Forgiveness in Ramadhan - Dr Ahsan Hanif

Khutbah: Forgiveness in Ramadan

أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فَإِنَّ أَصْدَقَ الْكَلَامِ كَلَامُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَخَيْرَ الْهُدَى هُدَى مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَشَرَّ الْأُمُورِ مُحْدَثَاتُهَا، وَكُلَّ مُحْدَثَةٍ بِدْعَةٌ، وَكُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ، وَكُلَّ ضَلَالَةٍ فِي النَّار.

The Prophet's Forgiveness on the Day of Uhud

On the day of the battle of Uhud, on that day that the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and his companions suffered extreme casualties — over 70 of the companions of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ were martyred on that day, including his uncle who was not only martyred but his body was mutilated. They cut open his body and took out his liver, chewed on it and then spat it out.

The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ himself on that day was injured to the extent that blood was free flowing from his body. He was injured on his forehead and on his face, and some of his teeth were chipped and broken. The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, on that day, despite all of the difficulties that he faced, despite all of the evil and the transgression that was done against him and his companions رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ by the Quraysh of Mecca — the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ even on that day made du'a for them, for those non-Muslims, for the people of Mecca, for the Quraysh. And he said:

"Oh Allah, forgive my people, for indeed they do not know."

And the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, as is authentically collected in Sahih al-Bukhari, had narrated the story of another Prophet from the Prophets of Allah that preceded him — that his people battered and bruised him, they oppressed and they beat him to the extent that blood was flowing from his body. And as he was wiping the blood off his face, he was making exactly the same du'a:

"Oh Allah, forgive my people, for indeed they do not know."

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3477)

The Day of Ta'if — The Most Difficult Day

Aisha رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا, our mother, thought that there was not a single incident in the life of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ that was more difficult and more severe upon him than that defeat on the day of Uhud. And so she said, as is collected in al-Bukhari and Muslim: "O Messenger of Allah, have you ever experienced in your life anything more difficult or severe upon you than that defeat on the day of Uhud?"

So our Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said: "Indeed I have dealt with whatever I have dealt with from your people, but the most difficult day upon me was not the day of Uhud — but it was the day of Aqabah, when I left your people and I went to the people of Ibn Abd Yalil ibn Abd Kilal, the people of Ta'if, and I called them to Allah, and they responded by pelting me with stones and exiling me from their city."

The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ left with blood dripping from his body, and as he was leaving he was extremely distressed. He said that he didn't realize where he was going until he reached a place called Qarn al-Tha'alib. There he looked above him and he saw a cloud, and within that cloud he saw Jibreel عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام. So Jibreel greeted him and said: "Indeed Allah has heard what your people said to you and how they responded to you, and so Allah has sent for you the angel of the mountains so that you may order him as you please."

So the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said that the angel of the mountains greeted him and said: "O Muhammad, it is as Jibreel says. If you wish, I will destroy these people by casting these two mountains upon them and crushing them between the two mountains."

The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ in this hadith is saying that this was the most difficult day for him in his entire life — more difficult than Uhud, more difficult than when his companions were dying, more difficult than when his wife Khadija passed away or his uncle Abu Talib died, more difficult than any other incident.

How did the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ respond? What did he say to Jibreel and that angel of the mountains? He said: "No, for indeed I hope that from their children will come those who will worship Allah alone and not make shirk with Him."

He would not allow even at that juncture, at that point, the angel of the mountains to crush those people — in the hopes that some of those people, or from their children, would be those who would say لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3231; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1795)

What Does This Have to Do with Ramadan?

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, what does this have to do with the month of Ramadan? For many of us, the month of Ramadan is about our personal connection with Allah — as it should be. In the month of Ramadan, we pray more and we give more sadaqah. In the month of Ramadan, we recite more Quran and we make more du'a. We connect with Allah and we strengthen and fortify our connection with Allah.

But one of the things that we fall short on in the month of Ramadan — and outside of the month of Ramadan — is not so much our connection with Allah, but our connection with one another. Our connection with those people around us, our connection with the people who are close to us, and even those people who aren't so close to us. In the month of Ramadan, despite our prayers and our fasts and our sadaqah, our recitation of the Quran and our du'a, you will find within a single family a father who doesn't talk to his son, a brother who won't talk to his sister, a mother who won't address her own daughter — family problems and feuds, relatives that don't speak to one another even in the month of Ramadan.

The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ was known to pardon and forgive — not only outside of Ramadan but especially in the month of Ramadan.

