My dear readers,
السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ
Al-salāmu ʿalaykum wa-raḥmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
May the Peace, Mercy and Blessings of Allah be upon you.
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
Bismi Allāhi al-Raḥmāni al-Raḥīm.
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ، نَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ، وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَسَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا. مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ، وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ.
Al-ḥamdu lillāhi, nastaʿīnuhu wa-nastaghfiruhu, wa-naʿūdhu billāhi min shurūri anfusinā wa-sayyiʾāti aʿmālinā. Man yahdihi Allāhu fa-lā muḍilla lahu, wa-man yuḍlil fa-lā hādiya lahu.
وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ.
Wa-ashhadu an lā ilāha illā Allāh, wa-ashhadu anna Muḥammadan ʿabduhu wa-rasūluh.
See the end note in the first post.
On Sin and Forgiveness
Sin, Accountability, and the Promise of Forgiveness
The presence—indeed, the prevalence—of sin within us and around us often creates doubts in our minds. We sin, repent, and hope for forgiveness. Is this not what Allah subḥānahu wa-taʿālā promises us in the Qur’an?
وَإِنِّي لَغَفَّارٌ لِمَنْ تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا ثُمَّ اهْتَدَىٰ
Wa-innī la-ghaffārun li-man tāba wa-āmana wa-ʿamila ṣāliḥan thumma ihtadā.
Yet withal, behold, I forgive ALL sins unto any who repents and attains to faith and does righteous deeds, and thereafter keeps to the right path.
Some among us pursue a different line of argument. Those who feel that our actions have no consequences, or that their consequences are limited to this life alone, will be the subject of another post, in shāʾ Allāh.
Others argue that we cannot sin without Allah’s permission and are therefore not accountable—or even that we sin with Allah’s approval. Still others believe that we are born in sin, having inherited the sin of our father Adam (ʿalayhi al-salām).
In response, I would cite Allah’s unequivocal rejection of disbelief in Sūrat al-Zumar, together with the rejection of the idea that any person bears another’s burden:
إِنْ تَكْفُرُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَنِيٌّ عَنْكُمْ وَلَا يَرْضَىٰ لِعِبَادِهِ الْكُفْرَ وَإِنْ تَشْكُرُوا يَرْضَهُ لَكُمْ وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَىٰ ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكُمْ مَرْجِعُكُمْ فَيُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ إِنَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ
In takfurū fa-inna Allāha ghaniyyun ʿankum, wa-lā yarḍā li-ʿibādihi al-kufra; wa-in tashkurū yarḍahu lakum. Wa-lā taziru wāziratun wizra ukhrā. Thumma ilā rabbikum marjiʿukum fa-yunabbiʾukum bi-mā kuntum taʿmalūn. Innahu ʿalīmun bi-dhāti al-ṣudūr.
If you are ingrate, behold, God has no need of you; none the less, He does not approve of ingratitude in His servants: whereas, if you show gratitude, He approves it in you. And no bearer of burdens shall be made to bear another’s burden. In time, unto your Sustainer you all must return, and then He will make you [truly] understand all that you were doing [in life]: for, verily, He has full knowledge of what is in the hearts [of men].
There are also those who ask why sin was created if it is such a bad thing. This post considers the importance of repentance—tawbah (تَوْبَة)—and, implicitly, the place of sin in the Divine design.
Adam: Forgetfulness, Repentance, and Divine Selection
For those familiar with the story of Adam (ʿalayhi al-salām), he was the first human being, the first prophet, and, by some accounts, the first sinner. In my understanding, Adam made a mistake by forgetting Allah’s injunction:
وَلَقَدْ عَهِدْنَا إِلَىٰ آدَمَ مِنْ قَبْلُ فَنَسِيَ وَلَمْ نَجِدْ لَهُ عَزْمًا
Wa-laqad ʿahidnā ilā Ādama min qablu fa-nasiya wa-lam najid lahu ʿazmā.
We had already, beforehand, taken the covenant of Adam, but he forgot: and We found on his part no firm resolve.
