عَنْ أَنَسِ بْن مَالِكٍ رضي الله عنه، قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ يَقُولُ: قَالَ اللَّهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى: «يا بْنَ آدَمَ، إِنَّكَ مَا دَعَوْتَنِي وَرَجَوْتَنِي، غَفَرْتُ لَكَ عَلَى مَا كَانَ فِيكَ وَلَا أُبَالِي. يا بْنَ آدَمَ، لَوْ بَلَغَتْ ذُنُوبُكَ عَنَانَ السَّمَاءِ ثُمَّ اسْتَغْفَرْتَنِي، غَفَرْتُ لَكَ وَلَا أُبَالِي.يا بْنَ آدَمَ، إِنَّكَ لَوْ أَتَيْتَنِي بِقُرَابِ الأرضِ خَطَايَا، ثُمَّ لَقِيتَنِي لَا تُشْرِكُ بِي شَيْئًا، لَأَتَيْتُكَ بِقُرَابِهَا مَغْفِرَةً
Anas ibn Mālik narrated:
1. I heard God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) say: God, Blessed and Exalted, says: ‘Son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you what you have done, and I shall not mind. 2. Son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds in the sky and were you then to pray for My forgiveness, I would forgive you, and I shall not mind. 3. Son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to meet Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as the earth’.
1. God bestows His love and kindness on His servants, urging them to turn to Him in repentance for their sins and to seek His forgiveness. Whenever any of His servants prays to Him seeking His forgiveness, He will surely respond favourably and forgive him all his sins, however numerous.
He says:
‘God forgives all sins; He alone is much-forgiving, ever-merciful’.
(39: 53)
2. God again addresses His servant saying that were his sins to represent a great multitude that filled the earth and reached to the clouds, but then His servant turns to Him, appealing for His forgiveness and feeling genuine regret, God will forgive him all his sins, caring nothing for their number.
3. God then states the special distinction of believing in His oneness. Were a person to come to God with the fill of the earth in sins and wrongdoing, but he believes in God’s oneness and does not associate any partners with Him, God will meet him with an equal amount of forgiveness.
God says:
‘For a certainty, God does not forgive that partners are associated with Him. He forgives any lesser sin to whomever He wills’.
(4: 48)
1. Everyone of us should appeal to God and seek His help. Who else can answer our prayers?
2. Let supplication be your worship, as it is an act of worship. The Prophet says: ‘Supplication is worship’.
3. No one should think that any sin, however grave, is unforgiveable by God. He forgives all sins.
4. Everyone should hope for God’s forgiveness. None should assume high status when appealing to God.
5. When a person prays to God for something and he wants his prayer to be answered, he should make sure to fulfil the conditions for answering prayer. These are: 1) sincerity to God, 2) ensuring that one’s food is legitimately earned, 3) no prayer for anything sinful, 4) earnest appeal to God, and, 5) the presence of one’s heart and mind at the time.
6. When one prays to God and appeals for His forgiveness, one should think well of God.
He says in a qudsī or sacred hadith:
‘I am as My servant thinks I am’. [1]
7. Supplication requesting forgiveness is one reason for wiping away sins and acts of disobedience, even if they reach as high as the clouds.
8. Constant prayer for forgiveness is a sunnah and a constant practice of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
He said:
‘By God, I pray for God’s forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance more than seventy times a day’. [2]
9. Praying for forgiveness ensures that sins are wiped away, good deeds are increased, grades are elevated and provisions are blessed.
God says:
‘I said: “Ask your Lord for forgiveness: He is ever-forgiving. (10) He will let loose the sky over you with abundance, (11) and will give you wealth and children; and will provide you with gardens and rivers”’.
(71: 10-12)
10. Seeking God’s forgiveness acts as security from punishment in this present life and in the life to come.
God says:
‘Nor would God punish them when they may yet ask for forgiveness’.
(8: 33)
11. Luqmān is reported to have said to his son: ‘Son, let your tongue be in the habit of saying: My Lord, forgive me. There are times [known to God] when He does not reject an appeal’. [3]
12. Everyone should make sure to seek God’s forgiveness at all times. Al-Ḥasan said: ‘Appeal for forgiveness often: in your homes, at meal times, when you are in the street, or in the market, or anywhere you happen to be. You do not know when the time comes when God grants forgiveness’. [4]
13. Every Muslim should make sure to repent and seek forgiveness and to hasten to do good deeds. God forgives everything. He stretches His hand during the night so that a person who committed sins during the day will repent and seek forgiveness, and He stretches His hand during the day so that a night sinner will repent and seek forgiveness. He forgives all sins and He does not mind doing so.
14. Beware of associating partners with God: it ruins good deeds and cannot be atoned for except by desisting and repentance.
15. Believing in God’s oneness ensures security against a permanent stay in Hell. It is also a cause for sin forgiveness and overlooking bad deeds.
16. Every Muslim should seek God’s refuge against the explicit and implicit association of partners with God.
17. God is in no need of any of His servants. Yet He is very generous to them and bestows on them His bounty and blessings. Needless to say, we should respond, demonstrating our love of God by doing good deeds that please Him and by voluntary worship.
18.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
‘On the Day of Judgement, God shall select a man from my community and place him before all creation. He will spread before him ninety-nine records [of sinful actions], each of which is as long as eyes can see. He will then ask him: “Do you deny any of these? Have my recording angels been unfair to you?” He will say: “No, my Lord”. God will ask him: “Do you have any excuse?” He will say: “No, my Lord”. God will say: “This is untrue. You have a good deed kept with us. You shall suffer no injustice today”. A card will then be produced in which is written: “I bear witness that there is no deity other than God; and I bear witness that Muhammad is God’s servant and Messenger”. God will say to the man: “Attend the process of weighing”. He will say: “My Lord, what will this card weigh against all these records?” God will say: “You shall suffer no injustice”. The card will be placed on one scale and the records on the other. The records will be of very little weight while the card will be heavy. Nothing will be heavier in weight against God’s name’.
