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Bismillāh ar-Raḥmān ar-Raḥīm. Alḥamdulilāhi Rabbil ‘Alāmīn. Wa salātu wa salāmu ‘alā ash-sharafi al-‘Ambiyā’i wal-Mursalayn, Muḥammadur Rasūlullāh sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa ‘alā ālihi wa sahbihi ṣallam. Tasliman kathīran kathīran. Umma ba’du. My brothers and sisters, alḥamdulillah. We have been talking about the issue of istighfār and tawbah. And we ask Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā to keep us in a state where we constantly make istighfār. We constantly repent to Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā for our sins. And we ask Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā to accept that istighfār and to forgive us.
There are only two things in life which are essential, which are dharūrī. Dharar means ḥarm. So dharūrī is something which keeps you away from ḥaram. Absolutely, critically essential. For example, if you stay for three days without drinking any water, you will die. So, water is essential once in three days. That is the meaning of dharūrī, which is something which will save you from dying. So there are only two things which are dharūrī in life. One is hidayah, guidance towards Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā. And the second one is maghfirah, which is forgiveness. Everything else is not dharūrī. It is something which, alḥamdulillah, we ask Allāh for this. Neither wealth, nor health, nor family, nor children, nor wives, nor husband, nor power, nor authority, and nothing, nothing is dharūrī except these two things. Because, and the way to see that is that, if you did not have any of those things, what difference would it make in your ākhirah? If you were healthy or sick, it makes no difference in the ākhirah. Whether you are wealthy or poor makes no difference in the ākhirah. Whether you are respected or insulted makes no difference in the ākhirah. Whether you are educated or ignorant makes no difference in the ākhirah.
Right? Nothing makes any difference. What makes a difference in the ākhirah is la ilāha illallāh Muḥammadur Rasūlullāh. Did you have hidayah to Islam? Did Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā guide you? Did you seek guidance? Were you guided to Islam? Because in the ākhirah, the only thing which will make a difference is that which keeps you out of jahannam. So if you have all the stuff which I talked about of this dunyā, but you die without la ilāha illallāh Muḥammadur Rasūlullāh, then you have died like Firaun and Shaddād, Zand and A’man, and Cyrus the Great, and Alfred the Great, and Alexander the Great, and Julius Caesar, and Augustus Caesar. Exactly, you will be with them.
Augustus Caesar was supposed to be, is supposed to be the wealthiest human being ever on the planet. All the wealth of, the loot of the Roman Empire. So what good is that to him today? Right? So all of that is not because if it can’t keep me away from, from jahannam, how is it? And similarly, after we get hidayah, if we don’t get forgiveness, because we will make mistakes, we will commit crime, may Allāh have mercy on us. We do some things wrongly because we did not know. We do some things wrongly even though we know.
And that is where the door of tawbah Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā has kept it open till we die. And Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā specifically told us and commanded us. I, over the last few days, I’ve been quoting all the āyāt and so on. So I won’t repeat that. But very, very clearly, Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā said: “Ma’s-ta-fīrū thumma tūbū ilayhi.” Make istighfār and then turn towards Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā. Because this is the sharṭ. The sharṭ of istighfār is that you change your ways. Otherwise that istighfār is a lie. You’re trying to cheat Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā. You say, no, I’m very sorry. I apologize. What I’m doing is wrong. Yā Allāh, please forgive me. And then you do the same wrong. Then where is the regret? This whole regret was a drama. You are not really sorry. If you were sorry, why are you doing it again? You know it is wrong. You’re saying, no, no, I knew it was wrong. I’m sorry. Yā Rabb, forgive me.
And then you do the same thing again. So it’s a lie. But if you do it sincerely, then Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā promised to forgive all sins. As I mentioned, in tawbah there are two things to keep in mind. Any things that we did against the orders and instructions of Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā, any things that we did which are against the rights of Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā, ḥuqūqu’llāh, they require sincere tawbah to Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā. Right? They require sincere tawbah to Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā.
And making up that depending on what it is. Where? Where we have done something against the people. If we did not give somebody else their rights. If we violated somebody else’s rights. Then there is an additional piece, which is, you make up with that person first. You apologize to that person. You compensate that person. You make up to that person. Whatever you took from that person, give it back. Correct that first. And then you seek forgiveness of Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā. Because Rasūlullāh s.a.w. said that when you have transgressed against somebody else, Allāh will not forgive you until that person forgives you.
So if you go and harm somebody and then you go to Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā and say, Yā Allāh, forgive me. It’s not happening. It is not happening. And that is why we have the hadith of, it is called hadith of the destitute. When Rasūlullāh s.a.w. asked the people, he said, do you know who are the destitute among you? And they said, Yā Rasūlullāh, the destitute is somebody who has no dinār, no dirham, no property, nothing, no wealth. Rasūlullāh s.a.w. said, no. He said, the destitute is the one who will come before Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā on the Day of Judgment with good deeds the size of a mountain, not just on the good deeds, good deeds the size of a mountain, all kinds of things, all good, comes to Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā on the Day of Judgment with good deeds the size of a mountain. But there will be also at that same time a line of people who will come before Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā and they will be people that this man has harmed, man or woman has harmed, maybe somebody, he killed, maybe somebody he insulted, maybe somebody he beat up, maybe somebody’s rights he took, whatever, a long line of people.
