We feel the quality of hunger within us and had Allah ta'ala not granted us food, we wouldn't have remained alive. If Allah ta'ala had not allowed fire to be extinguished, we'd all burn. Similarly, the nature of sinning is present within us, and had Allah ta'ala not granted us the capacity to repent, we'd all be destroyed. Allah ta'ala has prepared a solution for everything and had He not, human being would go to a waste.
Sins bring about Allah ta'ala's anger and punishment. It brings about sicknesses, diseases and difficulties. Human beings don't realise that it is their sins which are destroying their lives. It's in the natural disposition of a man to sin, however, it is a merit worthy action to repent thereafter.
These next ten days are the days of forgiveness. Allah ta'ala is inviting us towards Him. It doesn't matter if we have committed grave sins, Allah ta'ala is always ready to forgive us.
We enjoy sleeping because it brings us comfort and peace despite being a "minor death." On the other hand, death is permanent satisfaction and peace for a believer. One does not have to pay any bills after he dies. He is not required to work. He will no longer be pestered. There will be no difficulties for a person after death.
Everyone must die one day, so why not make our Hereafter a comforting place? We are afraid of death only because we haven't prepared for it. If we prepare for death, then there's no better place after death. Instead, we should fear the punishments after death.
The biggest hurdles for a person after his death is forgiveness, thus, we should make it a habit to constantly repent in this world. After we repent, Allah ta'ala becomes happy with us and grants us a high status. Allah ta'ala likes a person asking for forgiveness and He has given us this month so that we can become a Muttaqi after repenting. If we fail to repent in Ramadan, then we are wasting our time.
Allah ta'ala calls out to us three times during the night so that we can seek His forgiveness.
We should seek sincere forgiveness and then remain firm upon our repentance by abstaining from sin.
Without water we cannot live and in the same way, without repentance we cannot gain success. Therefore, Allah ta'ala has granted us many opportunities to be forgiven.
Hadhrat Sufyan Thawri Rahmatullahi alayh was a wali Allah before he was even born. If he was a Muttaqi before birth, then imagine the level of his taqwa during his life! He states that, "there was an event in my life which made me a wali Allah. I was entering the Masjid one day in a rush and I entered with my left food instead of the right. Immediately I heard a voice from the heaven call out, 'You are coming to My house, yet you are opposing my beloved ﷺ. What love is this which you are demonstrating?'" He says, "when I heard this, I became unconscious and I repented due to not implementing one Sunnah. Allah ta'ala gave me a warning and that's when I learnt that, there is only one pathway to attain to Allah ta'ala's nearness and that is via the Sunnah of his Prophet ﷺ."
Therefore, whoever claims to be pious without adopting the Sunnah, is a liar and this is the reality. Sadly, we abandon the Sunnah and consider it to be insignificant.
The sign of genuine repentance is having fear within one's heart and implementing the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. A person should have great concern over abandoning the ways of the Sunnah as this is the path to reach Allah ta'ala's nearness and the true preparation for the Hereafter.
"To those who commit bad deeds, but, then, repent and believe (in God), Your Lord will certainly be All-forgiving and All-merciful." [7:153]
The condition of forgiveness is to repent in the condition of Imaan. This is why the Sheikh makes his student recite the Kalimah so that he may strengthen his repentance and live his life according to the Kalimah. This is not a tradition. Rather, you're being reminded that the true path of repentance is via the Prophet ﷺ's obedience and emulation.
True preparation for death is via repentance. One can only receive the effects of his worship, once he has repented. For example, if one prays without repenting, he won't have regard for the Sunnah or the deen. Once he repents, his prayer will be completely in accordance with the Sunnah. This is how his worship becomes worthy of acceptance. Through repentance, even one days worth of prayer, causes a person to be forgiven by Allah ta'ala.
Hadhrat Sheikh Zakariyyah رحمة الله عليه mentions the story of Hadhrat Yahya Barqiرحمة الله عليه. Allah ta'ala wanted to forgive him and granted him a unique means of forgiveness. Allah ta'ala instilled the love of a pious person within him and inspired him to fulfil the need of a poor person so he gave 1000 dinar in the service of Hadhrat to serve him. He started to serve the Sheikh and then he passed away. He was seen in a dream in the high stages of Paradise. When asked how he reached there, he replied, "I had no deeds, but Hadhrat Sufyan رحمة الله عليه 's dua allowed me to get to this status. He used to make dua to Allah ta'ala to forgive this man due to his service to him. So Allah ta'ala forgave him and admitted him to paradise.
The Awliyah Allah are a big means of forgiveness and an invitation towards the deen.
