Ramadan 1445 AH — Day 9: How to Erase Your Sins
Every son of Adam is a sinner and the best of sinners are those who repent — Hadith
There’s this aphorism I’ve always heard as a child — ‘to err is human, to forgive is divine’. This conforms with the teachings of Islam. Allah’s Apostle ﷺ made it known to us that every son of Adam sins, but the best of sinners are the repentant ones. We have a Lord Who created us with free will to test us knowing fully well that we will err. Then He allows us a chance of repentance to earn His forgiveness.
The famous companion Abdullah Ibn Abbas mentioned to us the beautiful effects of righteousness in the life of a man viz:
- Luminosity in one’s face
- Strength in one’s body
- Expanse in one’s provision and
- Love within the heart of the people
On the other hand, he also mentioned the dark side of sinfulness which is the opposite of those mentioned above:
- Darkness in one’s face
- Weakness in one’s body
- Tightness in one’s provisions and
- Hatred within the hearts of people
A sinful life surely leads to misery and a strained relationship with Allah. Since we can’t escape our portion of sinfulness in life, Allah’s Apostle ﷺ recommended specific statements, if uttered with sincerity, will lead to the atonement of our sins. This is one of them:
Narrated Abu Hurairah (RA) Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said: “Whoever glorifies Allah (by saying Subhan-Allah) after every Salat (prayer) thirty-three times, and praises Allah (by saying Alhamdu-lillah) thirty-three times, and exalts Allah (by saying Allahu Akbar) thirty-three times, those are ninety-nine in all, and says to complete a hundred: La ilaha ill-Allahu, wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahul-mulku wa lahulhamdu, wa Huwa ‘ala kulli shai’in Qadir (There is nothing which deserves to be worshipped except Allah Alone Who has no partner; to Him belongs the kingdom, to Him praise is due, and He has power over everything), his sins will be forgiven, even if they are as abundant as the foam of the sea.” — Muslim
In a separate narration, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ also admonished us on another way in which we could have our sins wiped away:
Abu Dharr reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Fear Allah wherever you are, follow a bad deed with a good deed and it will erase it, and relate with people in the best of manners.” — Tirmidhi
Imam Al-Munawi made a beautiful commentary in Faydul Qadir on this matter thus:
Let no one be under the impression that repeating these remembrances frequently while insisting on impermissible desires and transgressing Allah’s deen and limits causes a person to become amongst the pure and complete ones. Such words are uttered in vain if piety and good deeds aren’t added to them.
Action Points
- Ensure you always do your dhikr of tasbeeh, tahmeed, and takbeer after every obligatory prayer.
- Remember to often follow up your bad deeds with good ones. This will also help you erase them.
- Do not rely solely upon these acts, with the intention to repeat sins, and then in hope for forgiveness. This action is deceit and you’re not deceiving Allah but yourself.
That’s it for today, take action on this Daily Revival and if you missed yesterday’s episode, you can find it here. I ask Allah to make it easy for me and you. Amin!
Yaumul Thalatha 9th Ramadan 1445 AH // Tuesday 19th March 2024.
- If you’d like to support a charitable cause this Ramadan, donate to Rafeeqee Foundation
- You may join my WhatsApp Broadcast channel called “Islamic Reminders” where you can find some more beneficial stuff.
- Finally, I made a practical video on how to crush your Ramadan goals using two non-conventional methodologies. You’ll find it on Pure Masculinity Podcast, don’t forget to subscribe.
