salam alaykum
I was presented an opportunity to lead the jumuah prayer in a small masjid in Iowa. So I wrote a khutba, and I would appreciate any feedback..
Forgiveness is a complex idea in the Qur?an because there are many descriptions for it with overlapping meaning, and this is one of the beautiful features of divine speech. The verses about forgiveness are so many and distributed throughout the Book of Allah that we need to study them all to find out how they combine to form the full picture. For example, let us contrast these two verses about God?s forgiveness
Seek forgiveness for them or else do not seek forgiveness for them; even if you sought forgiveness for them seventy times over, God would never pardon them. That is because they disbelieve in God and his messenger. God does not guide immoral folk. (9.80)
Say My servants who have acted extravagantly against themselves still do not despair of God?s mercy. God forgives all offences; He is the Forgiving, the Merciful. (39.53)
On the one hand, it seems there are unforgivable sins, but then we are also reminded of God?s infinite mercy. This creates a dynamic in the meaning that even requires careful analysis to avoid logical contradiction. The solution to this apparent dichotomy is my topic and it reveals the special qualities of forgiveness in Islam.
It is not a simple matter of asking and receiving a free gift. Rather, seeking forgiveness requires action to be effective and lasting. This action is called tawba in Arabic, and it?s a process of turning away from sin and moving toward God. It is our individual moral account that needs to be cleared by forgiveness. There is a debt we owe as a result of our own harmful actions, and that debt creates distance between the soul and her Lord. The moral human being feels this distance internally as guilt and naturally desires restitution, but to reduce this distance requires movement. The man with no moral sense is not concerned with his account so the distance increases until he actually loses his soul. No one escapes accountability in the Qur?an. This is the impeccable justice of Allah. If you want to be near Him, there is a way, but you must travel it.
While those whose scales are light will be the ones who have lost their souls; they will remain in Hell. (23.103)
How does a person lose their soul? His scales are light with regard to good work, so his moral debt has made such a great distance between him and God that he is detached from his moral sense. Then what could possibly make him even want to be forgiven? Only after facing severe punishment!
They will not believe in it until they see painful torment. (26.201)
So Allah says that he will remain in Hell. He will never change, because his heart is blind to the moral quality of experience. On the opposite end of the moral spectrum is the person who is continually alert to the goodness of his actions and how they impact his soul. This person will be shielded from Hell.
God wants to turn to you? (4.27)
A major theme in the Qur?an is the fall and restoration of mankind, and so when we see that forgiveness is no less than the goal of religion, then repentance becomes the method to reach it. Four times in surah 11 of the Qur?an this phrase is repeated ?Seek forgiveness from your Lord, then repent to Him.? If repentance and forgiveness were not different, why would Allah specify one coming after the other? It is as if seeking forgiveness is only an intention, a good start, but the attainment of it requires more than wishing for it.
Anyone who commits evil or harms himself, then seeks forgiveness from God, will find God is Forgiving, Merciful. (4.110)
Forgiveness from Allah is guaranteed, but only when the right effort is made to attain it. The way of repentance is clearly defined in many verses. So let?s examine some of them.
?the ones who act patiently and perform honorable deeds; those will have forgiveness and a big wage. (11.11)
What a precise formula He has sent down for us! The Arabic word used is saulihat and has the sense of maintaining the good and repair. Allah has revealed the path to his forgiveness. Those who want it must turn to Him by submitting themselves to correction. If they persist in it patiently, they will also have a big reward, and this pair is repeated in eight more verses magfirah and ajr. I think this implies that forgiveness is the payment for good deeds, and that forgiveness alone is a magnificent payment.
Your Lord is quite aware of anything that is on your minds; if you behave honorably, then He will be forgiving towards those who are attentive. (17.25)
Here is another instance of this formula. This one is a logical if-then statement where something is required for the result to be true. The result is the forgiveness from Allah, and again, saulihat is required. This ayah also reveals that reform is the way of those who always practice repentance. The awabeen are the best models of reform; they are constantly doing repentance to the point where it becomes their significant attribute, and this cannot be achieved without sabr, perseverance.
