General Guidance on the Necessity of Repentance in Ramadan
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Question:
Honorable Shaykh, Ramadan is the month of repentance and returning to Allah, and a field for competition in acts of obedience and the expiation of sins. We would like from you a general guidance on the necessity and obligation of repentance, the danger of postponing it, and the opportunity in this great month?
Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions. To proceed: Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has made the month of Ramadan a season for good deeds, acts of obedience, and drawing near to Him. It is also a season for forgiveness, repentance, and seeking forgiveness, because a person is prone to error, prone to falling short, and prone to falling into sins and disobedience. This is because he lives among enemies; he lives among his own nafs that commands evil; he lives among bad companions and bad associates, such as open sinners and others; and he also lives among the devils of mankind and the jinn, who incite him to disobedience. He also lives among enticing desires and many trials. Thus, many of the children of Adam fall into these sins and disobedience, and they destroy themselves. But Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, by His mercy and His kindness toward His servants, has made for them seasons of good in which they purify themselves from those sins and repent to Allah from all their sins. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, said:[Az-Zumar 39:53-54] suddenly while you are not aware. So Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has opened the door of repentance and opened for His servants the door of hope, and He has forbidden them from despairing of His mercy. He, Glorified and Exalted is He, said: [Al-Hijr 15:56] He, the Exalted, said: [Yusuf 12:87] So Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, by His mercy, has made this month for those who may fall into many sins and disobedience. If Allah had left them as they are, they would have perished. But He called them to repentance, called them to forgiveness, opened the door of repentance for them, and made for them seasons in which deeds are multiplied and repentance is more accepted than in other times, and in which they turn to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He. This month is one of these great seasons in which the servants purify themselves from their sins and their evil deeds, and they provision themselves with righteous deeds. As it came in the athar (report), it is Mishkat al-Masabih 1965. It is a great, blessed month. It is obligatory for every Muslim man and woman to be aware of the importance of this month, and that this month should not pass for them like the other months, while they are in heedlessness and turning away, so that they do not benefit from the seasons of good, do not repent from their sins, and do not return to their Lord. Rather, they continue in what they are doing of turning away, heedlessness, and committing many evil deeds. Indeed, these are the ones who are truly deprived. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah bless you,
Honorable Shaykh, Ramadan is the month of repentance and returning to Allah, and a field for competition in acts of obedience and the expiation of sins. We would like from you a general guidance on the necessity and obligation of repentance, the danger of postponing it, and the opportunity in this great month?
Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions. To proceed: Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has made the month of Ramadan a season for good deeds, acts of obedience, and drawing near to Him. It is also a season for forgiveness, repentance, and seeking forgiveness, because a person is prone to error, prone to falling short, and prone to falling into sins and disobedience. This is because he lives among enemies; he lives among his own nafs that commands evil; he lives among bad companions and bad associates, such as open sinners and others; and he also lives among the devils of mankind and the jinn, who incite him to disobedience. He also lives among enticing desires and many trials. Thus, many of the children of Adam fall into these sins and disobedience, and they destroy themselves. But Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, by His mercy and His kindness toward His servants, has made for them seasons of good in which they purify themselves from those sins and repent to Allah from all their sins. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, said:
(53) Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful." (54) And return [in repentance] to your Lord and submit to Him before the punishment comes upon you; then you will not be helped.
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ وَأَنِيبُوا إِلَىٰ رَبِّكُمْ وَأَسْلِمُوا لَهُ مِن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِيَكُمُ الْعَذَابُAnd who despairs of the mercy of his Lord except for those astray?"
وَمَن يَقْنَطُ مِن رَّحْمَةِ رَبِّهِ إِلَّا الضَّالُّونَIndeed, no one despairs of relief from Allah except the disbelieving people."
إِنَّهُ لَا يَيْأَسُ مِن رَّوْحِ اللَّهِ إِلَّا الْقَوْمُ الْكَافِرُونَIt is a month whose beginning is mercy, whose middle is forgiveness, and whose end is freedom from hell.
شهر أوله رحمة، وأوسطه مغفرة، وآخره عتق من النارThe presenter:
May Allah bless you,
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 2 من 27|أحكام المرأة في الصيام|كلمة توجيهية عن التوبة وخطورة تأجيلها|صالح الفوزان|فقه|كبار العلماء — youtube.com (0:46)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.