Benefits and fruits of asking for forgiveness

Verily, the laws of Allah came with the things which reform the country and the people. Came with exhorting to every good and warning against every evil, so Allah exhorted us to every goodness and warned us against every evil, and of the things which he urged us to is asking for forgiveness. Many texts were reported to urge to it, exhort to it, and praise its people, of which is Allah's Saying: "And ask Allâh for His Forgiveness. Truly, Allâh is Oft-Forgiving, Most-Merciful." [Surat Al Baqarah: 199].

Allah's saying: "And (commanding you): Seek the forgiveness of your Lord, and turn to Him in repentance." [Surat Hud: 3].

Allah says: "And those who pray and beg Allâh's Pardon in the last hours of the night." [Surat Al `Imran: 17].

Allah says: "And in the hours before dawn, they were (found) asking (Allâh) for forgiveness." [Surat Az-Zariyat: 18].

Allah says: "And those who, when they have committed Fâhishah (great sin as illegal sexual intercourse) or wronged themselves with evil, remember Allâh and ask forgiveness for their sins; - and none can forgive sins but Allâh." [Surat Al `Imran: 135].

Allah says: "And whoever does evil or wrongs himself but afterwards seeks Allâh's Forgiveness, he will find Allâh Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." [Surat An-Nisa': 110].

And as the Prophet's saying in the Hadith that was reported by Muslim in his Sahih on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) who narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "By the One in Whose Hand my soul is! If you do not commit sins, Allah would replace you with a people who would commit sins and seek forgiveness from Allah; and Allah will certainly forgive them."

The Hadith does not facilitate the way of committing sins then seeking for forgiveness, but it shows the condition of a servant after his repentance and seeking forgiveness of his sins. When a person commits a mistake, Allah gives him a way out through repentance and seeking for forgiveness.

Ibn `Uthaymain (may Allah bestow mercy on his soul) said: "This is an exhortation that when man commits a sin, he should seek forgiveness because when he seeks forgiveness sincerely, Allah shall forgive him. Allah says: "Say: O 'Ibâdî (My slaves) who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allâh: verily, Allâh forgives all sins. Truly He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." [Surat Az-Zumar: 53]. [Sharh Riyad As-Salhin] among other texts from the Qur'an and the Sunnah urging to asking for forgiveness.

When a person repents to his Lord, seeks His forgiveness, and returns to Him, the benefit of which will return to the servant himself, for Allah shall provide him with numerous dignities, grant him venerable benefits, and shower him with many fruits, of these benefits and fruits are the following:

First, Response to the texts of the Qur'an and the Sunnah:

which came with urging to it and following the footprints of Allah's Prophets and Messengers as they used to repent and seek Allah's Forgiveness frequently, as well as imitating every righteous person who repents.

Second, good provision in the world and giving each person his merit in the Hereafter:

Allah (Exalted be He) says: "And (commanding you): Seek the forgiveness of your Lord, and turn to Him in repentance, that He may grant you good enjoyment, for a term appointed, and bestow His abounding Grace to every owner of grace (i.e. the one who helps and serves the needy and deserving, physically and with his wealth, and even with good words)." [Surat Hud: 3].

Ibn Kathir (may Allah bestow mercy on his soul) commented on this Ayah saying: The meaning is: I command you with frequent seeking of forgiveness of the past sins and repentance of them to Allah (may He be Glorified and Exalted) by correcting the future actions and keep to that for: "That He may grant you good enjoyment." [Surat Hud: 3] in the world "For a term appointed, and bestow His abounding Grace to every owner of grace (i.e. the one who helps and serves the needy and deserving, physically and with his wealth, and even with good words)." [Surat Hud: 3] in the Hereafter. [Interpretation of the Glorious Qur'an (2/ 436)].

Third, Sending down rain and increasing power:

Allah (may He be Exalted) said about Hud (Peace be upon him) that he said to his people: "And O my people! Ask forgiveness of your Lord and then repent to Him, He will send you (from the sky) abundant rain, and add strength to your strength, so do not turn away as Mujrimûn (criminals, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allâh)." [Surat Hud: 52].

Al Baghawy (may Allah bestow mercy on his soul) said at his explanation to this Ayah: Sending down rain upon you consecutively one time after another in the times of need. "And add strength to your strength." [Surat Hud: 52].

Power to your current power because Allah (may He be Glorified and Exalted) withheld rain for three years and caused their women not to beget children.

Ma`alim At-Tanzil (1/ 288).

So, asking for Allah's Forgiveness along with giving up sins are causes for fertilization, growth, abundance in sustenance, and increasing glory and protection. Ibn Kathir (may Allah bestow mercy on his soul) said: He who has this quality -the quality of asking for forgiveness-, Allah facilitated provision for him, and maintained his power. Therefore, Allah says: "He will send rain to you in abundance." [Interpretation of the Glorious Qur'an (2/ 450)].