You who believe, heed God and believe in his messenger; He will give you double shares in his mercy and grant you a light to walk by as well as forgive you. God is Forgiving, Merciful. (57.2
Another verse shows the path to God?s forgiveness, al-tawba, but in different words. Not only is forgiveness offered but also a light to walk by, if we can be mindful of Allah and believe in his messenger. A light is needed to walk the path to forgiveness, and his messenger is that light to walk by ?sirajan muneera? says the Qur?an (33.46) because he delivered the enlightening Book to humanity. If we believe in the Book we must believe in the Messenger. The Prophet is always ahead of his nation, and we know from the Qur?an (48.2) that he has reached complete forgiveness from Allah, so those who follow the Prophet can reach it as well.
Why do we find the words ?attaqu Allah? here instead of the word saulihat? It?s because this ayah is describing a more advanced level of repentance, and we know this because the ayah starts by addressing a specific audience those who already believe. While saulihat is restricted to mostly physical actions so it affects the will, taqwa is a state of the heart and mind. It?s being in constant awareness of God and thereby observing the limits He imposes on his creation. This ayah is speaking to the people with faith in their hearts. For them, good actions are no longer the goal, but the by-product of their desire to please Allah.
Yet I am quite forgiving towards anyone who turns (in repentance) and believes, and acts honorably; then he will be guided. (20.82)
The number of times forgiveness is explained in the Qur?an has to be an indication of the importance of this subject. Faith is always paired with doing good if the soul is to be saved from the punishment of the fire, and likewise they are both necessary for one to be guided to the forgiveness from Allah. Perhaps some would like to claim free and instant forgiveness based on God?s infinite mercy alone, but God is also absolutely just. His mercy is what give us time enough that we can seek his forgiveness and walk the path of repentance. If He was not al-Rahman, the Compassionate, we would burn immediately after doing wrong, but Allah gives us warnings and extends to us opportunities to make amends and do better. This is the true meaning of mercy, otherwise it would be arbitrary and inconsistent with justice.
But for someone who repents and believes, and acts in an honorable manner. God will replace their evil deeds with fine ones, since God is Forgiving, Merciful. (25.70)
What deal could be better than this one? This goes a step beyond forgiveness. Not only is the debt cleared but also it becomes as if we had actually done good instead of bad in the first place. For this profitable exchange nothing more is required than the most basic path of repentance believe and do actions that repair the situation. Believe that Allah will make this exchange happen because He is the master of all accounting. His punishment is always fair, but his rewards can be without measure and even arbitrary since He owns everything. Who can prevent the Lord of Heaven from giving?
God is not apt to punish them while you are among them, nor will God be their tormenter so long as they seek forgiveness. (8.33)
He said My people, why do you hasten towards evil rather than something fine? If you only sought forgiveness from God, you might find some mercy. (27.46)
We learn from these two verses and others that mercy is extended for those who are seeking forgiveness. This is a key to understanding the pattern of how Allah forgives. As long as people are making the intention to gain forgiveness from Allah, He will extend mercy to them. Conversely, when people stop seeking forgiveness because of their arrogance, then God?s mercy is not guaranteed. In these cases He will let them go on for a while, then take them suddenly.
Repentance is not for those who perform evil deeds until one of them says I have just now repented! just as death faces him? (4.1
Again, the main function of mercy is to allow time for repentance, and one cannot deceive God by making an intention but doing nothing about it. If I merely repeat ?astaghfirullah? hundreds of times with my mouth, I?m a hypocrite, but let?s return to the possibility of an unforgivable sin. I found only a few verses in the Qur?an that make such an extreme threat for idolatry (4.4, hypocrisy (63.6), disbelief and blocking God?s way. These are regarded as the most extreme sins against Allah, but we also read that Allah forgives all sins.
Turn in repentance towards your Lord and commit yourselves peacefully to Him before torment comes to you; then you will not be supported. (39.54)
This is the very next ayah after the one which says that Allah forgives all sins, and it adds conditions to the apparent absolute quality of the statement before it a time dimension. It reveals an end to God?s mercy when punishment finally comes which gives us a sense of urgency to repent and submit to Him before it?s too late. When taken together, the two verses are saying that Allah forgives all sins for a limited time. So we should never take God?s mercy for granted but always be aware of an expiration date. This is why belief in the Last Day is fundamental to Islam awareness of the end trains us to take time seriously and use it to work for the next life. Additionally, it helps us to see all created things as impermanent, and then we can more easily give up worldly attachments.
