Oh Allah Forgive Me notes

Lecture by Yasir Qadhi

• We all commit acts of disobedience

○ Day and night, with our limbs
○ We go against purpose of existence.
○ Show ingratitude
• We use the limbs with which we’ve been blessed to sin against Allah
• We trivialize these things and don’t care
• Anas ibn Malik says to the Tabioon (best generation after sahabah) “You do
deeds in front of me that you consider less consequential than your hair (in
essence of no great value) yet if we were to do these same acts during time of
Prophet (saws) we would consider them to be amongst the gravest sins that
destroy us
○ Imagine our situation to them
• Hadith: Small sins are like twigs. Twig by itself can’t cause a fire, but when
gathered together they can form a fierce fire.
• Hadith: Those sins that you trivialize. If Allah calls you to account for them these
sins will destroy you.
• Not the major sins, these are just the minor ones that we don’t even think about.
• Ibn Masud: The mumin sees his sins as if he’s sitting beneath huge mountain
and he’s scared this mountain will fall upon him. Evil person sees sins as flies
that fly by his face. He hits them with his hand and they fly away.
• The one who has iman, even if the sins are small they seem like mountains to
him.
• Why? Because you don’t see the sin, but you look at the One whom you have
sinned against.
• We have it ingrained in us to sin. This is a problem. What is the solution?
• Hadith [tirmidih]: Every single son of Adam is a sinner
• We aren’t angels, we’re human beings. They cannot disobey Allah, whereas men
have been given free will and desire. It’s important to know that since we should
recognize and know that we aren’t supposed to be perfect, and that we cannot
be.
• Hadith: …the best of sinners (not all sinners are equivalent; we must aim for
this) are those who perform taubah (repentance).
• This is the way out, the solution. Our light at the end of the tunnel. This is what
will save us (our repentance because of these sins).
• Therefore it is not only optional it is in fact obligatory (waajib).
• Quran: And repent to Allah all of you Oh believers if you really desire success.
• Quran: Oh you who believe (!) perform taubah to Allah, a sincere taubah.
• Taubah sincerely is the emphasis here (it can be both). Allah wants us amongst
those who do it sincerely.
• Unanimous consensus (ex. Imam Nawawi) that Taubah is fard ein, not only on
every muslim, but on every person (obligatory)
• Therefore even the greatest Prophets sought Allah’s taubah all the time.
• Prophets:
○ When Adam sinned, he learned phrases from his Lord, stating that only we
are the ones that wrong ourselves. We are the only ones harmed by these
deeds. If you don’t have mercy on us and shower your blessings on us we
will be amongst the losers. Allah then accepted his repentance.
○ Nuh: Cries out on top of ship, Oh Allah if you don’t have mercy on my then
I will be amongst the losers
○ Ibrahim: While building Kabbah they make dua, Oh Allah make us those
who submit ourselves to you. Make our progeny of those that submit
themselves to you. Show us our rights of worship and accept our
repentance. Even Ibrahim and Ismail recognize this
○ Musa: Who Allah spoke to. Allah says When Musa awoke from the coma he
was put in, I have repented to you and I am of the first of those who
submit themselves to You
○ Prophet (pbuh): Allah says in Quran that Allah will forgive all of your sins,
those that you have done and those that you will do. He says I swear by
Allah of asurity I ask of Allah’s forgiveness and repent every single day
more than 100 times. Do we even repent this much in a year? If this is his
case where do we stand in comparison to him?
• Allah’s mercy is vast
• Who is there that can forgive sins except for Allah?
• Hadith: When Allah created the creation he wrote with his own hand that apply
to Him, My Mercy shall overcome My anger
• Hadith: Allah stretches forth his hand at night so that the one who sins in the day
can repent at night, and [vice versa]. And He does this every day until the sun
rises from the West (DOJ).
• Forgiveness is there, but we must stretch out our hands and ask. So great and
vast is the mercy of Allah.
• Hadith: if the Kafr realized what Allah has of His rahma, even he would not give
up hope of entering Jannah.
○ The one who doesn’t have any hope.
• Hadith: When Satan was told to leave jannah, he swore to Allah. By your honor
oh my lord I will continue to try to misguide your servants as long as their souls
remain in their bodies.
○ Iblees acknowledges Allah as his lord he just rejects to worship him
○ His kufr is arrogance
• Hadith: (cont) ….Allah responds, By My honor and glory I will continue to forgive
them as long as they ask My forgiveness.
• Allah asks in the Quran to repent “Why do they not perform taubah?”
• Quran: If they repent it will be for their own good.
• Quran: Allah wishes to accept your repentance.
○ Twice in one ayah.
○ Emphasizing that he wishes and wants to forgive us if we ask for his
forgiveness
• Allah loves those who repent
○ The one who repents must have done the sin in the first place, as taubah
must come after the sin.
• This person has shown that he is only a mortal and cannot become sinless and
has done something that he shouldn’t do.
• Only Allah has the right make the rules and the sinner has disobeyed this.