Fourth, answering invocations:

Allah (may He be Exalted) said about Salih (Peace be upon him) that he said to his people: "O my people! Worship Allâh: you have no other ilâh (god) but Him. He brought you forth from the earth and settled you therein, then ask forgiveness of Him and turn to Him in repentance. Certainly, my Lord is Near (to all by His Knowledge), Responsive." [Surat Hud: 61].

So, Allah promised those who seek His Forgiveness and repent to Him with the answer of their invocations, and similar cases of that in history are numerous.

Fifth, those who ask for Allah's Forgiveness are included among those upon whom Allah bestowed mercy:

Shu`ayb (Jethro), the Prophet of Allah (Peace be upon him), said to his people: And ask forgiveness of your Lord and turn to Him in repentance. Verily, my Lord is Most Merciful, Most Loving." [Surat Hud: 90].

At-Tabary (may Allah bestow mercy on his soul) said: "And turn to Him in repentance." [Surat Hud: 90]. Go back to His Obedience and stop at his commands and prohibitions. "Verily, my Lord is Most Merciful, Most Loving." [Surat Hud: 90]. Merciful with those who repent and return to him. "Full of love (towards the pious who are real true believers of Islâmic Monotheism)." [Surat Hud: 90]. Loving to those who repent to Him. [See: Al Jami` Li Ahkam Al Qur'an (12/105)].

Sixth, by forgiveness blessings are brought and revenges are pushed away:

Allah (may He be Exalted) said on the tongue of Nuh (Noah) (Peace be upon him) that he said to his people: "Then Verily, I proclaimed to them in public, and I have appealed to them in private. * I said (to them): 'Ask forgiveness from your Lord, Verily, He is Oft-Forgiving; * He will send rain to you in abundance, * And give you increase in wealth and children, and bestow on you gardens and bestow on you rivers." [Surat Nuh: 9 - 12].

Ibn Kathir (may Allah bestow mercy on his soul) said: If you repent to Allah, ask for His Forgiveness, and obey Him, livelihood will increase, blessings of the heavens will be opened for you, blessings will come out of the earth, plants will grow, udders will be filled by milk, and money and children will be given to you. He granted you money and children, made for you gardens [in paradise] in it types of fruits, and made rivers flow from underneath. [Interpretation of the Glorious Qur'an (4/ 426); all these blessings are obtained by asking for Allah's Forgiveness].

Seventh, pushing away punishment from wrong doers and preventing the fall of adversities:

because of the Hadith that was reported by At-Tirmidhy in his Jami` [of Hadiths]

which is a controversial among scholars whether authentic or not: Abu Burdah ibn Abu Musa reported on the authority of his father who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Allah has sent down to me two things of security for my nation: "And Allâh would not punish them while you (Muhammad peace be upon him) are amongst them, nor will He punish them while they seek (Allâh's) Forgiveness." [Surat Al Anfal: 33].

And when I depart, I will leave behind with them the istighfar [seeking Allah's Forgiveness] till the Last Day."

If the Hadith is weak, the Ayah is the best witness to the meaning.

If sins multiplied, forgiveness decreased or vanished, torment shall happen doubtlessly because of Allah's Saying: "And Allâh would not punish them while you (Muhammad peace be upon him) are amongst them, nor will He punish them while they seek (Allâh's) Forgiveness." [Surat Al Anfal: 33].

So, asking for Allah's Forgiveness is reason for preventing torment.

Eighth, of its benefits is that forgiveness is a reason for destructing Satan:

Ibn Al Qayyim (may Allah bestow mercy on his soul) said: Satan said: I have destroyed the children of Adam by sins, but they destroyed me by asking for Allah's Forgiveness and by "There is no deity but Allah."

When I saw that, I spread whims among them so they are committing sins without repenting because they believe that they are doing well. [Muftah Dar As-Sa`adah (1/158)].

It was reported in the Hadith which was reported by Imam Ahmad, and Shu`ayb Al Arna'ut graded it as good, on the authority of Abu Sa`id Al Khudry (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) saying: "Satan said to his Lord: By Your Glory and Dignity, I will keep seducing the children of Adam as long as their souls are still in their bodies. Thereupon, Allah said: By My Glory and Dignity, I shall keep on forgiving them as long as they seek My Forgiveness."

Ninth, seeking forgiveness is a cause for solving difficult and hard problems:

Ibn Al Qayyim reported that Shaykh-ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah bestow mercy on his soul) used to say:

"I witnessed when Shaykh-ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah bestow mercy on his soul) faced a critical or difficult issue, he resorted to repentance, seeking forgiveness, seeking Allah's Help, and resorting to Him, then soon the divine inspiration descends one after another until he becomes amazed with which he should start." [I`lam Al Muwaqi`in (4/172)].

So, when things become difficult for you to solve, resort to seeking forgiveness because Allah says: "If you obey and fear Allâh, He will grant you Furqân [(a criterion to judge between right and wrong), or (Makhraj, i.e. a way for you to get out from every difficulty)]." [Surat Al Anfal: 29] to differentiate therewith the truth from falsehood, and Sunnah from Bid`ah [heresy].