As soon as Adam and his wife realized what they had done, however, they repented and were forgiven:
قَالَا رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنْفُسَنَا وَإِنْ لَمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ
Qālā rabbanā ẓalamnā anfusanā, wa-in lam taghfir lanā wa-tarḥamnā la-nakūnanna mina al-khāsirīn.
The two replied: “O our Sustainer! We have sinned against ourselves—and unless Thou grant us forgiveness and bestow Thy mercy upon us, we shall most certainly be lost!”
ثُمَّ اجْتَبَاهُ رَبُّهُ فَتَابَ عَلَيْهِ وَهَدَىٰ
Thumma ijtabāhu rabbuhu fa-tāba ʿalayhi wa-hadā.
Thereafter, [however,] his Sustainer selected him, and accepted his repentance, and bestowed His guidance upon him.
These verses (āyāt) make several points clear: Allah does not approve of sin; we do not inherit another person’s burden; and Adam (ʿalayhi al-salām) was forgiven for a mistake made in forgetfulness. Yet 20:122 adds an important dimension. Allah not only accepted Adam’s repentance but also chose him.
What the Hadith Teach About Sin and Return
Two hadith of the Prophet ﷺ in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim can be misunderstood, but they shed further light on this question:
حَدَّثَنَا هَارُونُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ الْأَيْلِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ وَهْبٍ، حَدَّثَنِي عِيَاضٌ ـ وَهُوَ ابْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْفِهْرِيُّ ـ حَدَّثَنِي إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ عُبَيْدِ بْنِ رِفَاعَةَ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ كَعْبٍ الْقُرَظِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي صِرْمَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي أَيُّوبَ الْأَنْصَارِيِّ، عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: «لَوْ أَنَّكُمْ لَمْ تَكُنْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبٌ يَغْفِرُهَا اللَّهُ لَكُمْ، لَجَاءَ اللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ لَهُمْ ذُنُوبٌ يَغْفِرُهَا لَهُمْ».
Ḥaddathanā Hārūnu bnu Saʿīdin al-Ayliyyu, ḥaddathanā Ibnu Wahbin, ḥaddathanī ʿIyāḍun—wa-huwa ibnu ʿAbdi Allāhi al-Fihriyyu—ḥaddathanī Ibrāhīmu bnu ʿUbaydi bni Rifāʿata, ʿan Muḥammadi bni Kaʿbin al-Quraẓiyyi, ʿan Abī Ṣirmata, ʿan Abī Ayyūba al-Anṣāriyyi, ʿan Rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama annahu qāla: “Law annakum lam takun lakum dhunūbun yaghfiruhā Allāhu lakum, la-jāʾa Allāhu bi-qawmin lahum dhunūbun yaghfiruhā lahum.”
Abu Ayyub Ansari (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu) reported that Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said:
If you were not to commit sins, Allah would have swept you out of existence and would have replaced you by another people who have committed sin, and then asked forgiveness from Allah, and He would have granted them pardon.
حَدَّثَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ رَافِعٍ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ، أَخْبَرَنَا مَعْمَرٌ، عَنْ جَعْفَرٍ الْجَزَرِيِّ، عَنْ يَزِيدَ بْنِ الْأَصَمِّ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ، لَوْ لَمْ تُذْنِبُوا لَذَهَبَ اللَّهُ بِكُمْ، وَلَجَاءَ بِقَوْمٍ يُذْنِبُونَ فَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ اللَّهَ فَيَغْفِرُ لَهُمْ».
Ḥaddathanī Muḥammadu bnu Rāfiʿin, ḥaddathanā ʿAbdu al-Razzāqi, akhbaranā Maʿmarun, ʿan Jaʿfarin al-Jazariyyi, ʿan Yazīda bni al-Aṣammi, ʿan Abī Hurayrata, qāla: qāla Rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: “Wa-alladhī nafsī bi-yadihi, law lam tudhnibū la-dhahaba Allāhu bikum, wa-la-jāʾa bi-qawmin yudhnibūna fa-yastaghfirūna Allāha fa-yaghfiru lahum.”
Abu Huraira (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu) reported Allah’s Messenger ﷺ having said:
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.
