Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Taubat (Repentance)


Bismillahirrahmaanirrahiim,
 
God created us (human being) of the best stature[i].  God has perfected our soul and inspired it with conscience of what is wrong for it and what is right for it[ii].  The right direction is henceforth distinct from error.[iii]  Then, we decide our state whether to believe or disbelieve[iv], whether we want to be higher then angel or lower then cattle.  And we are not forsaken without guide.  Allah wronged us  not, but we did wrong ourselves.
 
Iblis, before departed heaven said to God, “Now, because Thou hast sent me astray, verily I shall lurk in ambush for them on Thy Right Path. Then I shall come upon them from before them and from behind them and from their right hands and from their left hands, and Thou wilt not find most of them beholden (unto Thee).
God answered, “Go forth from hence, degraded, banished. As for such of them as follow thee, surely I will fill hell with all of you.
About this, God warned us, “O Children of Adam! Let not Satan seduce you as he caused your (first) parents to go forth from the Garden and tore off from them their robe (of innocence) that be might manifest their shame to them. Lo! He seeth you, he and his tribe, from whence ye see him not. Lo! We have made the devils protecting friends for those who believe not.[v]
Allah has raised in every nation a messenger proclaiming: Serve Allah and shun false God [vi], and prophet Muhammad is the Seal of the Prophets[vii] and he was sent to be a bringer of good tidings and a warner unto all mankind.[viii]
But, with all these gifts and warnings, sometimes we still slip from the right pathway and follow iblis will.  For that, God give us a chance to repent (taubat) and He’s The Merciful One.
 
Q16:119. Then lo! thy Lord for those who do evil in ignorance and afterward repent and amend lot (for them) thy Lord is afterward indeed Forgiving, Merciful.
On the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say: Allah the Almighty said:
O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great at it. [ix]
 
Taubat is not just asking forgiveness by tongue without following by heart.  Has similarity with Iman (faith), taubat is felt by heart, expressed by tongue (asking forgiveness from God and from people whom we have wronged), and practice by deed (stop from doing that mistake, mend the consequences of our bad deed, do good deed to cover our sins, etc).[x] 
 
Allah’s forgiveness is not a reason that justify us when we want to do sin.  Past is something that we cant change and we never know the future.  What we have is this time, this time we can choose what we want to do.  When we did sin in the past but we can’t go back to the past to change what has already happened, Allah shows us what we can do.  Allah is Merciful, and what we can do THIS TIME is asking for His Mercy. 
Someone, who does sin with knowledge that God is Merciful and think that he can postpone his repentance later, forget that he never know the future and he never know when Death Angel will come to end his life. 

Q4:17 Forgiveness is only incumbent on Allah toward those who do evil in ignorance (and) then turn quickly (in repentance) to Allah. These are they toward whom Allah relenteth. Allah is ever Knower, Wise.
18. The forgiveness is not for those who do ill deeds, until, when death attendeth upon one of them, he saith: Lo! I repent now; nor yet for those who die while they are disbelievers. For such We have prepared a painful doom.
 
Let’s us go back to Him, lower ourselves in front of Him, asking for His Mercy. Lets accept Allah’s invitation to repentance before it becomes too late for us.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
Q39:53. Say: My slaves who have been prodigal to their own hurt! Despair not of the mercy of Allah, Who forgiveth all sins.  Lo! He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.
54. Turn unto Him repentant, and surrender unto Him, before there come unto you the doom, when ye cannot be helped.
55. And follow the better (guidance) of that which is revealed unto you from your Lord, before the doom cometh on you suddenly when ye know not,
56. Lest any soul should say Alas, my grief that I was unmindful of Allah, and I was indeed among the scoffers!
57. Or should say: if Allah had but guided me I should have been among the dutiful!
58. Or should say, when it seeth the doom: Oh, that I had but a second chance that I might be among the righteous!
59. (But now the answer will be): Nay, for My revelations came unto thee, but thou didst deny them and wast scornful and wast among the disbelievers.
 
“Our Lord! Condemn us not if we forget, or miss the mark! Our Lord! Lay not on us such a burden as Thou didst lay on those before us! Our Lord! Impose not on us that which we have not the strength to bear! Pardon us, absolve us and have mercy on us, Thou, our Protector, and give us victory over the disbelieving folk.”[xi]
 
Wallahu’alam
 



[i] Q95:4
[ii] Q91:7-8
[iii] Q2:256
[iv] Q18:29
[v] Q7:16-27
[vi] Q16:36
[vii] Q33:40
[viii] Q34:28
[ix] It was related by at-Tirmidhi (also by Ahmad ibn Hanbal). It’s chain of authorities is sound
[x] Q4:146, Q25:71
[xi] Q2:286


http://deawaken.blogspot.com/2011/01/taubat-repentance.html

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