Tenth, seeking for forgiveness is a cause for relieving oneself:

Because of the Hadith that was reported in Sahih Muslim from Al Aghar Al Muzhany that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Sometimes I perceive a veil over my heart, and I supplicate Allah for forgiveness a hundred times in a day."

It was reported on the authority of Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "If anyone constantly seeks pardon (from Allah), Allah will appoint for him a way out of every distress and a relief from every anxiety, and will provide sustenance for him from where he expects not."

Al Munawy (may Allah bestow mercy on his soul) said: The All-Wise [Allah] said: Man is not free of faults and sins, and torment is of two kinds: Minor and major. Minor torment is faults and defects, so when a person is attentive, he follows every fault and defect with seeking forgiveness, thereby he escapes the torment. However, if a person does not seek forgiveness, his faults and sins keep accumulated and concerns, tightness, difficulty, and hardship surround him and that is his torment. But when a person seeks forgiveness, he will escape concerns, shall find a way out, and shall be given sustenance from where he does not expect. [Faydul-Qadir 6/82].

By seeking forgiveness, the heart becomes clear and pure as was reported in the authentic Hadith which was reported by At-Tirmidhy and said: It is a good and authentic Hadith, and Al Albany graded it as authentic on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "When the believer commits sin, a black spot appears on his heart. If he repents and gives up that sin and seeks forgiveness, his heart will be polished. But if (the sin) increases, (the black spot) increases. That is the Ran that Allah mentions in His Book: "Nay! But on their hearts is the Ran (covering of sins and evil deeds) which they used to earn." [Surat Al Mutaffifin: 14]."

Seeking forgiveness has an amazing effect in the removal of concerns and relieving distress. Ibn Al Qayyim (may Allah bestow mercy on his soul) explained this by saying: Sins and corruption bring about concern, distress, fear, sadness, tightness of the chest, and heart diseases to the extent that when wrong doers commit sins and faults, they commit them again to ward off the concern and distress which they find in themselves... If this is the effect of sins and faults in the hearts, there is no remedy for them but repentance and seeking forgiveness. [Zad Al Ma`ad (4/208-209)].

The one who seeks forgiveness worships his Lord (Glory be to Him) and admits Allah's Quality which is "the Forgiving": He feels the meaning of Allah's Saying: "And verily, I am indeed forgiving to him who repents, believes (in My Oneness, and associates none in worship with Me) and does righteous good deeds, and then remains constant in doing them, (till his death)." [Surat Taha: 82] and feels also all Ayahs in which Allah promised, told, named, or described Himself with forgiveness, the Forgiving, and the Oft-Forgiving and the like.

He also feels the Hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) in Sahih Al Bukhari that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) saying: "If somebody commits a sin and then says, 'O my Lord! I have sinned, please forgive me!' and his Lord says: 'My Servant has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for it, I therefore have forgiven my Servant (his sins).'"

Twelfth, one of the most important benefits and fruits of seeking forgiveness which we delayed because of its importance is: Forgiveness is the remedy for sins:

It was reported in Shu`ab Al Iman of Al Bayhaqy on the authority of Sallam ibn Miskin who said: I heard Qatadah saying: This Qur'an guides you to your diseases as well as their cure: As for your diseases, they are sins, and their cure is seeking forgiveness.

People make mistakes but through repentance and seeking for forgiveness Allah forgives these sins. It was reported in the divine Hadith which was reported by Imam Muslim in his Sahih: "O My Servants, you commit sins night and day and I forgive all sins, so seek My forgiveness and I shall forgive you."

Allah (Glory be to Him) says: "And whoever does evil or wrongs himself but afterwards seeks Allâh's Forgiveness, he will find Allâh Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." [Surat An-Nisa': 110].

Abu Dawud reported and Al Albany graded it as authentic on the authority of Asma' bint Al Hakam Al Fazary who said: I heard Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) saying: "I was a man; when I heard a tradition from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) , Allah benefited me with it as much as He willed. However, when some one of his companions narrated a tradition to me I adjured him. When he took an oath, I testified him. Abu Bakr narrated to me a tradition, and Abu Bakr narrated truthfully. He said: I heard The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) saying: When a servant (of Allah) commits a sin, and he performs ablution well, and then stands and prays two Rak`ahs, and asks pardon of Allah, Allah pardons him."

Imam Ahmad reported in his Musnad and At-Tirmidhy, and Al Albany graded it as authentic on the authority of Abu Dhar (may Allah be pleased be upon him) who said that the Prophet (peace be upon him) reported from the Lord (Glory be to Him) that he said: "O son of Adam! I shall go on forgiving you so long as you pray to Me and aspire for My forgiveness whatever may be your sins. O son of Adam, I do not care even if your sins should pile up to the sky and should you beg pardon of Me, I would forgive you."

Glory be to Allah who spreads out His Hands during the night so that the wrong doers of daytime would repent, and spreads out His Hands during daytime so that the wrong doers of the night would repent [every night] until the sun rises from the west; so praise be to Allah; among other benefits and fruits. May Allah guide us all to repentance and forgiveness, and grant us these benefits and fruits. And peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.