God will never pardon those who disbelieve and obstruct God?s way, then die while they are disbelievers. (47.34)
This ayah confirms the same idea that God?s mercy has a time limit, ending at death and there is no forgiveness after that for disbelievers. Obstructing God?s way is a very serious evil, but as long as a person lives, he has the opportunity to seek forgiveness and believe. No contradiction exists in these various definitions we find throughout the Qur?an on the subject of forgiveness. They represent the many ways that Allah has opened for his servants to reach it, and they correspond to the many types of needs different people have. Some will want to go faster than others.
Compete for forgiveness from your Lord, and a garden broader than the sky plus the earth, which has been prepared for those who believe? (57.21)
Allah informs us that human beings began their existence in a garden, but there was a fall from that perfected state after God?s word was disobeyed. So how appropriate that forgiveness is directly connected to the garden, as this demonstrates clearly the plan of salvation is for people to be perfect again as they were in the original garden.
He was told Enter the Garden. He said If my people only knew (36.26) how my Lord has forgiven me and placed me among the honored ones! (36.27)
Here is a man who realized in the instant he was saved that he was forgiven by his Lord, and he was placed among the reformers in the garden. One interpretation of the garden in the Qur?an is that jannah is a metaphor for complete forgiveness, a total acceptance of one?s repentance. In the original garden of creation the human couple had easy provisions and comfort and some form of access to Allah. Then they were forced out into a lower world as a test to see which of their offspring would follow guidance when it came to them.
We said Clear out from it together! If you should be handed guidance from Me, then anyone who follows my guidance will have no fear nor will they be saddened. (2.3
Obviously, if we accept that we are fallen, imperfect creatures, then the way to God is the way of repentance, and the way of repentance by the Qur?an is the way of correction and reform. So to correct the mistake of the first garden is simply to obey the word of Allah that has come to us through his messenger. There is no short cut for doing this work on our souls. To claim intercession through an innocent man?s blood is nothing but fantasy and Allah rejects it.
Neither their meat nor their blood ever reaches God, but heedfulness on your part does reach Him? (22.37)
The whole point of animal sacrifice implied in this verse is merely to demonstrate taqwa. It is appropriate to translate taqwa as the fear of God in this ayah, for only out of fear will somebody try to make sacrifices to please Him. Fear drives most men to obedience before they follow out of love. Slaughtering domesticated animals is an act of obedience, not a payment for sin! How could more killing cancel a moral debt? Only if the actual murderer is killed would there be justice; substitution is unacceptable ? human or animal.
Keep up prayer at both ends of the day; and at the approach of night. Good deeds remove evil deeds that is a Reminder for such persons as will be reminded. (11.114)
It is the giving of the meat for the sake of God that is accepted as a good deed and applied to our account. This is how forgiveness really works. It?s the result of doing saulihat and prayer.
To the objection that one is never certain if one is forgiven in Islam, the reply is that this is misplaced confidence. We must rather have certainty in those things which we are commanded to believe in like Allah and the Last Day. As Muslims we have hope in Allah alone and consequently in his promise of forgiveness to those who repent. To have certainty that one is forgiven is actually a very arrogant position to hold, as it usurps the knowledge of God. In fact, we can?t know for sure if we will enter the Garden, but we do know if we are on the way from the signs.
The significance of this humble attitude toward forgiveness goes deeper when we consider tawheed, God?s oneness. An example of another misplaced certainty would be that the sun will rise tomorrow. This is the certainty of plants and animals, as this is the highest source they can conceive, but human intelligence enables us to see beyond the sun. Even without revealed knowledge, the scientific method has found good evidence that the sun will not shine forever, but it can?t explain the origin. God has informed the human intelligence that He is the origin of the sun. Therefore the wise man places his certainty in the Creator instead of the sun, in what is constant rather than what is passing away.
The Qur?an calls someone who worships the sun ?mushrik? ? one who associates partners with Allah. So isn?t someone who claims to have certain faith in any of God?s gifts also committing shirk? He is like the man given two gardens of grapevines in surah 18 when he didn?t add ?in-sha? Allah? with his intention to enter, and that was shirk. This reminds us that forgiveness is granted only by the will of God and to never assume we have it. Ordinary perception is always drifting away from the Source and seeing only the manifestation.