And they will say, Yā Rabb, give us our ḥaqq. On the Day of Judgment, the currency is deeds. There’s no money. Currency is deeds. So from this person’s good deeds, a portion of the good deeds, will be given to each person who comes to demand based on what harm this person caused to the other person. And Rasūlullāh s.a.w. said, this will be done until the entire mountain of good deeds is finished. Imagine, whole mountain of good deeds is gone, finished, khalas. Because, given so much to this person, so much to that person, until the whole mountain is finished.
But, the line of people will still be there. May Allāh have mercy on us. So, Rasūlullāh s.a.w. said, Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā, and of course Allāh knows, but Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā, to establish the argument, will ask the people, now what do you want me to do? This man has nothing left. They will say, Yā Rabb, give him our evil deeds. Give him our sins. And Rasūlullāh s.a.w. said, and this will be done, and the person who came before Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā with a mountain of good, will go into jahannam, carrying the burden of the sins of the people that he wronged.
May Allāh have mercy on us. I always tell this story, because when I first read this hadith, obviously the question which came to me, which I am sure, the question in your mind also, how can anyone do so much evil? He did so much of good, but he also harmed all these people.
How is it possible that a person, having harmed so many people and accumulated a mountain of evil deeds, ends up in Jahannam alongside the sins of others? How can someone commit such vast amounts of wrongdoing? Of course, looking at some people even in our world today, we see they are already doing that much evil. But
in the normal scheme of things,
until I discovered smartphones, until I discovered WhatsApp groups,
think about this: one thing you talk about somebody, one negative thing you say about them, you post it on a group.
That piece of information has got eternal life.
That group will go on, and this news will circulate in the world forever.
Meanwhile, you will grow old. Meanwhile, you will die. Meanwhile, you will go into your Khawar (grave). But that gossip remains alive; that news which you mentioned keeps circulating.
And what does it collect for you?
Huh? It is not collecting good deeds. One single thing which you say,
and you put it on the internet today, that thing has eternal life, believe me.
Even now, we get views, videos, or reels about “so and so,” or “this happened, that happened.” For instance, “So and so had a dream where the Rasool came to him, and he told him, ‘This is complete garbage,’ total nonsense.” And that thing has been doing the rounds for at least 80 years. One thing I followed, and they said, this was first published 80 years ago.
Now he is telling a lie about the Nabi. Whoever wrote that, the Prophet said: the one who tells a lie about me will be found out, and his own place will be searched first of all.
Check the language, then you will know. They do not know the terms of what is good or bad. Okay? So, what is good is something which is truly good. This is the best in any person whatsoever that I share. And I tell you, people, about this? You are not some kind of appointed announcer for the world, no? Keep quiet. You know something? Even if it is true, shut your mouth. Why should you talk? And then, if you have to say it, who are you saying it to? Say it only to the person whom it concerns. Not the whole world. This is what we do. This is Allah’s mercy on us; for a lot of us, this is our social life. As soon as you sit down, you talk about this one, that one, another one. What are you doing? I don’t know. I don’t even want to know. You keep quiet. That’s it. What are you doing? Don’t worry about me. Be rude. Be direct. So that he will never come back to you. And then he will go and tell other people.
Because Ghibat (backbiting), doing it and listening to it, are equal. So he will also go, he will take you with him too. Do not do this to yourself. We ask Allah for His forgiveness.
Finally, I want to end with two beautiful ahadith regarding the forgiveness of Allah. One: The Nabi Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam said there was a man who was a criminal. He committed all kinds of crimes. When he came to the end of his life, he called his sons. He asked them, “Have I fulfilled your rights? Have I given you whatever you wanted? Did I take care of you?” They said, “Yes, of course. You took great care of us. We love you very much. You are our father. We respect you.” He said, “In that case, promise me something that you will definitely do.” They asked, “What is it?” He said, “No, no. You first promise. Whatever instruction I am going to give you, promise me that you will fulfill it. Because you owe me. I have looked after you. I have given everything to you. That’s a great promise.” Then he gave his instruction: when I die, burn my body. He was a Muslim guy. He said, “Burn my body, take the ashes, go to the top of a mountain where there is a strong wind, and throw the ashes in the air so they completely disappear and die. Disperse them.”
