71: 10-13

One who makes Tau'bah re-establishes his relationship with the Creator of the heavens and earth.

Purify Environment in Home

Make an effort to remove any bad literature, TV, pictures and movies from your home. Bad literature only incites toward immodesty and troubles and complications in this world and the Hereafter.

Final Note - After heavy rainfall, Hisham Ibn Hasan was walking behind Al-Alaa' Ibn Ziyaad through the sloppy muddy streets of their village. He noticed Ibn Ziyaad avoiding all the puddles, until someone bumped him and his sandal slipped in the puddle. Forced by the momentum, Ibn Ziyaad had to carry through to the other end of the unforgiving mire. After they had reached their destination, Ibn Ziyad turned to Hisham and said, "Just like we avoided all those puddles on our way to our destination, Muslims should avoid the disobedience of Allah and throughout their journey to the Hereafter. And just as you saw the momentum of falling into the puddle, such as the similitude of sin; when somoene falls into it, it carries him deeper and deeper.

May Allah protect our Deen and Dunya and grant us piety and patience.