The act of repentance is superior to other actions. Without it, a person's faith does not progress and he cannot enter Paradise no matter how many deeds he performs. Without repentance, he faces evil and destruction.
Hadhrat Nuh عليه السلام invited his people towards the deen for the duration of a thousand years, yet, his nation possessed hard hearts. They were like stones and they did not take heed.
Today, we are passing through the same era and we possess even more deficiencies. We fail to implement the Prophet ﷺs' advice of protecting ourselves from material love as it is the world itself which has overwhelmed us. We sell our faith and our deen for the sake of earning wealth.
Each verse of the Quran orders us to imitate the Prophet ﷺ. The previous nations were destroyed due to ignoring this message. Allah ta'ala desires to see our implementation of the Sunnah. Even if one memorises only a small portion of the Quran, yet, he acts upon the Sunnah, it shows that he has understood the message.
All the precious Prophets invited their people to abandon sin and repent to Allah ta'ala. Those who fail to accept their evil doings as sins and reject the truth, are the most arrogant people.
If we repent, Allah ta'ala will grant us prosperity, independence, progression and righteous children.
Unfortunately, we are distanced from Allah ta'ala due to our sins and being immersed in the temporary world. In reality, no power of the world can make us wealthy no matter how much wealth we amass. This is because contentment and satisfaction only comes through reliance upon Allah ta'ala. Such a person who relies on Him has no worries and greed. He does not hoard.
We are full of worldly greed and when this condition overwhelms us, we are in desperate need of rectification.
If we want to prepare for the Hereafter, we should perform true repentance instead of exerting ourselves in abundant worship. This is the invitation of the Quran.
We are imprisoned in the world and without repentance our worship is simply a waste of time. We must strengthen the foundation of our worship via repentance.
Sincere repentance is the way to please Allah ta'ala. It is also a means of being protected from the world. Allah ta'ala removes the sorrows and difficulties of the one who repents and his supplications are accepted.
When one visits a Sheikh, the first action he teaches the student is repentance. Nowadays, we wish to repent but without leaving the sins. We don't want to give up watching television. We desire repentance but we do not wish to attend the masjid.
Some of us fail to repent as we are afraid of what people will say. Shaytan attacks us and makes us believe that Allah ta'ala is forgiving, so we are not in need of repentance.
If we take a look in history, Nabi ﷺ taught the method of repentance to the noble companions. The true wali Allah enables the same method of repentance today so that the believers may succeed.
There are certain conditions of this repentance. The student must reject the sin and promise to abandon his sins. Thereafter, he is enabled to perform Tawbah. Until Qiyamah, this practice will continue upon earth.
After repentance, one's sins are wiped away and the earth bears witness of his forgiveness. Allah ta'ala makes this servant His beloved and he is given the status of Wilaayah. This is the method of becoming close to Allah ta'ala.
It is a sign of Qiyamah that people have become distanced from the deen and the dhikr gatherings. As long as we have the energy, we should be determined to attend the dhikr gatherings and Allah ta'ala will make it easy for us and enable us to attend.
Even our action of travelling to the dhikr gathering is witnessed by the creation. They congratulate each other upon the dhakir walking past by them. This is because the world recognises the status of the dhaakir.
It is shameful that we travel miles to earn wealth although we will only be granted how much Allah ta'ala has destined for us. We should flee to the dhikr gatherings and avoid being lazy. Allah ta'ala will grant us much more rewards in return for the sacrifices we make to attend the dhikr gatherings.
When a person wanders around in this world as a sinner, the creation of Allah ta'ala curses this wretched person. He is cursed by everything. As soon as he repents, the creation supplicates for him and praises him.
A foolish person is he who claims he is not in need of repentance.
We should supplicate to Allah ta'ala to show us a true Sheikh so that we can repent. This is how we will attain success as the journey actually begins from sincere repentance.
If we have already made sincere repentance at the hands of a sheikh, then we must preserve and protect this repentance, otherwise it will not assist us. We must exercise caution as the repentance is easily broken.
Nabi ﷺ sought refuge from reverting back to one's old ways.
What is the method to protect our repentance?
If you imitate the Sheikh's actions and follow his example by being in immersed in his love, then Allah ta'ala will also love you. However, it is not correct for students to sin and rely on the Sheikh to take him to Paradise in the afterlife.
The Sheikh enables us to make promises to Allah ta'ala to abandon sins. To protect our repentance, we must remain firm and maintain the promises we made, otherwise the repentance is broken. If we are weak in our promise, then we are devoid of faith.
In order to maintain our repentance, we must reject our previous life. We must shun our old friends, distance from certain relatives who do not practice deen and from the old environments we were in. This is because a person's deen is in accordance with who he befriends.
If you return to the company of your old friends, you will fall back in to the same sins you abandoned. You'll be influenced by those friends again and you may not receive another opportunity to repent before your death.
We should not make friends with those from other faith. It is essential to be wary of our company if we want to preserve our repentance.
If you desire to shun the world, seek Allah ta'ala's love, desire to practice Shariah and wish to be content, then you must keep friends with those who have a similar mind-set. You should sit with the people of dhikr and mingle with them.
The biggest wealth which takes a person to Paradise and saves a person from punishments, is repentance. Repent in the Sheikh's company and to protect this repentance, you must,
1) Detach yourself from your old environment and friends. Keep good company, go on holiday with them, but spend time with those who are engaged in the same actions as you so that your deen won't be contaminated.
2) Do not break the conditions and the promises you made. If you make a mistake, then admit your mistakes to your Sheikh and request for his prayers.
The effect of your repentance is reduced once you break the promises. For example, you haven't left the company which you were required to leave. You should improve on this before death arrives.
May Allah ta'ala allow us to implement. Ameen
16th Nov, 2024
دارا و سکندر سے وہ مردِ فقیر اَولیٰ
ہو جس کی فقیری میں بُوئے اسَد اللّٰہی
آئینِ جوانمرداں، حق گوئی و بےباکی
اللہ کے شیروں کو آتی نہیں رُوباہی