To understand these hadith, we must conclude that repentance grants a distinctive status before Allah—one that might not be reached otherwise. Those who perform tawbah follow the sunnah of our father Adam (ʿalayhi al-salām); may Allah give Adam a share in all the tawbah that we make.
In my understanding, these hadith do not encourage sin. Rather, they illuminate the immense benefit of repentance. If we err and fall, our error need not end the journey. We rise, dust ourselves off, ask forgiveness, and continue our journey toward Him.
Tawbah and the Meaning of ʿIbādah
Tawbah (تَوْبَة) is the essence of ʿibādah (عِبَادَة), or worship. We know what Allah subḥānahu wa-taʿālā says about ʿibādah:
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ
Wa-mā khalaqtu al-jinna wa-al-insa illā li-yaʿbudūn.
And I have not created the invisible beings and men to any end other than that they may [know and] worship Me.
The word ʿabd (عَبْد) is often misunderstood or loosely translated as “slave” or “worshiper.” Yet ʿibādah, the sole purpose of creation, is closely related in Arabic to tadhallul (تَذَلُّل): humility, lowliness, or willing submission.
In Arabic, a well-trodden path, worn down by repeated passage, is called طَرِيقٌ مُعَبَّدٌ (ṭarīqun muʿabbadun). Similarly, a camel that follows its master tamely wherever it is led is called بَعِيرٌ مُعَبَّدٌ (baʿīrun muʿabbadun).
Tadhallul should not be understood negatively, as humiliation. To be in that state before Allah subḥānahu wa-taʿālā is, instead, to occupy the most elevated state. When the Prophet ﷺ was brought to the heavens—a pinnacle of human attainment—the title used for him was ʿabd:
سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَىٰ بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلًا مِنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الْأَقْصَى الَّذِي بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ لِنُرِيَهُ مِنْ آيَاتِنَا إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ
Subḥāna alladhī asrā bi-ʿabdihi laylan mina al-masjidi al-ḥarāmi ilā al-masjidi al-aqṣā alladhī bāraknā ḥawlahu li-nuriyahu min āyātinā. Innahu huwa al-samīʿu al-baṣīr.
LIMITLESS in His glory is He who transported His عَبْد by night from the Inviolable House of Worship [at Mecca] to the Remote House of Worship [, at Jerusalem]—the environs of which We had blessed—so that We might show him some of Our symbols: for, verily, He alone is all-hearing, all-seeing.
About this, Iqbal, speaking through al-Ḥallāj in the Jāvīd Nāmah, says:
عَبدِ دیگر، عَبْدُهُ چیزی دگرما سَراپا انتظار، او مُنتظر
ʿAbd-e dīgar, ʿabduhū chīzī degar;mā sarāpā entezār, ū montazer.
“Slave” is one thing, “His Slave” is another;we are all expectancy; he ﷺ is (His) expectation itself.
The Four Forms of Humility
Building on this understanding of tadhallul, Shaykh Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah discusses the path toward the Perfect Man—the perfect ʿabd. In Madārij al-Sālikīn bayna Manāzil Iyyāka Naʿbudu wa-Iyyāka Nastaʿīn (مَدَارِجُ السَّالِكِينَ بَيْنَ مَنَازِلِ إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ), he identifies four forms of dhull (ذُلّ), or humility:
The Humility of Need and Poverty
Dhull al-ḥājah wa-al-faqr (ذُلُّ الْحَاجَةِ وَالْفَقْرِ) includes everyone: those who believe in Allah and those who do not, those whom we consider living and those we consider nonliving. It is the recognition that we cannot provide for ourselves and remain dependent on Allah.
وَهِيَ ذُلُّ الْحَاجَةِ وَالْفَقْرِ إِلَى اللَّهِ، فَأَهْلُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا مُحْتَاجُونَ إِلَيْهِ، فُقَرَاءُ إِلَيْهِ، وَهُوَ وَحْدَهُ الْغَنِيُّ عَنْهُمْ، وَكُلُّ أَهْلِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ يَسْأَلُونَهُ، وَهُوَ لَا يَسْأَلُ أَحَدًا.