• Hadith: Person who lost camel in desert.
• Quran: Allah’s rahma has encompassed everything. My Rahmah encompasses
every single object.
• To accuse Allah of not being able to forgive sins, to believe they are too sinful to
be forgiven, is one of the greatest types of kufr and shirk since you’re limiting
the mercy of Allah.
• One of the greatest sins is to give up hope in the mercy of Allah.
• Hadith: The greatest of all sins is:
1. Do shirk with Allah
2. Feel safe from plotting of Allah
3. Give up hope of the mercy of Allah
4. Believe help of Allah will not arrive
• These four things are the greatest of all major sins
• To think Allah can’t forgive you is a far greater sin than all the sins you’ve
committed combined because you have limited the unlimited. You have put a
level on the infinite mercy of Allah.
• Ibrahim: Who is there that can despair from the mercy of Allah except those who
are misguided (Quran).
• How can the muslim accuse Allah of not being able to forgive him?
• Say: O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair
not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-
Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [Sûrah al-Zumar: 53]
• The sin of shirk is unforgivable only if the person dies on shirk. Taubah is so
powerful that even shirk is forgiven through taubah. By accepting islam (which is
a kind of taubah) then his shirk is negated.
• Which is why the verse is addressing the muslims.
• Hadith: Abu Hurayrah(r) reports from the Prophet (pbuh):
By Him in Whose Hand is my life, if you were not to commit sin, Allah would
sweep you out of existence and He would replace (you by) those people who
would commit sin and seek forgiveness from Allah, and He would have pardoned
them. [Muslim]
○ Allah desires to forgive.
• Hadith: The Prophet (SAW) said, ‘Indeed Allah SWT is Shy and Beneficent. He is
Shy when His servant raises his hands to Him (in dua) to return them empty’
(Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi).
• What happens when we repent
1. The sin is removed completely. It no longer exists.
 • Hadith: The one who repents from his sin is just like the one
who does not have any sin.
• How different is this from us when we “forgive but don’t
forget”?
2. The taubah replaces that sin with a good deed.
• Hadith: Indeed a group of people will come on the Day of
Judgment they will hope they had performed more evil. They
are those people who Allah exchanged their evil for good.
• These are those who performed taubah; not everyone.
3. Allah blesses him in this world
• Quran: "Saying `Ask forgiveness from your Lord; for He is
Oft-Forgiving; (10) "`He will send rain to you in abundance;
(11) "`Give you increase in wealth and sons; and bestow on
you Gardens and bestow on you rivers (of flowing water).
(12) [Surah Nuh (71)]
4. It is a path to Jannah
• Conditions of Taubah
1. Iklas; repent for the sake of Allah. Not because you’ve been caught
doing this but only for the sake of Allah.
2. We recognize and admit that we have sinned. Don’t try to justify it
and make excuses of your actions.
3. This recognition should bring about a feeling of guilt
• Hadith: Feeling guilty is taubah.
4. Immediately repent to Allah after the sin.
5. Intend to stop the sin. To not do so means that it is not a true
sincere taubah. It is almost like a play or a mockery.
6. This taubah will lead us to do more good deeds by coming closer to
Allah.
• Quran: Good deeds remove evil deeds
• Hadith: Man came to the Prophet (pbuh) and said he kissed a
girl who it was no lawful for him to have kissed so he
requested the Prophet (pbuh) to invoke the punishment of
Allah on to him. The Prophet (pbuh) turned away from him.
The man did this four times and the Prophet (pbuh) did not
 even respond to him. The time for prayer came and they
stood up to pray. The man thinking what he did was so grave
of a sin that the Prophet (pbuh) would not even talk to him.
So he left feeling guilty and sorrow. When the Prophet (pbuh)
saw him leave he called him back to him. He asked the man
“Did you not pray with us right now?” The man said yes I did.
The Prophet (pbuh) then said do you not know that Allah says
in the Quran “Doing good removes the evil”? So the man
realized that he had been forgiven so he cried out in joy “Oh
Messenger of Allah is this only for me or is this for all of
mankind?” The Prophet (pbuh) said, “No this is for all of
mankind”.
• Hadith: When you do an evil follow it up with a good so that it
wipes it out.
7. We should not publicize that sin. Leave it between you and Allah,
because to not do this shows a lack of modesty
• Hadith: Modesty is a part of faith
• Many of the youth fall prey to this, bragging about girls and
such
• Hadith: Prophet (pbuh) said “All of my ummah will be
forgiven except those who publicize their sins. The Sahabah
said “Oh Messenger of Allah, how does on publicize their
sins?” The Prophet (pbuh) responded, “He is the one who
does his sin at night and Allah covers him with the darkness
of the night and then when the sun comes up he goes around
telling the people, ‘Yesterday I did this, yesterday I did that’.
• This man has no regret for his sin.
• The only exception being that, after he repents, and he’s only
telling someone to give sincere advice for someone that
needs to hear it.