The nation of Hadhrat Musa عليه السلام were told to kill each other in order to be forgiven for their mistakes. Some nations were destroyed by stones, some by drowning, some were destroyed through earthquakes due to their misdeeds.
Allah ta'ala has made it so easy for the nation of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to seek forgiveness, such that if you have regret in your heart and you remember Allah ta'ala, your repentance will be accepted and all your sins will be eliminated.
The sign of accepted repentance, is having great remorse over the sin. Another sign of accepted repentance is that a person begins to have the love for the Awliyah Allah. The third sign is that the dhikr of Allah becomes his life. He has a lot of love for dhikr. These 3 signs are connected to Allah ta'ala so it means that his connection with Allah ta'ala has been strengthened.
We should assess ourselves whether we have these 3 qualities and then we may identify whether our repentance is accepted or not. If they are not present amongst us, then it is better for us to repeat our repentance.
The person who repents and then engages in dhikr, feels at peace. He is relaxed and he no longer fears death. He relies upon Allah ta'ala and does not worry.
The person who claims to love Allah ta'ala, has love for His dhikr. The person who dislikes Allah ta'ala will dislike dhikr. He won't value or consider the importance of dhikr.
Genuine repentance transforms our bad habits and sins into light. It causes Mercy to enter a persons heart and a persons sins to be converted into good deeds.
Allah ta'ala created the Awliyah Allah through whom we can repent so we should love them and not take them as enemies. Allah ta'ala goes according to our desire and our intentions so we should seek the Awliyah Allah with love then we will receive love beyond love.
Abu Jahal looked at the Prophet ﷺ with enmity, instead of love, so he remained his enemy. Hadhrat Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه looked at the Prophet ﷺ with the vision of love, so he became Hadhrat Abu bakr Siddiq رضي الله عنه.
Thus, in the company of a Wali Allah, you should request Allah ta'ala to grant you the love for the Awliyah Allah. If you have opposition and hatred towards dhikr or the Awliyah Allah, then Allah ta'ala is displeased with you because Allah ta'ala has love for both things. Make friendship with the Wali Allah. It doesn't matter how much you have to sacrifice in order to attain it.
We feel the quality of hunger within us and had Allah ta'ala not granted us food, we wouldn't have remained alive. If Allah ta'ala had not allowed fire to be extinguished, we'd all burn. Similarly, the nature of sinning is present within us, and had Allah ta'ala not granted us the capacity to repent, we'd all be destroyed. Allah ta'ala has prepared a solution for everything and had He not, human being would go to a waste.
Sins bring about Allah ta'ala's anger and punishment. It brings about sicknesses, diseases and difficulties. Human beings don't realise that it is their sins which are destroying their lives. It's in the natural disposition of a man to sin, however, it is a merit worthy action to repent thereafter.
These next ten days are the days of forgiveness. Allah ta'ala is inviting us towards Him. It doesn't matter if we have committed grave sins, Allah ta'ala is always ready to forgive us.
We enjoy sleeping because it brings us comfort and peace despite being a "minor death." On the other hand, death is permanent satisfaction and peace for a believer. One does not have to pay any bills after he dies. He is not required to work. He will no longer be pestered. There will be no difficulties for a person after death.
Everyone must die one day, so why not make our Hereafter a comforting place? We are afraid of death only because we haven't prepared for it. If we prepare for death, then there's no better place after death. Instead, we should fear the punishments after death.
The biggest hurdles for a person after his death is forgiveness, thus, we should make it a habit to constantly repent in this world. After we repent, Allah ta'ala becomes happy with us and grants us a high status. Allah ta'ala likes a person asking for forgiveness and He has given us this month so that we can become a Muttaqi after repenting. If we fail to repent in Ramadan, then we are wasting our time.
Allah ta'ala calls out to us three times during the night so that we can seek His forgiveness.
We should seek sincere forgiveness and then remain firm upon our repentance by abstaining from sin.
Without water we cannot live and in the same way, without repentance we cannot gain success. Therefore, Allah ta'ala has granted us many opportunities to be forgiven.
Hadhrat Sufyan Thawri Rahmatullahi alayh was a wali Allah before he was even born. If he was a Muttaqi before birth, then imagine the level of his taqwa during his life! He states that, "there was an event in my life which made me a wali Allah. I was entering the Masjid one day in a rush and I entered with my left food instead of the right. Immediately I heard a voice from the heaven call out, 'You are coming to My house, yet you are opposing my beloved ﷺ. What love is this which you are demonstrating?'" He says, "when I heard this, I became unconscious and I repented due to not implementing one Sunnah. Allah ta'ala gave me a warning and that's when I learnt that, there is only one pathway to attain to Allah ta'ala's nearness and that is via the Sunnah of his Prophet ﷺ."