Wa-hiya dhullu al-ḥājati wa-al-faqri ilā Allāh; fa-ahlu al-samāwāti wa-al-arḍi jamīʿan muḥtājūna ilayhi, fuqarāʾu ilayhi, wa-huwa waḥdahu al-ghaniyyu ʿanhum, wa-kullu ahli al-samāwāti wa-al-arḍi yasʾalūnahu, wa-huwa lā yasʾalu aḥadā.
As Allah says in Sūrat al-Raḥmān:
يَسْأَلُهُ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ هُوَ فِي شَأْنٍ
Yasʾaluhu man fī al-samāwāti wa-al-arḍ; kulla yawmin huwa fī shaʾn.
On Him depends all creatures in the heavens and on earth; [and] every day He manifests Himself in yet another [wondrous] way.
And in Sūrat Fāṭir:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ أَنْتُمُ الْفُقَرَاءُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ الْحَمِيدُ
Yā ayyuhā al-nāsu antumu al-fuqarāʾu ilā Allāh, wa-Allāhu huwa al-ghaniyyu al-ḥamīd.
O mankind! It is you, who stand in need of God, whereas He alone is self-sufficient, the One to whom all praise is due.
The Humility of Obedience
Dhull al-ṭāʿah (ذُلُّ الطَّاعَةِ) is the next stage: that of the believer who comes to faith, obeys the Lord, and fulfills His commandments.
ذُلُّ الطَّاعَةِ وَالْعُبُودِيَّةِ: وَهُوَ ذُلُّ الاِخْتِيَارِ، وَهٰذَا خَاصٌّ بِأَهْلِ طَاعَتِهِ، وَهُوَ سِرُّ الْعُبُودِيَّةِ.
Dhullu al-ṭāʿati wa-al-ʿubūdiyyah: wa-huwa dhullu al-ikhtiyār, wa-hādhā khāṣṣun bi-ahli ṭāʿatihi, wa-huwa sirru al-ʿubūdiyyah.
The Humility of Love
Dhull al-maḥabbah (ذُلُّ الْمَحَبَّةِ) is the stage at which obedience arises neither from fear of punishment nor from desire for reward, but from love of the Beloved, fear of incurring displeasure, and a desire to please the Beloved.
ذُلُّ الْمَحَبَّةِ: فَإِنَّ الْمُحِبَّ ذَلِيلٌ بِالذَّاتِ، وَعَلَى قَدْرِ مَحَبَّتِهِ لَهُ يَكُونُ ذُلُّهُ، فَالْمَحَبَّةُ أُسِّسَتْ عَلَى الذِّلَّةِ لِلْمَحْبُوبِ، كَمَا قِيلَ:
Dhullu al-maḥabbah: fa-inna al-muḥibba dhalīlun bi-al-dhāt, wa-ʿalā qadri maḥabbatihi lahu yakūnu dhulluhu; fa-al-maḥabbatu ussisat ʿalā al-dhillati li-al-maḥbūb, kamā qīla:
اِخْضَعْ وَذِلَّ لِمَنْ تُحِبُّ، فَلَيْسَ فِيحُكْمِ الْهَوَى أَنْفٌ يُشَالُ وَيُعْقَدُ
Ikhḍaʿ wa-dhilla li-man tuḥibbu, fa-laysa fīḥukmi al-hawā anfun yushālu wa-yuʿqadu.
Describing these lovers, a poet quoted in connection with al-Aṣmaʿī (الْأَصْمَعِيّ) writes:
مَسَاكِينُ أَهْلِ الْعِشْقِ حَتَّى قُبُورُهُمْعَلَيْهَا تُرَابُ الذُّلِّ بَيْنَ الْمَقَابِرِ
Masākīnu ahli al-ʿishqi ḥattā qubūruhum;ʿalayhā turābu al-dhulli bayna al-maqābir.
The poor, impoverished lovers—even when they die, their graves have nothing to show but the dust of dhull.
The Humility of Sin and Transgression
The fourth is dhull al-maʿṣiyah wa-al-jināyah (ذُلُّ الْمَعْصِيَةِ وَالْجِنَايَةِ): the humility of those who have sinned and committed offenses.
