Taubah and Astaghfar

Everyday, in every namaz, we ask Allah to guide us to the straight way. And whenever we deviate from that Sirat Mustaqeem, we are expected to return to it asap. This is called Taubah.

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ has told us that man is prone to sin; every man deviates from the straight way all along his life.

 كُلُّ بَنِي آدَمَ خَطَّاءٌ وَخَيْرُ الْخَطَّائِينَ التَّوَّابُونَ

[Ibn Majah]

And every time man deviates and sins, a black dot is stamped on his heart. But if man repents for that sin, that black dot is washed away, and the heart is returned to its pristine state - Qalb e Saleem, which is the ultimate eligibility for attaining Paradise.

یَوۡمَ لَا یَنۡفَعُ مَالٌ وَّ لَا بَنُوۡنَ

اِلَّا مَنۡ اَتَی اللّٰہَ بِقَلۡبٍ سَلِیۡمٍ

[Surah Shoora, ayaat 88,89]

If man does not repent, his heart keeps accumulating black dots, until it turns completely black.

This is why God says that man sins against his own self:

وَمَن يَكْسِبْ إِثْمًۭا فَإِنَّمَا يَكْسِبُهُۥ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِۦ ۚ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًۭا

[Nisa, ayat 111]

The solution is taubah and astaghfar - to return to God, and to seek His forgiveness. 

The Qur'an reassures us that Allah accepts our repentance and forgives us:

وَمَن يَعْمَلْ سُوٓءًا أَوْ يَظْلِمْ نَفْسَهُۥ ثُمَّ يَسْتَغْفِرِ ٱللَّهَ يَجِدِ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورًۭا رَّحِيمًۭا

[Nisa, ayat 110]

It also asks us not to despair of Allah's mercy:

قُلْ يَـٰعِبَادِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا۟ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا۟ مِن رَّحْمَةِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ ٱلذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ

وَأَنِيبُوٓا۟ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكُمْ وَأَسْلِمُوا۟ لَهُۥ مِن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِيَكُمُ ٱلْعَذَابُ ثُمَّ لَا تُنصَرُونَ

[Zumar, ayaat 53,54]

In fact, Allah has made Mercy incumbent upon Himself:

وَإِذَا جَآءَكَ ٱلَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا فَقُلْ سَلَـٰمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ ۖ كَتَبَ رَبُّكُمْ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ ٱلرَّحْمَةَ

[An’am, ayat 54]

Moreover, when man repents, Allah turns those sins into rewards:

مَن تَابَ وَءَامَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلًۭا صَـٰلِحًۭا فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ ٱللَّهُ سَيِّـَٔاتِهِمْ حَسَنَـٰتٍۢ ۗ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ غَفُورًۭا رَّحِيمًۭا

[Furqan, ayat 70]

The Qur'an also tells us that Allah loves those who seek forgiveness:

 إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلتَّوَّٰبِينَ وَيُحِبُّ ٱلْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ 

[Baqarah, ayat 222]

Anas ibn Malik reports that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:

“Allah Ta’ala is more pleased with the repentance of His slave than one of you who loses his camel in the desert and then stumbles upon it”

[Bukhari, Muslim]

And, God actually loves forgiving us. Have you pondered over the words Prophet Muhammad ﷺ has taught us in this dua?

 اللْهُمَّ إِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُعَنِّي

[Tirmizi]

When a man repents, Allah is so pleased with him that He not only cleanses his heart, but also grants him blessings in this world. Prophet Nooh tells his people that if they repent, God will not only forgive them, but would also grant them abundant rain, wealth, children, gardens and rivers:

فَقُلْتُ ٱسْتَغْفِرُوا۟ رَبَّكُمْ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ غَفَّارًۭا

يُرْسِلِ ٱلسَّمَآءَ عَلَيْكُم مِّدْرَارًۭا

وَيُمْدِدْكُم بِأَمْوَٰلٍۢ وَبَنِينَ وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمْ جَنَّـٰتٍۢ وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمْ أَنْهَـٰرًۭا

[Surah Nooh, ayaat 10-12]

Allah is so forgiving and merciful that He forgives again and again:

Abu Hurairah reports that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:

“A servant of Allah committed a sin and said, ‘O Rabb, I have sinned, so forgive me!’ His Rabb said, ‘Does My slave acknowledge that he has a Rabb who forgives sins and also punishes/takes to task for it? I have forgiven My slave.’

