-VOLUME 2- · 361 – ISTIGHFAR
1514 – It is narrated from Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq (may Allah be pleased with him):
The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "A person who seeks forgiveness (istighfar) is not considered persistent (in sin), even if he returns to (his sins) seventy times in a day." [405]
1515 – It is narrated from Abū Burda and al-Agharr al-Muzanī (may Allah be pleased with them):
The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Truly, (sometimes) my qalb (qalb: the heart) becomes veiled. Therefore, I seek forgiveness from Allah one hundred times a day." [406]
EXPLANATION
Yughānī: means veiling, closing, and covering.
1516 – It is narrated from Ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said:
We used to count that the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) would say one hundred times in a single gathering, "My Lord, forgive me and accept my repentance. Truly, You are the Acceptor of repentance, the Merciful to Your servants." [407]
1517 – Hilāl ibn Yasār ibn Zayd narrated from his father Yasār, whose grandfather Zayd, a freedman of the Messenger of God, heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say:
"Whoever says, 'There is no god but Allah alone, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer. I turn to Him in tawba (tawba: repentance),' even if he had fled from battle, his sin will be forgiven."
EXPLANATION
To think that by reciting this noble hadith, the sin of fleeing from battle is forgiven, and thus fleeing from battle is not a major sin, is itself a major sin. Except for the case where the commander orders the unit in the center to withdraw in order to encircle the enemy, and they obey this order, fleeing from battle out of fear of death or longing for family, thereby surrendering one's honor, chastity, religion, homeland, nation, and flag to the enemy, is a great betrayal. This noble hadith expresses the greatness of the reward of this istighfar, not that those who flee from battle will be forgiven if they recite this istighfar. In the laws of nations, the greatest crime is fleeing from battle. In Islam, after iman (iman: faith), the greatest obligation is jihad. The most shameful crime is fleeing from battle. Imagine if the majority of those fighting committed this. The country would fall under enemy occupation, and they themselves would be killed. [408]
1518 – It is narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him):
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever persists in istighfar, Allah will grant him a way out from every distress, relief from every anxiety, and provide for him from where he does not expect." [409]
1519 – It is narrated from ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Suhayb (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said:
Qatāda (may Allah be pleased with him) asked Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), "With which dua (dua: supplication) did the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) supplicate most frequently?" Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) replied:
– "The dua the Messenger of God made most often was: 'O Allah! O our Lord! Grant us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.' ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Suhayb visited him and said: 'Whenever Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) wanted to make a brief dua, he would recite this supplication. And when he wished to make a longer supplication, he would include this among the others.'" [410]
1520 – It is narrated from Abū Umāmah ibn Sahl ibn Ḥunayf, who narrated from his father:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever sincerely asks Allah for martyrdom, even if he dies in his bed, Allah will raise him to the rank of the martyrs." [411]
1521 – It is narrated from Asmāʾ ibn Ḥakam al-Fazārī (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said:
I heard ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him) say: "I am such a person that when I hear a hadith from the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him), I benefit from it as much as Allah wills. When one of the Companions (ṣaḥāba) of the Messenger of God relates a hadith to me, I would make him swear an oath. If he swore by my request, I would accept his narration. Abū Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) related a hadith to me. Abū Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was truthful in his words. He narrated: I heard the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) say, 'If any servant commits a sin, then purifies himself well, then stands and performs two rakʿahs of prayer, and then seeks forgiveness from Allah, Allah will forgive him.' Then the Messenger of God recited the verse: 'Those who, when they commit an indecency or wrong themselves, remember Allah...' (Āl ʿImrān 135) to the end of the verse. [412]
1522 – It is narrated from Muʿādh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took his hand and said, "O Muʿādh! By Allah, I love you. By Allah, I love you. O Muʿādh! I advise you: do not neglect to recite this supplication after every prayer: (O Allah, help me to remember You, to thank You, and to worship You well)." Muʿādh advised this to Sunābihiyya, and Sunābihī advised it to Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān. [413]
1523 – It is narrated from ʿUqba ibn ʿĀmir (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said:
The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded me to recite the muʿawwidhāt (the surahs of al-Nās and al-Falaq) after every prayer. [414]
1524 – The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) liked to make dua and seek forgiveness three times each.
1525 – It is narrated from Asmāʾ bint ʿUmays (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said:
The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me, "Shall I teach you words to say at the time of distress or while in distress?" Then he said, "Say: 'Allah, Allah is my Lord, I do not associate anything with Him.'" [415]
1526 – It is narrated from Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said:
I was in the company of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) on a journey. As we approached Madinah, the people raised their voices in takbīr. The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O people! You are not calling upon one who is deaf or absent. The One you call upon is closer to you than the necks of your mounts." Then the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "O Abū Mūsā! Shall I not guide you to a treasure from the treasures of Paradise?" I said, "What is it?" The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
– "It is: Lā ḥawla wa-lā quwwata illā billāh (There is no power nor strength except with Allah)."
EXPLANATION
This noble hadith teaches us to recite takbīr and tasbīḥ inwardly with tranquility. For Allah knows and hears what is in the servant's heart. Our Allah, even if not physically among His servants, is close to them by His attributes. The fact that these words are treasures of Paradise means that they are a means to attain such a rank and spiritual capital. The journey referred to in this incident was the return from the expedition to Khaybar.
1527 – It is narrated from Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī (may Allah be pleased with him):
When the Companions were climbing a hill with the Messenger of God, one of them would shout at every rise, "There is no god but Allah. Allah is the Greatest." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Indeed, you are not calling upon one who is deaf or absent." Then he said, "O ʿAbdullah ibn Qays." The narrator then mentioned the meaning of the previous hadith.
EXPLANATION
ʿAbdullah ibn Qays is Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī.
1528 – The previous hadith from Abū Mūsā was narrated. And in this hadith, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "O people, have mercy on yourselves, be gentle with yourselves." [416]
1529 – It is narrated from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (may Allah be pleased with him):
The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Whoever says, 'I am pleased with Allah as my Lord, with Islam as my religion, and with Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as my Messenger,' Paradise becomes obligatory for him."
1530 – It is narrated from Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him):
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Whoever sends blessings upon me once, Allah will send blessings upon him ten times (granting him mercy and compassion)." [417]
1531 – It is narrated from Aws ibn Aws (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said:
The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Friday is among your most virtuous days. The blessings you send upon me are presented to me." The Companions (ṣaḥāba) asked, "O Messenger of Allah! How will our blessings be presented to you when you will have decayed?" The narrator says: they use the word (arimta = decayed) instead of (baliyta = decayed).
The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Indeed, Allah the Exalted has forbidden the earth to consume the bodies of the prophets." [418]