If you will advance God a handsome loan, He will compound it for you and forgive you. God is Appreciative, Lenient. (64.17)
Here is another pathway to God?s forgiveness give Him your wealth and spend money in his cause. A loan to Allah will be paid back many times, and this method really shows the sincerity of the one seeking forgiveness. Wealth normally separates us from God because it makes us independent and able to control our lives and other people too in the way we want to go. This can easily lead to arrogance, unless the rich person is extra aware that Allah is the source of his wealth. On the other hand, a needy person who is a believer will naturally seek help from God and this desperation produces nearness. Giving up material possessions is in effect giving up some of one?s power in the world, and therefore it merits the power of Heaven in return.
So far we have only been explaining the forgiveness from Allah and how it works, but what about the forgiveness of other people? The Qur?an encourages us to forgive others because it is a divine attribute that must be reflected in our hearts.
Practise forgiveness, command decency; and avoid ignorant people. (7.199)
It is interesting that the overwhelming majority of the verses on this subject in the Qur?an are about God?s forgiveness, and I think this is because every crime against another human being is really also a violation of God?s sacred law, and therefore a crime against God. When the Qur?an mentions forgiveness of other people it is usually in connection with the compensation for crimes.
There we prescribed for them a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose? Yet anyone who treats it as charity, it serves as an atonement for him? (5.45)
Here is the same law of retaliation that was given to the People of the Book. It may be a theological step to imagine our debt to God, but in the realm of human interaction, the sense of owing somebody is hard to ignore, and true repentance must include paying our debts to other people. In the field of business and trading, what we owe is obvious, but think how any other type of zhulm also creates a moral debt. It is taking from another soul its God-given right to safety and provision.
If any debtor suffers hardship, then postpone it until conditions become easier ; while if you treat it as an act of charity, it would be better for you, if you only knew! (2.280)
This ayah teaches us that forgiving others is an act of sadaqa which Allah accepts. It also teaches to have mercy by extending time to the one who can?t repay due to circumstances, and this is the least we must do, if we can?t afford to write it off as charity. Allah revealed some methods of atonement for certain crimes and certain forms of civil punishment in some cases, but even in the case of murder, the victim?s family may chose to forgive.
?act forgivingly and show indulgence. Do you not like God to pardon you? God is Forgiving, Merciful. (24.22)
There is an implication in this ayah, also found in a tradition of the Prophet Forgive others and Allah will forgive you.
The Muslim scholars have made us aware of two major levels of repentance and the sufi masters describe a third. The first level is the repentance of ordinary people, which is turning away from outward sins in speech and action to obey the orders of Allah, or from that which is blameworthy to that which is praised, and this requires some restraint from the pleasures of the body. The second level is the repentance of the heart from blameworthy characteristics like arrogant pride, vain conceit, envy and anger, excessive love of dunya, and other addictions. Once your heart is cleansed of these impurities, you will be cleansed of the root of sins. These two levels are indicated in the following ayah.
?God loves the penitent and He loves those who try to keep clean. (2.222)
Of course, everyone should start with the outward repentance because it is the most obvious to work on and more serious in consequence, whereas the inward purification is more subtle and difficult. It is much easier to guard the hand from stealing than to guard the heart from envy, and on the Day of Judgement, we are only held accountable for our actions, not for our thoughts and feelings. It is even said that an evil thought that is not acted upon is rewarded, but the state of the heart is always influencing our behaviour, often imperceptibly. The heart is very tricky, so it usually requires a shaykh to help one stalk the deceptions of the nafs and reach the highest level of forgiveness, which is returning to Allah from everything apart from Him. Very few souls can make the personal sacrifice for this journey of repentance all the way to its conclusion, unless chosen by Allah. So the prophets do reach this highest level the state of total forgiveness in this life and true love divine.
Say If you have been loving God, then follow me; God will then love you and forgive you your offences. God is Forgiving, Merciful! (3.31)
We ask Allah the Merciful to guide us along the path of repentance and grant us his forgiveness and help us forgive each other.
