Ramaḍan is the month of forgiveness and repentance. The word ‘Ramadan’ is derived from ramad which refers to the intense burning heat of the sun. Thus, ‘Ramadan’ is the month in which the sins of the believer are burned by their righteous deeds. The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said, “The five daily prayers, Jumuah to Jumuah, and Ramadan to Ramadan expiate for (the sins perpetrated) in between them, so long as one stays away from the major sins” (Muslim).
But do our people stay away from these major and minor sins? No! Like unrepentant and incorrigible sinners, they go about the land fomenting trouble. If they are not after another man’s wife, the wives are sleeping with another woman’s husband, spreading the ignoble art of fornication in the land. They steal money meant for the community and fight over the spoils in a gale of sacking and impeachments.
They accept bribes from litigants and pervert the course of justice. They are always quick to board the next flight to Mecca to perform Umrah, which they have already started, yet they are the worst offenders in the land. They are not only unjust in the allocation of resources but inequitable in the dispensation of values. Upon all these acts of iniquities, they supplicate every day for forgiveness; but they fail to forgive those that trespass against them.
All of us are sinful. We commit sins and don’t even realize how we are suffering from their consequences. Our sins are not just between us and Allah. They directly impact our families, communities and, ultimately, the entire Ummah. Sins take us far away from Allah and incur His anger and punishment. Sins remove barakah and weaken the heart and the body.
Sins deprive us from doing good deeds, prevent our duas from being accepted, result in a horrible death and lead to suffering in the hereafter. Ibn al-Jawzī (raḥimahullāh) said, “Sins are like a chain around the neck of the sinner. One can only be released from it through istighfār (seeking forgiveness) and tawbah (repentance).”
Sins can seal the heart to the extent that one’s heart becomes numb and no longer accepts any reminder or any form of good. This can lead to one becoming desensitized and not considering a sin as a sin. Sins are the biggest obstacles in our journey to Allah. Sins ruin the heart and make it diseased. Thus, istighfar has to be an essential part of our lives, and more so in Ramaḍan, in which it is far easier to be forgiven.
“Whoever does not feel contentment of the heart and cannot experience the sweetness of iman and the light of guidance, then he should increase in repenting and seeking forgiveness.” – Ibn Taymiyyah (raḥimahullāh)
Just as we must make istighfār for our sins, we must also ask Allah to forgive the deficiencies in our worship and good deeds. We can never fulfil the rights of Allah and worship Him as He deserves to be worshipped.
Ramadan is the month of tawbah (repentance). A month of truly turning with one’s heart to Allah, and humbly apologising to Him. We should dedicate time in Ramadan to reflect on all the sins we have committed throughout our lives. We should feel very bad at having sinned, and we should reflect on our negligence in worshipping Allah. We should think over how Kind and Generous Allah is to us, and how we use these very same blessings to disobey Him.
Allah says, “O believers! Turn to Allah in sincere repentance, so your Lord may erase your sins and admit you into Gardens, under which rivers flow…” (66:8).
For tawbah to be sincere, we have to:
1. Stop committing the sin; but our people will not stop. At every turn they empty the community cookie jar. If they had stopped, there would have been enough funds to develop the country, we would not be the poverty capital of the world, our people would have enough to eat and leftover to export. If they had stopped sinning, our lot as a people would not be so pauperized, we would not be impoverished and our people would no longer be hewers of wood and drawers of water.
2. Feel a deep sense of regret and remorse over the sin; they have no sense of remorse or regret. Like the proverbial dry fish, they have been hardened and can no longer bend. Hey are unrepentant sinners. They have no resolve to never return to that sin; sinful living has become a way of life.
3. Make amends if we have wronged another person (e.g. ask their forgiveness or supplicate for them). Arrogant and irredeemable, they will never make amends.
Let us make sincere tawbah to Allah in this month. Our sincere tawbah must also include a firm resolve to not return to the sin, especially when Ramadan is over.
Tawbah is a gift from Allah. We can only make tawbah if Allah allows us to do so (tawfīq). Allah turns towards us first, after which we turn to Him in repentance; and then He accepts our repentance.
Allah says: “…Then He turned towards them, so that they may repent. Surely, Allah is the Acceptor of repentance, the Very Merciful” (Quran 9:118).
Sometimes Shaytan may delude us into thinking that we still have time, and that we will make tawbah in the latter part of our lives. However, there is no guarantee for life. We should make tawbah today, so that we do not regret it when it is too late. It has been said that if the deceased in the grave were able to communicate with us, they would tell us that their greatest desire would be to be able to return to the world, even for a fraction of a moment, and make sincere tawbah to Allah.
“The best day in a servant’s life is undoubtedly the day in which he turns to Allah in repentance, and Allah accepts His repentance” – Ibn al-Qayyim (raḥimahullāh)
There is no one who forgives like Allah. No matter what we may have done, Allah is waiting for us to turn to Him with sincerity and humility, and beg Him to forgive us. He is al-Ghafur (The All-Forgiving) and al-Ghafar (The Most Forgiving). He says: “Say, (O Prophet, that Allah says,): O My servants who have transgressed against their souls! Do not lose hope in Allah’s mercy, for Allah certainly forgives all sins. He is indeed the All-Forgiving, Most Merciful” (Quran 39:53).
Not only does Allah forgive, but he loves those who constantly repent and seek His forgiveness. From His immense kindness, He instructs His angels – including the Bearers of the Throne – to supplicate for our forgiveness!
As humans, we struggle to forgive each other, let alone reciprocate evil with good. Allah, on the other hand, does not only conceal and forgive, but He also “changes their evil deeds into good ones” (25:70). Moreover, He showers us with worldly blessings as a result of us seeking forgiveness, including wealth, children and strength (see 71:12 and 11:52). Allāhu Akbar!
Tawbah is an essential ingredient in every stage of a servant’s journey to his Lord, and it is something we must renew all the time. It is inevitable that we are going to sin; but each time we sin, we should rush to make tawbah, so that the sins do not corrode our hearts.
This Ramaḍān, our goal should be to reach the level of inābah. Inābah is the stage after tawbah and it consists of repeatedly turning to Allah with love and humility; and to turn away from others.
Allah says, “But Paradise will be brought close to the righteous and will no longer be distant. ‘This is what you were promised — for everyone who turned often to Allah in sincere repentance and preserved (His commands); who were in awe of the All-Merciful without seeing Him; and have come with a heart which is munīb (turned in devotion to Him)” (Quran 50:31-35).
Our thieving leaders have their knees on our neck and ‘We can’t breathe’. People are suffocating in man-induced poverty, unemployment, want, impoverishment and mystery as a result of the iniquities and self aggrandizement of our leaders. Hope has been betrayed, expectations frustrated and individual efforts have muzzled. There is a need for the leadership to atone for their sins against the poor and the wretched of our clime. They should repent and ask God for forgiveness. The suffering of our people has reached God in Heaven and He is not pleased.
Unfortunately, when the wrath of God is unleashed, there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth. According to the Book of Ecclesiastes 3:1;”To everything there is a time and a purpose and season under the heavens”. Accordingly, there is a time to enslave and a time to set the captives free. Now is the time. Let our leaders learn from the lesson from other parts of the world. People here can protest too; and when there is nothing more for the poor to eat, they would ‘eat the rich’. May Allah al-Tawwab (The Acceptor of repentance) always turn to us so that we turn to Him. May He always accept our tawbah and grant us the gift of inabah.
Barka Juma’at and Happy weekend. Ramadan Kareem.
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