Two Lessons from the Prophet's Life

There are two things that we need to focus on in this month of Ramadan that we take benefit from — from the life and the character of our Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, and especially from these two incidents that I just mentioned.

The first of those is how we need to learn to forgive and pardon — in the hopes that Allah on that day when we stand before Him and He holds us to account for all of the sins and all of the things that we have done in our lives, in the hopes that Allah on that day will forgive us and shower His mercy upon us as well.

The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ in his life taught us how to show pardon. He taught us how to forgive and forget. He showed us how to be merciful towards others, and especially those people who are closest to you. The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ was instructed by Allah in the Quran — and Allah would say to him in many verses, instructing him to be pardoning, to show forgiveness, to forgive and forget.

Allah would say: show people your leniency, pardon them, and order that which is good and stay away from the ignorant. And Allah would say to him in the Quran:

That you should forgive and pardon — it is closer to taqwa, it is closer to being pious of Allah.

The Conquest of Mecca

That's why the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ on that day of the conquest of Mecca — after many years, the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ had finally gained victory over the people of Mecca. All those years of oppression and tyranny, all those years of killing and maiming the companions, taking from their wealth and attacking their honor, trying to assassinate the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ — finally the Muslims had the upper hand. They entered into Mecca as conquerors and victors.

The leaders of Quraysh gathered by the Ka'bah. They came to see the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, humbled, humiliated and disgraced, coming to seek forgiveness from him. And they had attacked the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, killed those closest and dearest to him, attacked the Muslims for so many years, caused so much evil in the land. The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said to them: "What do you think that I will do to you on this day?" And so they responded, knowing the gentleness and the beauty of the character of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, and they said: "You are a generous brother, the son of our generous brother."

So the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said to them: "Go — all of you are set free." All of them, in a single moment, despite years of oppression and tyranny, freed for the sake of Allah.

The Story of Abu Bakr and Mistah

And this wasn't just specific to the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. It wasn't just something which was in him alone, but it was something which he instilled within his companions, and by extension it should be instilled within each and every single one of us, especially in the month of Ramadan.

When Aisha, our mother, was slandered and the hypocrites spread those rumors within Madinah — from amongst those people who took those rumors and spread them was a man by the name of Mistah. And Mistah was one of the relatives of Abu Bakr رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ. He was spreading these rumors about his own relative and the daughter of his own relative, and Abu Bakr would do good to him. He was a poor man, so Abu Bakr would give him money and would spend on him morning and evening and sort out his affairs financially.

And so when Allah declared the innocence of our mother within the Quran, Abu Bakr رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ took an oath by Allah that he would never again spend any money on this man Mistah. That's all that he did — he didn't seek any revenge, didn't try to do any harm to him. All he said was that he would not give him any more money. That was the only revenge exacted by Abu Bakr رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ.

But Allah in the Quran wanted Abu Bakr رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ to have a better and higher and a more exalted character than this. So Allah said:

"Do not let the people of generosity and good among you swear not to give to their relatives and the poor and those who emigrated for the sake of Allah. Rather let them pardon and forgive. Do you not love that Allah should also forgive you in return?"

When Abu Bakr رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ heard this verse, he began to cry and he cried so profusely that his beard was dripping with his tears, and he said: "Yes, by Allah, I want Allah to forgive me." And so he expiated for the oath that he had taken and he continued to spend upon Mistah رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ.

Abu Bakr رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ learned from the madrasah, from the school of our Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

The People Allah Will Enter into the Highest Ranks of Jannah

Allah says in the Quran, highlighting and emphasizing this point:

From the people that Allah is most likely to shower His forgiveness upon and enter into the highest ranks of Jannah are those who suppress their anger and they pardon other people, and indeed Allah loves those who do good.

Zayn al-Abidin and His Servant

Zayn al-Abidin rahimahullah, the son of Hussain, the grandson of Ali, the great-grandson of our Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ — Zayn al-Abidin had a servant who one day came to him holding some food, and as he was carrying it he tripped and the food spilled upon Zayn al-Abidin, his master. Fearing the wrath and anger of his master, he began to recite this verse — the verse about those people that Allah will shower His forgiveness upon, those people that Allah will enter into the highest ranks of Jannah.

This is how the companions and the scholars of Islam understood the Quran. This is how they immediately responded to the Quran. This was the level of their contemplation over the Quran.

He said to Zayn al-Abidin:

"Allah says: from the attributes of those people is that they suppress their anger." So Zayn al-Abidin said to his servant: "I have suppressed my anger from you."

