The Difference Between Deliberate And Accidental Sin & The Istighfaar of Rasoolullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم
To deliberately and intentionally commit an act of disobedience is totally uncharacteristic of the servant. The sign of an accidental or unintentional sin, committed out of human weakness and under
pressure from the lowly, sensual desires, is that the perpetrator wastes no time in resorting to taubah or repentance. on the other hand, one who willfully and purposely breaks the Law of Allah Ta-ala is loathe to repent. This lethargy towards taubah gradually leads to total deprivation of istighfaar, and repentance from sin.
No true servant will commit a deliberate act of disobedience against his Master and creator with any part of the body, from head to toe. And if a sin does occur inadvertently, there is no delay in taubah. In most cases, people who delay repentance after sinning, are those who have not focussed on their purpose in life.
Remember, when a servant of Allah repents in subservience to Allah, before long his sins are forgiven.
Then, the upsurge in the Rahmat of Allah becomes so intense that right there, among the gathering of angers, He announces the forgiveness of that servant!
I was saying that one whose sight is on the purpose of life will never delay in repenting from sin. on the contrary, a sign that one has ignored, or is oblivious of the purpose of life is the procrastination of taubah and istighfaar. He continues to bite the hand that feeds him, and remains permanently in a state of ungratefulness.
As a result, he becomes seeped in sin. Taubah and istighfaar are such acts that, when executed with deep regret and shame, can secure forgiveness for sins right up to the moment of repentance. one’s entire slate (of the past) is wiped clean the moment forgiveness is sought in the court of Allah.
This should be accompanied by the firm resolve not to disobey Allah again.
THE WISDOM BEHIND RASOOLULLAH صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم SEEKING FORGIVENESS
The istighfaar that Rasoolullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم made after every Majlis and after every Salaah was actually aimed at teaching istighfaar to the Ummat. He was ma’soom (sinless), with foregone forgiveness. His istighfaar was in reality a dua of forgiveness on our behalf as well as an instruction for us to adopt this mode of conduct. We are great wrong-doers and sinners, due to which we are extremely ashamed and fult of regret. We are self-confessed criminals.’We need tomake much more istighfaar. The hadith shareef states that the The
Holy Messenger of Allah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم used to make istighfaar seventy to a hundred times in a single sitting. The main purpose of his istighfaar was to educate his Ummat to inculcate the practice of. istighfaar, and it also represented a dua of maghfirat for them.
In The Court of Allah, those who repent enjoy a very high status. The position of those that turn to Him in repentance is indeed very lofg. It appears in the hadith shareef that when a servant resorts to taubah, and turns to Allah in remorse, begging for
forgiveness, Allah endears that person to Himself and makes him His beloved.
We beseech Allah to grant us the ability to make abundant istighfaar, and to express regret and remorse. One must abstain from the deliberate disobedience of Allah Ta’ala, and if a sin is committed by error orweakness, one should not delay in repenting.
Let us make Dua to Allah Ta’ela that He forgives all those Muslims who have left this world and that He overlooks the shortcomings and sins of the entire Ummat-e-Muslimah who presently walk the surface of the earth. We also beseech Allah Ta’ala to send down
His Mercies upon the Muslim world for this is an age of uneasiness.
May Allah cause serenity and tranquillity to descend. Aameen.
Source: Hazrat Moulana Muhammad Farooq Saheb رحمه الله
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