#TOPIC:- ON FORGIVING AND ASKING FOR FORGIVENESS Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I extol Him as is befitting to His Great Magnificence and Sovereignty. I bear witness that there is no deity that is worthy of worship, except for Allah alone without any partners or peers. I also witness that Muhammad pbuh is His servant and Messenger, the purest of His Creation and the closest to Him. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, his family, his Companions, and all those who will follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment. As to what follows, I urge you and myself to obey Allah, may Glory be to Him, just as He says, O you who have believed, fear Allah. And let every soul look to what it has put forth for tomorrow - and fear Allah. Indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what you do. (Al Hashr: 18). Dear Muslims, The life in this world is short and temporary, and by no means ever-lasting. It is only a milestone for taking provisions to benefit us in the next life. The luckiest of us is he who seizes it and go to meet his Lord as pure as the driven snow, seeking His mercy in Heaven High as the sky, wide as the earth. Allah, the most Exalted, says, But whoever desires the Hereafter and exerts the effort due to it while he is a believer - it is those whose effort is ever appreciated [by Allah]. (Al Israa: 19). Among the acts that raise ones status in the Hereafter are his remembering of Allah in all situations, his dedication to increase good deeds and willingness to ask for forgiveness through repentance when he errs. On this account, Allah, may Glory be to Him, says, 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. (Al Imran: 135). In the same regard, our Prophet pbuh said, and there is none who likes that the people should repent to Him and beg His pardon than Allah, and for this reason He sent the warners and the givers of good news. Dear Muslims, Please know that the holy Quran related stories of prophets and messengers who apologised to Allah by expressing their repentances to Him. They did so even though they were the highest people in rank, hence setting the ethical nature of asking for apology. Adam and his wife Eve, pbut, asked Allah, the most Encompassing, for forgiveness. They said, Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers. (Al Araf: 23). Thereupon, Allah accepted their apology. Noah pbuh turned back to Allah for pardon, as he said, My Lord, I seek refuge in You from asking that of which I have no knowledge. And unless You forgive me and have mercy upon me, I will be among the losers. (Hud: 47). Musa (Moses), pbuh, supplicated to Allah saying, My Lord, indeed I have wronged myself, so forgive me, and He forgave him. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful. (Al Qasas: 16). For his part, Yunus, pbuh, addressed his Lord while he was in the belly of the whale saying, There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers. (Al Anbiyaa: 87). It was also reported in the Quran the story of the Companion Abdullah Ibn Umm Maktoum, who was a blind man. He came to the Prophet pbuh, while he was sitting with some infidels from Quraish calling them to Islam. He pbuh had had high hopes of their conversion. Abdullah Ibn Umm Maktoum said, O Apostle of Allah, teach me something? Thereupon he (the Prophet) asked him to wait until he finished talking to Quraish leaders. Ibn Umm Maktum, however, insisted in asking, which upset the Prophet. So Allah the Almighty sent this verse: The Prophet frowned and turned away because there came to him the blind man, [interrupting]. But what would make you perceive, [O Muhammad], that perhaps he might be purified Or be reminded and the remembrance would benefit him? (Abasa: 1-4). Afterwards, whenever the Prophet meets Ibn Umm Maktum, he pbuh would say to him, Greetings to him on whose account Allah reproached me! Dear Servants of Allah, Apologising is an act of civility, which shows respect for oneself and others. Moreover, it is a moral characteristic that every sensible person must not ignore. About it, Omar Ibn al Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said, the wisest people are the ones who forgive most. Our Prophet pbuh promoted the culture of apologising amongst individuals, for it is such a character that fosters in them love, trust and compassion. For example, he pbuh warned against avoiding others for more than three days and nights. He, however, praised those who offer to apologise and promised them reward. On this matter, he pbuh says, it is not permissible for a Muslim to shun his brother for more than three nights. When they meet, this one turns away (from that one) and that one turns away (from this one) and the best of them is the one who greets his brother first. Asking for forgiveness needs to be made politely using good words, just as Allah, the most Exalted, says, And not equal are the good deed and the bad. Repel [evil] by that [deed] which is better; and thereupon the one whom between you and him is enmity [will become] as though he was a devoted friend. But none is granted it except those who are patient, and none is granted it except one having a great portion [of good]. (Fussilat: 34-35). Truly how wonderful it is to foster this culture in our households so that the husband and the wife apologise to each other should anyone of them has done something wrong! They should do this courteously so they can feel satisfied, regain self-respect, and help themselves strengthen their bonds of love and stability. It was narrated from Abu al Dardaa that he said to his wife Umm al Dardaa, if I upset you I shall apologise to you, and if you upset me, you shall apologise to me. If you fail to do this, we might part any time soon. Parents should thus be an example in apology, tolerance, leniency, love and reconciliation. Dear Muslims, Please be aware that asking for pardon is an act that shows courage. It does not belittle the person, even if it involves a father apologising to his son, a teacher to his student, or a director to his subordinate. Rather it is a noble characteristic and a token of integrity. Indeed the good citizen is the one who assesses himself continuously. So whenever he realises he does something wrong to his nation, he must offer to apologise to the leadership, for a fault confessed is half redressed. And undoing the wrong is better than persisting in falsehood and clinging to arrogance. Truly anyone who willingly treats people justly, Allah the Almighty will elevate him in status. Now that we have been acquainted with the ethical values of apology, we seek Allahs favour to make us amongst those, who will be considerate if they are advised, will ask for forgiveness if they have done wrong, and will accept pardon if they are sought for forgiveness. May Allah help us obey Him, His Prophet Muhammad pbuh, and those He has ordained upon us to obey pursuant to His injunctions: O you who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those charged with authority among you.(Annisaa: 59). May Allah direct us all to the blessings of the Glorious Quran and benefit us all in whatever is in it of the Ayat and the Wise Dhikr. I say this and ask Allah the Great, the Most Honoured for forgiveness for me, you and all the Muslims for every sin (#Ameen)
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 06:52:48 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015