8. If the sin involves taking the rights of other people then these rights
must be returned.
• Two types of sins
 ○ 1.) Between you and Allah. Ex. Drinking wine or
looking at something he shouldn’t look at.
○ 2.) Transgressing the rights of another human being.
Ex. Stole some money, spoke evil about someone, etc.
• The second type demands that he ask forgiveness from Allah
AND the one who you have transgressed.
• If he stole money he should do his best to return it. If he
backbit against someone he should go back and try to speak
good about that same person in those same gatherings.
• These are the eight conditions scholars laid down for sincere repentance.
• Avoid two extremes with regard to taubah:
1. Person feels he is too sinful to be forgiven by Allah. He has
committed so many sins in his life, he has never worshiped Allah he
has never prayed and never fasted so he feels there is no point he
may as well continue on this path and he’ll just face the
punishment. This attitude of his is worse than ANY of the sins he
could have done because it is a type of kufr to accuse Allah’s mercy
of being smaller than your sins.
• Who is this person to limit Allah’s mercy? Allah created you
and everything around you.
• Common among the non-practicing muslims.
2. Take this mercy and forgiveness for granted. “I am a sinner but I
know Allah will forgive me.”
• This attitude falls into what the Prophet (pbuh) called
“Feeling safe from the plotting of Allah”
• Who is this person to state anything about Allah?
• To trivialize these sins.
• Don’t expect to be forgiven without taubah
○ Hadith: Repentance when the soul is taken out of the body is of no use.
○ The fool is the one who follows his desires, does everything he wishes to
do, and yet expects the best of Allah.
○ The wise person is one who fears Allah’s punishment and desires His
mercy and forgiveness.
• Important that we do not lose heart if we continue to do the sin.
○ This is a plot of satan.
○ A person performs taubah and feels truly guilty about a sin that he has
done. He truly desires to repent, and he DOES repent, then after a few
days or weeks or months or even years he returns to that same sin. Once
again he repents and does taubah, but after a little while he does the sin
again. This cycle happens again and he gives up. And then he feels
defeated and embraces that sin whole heartedly.
○ Does a child give up when it tries to stand? What about when it becomes
older, after having perfected the art of walking? The child KNOWS it is
something temporary.
○ So too is taubah. It is the intention of not returning to the sin. If it happens
that you do return, NO PROBLEM, do taubah again.
• You are not going to become angels. We aim for perfection but we learn to live
with imperfection.
• If it so happens that you fall into that sin again, immediately come to your
senses, brush off the sin with taubah, and stand up again and move on with your
life with the sincere intention never to return to that sin again.
○ If it happens again do the same thing. Over and over
• You are NOT going to become perfect but you can, every time you fall stand up
again. You can every time you commit a sin do taubah.
○ This is what Allah wants
○ Hadith: Prophet (pbuh) narrates the case of a man who commits a sin so
he lowers his head and says “Oh Allah forgive me”. Then he commits a sin
again and Allah says I have forgiven you. And then he commits a sin again
and says “Oh my Lord I have committed another sin so forgive me”, so
Allah says “I have forgiven him”. Then he commits the sin again and again
and again and the man keeps on saying “Oh my Lord I have committed a
sin so forgive me”. So after a few times Allah says, “This servant of mine
realizes that he has a Lord who forgives sins, therefore bare witness oh
angels that I have forgiven all of his sins. The ones that he has done and
the ones that he will do.”
• It is this servitude that Allah wants from us.
 • Oh Allah I have wronged myself and disobeyed you. Oh Allah
if you don’t forgive me there is no one that can forgive me.
• Allah is called “At-Tawaab”
○ It is we who do the taubah, but it is Allah who accepts the taubah
○ Tawaab means he continually accepts taubah
• It is not that you will leave sinning. It is that you will continue to take recourse to
taubah.
• Don’t lose heart oh muslim if you turn into the same sin that you hate.
• There are means to stay away from them, beyond the scope of this talk.
• Stand up and do taubah again.
• Hadith [Qudsi]: Allah said, “Oh son of Adam. As long as you call out to me and
expect the best of me I will forgive you no matter what you do. I will not care
about your sins. Oh son of Adam, if your sins reached the clouds in the skies,
then you ask My forgiveness, I will forgive you and I will not care about your sins.
Oh son of Adam, if you come to me with an earth full of sins but you meet me
not having committed shirk with Me, then I will come to you with an earth full of
forgiveness.
• Hadith: Allah will come close to the mumin and will cover him up on the Day of
Judgment and He will bring forth his sins. He will ask him, “Do you remember
this sin?” and he will say, “Yes my Lord. I remember it, I did it”. And He will ask
him, “Do you remember this sin?” and he will say, “Yes my Lord. I remember it, I
did it”. And He will continue to remind this person of every sin that he has done
until this person believes that he has been destroyed. Then Allah will tell him I
have covered these sins from you in this world (i.e. other people did not see
them) and today I will forgive them of you.
○ This is the mumin, the servant of Allah who performs taubah