And then he continued to recite:

"And those people who pardon others." So Zayn al-Abidin rahimahullah said: "I have forgiven and pardoned you."

And then he completed the verse:

"Allah loves those who do good." So Zayn al-Abidin said: "Go — I have set you free for the sake of Allah."

A single moment, hearing the recitation of a single verse of the Quran, was enough for Zayn al-Abidin rahimahullah. This is how the companions of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ learned from him. And this is how the scholars of Islam by extension learned from the companions. And this is how we should learn in the month of Ramadan.

Pardoning is from the Attributes of Allah

To pardon and to forgive is from the attributes of Allah. And on that Day of Judgment, when we stand in front of Allah — a day the length of which is 50,000 years — when Allah will decree that the sun is only a mile's distance from our heads. Sitting right here in this masjid today, and those people sitting in the car park outside, we know how hot it is, how stuffy it is, how difficult it is. On that day, the sun will only be a mile away, and the people will be drowning within their own sweat.

For those people who wish to attain the forgiveness of Allah, the pardon of Allah, then let them seek to come closer to Allah using those same attributes that they wish Allah to display towards them on Yawm al-Qiyamah.

And that's why in the taraweeh prayer, in the witr prayer, one of the most common, most popular, most famous du'as in the month of Ramadan that the imam makes is:

"Oh Allah, indeed You are the one who pardons, and You love to pardon, so pardon me for all of my sins."

This is the du'a that our Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ taught our mother Aisha رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا, when she said: "O Messenger of Allah, what du'a can I make in the last ten nights of Ramadan that will allow me to achieve salvation?" This is the du'a that he taught her.

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3513; declared Sahih by al-Albani)

Stopping Our Own Transgressions

From that which we learn from the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and that which we need to apply and implement in the month of Ramadan is that it's not just about your personal connection with Allah, and it's not just about forgiving and pardoning those people who in the dunya have transgressed against you — but it is also about me and you stopping our own transgression, our own forms of oppression, all of the evil that we commit.

It's amazing that in the month of Ramadan people will pray, and people will give sadaqah, and people will recite Quran and make du'a and do all of those other good deeds, but at the same time they will continue to oppress people within their family and they will continue to oppress those people that they come into contact with. In the month of Ramadan people will still lie and they will still cheat and they will still deceive and they will still backbite and spread rumors — even in the month of Ramadan.

The Warning Against Lying

Our Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ taught us when it comes to lying. He said, as narrated by Abdullah ibn Mas'ud رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6094; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2607)

"A person will not continue to lie and seek to continue to lie except that he will be recorded by Allah as one of the liars."

The Warning Against Backbiting

And Allah said about backbiting:

"Does one of you love that he should eat the dead flesh of his own brother? It is something which is repugnant to you."

But even in the month of Ramadan we will still lie and we will still backbite. We will spread rumors about people in the month of Ramadan, even though the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ taught us that from the punishment in the grave for those who spread rumors in the dunya is that a person will come with a hook and place it in the right side of that person's mouth — the person who is being punished — and pull it with so much force and energy that he will tear his mouth until the back of his neck. Then he will remove the hook and come to the other side and place it inside the mouth and pull it with such energy and vigor and force that he will rip it until the back of his neck. And then he will come around to the right side again and find that Allah has healed the right side of his mouth, so he will repeat the process on the right and the left, and he will continue to do this until Yawm al-Qiyamah — simply because of a rumor that was spread that was untrue.

The Warning Against Riba

Those people who even in the month of Ramadan, despite worshiping Allah, continue to deal with riba, with interest and usury — our Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ told us that from the punishment of those people in the grave is that Allah will cause them to be cast in the middle of a river of blood. On the banks of the river they will see a man who holds pebbles within his hand. So the person about to drown in the middle of the river of blood will swim and wade his way through to the banks of the river. But as he approaches the bank, the man standing on the shore with the pebbles will throw a pebble at him and he will be cast back into the middle, and he will continue to do this process over and over again until Yawm al-Qiyamah.

The Warning Against Oppression

That's why our Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ told us that from the worst of things that a person can perform at any time of the year — but especially in the month of Ramadan — is oppression. And by oppression I don't just mean what we see on our television screens in Syria, but oppression as the scholars of Islam say is when anyone does anything in which they place something not in its proper place. When you do something and you fall short of the responsibilities that are upon you, or you go overboard and you transgress against others — that is oppression in Islam.

