Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “And say: ‘A reduction, and We will forgive you your sins and We will increase the doers of good.’”

, meaning say this word, say this word, meaning *hittah*. *Hittah* is a noun of state derived from *hat*, which means lowering or reducing. From this comes your saying: *hat rahtahu* or *hat rahtahu*, meaning he lowered it. From this also comes what was reported in the hadith of supplication in the prostration of recitation: *wa-ḥaṭṭa 'annī bihā wizran* (and remove from me thereby a burden). They were told: *hittah*, meaning a verb from *hat*, which is lowering. The intended meaning is: remove our sins from us. It means: say, “Our Lord, forgive us,” meaning seek forgiveness from Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) when you enter [the state of prostration] and prostrate. Do you understand or not? The meaning of *hittah* is: remove our sins from us.

The questioner : Shaykh, does the prostration of gratitude require a prayer, or is it independent?

The Shaykh : No, it is independent.

The questioner : One prostration or two?

The Shaykh : No, one prostration. Yes, say *hittah*, meaning remove our sins from us. It is an expression of seeking forgiveness. What is the grammatical case of *hittah*?
The student: It is the object of the verb.

The Shaykh : Good. If it were the object of *kana*, would it be in the accusative case? They say it is the predicate of a deleted subject. The implied meaning is: Our request is *hittah*, or our request is *hittah*, meaning our request is that you remove our sins. The sentence consisting of the subject and predicate is in the position of the accusative, what is it? The object of the verb *qul* (say).
And in a reading: And in a third reading: So there are three readings: in it: , in it: . All of them are valid readings. Whichever one you recite, it suffices you.
And His saying: Forgiveness is covering the sin and passing over it. Covering the sin means that Allah covers your sin and passes over you, so He does not punish you for it. This is forgiveness, because it is derived from *mighfar*. What is a *mighfar*? It is what protects the head in war, right, O master? This is the *mighfar*.
The student: Is it called a helmet, O Shaykh?

The Shaykh : Yes, it is called a helmet. This is the *mighfar* because it covers and protects. And whoever interprets forgiveness as merely covering, that is not correct. Because when Allah the Exalted is alone with His believing servant on the Day of Resurrection and confronts him with his sins, He says: meaning I will pass over them and cover them as well.
And His saying: means the plural of *khaṭi'ah*, yes? *Khaṭāyā* is the plural of *khaṭi'ah*, just as *maṭāyā* is the plural of *maṭi'ah*. *Khaṭi'ah* is what a person commits of sins intentionally. This is *khaṭi'ah*, what he commits of sins intentionally. As for what he commits unintentionally, it is called *iḥṭā'*. Therefore, there is a distinction between *muḥṭi'* (one who erred) and *khāṭi'* (one who sinned). The *khāṭi'* is blameworthy, and the *muḥṭi'* is excused. Allah the Exalted said: And He said: We erred, so he is *muḥṭi'*. He erred, so he is *muḥṭi'*. And he sinned, so he is *khāṭi'*. So *khaṭi'ah* and *khaṭi'ah* is what a person commits of disobedience intentionally. If it is out of ignorance, it is *iḥṭā'* and not *khaṭi'ah*. Now, if they did that, their sins would be forgiven. In addition to that: This is above the forgiveness of sins; it is a favor. And His saying: those who perform *ihsan* (excellence in worship). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) explained *ihsan*: So whoever worships Allah in this manner is a doer of good. And there is no doubt that if they had done what they were commanded, they would have been among the doers of good, but