By Imam Murtadha Gusau
In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy
All praise is due to Allah the forgiver of the sins and the accepter of repentance and severe in punishment.
Dear brothers and sisters! Allah Almighty said:
“And those who, when they commit an immorality or wrong themselves [by transgression], remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins – and who can forgive sins except Allah? – and [who] do not persist in what they have done while they know.” [Qur’an, 3: 135]
Respected brothers and sisters! Indeed repentance cures hearts sickened by misdeeds. Repentance is the gate of hope. Repentance is an open door. Repentance is warm streaming tears. Allah Almighty says:
“[O Muhammad], inform My servants that it is I who am the Forgiving, the Merciful.” [Qur’an, 15: 49]
Glory be to Allah, The Forgiving, Especially Merciful. He is the most in giving yet His servants disobey Him. He watches over them, protects them and safeguards them as if they did not disobey Him.
Allah is the One who answers the supplication of the one supplicating. Allah answers the one asking. And Allah is the hope for the hopeful.
And Allah is the Most Generous and generosity is from Him. And from His generosity is that he forgives the disobedient. And He loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves.
Dear Muslims! Repentance is when the sinner and those falling short, and all of us are sinners and fall short, turns to his Lord with a broken heart and humbled limbs. And his state and words express: Oh Lord, I do not have a lord other than You who accepts my repentance, none is able to forgive me if You do not forgive me, and none is able to have mercy on me if You do not have mercy on me, oh Lord of the worlds.
Great servants of Allah! Why do we repent? We repent because Allah commanded repentance. Allah Almighty said:
“And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed.” [Qur’an, 24: 31]
We repent because Allah loves those who are constantly repentant, those returning to Him and those seeking forgiveness. We repent so that our Lord will rejoice over us. We repent because Allah Almighty says:
“And whoever does not repent – then it is those who are the wrongdoers.” [Qur’an, 49: 11]
We repent because our scale is going to be displayed before our eyes on the Day of Resurrection. Our good deeds will be put on one side, and our bad ones will be put on the other side. And the good deeds will not tip the scale except by sincere repentance that erases bad deeds.
Listen and contemplate upon the narrative of this believing woman who, for a moment, neglected Allah’s watchfulness and fell into adultery. But the intensity of Iman (faith) and her fear of her Lord made her not able to sleep. Her mind did not calm down and her burden did not lighten, and the sin fueled a fire in her heart. And the ugliness of indecency burned within her chest. She said:
“Oh Messenger of Allah, I have committed adultery so purify me. And he turned her away, so the following day she said: Allah’s Messenger, Why do you turn me away? Perhaps, you turn me away as you turned away Ma’iz (the man that she had committed adultery with and he previously approached the Prophet but was turned back initially). By Allah, I have become pregnant. He said: if you insist, then go until you give birth. So when she gave birth, she came with the child wrapped in a cloth and said: Here he is, I have given birth. He said: Go nurse him until you wean him. When she weaned him, she came to him with the child who was holding a piece of bread in his hand. She said: Allah’s Messenger, here is, I have weaned him and he eats food. He entrusted the child to one of the Muslims and commanded for her to be brought. So she was buried up to her chest and he commanded the people and they stoned her. Khalid Bin Walid came forward with a stone and struck her head and blood spurted on the Khalid’s face so he swore at her. Allah’s Messenger (Peace be upon him) heard him and said: Khalid, take it easy, by Him in Whose Hand is my soul, she has made such a repentance that even if an extorter were to repent, he would have been forgiven. Then he commanded for her to be brought, then he prayed over her and she was buried.” [Muslim]
And in another narration:
“Then he (the Prophet) prayed upon her, so Umar Bin Al-Khattab said you pray upon her and she has committed adultery. Then he (the Prophet) said: she has made such a repentance that if it were divided among the people of Madinah, it would have accommodated them.” [Muslim]
My Dear brothers and sisters! Now is it not the time to repent? Is it not the time to turn to Allah? Is it not the time to return to Allah? For Allah stretches out His hand at night so that the sinners of the day may repent. And stretches out His hand at day so that the sinners of the night may repent. And re