Therefore, whoever claims to be pious without adopting the Sunnah, is a liar and this is the reality. Sadly, we abandon the Sunnah and consider it to be insignificant.
The sign of genuine repentance is having fear within one's heart and implementing the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. A person should have great concern over abandoning the ways of the Sunnah as this is the path to reach Allah ta'ala's nearness and the true preparation for the Hereafter.
وَالَّذِينَ عَمِلُوا السَّيِّئَاتِ ثُمَّ تَابُوا مِن بَعْدِهَا وَآمَنُوا إِنَّ رَبَّكَ مِن بَعْدِهَا لَغَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
"To those who commit bad deeds, but, then, repent and believe (in God), Your Lord will certainly be All-forgiving and All-merciful." [7:153]
The condition of forgiveness is to repent in the condition of Imaan. This is why the Sheikh makes his student recite the Kalimah so that he may strengthen his repentance and live his life according to the Kalimah. This is not a tradition. Rather, you're being reminded that the true path of repentance is via the Prophet ﷺ's obedience and emulation.
True preparation for death is via repentance. One can only receive the effects of his worship, once he has repented. For example, if one prays without repenting, he won't have regard for the Sunnah or the deen. Once he repents, his prayer will be completely in accordance with the Sunnah. This is how his worship becomes worthy of acceptance. Through repentance, even one days worth of prayer, causes a person to be forgiven by Allah ta'ala.
Hadhrat Sheikh Zakariyyah رحمة الله عليه mentions the story of Hadhrat Yahya Barqiرحمة الله عليه. Allah ta'ala wanted to forgive him and granted him a unique means of forgiveness. Allah ta'ala instilled the love of a pious person within him and inspired him to fulfil the need of a poor person so he gave 1000 dinar in the service of Hadhrat to serve him. He started to serve the Sheikh and then he passed away. He was seen in a dream in the high stages of Paradise. When asked how he reached there, he replied, "I had no deeds, but Hadhrat Sufyan رحمة الله عليه 's dua allowed me to get to this status. He used to make dua to Allah ta'ala to forgive this man due to his service to him. So Allah ta'ala forgave him and admitted him to paradise.
The Awliyah Allah are a big means of forgiveness and an invitation towards the deen.
The nation of Hadhrat Musa عليه السلام were told to kill each other in order to be forgiven for their mistakes. Some nations were destroyed by stones, some by drowning, some were destroyed through earthquakes due to their misdeeds.
Allah ta'ala has made it so easy for the nation of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to seek forgiveness, such that if you have regret in your heart and you remember Allah ta'ala, your repentance will be accepted and all your sins will be eliminated.
The sign of accepted repentance, is having great remorse over the sin. Another sign of accepted repentance is that a person begins to have the love for the Awliyah Allah. The third sign is that the dhikr of Allah becomes his life. He has a lot of love for dhikr. These 3 signs are connected to Allah ta'ala so it means that his connection with Allah ta'ala has been strengthened.
We should assess ourselves whether we have these 3 qualities and then we may identify whether our repentance is accepted or not. If they are not present amongst us, then it is better for us to repeat our repentance.
The person who repents and then engages in dhikr, feels at peace. He is relaxed and he no longer fears death. He relies upon Allah ta'ala and does not worry.
The person who claims to love Allah ta'ala, has love for His dhikr. The person who dislikes Allah ta'ala will dislike dhikr. He won't value or consider the importance of dhikr.
Genuine repentance transforms our bad habits and sins into light. It causes Mercy to enter a persons heart and a persons sins to be converted into good deeds.
Allah ta'ala created the Awliyah Allah through whom we can repent so we should love them and not take them as enemies. Allah ta'ala goes according to our desire and our intentions so we should seek the Awliyah Allah with love then we will receive love beyond love.
Abu Jahal looked at the Prophet ﷺ with enmity, instead of love, so he remained his enemy. Hadhrat Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه looked at the Prophet ﷺ with the vision of love, so he became Hadhrat Abu bakr Siddiq رضي الله عنه.
Thus, in the company of a Wali Allah, you should request Allah ta'ala to grant you the love for the Awliyah Allah. If you have opposition and hatred towards dhikr or the Awliyah Allah, then Allah ta'ala is displeased with you because Allah ta'ala has love for both things. Make friendship with the Wali Allah. It doesn't matter how much you have to sacrifice in order to attain it.
May Allah ta'ala allow us to implement.