فَإِذَا اجْتَمَعَتْ هٰذِهِ الْمَرَاتِبُ الْأَرْبَعُ، كَانَ الذُّلُّ لِلَّهِ وَالْخُضُوعُ لَهُ أَكْمَلَ وَأَتَمَّ، إِذْ يَذِلُّ لَهُ خَوْفًا وَخَشْيَةً، وَمَحَبَّةً وَإِنَابَةً، وَطَاعَةً وَفَقْرًا وَفَاقَةً. وَحَقِيقَةُ ذٰلِكَ هُوَ الْفَقْرُ الَّذِي يُشِيرُ إِلَيْهِ الْقَوْمُ، وَهٰذَا الْمَعْنَى أَجَلُّ مِنْ أَنْ يُسَمَّى بِالْفَقْرِ، بَلْ هُوَ لُبُّ الْعُبُودِيَّةِ وَسِرُّهَا، وَحُصُولُهُ أَنْفَعُ شَيْءٍ لِلْعَبْدِ وَأَحَبُّ شَيْءٍ إِلَى اللَّهِ.
Fa-idhā ijtamaʿat hādhihi al-marātibu al-arbaʿu, kāna al-dhullu li-Allāhi wa-al-khuḍūʿu lahu akmala wa-atamma, idh yadhillu lahu khawfan wa-khashyatan, wa-maḥabbatan wa-inābatan, wa-ṭāʿatan wa-faqran wa-fāqatan. Wa-ḥaqīqatu dhālika huwa al-faqru alladhī yushīru ilayhi al-qawmu, wa-hādhā al-maʿnā ajallu min an yusammā bi-al-faqr, bal huwa lubbu al-ʿubūdiyyati wa-sirruhā, wa-ḥuṣūluhu anfaʿu shayʾin li-al-ʿabdi wa-aḥabbu shayʾin ilā Allāh.
This is the essence of this blog post: the highest level of spiritual progress is attained by those who are humbled before Allah beneath the burden of their sins.
One of Allama Iqbal’s early couplets—reportedly among the verses through which his poetic promise was first recognized—expresses the importance of this idea:
موتی سمجھ کے شانِ کریمی نے چُن لیےقطرے جو تھے مِرے عَرَقِ اِنفعال کے
Motī samajh ke shān-e karīmī ne chun liye,qatre jo the mire ʿaraq-e infiʿāl ke.
Divine Grace gathered the drops of remorse from my forehead, valuing them as pearls.
From Repentance to Divine Love
One might assume that, when sinners repent, the acceptance of their repentance would be enough. Yet our Beloved promises much more. Consider this portion of Sūrat al-Baqarah:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ التَّوَّابِينَ وَيُحِبُّ الْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ
Inna Allāha yuḥibbu al-tawwābīna wa-yuḥibbu al-mutaṭahhirīn.
Allah truly LOVES those who repent and LOVES those who purify themselves.
Those who repent receive not only forgiveness, but Divine Love. We see this again in the following hadith of the Prophet ﷺ:
حَدَّثَنَا إِسْحَاقُ، أَخْبَرَنَا حَبَّانُ، حَدَّثَنَا هَمَّامٌ، حَدَّثَنَا قَتَادَةُ، حَدَّثَنَا أَنَسُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. وَحَدَّثَنَا هُدْبَةُ، حَدَّثَنَا هَمَّامٌ، حَدَّثَنَا قَتَادَةُ، عَنْ أَنَسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «اللَّهُ أَفْرَحُ بِتَوْبَةِ عَبْدِهِ مِنْ أَحَدِكُمْ سَقَطَ عَلَى بَعِيرِهِ، وَقَدْ أَضَلَّهُ فِي أَرْضِ فَلَاةٍ».
Ḥaddathanā Isḥāqu, akhbaranā Ḥabbānu, ḥaddathanā Hammāmun, ḥaddathanā Qatādatu, ḥaddathanā Anasu bnu Mālikin, ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama. Wa-ḥaddathanā Hudbatu, ḥaddathanā Hammāmun, ḥaddathanā Qatādatu, ʿan Anasin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu, qāla: qāla Rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: “Allāhu afraḥu bi-tawbati ʿabdihi min aḥadikum saqaṭa ʿalā baʿīrihi, wa-qad aḍallahu fī arḍi falātin.”