The sons hesitated, saying, “You are a Muslim. How can we burn you and do this?” He insisted, “No, this is my instruction to you. And you owe me. You are my son. If you don’t do this, then you have not fulfilled your rights. So promise.” He forced them until they promised. So when he died, they, as per his instruction, burned him and took the ashes. They took it to the top of the mountain and threw the ashes in the air. All the ashes disappeared. Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam said, on the Day of Judgment, this man will be resurrected. He will be resurrected. Even though his ashes are all gone, God knows exactly where. There’s no trace of him physically. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala will resurrect him. Allah created us from nothing; how is it difficult for Him? Allah will resurrect him. And He said, Nabi Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam said, this man will be produced before Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala will ask him, “Why did you give this instruction? Yes. Why did you make your sons burn you and scatter these ashes like this? Why did you do this?”
The man will say, “Ya Rabb (O Lord), I did this because I had fear of You. I know I lived a very bad life. I know I was a criminal. I was afraid of Your Azab (punishment). So to escape that Azab, I said, ‘Burn my body and throw away the ashes so nobody can find me.'” He said, “But Ya Allah, You are Rabbul Alameen (Lord of the Worlds). You found me; here I am.”
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala will say, “Because of your Khashiyat (fear) of Me, because of your fear of My punishment, I forgive you. Go to Jannah.” This is the mercy of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala. This is the forgiveness of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala.
Final one: There was a man among the Bani Israel who was so evil. He was so bad, so evil that eventually the people of the town threw him out. They chased him out. So this man ended up in the wilderness. He’s got nobody. He’s alone in the wilderness. And how long would anyone last if they were left somewhere? Anyway, the man got sick or whatever happened to him. Eventually, the man died. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala sent His Waheed (Messenger) to Musa Alayhi Salam.
And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala said to Musa Alayhi Salam, “That man so and so died. He is in such and such a place. Go and bathe his body, put him in a coffin, bury him, and pray Janazah for him. Make Dua Maghfirat for this man.” The instructions were going to whom? To Musa Alayhi Salam. Then Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala said, “Announce to the whole town that you are going to do this. And announce that whoever goes with you, Allah will forgive all their sins.”
Musa Alayhi Salam was astonished. This man was so evil that people threw him out of the town. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala is not only sending His Rasool, Sahib ul Kitab, Sahib ul Shariah, Kalimullah, to pray Janazah for him. But Allah is also telling him to announce that all the people of the town, whoever goes with him, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala will forgive them too. Whoever goes with Musa Alayhi Salam for this Janazah will be forgiven. Musa Alayhi Salam carried out the instruction. He went there. He found the body. They bathed him, put him in his coffin, and everything else, and they prayed Salatul Janazah. The whole town was there. They prayed Salatul Janazah and buried him. And the people left. Musa Alayhi Salam stayed there. When all the people had gone, Musa Alayhi Salam made Rujut (return) to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala and he said, “Ya Rabb, what is the story?
Please tell me, what is the story?” Because this man, we know, we know exactly what kind of man he was. Right? You not only made me go and do his Janazah; you told me to announce the whole town. Obviously, everybody went because Allah is forgiving. Everyone came since the whole town emptied. So, what is the story? Listen carefully. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala says to Musa Alayhi Salam, “Ya Musa, when he was dying, when he was lying on the ground… when he was dying, he raised…”
He looked at the heavens and said, “Ya Rabb, if I knew that by giving me *adab*, by punishing me, it would raise your *daraja*, your *kibriya*—your glory, your majesty—by even one atom.”
He is saying that if I knew that by punishing me, by giving me discipline, your glory and majesty would increase even by an atom, I would not seek forgiveness. I would not ask for forgiveness. And then he said, “Ya Rabb, if I knew that by punishing me, by giving me *adab*, I would not ask for forgiveness; that would make you happy, pleased, even by an atom, I would not seek forgiveness.” But I know that by giving me punishment (*azab*), it will not increase your glory because your glory has no boundaries. And I know that by giving me punishment, you will not be happy because this is not yours; You are *Rahman Rahim*. Therefore, I ask forgiveness. Please forgive me.
And Allah said, “I forgive him.” Not only did Allah forgive him, but Allah honored him. You know how many people? I am praying for him. He sent his Rasool to pray for him. Now, the question is: Is this not the bottom line of the story? The punchline of the story is: Who gave that man the *tawfiq* to make this dua?
Yes.
Who gave him the words? Who gave him the *tawfiq*? This is Allah. This is our *Rahman Rahim*. So we ask Allah to forgive us. We ask Allah to grant us *khatima*; we ask Allah to grant us *shahada*; we ask Allah to grant us an ending which is pleasing to Him. We ask Allah to keep us in perfect health in every aspect until we die and to take us in a state of *Iman* with the *Kalima Tayyiba* on our tongue, *Insha’Allah*. We ask Allah to give us a life of honor, piety, integrity, and a life which is full of *khair* and *barakah*, and to give us a death in the same way, *Insha’Allah*. And we ask Allah to forgive us. And we ask Allah to give us *Istiqamat*. He has given us *Hidayah*, Alhamdulillah. We ask Allah for *Istiqamat* to stay on this *Hidayah* until our last breath. And we ask Allah to forgive us. And we ask Allah to preserve us on this Last Day. And we ask Allah to take us in that state where He is pleased.