By Hasanudeen Bin Anisur Rahman

“The expiation of sin is regret”. 

Once I saw this line, I immediately thought about istighfar (The act of seeking forgiveness from Allah ﷻ), and how we should be continuously making an effort to seek His Forgiveness. A question was also asked in our circle, “Does that mean that Allah ﷻ wants us to sin?” to which the response was beautiful, “Allah ﷻ wants to forgive and He always wants you to turn back to Him”. 

We always forget Him. Feelings of independence creep into our hearts all the time even though we are critically desperate for His Help for every moment of existence. We are dependent upon Him. Sins then become a means to understand and be reminded of our true worth before Him when we become oblivious of the Greatest Being in Existence and the Cause for our existence. To be humbled. To feel ashamed. To be in desperate need before Him. To turn back to Him.

The Benefits of istighfar are many as our Prophet ﷺ has mentioned:

Rasullullah ﷺ said:

“If anyone constantly seeks pardon (from Allah), Allah will appoint for him a way out of every distress and a relief from every anxiety, and will provide sustenance for him from where he expects not.”

Abu Dawud

However, we have to ask ourselves, are we sincere in our istighfar?

DO WE TRULY REGRET THE ACTIONS OF OUR PAST AND ARE MAKING AMENDS, SO THAT WE WON’T REPEAT THE SAME SINS AGAIN AND AGAIN? OR ARE WE SIMPLY DOING LIP SERVICE TO ALLAH ﷻ BY SAYING “ASTAGHFIRULLAH” AS A ROUTINE WITHOUT INVOLVING THE HEART?

This hadith made me realise the importance of regretting our past actions and comprehending why it was wrong so that we could ask a sincere apology to Allah ﷻ for transgressing against His boundaries so that He will forgive us—as He is the Most Forgiving. And He loves to forgive.

Additionally, we should also make changes to our habits, so that we won’t repeat the same sins. We should always seek His Forgiveness, regardless of the quantity and severity of our sins, as He is the One who loves to forgive.

How many istighfar should we be doing daily?

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

 “Sometimes I perceive a veil over my heart, and I supplicate Allah for forgiveness a hundred times in a day.”

Muslim

The Prophet ﷺ was protected by Allah ﷻ from all kinds of transgressions and mistakes yet he ﷺ dedicated himself to performing istighfar daily. He ﷺ was the best among us and has shown us how to practise humility and reverence before Allah ﷻ in its truest sincere form. In emulating the Best of Creations ﷺ, let us resolve to perform a 100 istighfaar daily and witness the changes it promises to bring into our lives, Bi Iznillah (with the permission of Allah).

We should also be reminded of the significance of our five daily prayers, and how sticking to them sincerely will be a key to paradise. If one holds on to the five daily prayers truthfully in the manner that Allah ﷻ should be worshipped, it will become a significant means for our salvation though it does feel heavily discounted, for Allah ﷻ deserves to be worshipped all the time.

Anas ibn Malik reported: 

Fifty prayers were obligated upon the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, when he was taken on his night journey. Then, it was reduced until it was set at five and an announcement was made, “O Muhammad, My word is never changed, so these five prayers will be counted as fifty.” 

Sunan al-Tirmidhī 213

From the above mentioned hadith, we can see that we had to perform fifty prayers initially! However, due to our Prophet’s ﷺ understanding that his Ummah will not be able to cope with fifty, he had bargained with Allah ﷻ to reduce the number by five at a time, till it reached the final amount of five daily prayers. Let’s appreciate the care that our Prophet ﷺ has for us, and most importantly, Allah’s ﷻ extended mercy, for allowing us to have a 95% “discount” in the quantity of our prayers!

Despite this incredible “discount”, we may still be complaining and feeling lazy at times to perform the five prayers, which are actually spiritual breaks for us, from this material and lowly world. This shows how weak we are as a creation, and instead of feeling tired, we should be appreciative and grateful of Allah’s ﷻ Mercy and our Prophet’s ﷺ kindness for us 

And Allah’s ﷻ Mercy does not stop with His discount. He even counts the five prayers as fifty! SubhanAllah! What then are we really complaining about?

DESPITE HIS COUNTLESS BLESSINGS, ALL ALLAH ﷻ WANTS US TO DO IS TO REMEMBER AND ACKNOWLEDGE HIM, WHICH IS DONE THROUGH MINDFUL DHIKR.

It can be done anywhere and anytime, it is something easy to do, and has a multitude of rewards. So let us include dhikr in our morning and night routines, InshaAllah.

To conclude, let’s perform our prayers mindfully, understanding that these are spiritual refreshments that bring us closer to Allah ﷻ. Let’s perform sincere repentance with regret and a serious plan to make amends. 

And let’s continuously remember Allah ﷻ with dhikr with sincerity and hope, as our final return is to Him.

Yours Sincerely,

Servant of Allah

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