Narrated Anas bin Malik (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu):
Allah’s Apostle said, “Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His slave than anyone of you is pleased with finding his camel which he had lost in the desert.”
The hadith is elaborated in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim:
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الصَّبَّاحِ، وَزُهَيْرُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، قَالَا: حَدَّثَنَا عُمَرُ بْنُ يُونُسَ، حَدَّثَنَا عِكْرِمَةُ بْنُ عَمَّارٍ، حَدَّثَنَا إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ أَبِي طَلْحَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا أَنَسُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ ـ وَهُوَ عَمُّهُ ـ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «لَلَّهُ أَشَدُّ فَرَحًا بِتَوْبَةِ عَبْدِهِ حِينَ يَتُوبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ أَحَدِكُمْ كَانَ عَلَى رَاحِلَتِهِ بِأَرْضِ فَلَاةٍ، فَانْفَلَتَتْ مِنْهُ وَعَلَيْهَا طَعَامُهُ وَشَرَابُهُ، فَأَيِسَ مِنْهَا، فَأَتَى شَجَرَةً فَاضْطَجَعَ فِي ظِلِّهَا، قَدْ أَيِسَ مِنْ رَاحِلَتِهِ، فَبَيْنَا هُوَ كَذَلِكَ إِذَا هُوَ بِهَا قَائِمَةً عِنْدَهُ، فَأَخَذَ بِخِطَامِهَا، ثُمَّ قَالَ مِنْ شِدَّةِ الْفَرَحِ: اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ عَبْدِي وَأَنَا رَبُّكَ. أَخْطَأَ مِنْ شِدَّةِ الْفَرَحِ».
Ḥaddathanā Muḥammadu bnu al-Ṣabbāḥi wa-Zuhayru bnu Ḥarbin, qālā: ḥaddathanā ʿUmaru bnu Yūnusa, ḥaddathanā ʿIkrimatu bnu ʿAmmārin, ḥaddathanā Isḥāqu bnu ʿAbdi Allāhi bni Abī Ṭalḥata, ḥaddathanā Anasu bnu Mālikin—wa-huwa ʿammuhu—qāla: qāla Rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: “La-Allāhu ashaddu faraḥan bi-tawbati ʿabdihi ḥīna yatūbu ilayhi min aḥadikum kāna ʿalā rāḥilatihi bi-arḍi falātin, fa-infalatat minhu wa-ʿalayhā ṭaʿāmuhu wa-sharābuhu, fa-ayisa minhā, fa-atā shajaratan fa-iḍṭajaʿa fī ẓillihā, qad ayisa min rāḥilatihi. Fa-baynā huwa ka-dhālika idhā huwa bihā qāʾimatan ʿindahu, fa-akhadha bi-khiṭāmihā, thumma qāla min shiddati al-faraḥi: Allāhumma anta ʿabdī wa-anā rabbuka. Akhṭaʾa min shiddati al-faraḥ.”
Anas b. Malik (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu) reported that Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said:
Allah is more pleased with the repentance of a servant as he turns towards Him for repentance than this that one amongst you is upon the camel in a waterless desert and there is upon (that camel) his provision of food and drink also and it is lost by him, and he having lost all hope (to get that) lies down in the shadow and is disappointed about his camel and there he finds that camel standing before him. He takes hold of his nose-string and then out of boundless joy says: O Lord, Thou art my servant and I am Thine Lord. He commits this mistake out of extreme delight.
Shaykh Abū Madyan, in his Dīwān, has reportedly said:
اِنْكِسَارُ الْعَاصِي خَيْرٌ مِنْ صَوْلَةِ الْمُطِيعِ
Inkisāru al-ʿāṣī khayrun min ṣawlati al-muṭīʿ.
“The heart-brokenness of the sinner is better than the harshness of the obedient.”