Then he remained for [some time] as long as Allah wished and then again committed a wrong sin and said, ‘O Rabb, I have sinned again, forgive the sin.’ Allah Ta’ala said, ‘Does My slave acknowledge that he has a Rabb who forgives wrong action and punishes for it? I have forgiven My slave.’

Then he remained for [some time] as long as Allah wished and then committed a sin and said, ‘O Rabb, I have committed another wrong action, so forgive me.’ Allah Ta’ala said, ‘Does My slave acknowledge that he has a Rabb who forgives wrong action and punishes for it? I have forgiven My slave,’ three times ‘so let him do what he likes.” (i.e., let him continue asking for forgiveness and making a firm intention of abandoning that vice each time he slips up)

[Bukhari, Muslim]

His mercy is boundless; Allah forgives even if the sins are plenty:

Anas ibn Malik reports a Hadith Qursi in which Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:

“Allah Ta’ala says, ‘O Son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and have hope in Me, I shall forgive you for whatever you have done and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, if your sins were to reach the clouds of the sky and then you were to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, if you were to come to Me with an earthful of sins and were you then to face Me, without having ascribing any partner to Me, I would grant you an earthful of forgiveness”

[Sunan Tirmidhi]

And Allah is always available and accessible for repentance:

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ has said: Allah Ta’ala spreads [His mercy] at night and accepts the repentance of those who sinned during the day and spreads [His mercy] during the day and accepts the repentance of those who sinned during the night until the sun rises from the west.

[Sahih Muslim]

But there are certain prerequisites and conditions for the acceptance of our taubah:

1. Our taubah should be sincere

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ تُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ تَوْبَةًۭ نَّصُوحًا عَسَىٰ رَبُّكُمْ أَن يُكَفِّرَ عَنكُمْ سَيِّـَٔاتِكُمْ وَيُدْخِلَكُمْ جَنَّـٰتٍۢ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ

[Tehreem, ayat 8]

2. Our taubah should be without delay

إِنَّمَا ٱلتَّوْبَةُ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ ٱلسُّوٓءَ بِجَهَـٰلَةٍۢ ثُمَّ يَتُوبُونَ مِن قَرِيبٍۢ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ يَتُوبُ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ ۗ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًۭا

وَلَيْسَتِ ٱلتَّوْبَةُ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ ٱلسَّيِّـَٔاتِ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا حَضَرَ أَحَدَهُمُ ٱلْمَوْتُ قَالَ إِنِّى تُبْتُ ٱلْـَٔـٰنَ وَلَا ٱلَّذِينَ يَمُوتُونَ وَهُمْ كُفَّارٌ ۚ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ أَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًۭا

[Nisa, ayaat 17,18]

3. We should not persist in our sins

وَٱلَّذِينَ إِذَا فَعَلُوا۟ فَـٰحِشَةً أَوْ ظَلَمُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَهُمْ ذَكَرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ فَٱسْتَغْفَرُوا۟ لِذُنُوبِهِمْ وَمَن يَغْفِرُ ٱلذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا ٱللَّهُ وَلَمْ يُصِرُّوا۟ عَلَىٰ مَا فَعَلُوا۟ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ

أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ جَزَآؤُهُم مَّغْفِرَةٌۭ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَجَنَّـٰتٌۭ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَا ۚ وَنِعْمَ أَجْرُ ٱلْعَـٰمِلِينَ

[Aal Imran, ayaat 135,136]