The Prophet said صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2511; Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 4211; declared Hasan by al-Albani)

"There are no sins that Allah is more likely to hasten their punishment in this dunya — as well as with that which Allah has waiting for them in the next life — than oppression and being disrespectful to one's parents."

These two things. And that's why the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ told us that from those people who will enter the Fire on Yawm al-Qiyamah is a woman who had a cat which she imprisoned. She would neither feed the cat nor would she allow the cat to go out and fend for itself. Allah will punish her on that Day of Judgment.

The Three Types of Records on Yawm al-Qiyamah

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, the month of Ramadan is not just simply about our connection with Allah alone — but it is also about our connection with those who are around us, those people that surround us, those people with whom, for one reason or another, our relationship has severed. That relationship is no longer intact.

There is no better time for you to forgive and for you to seek forgiveness, for you to pardon and to seek someone else's pardon, for you to stop oppressing others and ask others to stop oppressing you, than the month of Ramadan. This is what the month of Ramadan is about — that you reconnect with those people and that you ask Allah to forgive you. And one of those ways that you seek Allah's forgiveness is by repairing the wrongs that you have done to other people.

It is reported in the Mu'jam of al-Tabarani — with a chain of narration that the scholars have differed over regarding its authenticity — that it is attributed to our Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ that he said: on Yawm al-Qiyamah, the records that will be placed in front of Allah will be of three kinds:

First — a record that Allah will never ever forgive, and that is shirk billah. Those people who worship other than Allah, who even in the month of Ramadan despite worshiping Allah will continue to make shirk — they make du'a to other than Allah, they sacrifice to other than Allah, they take oaths and vows by other than Allah — even in the month of Ramadan. That is a record and a type of action that Allah will never forgive.

Second — a type of record that Allah will most likely forgive, and those are the sins that are committed between you and Allah alone. Because Allah as we just mentioned is al-Ghafoor al-Raheem — the Forgiving, the Most Merciful — and He is al-Afuww al-Kareem — the one who pardons, the Most Generous. So if you sin but you think good of Allah and you repent to Him and you seek His forgiveness, then by the permission of Allah, Allah will forgive you.

Third — the record that Allah will definitely hold you to account for, and will definitely exact justice for, and that is the oppression that is committed amongst the people. The wrongs that you commit — not to Allah alone, but where you have someone else involved. When you lie against someone, and you backbite against someone, and you spread rumors about someone, and you attack someone's honor, and you cheat them and you deceive them and you oppress them in whichever way, shape or form — be that person close to you within your family, your parents, your spouse, your children, or be they further away from you in terms of relationship. Those types of sins Allah does not simply forgive, because they are not just Allah's right that you have infringed upon — you have also infringed upon the rights of others. And so they too have a right to exact justice, and that will be on a day — Yawm al-Qiyamah — where people will not be in a forgiving mood.

No one will be in the mood to forgive and pardon and forget on Yawm al-Qiyamah. And that's why the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ would say that whosoever has committed any form of oppression, then let them seek forgiveness in this life before they come upon a day in which there is no dirham, no dinar. On the Day of Judgment you cannot buy your freedom. On the Day of Judgment you cannot give anyone money in order for them to drop their claim against you in front of Allah. On that day there will only be one currency that people will be interested in, and that is your good deeds.

Safeguarding Your Good Deeds

This month of Ramadan — when you fast and you pray and you give sadaqah and you recite Quran and make du'a — it would be a shame if on Yawm al-Qiyamah all of those good deeds went to other people because of the oppression that we committed. Safeguard those good deeds in this month of Ramadan. Seek forgiveness from others. Pardon people in the hopes that Allah will pardon you.

Remembering Our Brothers and Sisters Around the World

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, I conclude upon a very important point — and that is that in the month of Ramadan we should also remember our brothers and sisters the world over: whether in Egypt or in Syria or Pakistan or wherever they may be in the world — Afghanistan, Palestine, all of those countries. This is a time when we remember our brothers and sisters and we make du'a for them, and we ask Allah that He makes easy for them their affairs, and that Allah grants them respite from the tyranny and oppression that they are facing, and that Allah cures those who are ill from amongst them, and that Allah showers His mercy upon those who have died from amongst them.

Conclusion

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, Ramadan is an opportunity of a lifetime where you seek forgiveness — not only from Allah but from those other people that you have wronged as well. Ask Allah that He showers His forgiveness upon us and that Allah allows us and grants us the ability to have those attributes that the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ had, and that he instilled within his companions.

Straighten your rows, make sure that your rows are straight. Look to your right and look to your left and make sure that the rows in front of you are complete.