In his tafsīr, Tarjumān al-Qurʾān, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad quotes a Tābiʿī as having said something even stronger:
اِنْكِسَارُ الْعَاصِينَ أَحَبُّ إِلَى اللَّهِ مِنْ صَوْلَةِ الْمُطِيعِينَ
Inkisāru al-ʿāṣīna aḥabbu ilā Allāhi min ṣawlati al-muṭīʿīn.
“The heart-brokenness of sinners is more beloved to Allah than the harshness of the obedient.”
The Angels’ Prayer and the Transformation of Wrongdoing
This reflection is inspired by the following verses of Sūrat Ghāfir, in which Allah describes how the bearers of the Throne and the angels around it pray for the forgiveness of those who repent:
الَّذِينَ يَحْمِلُونَ الْعَرْشَ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهُ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَيُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا رَبَّنَا وَسِعْتَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ رَحْمَةً وَعِلْمًا فَاغْفِرْ لِلَّذِينَ تَابُوا وَاتَّبَعُوا سَبِيلَكَ وَقِهِمْ عَذَابَ الْجَحِيمِ
Alladhīna yaḥmilūna al-ʿarsha wa-man ḥawlahu yusabbiḥūna bi-ḥamdi rabbihim wa-yuʾminūna bihi wa-yastaghfirūna li-alladhīna āmanū: rabbanā wasiʿta kulla shayʾin raḥmatan wa-ʿilman, fa-ighfir li-alladhīna tābū wa-ittabaʿū sabīlaka wa-qihim ʿadhāba al-jaḥīm.
THEY WHO BEAR the throne of [God’s] almightiness, as well as all who are near it, extol their Sustainer’s limitless glory and praise, and have faith in Him, and ask forgiveness for all [others] who have attained to faith: “O our Sustainer! Thou embracest all things within [Thy] grace and knowledge: forgive, then, their sins unto those who repent and follow Thy path, and preserve them from suffering through the blazing fire!
رَبَّنَا وَأَدْخِلْهُمْ جَنَّاتِ عَدْنٍ الَّتِي وَعَدْتَهُمْ وَمَنْ صَلَحَ مِنْ آبَائِهِمْ وَأَزْوَاجِهِمْ وَذُرِّيَّاتِهِمْ إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ
Rabbanā wa-adkhilhum jannāti ʿadnin allatī waʿadtahum wa-man ṣalaḥa min ābāʾihim wa-azwājihim wa-dhurriyyātihim. Innaka anta al-ʿazīzu al-ḥakīm.
“And, O our Sustainer, bring them into the gardens of perpetual bliss which Thou hast promised them, together with the righteous from among their forebears, and their spouses, and their offspring—for, verily, Thou alone art almighty, truly wise—
Thus, the angelic beings pray for those who repent. In Sūrat al-Furqān, Allah promises an additional reward that belongs uniquely to the repenting sinner:
إِلَّا مَنْ تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا فَأُولَٰئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ حَسَنَاتٍ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا
Illā man tāba wa-āmana wa-ʿamila ʿamalan ṣāliḥan fa-ulāʾika yubaddilu Allāhu sayyiʾātihim ḥasanātin, wa-kāna Allāhu ghafūran raḥīmā.
Excepted, however, shall be they who repent and attain to faith and do righteous deeds: for it is they whose [erstwhile] bad deeds God will transform into good ones—seeing that God is indeed much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace,
A Closing Supplication
I would like to conclude with a duʿāʾ of maghfirah that the Prophet ﷺ taught us to recite one hundred times a day:
رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي، وَتُبْ عَلَيَّ، إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ التَّوَّابُ الْغَفُورُ
Rabbi ighfir lī, wa-tub ʿalayya, innaka anta al-Tawwābu al-Ghafūr.
O Lord! Forgive us, and accept our repentance; You are the Acceptor of repentance, and the Forgiver.
May Allah guide us to repent with sincere hearts as soon as we err or sin. May Allah accept our repentance, bless us with forgiveness, and grant us all that comes with it.
وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ
Wa-Allāhu aʿlam.
And Allah is the All-Knowing.