4. We should amend our deeds too 

مَنْ عَمِلَ مِنكُمْ سُوٓءًۢا بِجَهَـٰلَةٍۢ ثُمَّ تَابَ مِنۢ بَعْدِهِۦ وَأَصْلَحَ فَأَنَّهُۥ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ

[An’am, ayat 54]

5. As with all duas, the prerequisite for repentance is to shun haram income.

It is narrated by Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

"O people, Allah is Tayyib (good) and does not accept anything but that which is Tayyib. And Allah commanded the believers with that which He commanded the Messengers. He said: 'O Messengers! Eat of the Tayyibat (good things) and do righteous deeds.' (23:51) And He said: 'O you who believe! Eat of the Tayyibat that We have provided for you...' (2:172)"

Then he mentioned a man who undertakes a long journey, dishevelled and dusty, raising his hands to the sky (supplicating): "O my Lord! O my Lord!" while his food is haram, his drink is haram, his clothes are haram, and he has been nourished with haram. How then can his supplication be accepted?

[Sahih Muslim and Tirmidhi]

Some remarkable examples of Taubah:

1. Syedna Umar’s taubah after Hudaibiyah.

2. Kaab bin Malik’s taubah after Tabuk.

3. The taubah of the Ghamiddiya woman after adultery. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ himself led her janazah prayers, and said, "She has made such a repentance that if it were to be divided among seventy men of Madinah, it would be enough (to forgive them)." (Sahih Muslim)

Tip to avoid sins altogether:

Make Prophet Muhammad ﷺ your witness; promise him that you would guard your tongue and private parts.

It is narrated by Sahl bin Sa'd that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

"Whoever can guarantee for me (the chastity of) what is between his two jaw-bones and what is between his two legs (i.e., his tongue and his private parts), I guarantee Paradise for him."

[Sahih al-Bukhari]

What our pious elders have to say:

1. Imam Ibn al-Qayyim

“Sins are like chains and locks preventing their victim from roaming the vast garden of Tawheed and reaping its blessings. Repentance is the key that breaks every chain.”

— Al-Fawaa’id

2. Imam al-Ghazali

“When the heart is free from sin and heedlessness, it sees reality clearly. But when stained with sin, even the most obvious truths become hidden. Repentance polishes the heart like a mirror.”

— Ihya’ Ulum ad-Din

3. Fudayl ibn 'Iyad

“The sign of real repentance is weeping for the past, fearing that it may not be accepted, and working to avoid returning to the sin.”

— Siyar A’lam an-Nubala’

4. Hasan al-Basri

“I have seen people who treated their sins as mountains above their heads, fearing they would fall. But today, people see sins as flies that land on their noses and they brush them away with a hand.”

— Hilyat al-Awliya’

5. Ibn Taymiyyah

“A person may fall into sin but emerge from it with sincere repentance and humility, becoming better than before the sin. The sin becomes a reason for elevation.”

— Majmoo’ al-Fataawa

Conclusion:

The above discussion makes it amply clear that we need to make taubah and astaghfar an integral part of our lives. A person who persistently repents to God progresses from the level of Tawwab (he who returns to God) to the level of Awwab (he who turns to God). 

On the flip side, not repenting to God is a sign of hypocrisy. The Qur'an tells us that hypocrites, unlike sincere believers, are too arrogant to seek repentance.

وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ تَعَالَوْا۟ يَسْتَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ رَسُولُ ٱللَّهِ لَوَّوْا۟ رُءُوسَهُمْ وَرَأَيْتَهُمْ يَصُدُّونَ وَهُم مُّسْتَكْبِرُونَ

[Munafiqoon, ayat 5]

And that is exactly the difference between Adam and Satan. Both sinned, but Adam repented, and was forgiven, whereas Satan turned haughty, and was banished for eternity.

May Allah cleanse our hearts of all sins, and grant us the strength of iman required to remain firmly on al’Siraat al’Mustaqeem. Amen