Transforming Past Sins Into Stepping Stones For Good Deeds

Khutbah Opening

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ نَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنُؤْمِنُ بِهِ وَنَتَوَكَّلُ عَلَيْهِ وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا مَن يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ وَمَن يُضْلِلْهُ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ وَنَشْهَدُ أَن لَّا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَنَشْهَدُ أَنَّ سَيِّدَنَا وَشَفِيعَنَا وَسَنَدَنَا وَمَوْلَانَا مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ

Allah says in His Glorious Book, after seeking refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan:

And the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan Ibn Mājah, Hadith 4251; also recorded in Musnad Ahmad)

Dear brothers, sisters, elders, and esteemed guests of the house of Allah — Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh.

Reflecting on the Year Gone By

As we see the days go by and we see that the end of the year has drawn near, we tend to reflect over the things that took place over the past year. We reminisce over the events that took place in our personal lives. We see the state of the world and we tend to discuss it. We see some things have stayed the same — unfortunately our brothers in Gaza are still suffering. May Allah alleviate their suffering, ameen. But some things have become better — we see the people in Syria, alhamdulillah, they are celebrating freedom after so many long years.

But throughout this introspection and looking back at the year, we tend to forget to look at ourselves. Allah says in the Qur'an:

O those who believe, fear Allah, and look at that which you have sent forth for the future. Allah is telling us: O you who believe, O Muslims — look and reflect over that which you have prepared for the hereafter. Look over your triumphs, look over your successes, but more importantly, look over your losses. Look over your mistakes, your sins, look over what caused you to make those sins, and how you can avoid those sins in the future.

But when we tend to reflect, usually all we see is a sea and a mountain of sins, and a couple of good deeds. But remember that Nabi ﷺ has told us: every son of Adam is a sinner. But it is what we do after we sin that matters. Is it possible for us to take our sins and transform them into a stepping stone — or into fuel — so that we can do more good deeds in the future?

Examples from the Sahabah

The Example of Wahshi ibn Harb

Let's take an example — the example of Wahshi ibn Harb رضي الله تعالى عنه. What we know him as is: before Islam, he was hired to kill the uncle of the Prophet ﷺ. And he killed him in such a brutal fashion that even after accepting Islam, Nabi ﷺ told Wahshi رضي الله عنه: "I don't want to see your face," because it would be a reminder to him of how his uncle was killed.

But throughout all of that, what did Wahshi رضي الله عنه think? He didn't say, "Oh, Nabi ﷺ wants nothing to do with me, I'm going to leave this religion — what type of religion is this?" No. He understood and he reflected on his actions, and he used the sins of his past — even though they were forgiven when he became Muslim — to do better in the future.

So in the Battle of Yamama versus Musaylima al-Kadhab, the false prophet, he took up the same spear that he had killed Hamza رضي الله تعالى عنه with, and he killed Musaylima al-Kadhab. And afterwards, what did he say? "This weapon that killed the best of people — the worst of people can never escape from it."

So we see that the Sahabah رضي الله تعالى عنهم, when they saw the mistakes that they made, they reflected on them and they used those to become stepping stones to do better in the future. He was already forgiven for what he did in the past when he became Muslim, but he still used what he did in the past to do better in the future.

The Example of Ka'b ibn Malik

Let's take another example — Ka'b ibn Malik رضي الله تعالى عنه. In the Battle of Tabuk, known as Sā'at al-'Usrah — the Hour of Difficulty — in the Qur'an, it was so difficult because after a year of tending to their gardens and tending to their harvest, the time of harvest had finally drawn near. But Allah told them that they have to go out and fight the Romans — the hardest battle of the time of Nabi ﷺ.

And what did the people do? They went out — besides a few. And within that small group who stayed behind, there were three Sahabah among the munafiqeen. And what distinguished these Sahabah from the rest of the munafiqeen? It was the fact that after Nabi ﷺ returned back from this battle, all of the munafiqeen went to him and gave this excuse and that excuse — "Oh, we couldn't go because we had this planned," or "we couldn't go because of this." But the Sahabah understood that what they had done was a grave sin, and they did not go with any excuses. Rather they went to Nabi ﷺ and they asked for forgiveness. They had no excuses to give.

And Allah honored them in such a way after this that He said in the Qur'an:

Regarding the three that stayed behind — the three Sahabah — that they reflected on their sins so much that they began to finally realize that salvation only lies in the hands of Allah. And then what did Allah do? He turned to them so that they could then also ask for forgiveness.

The Sahabah had this understanding: the things that they do before, and the things that they mess up on — they won't just let it be, saying "Oh, I'll ask for forgiveness and forget about it." No. They actually think about those things, and they use that to become better in the future.

The Man Who Killed 100 People

Let's take another example — the most obvious example that comes to mind: the famous story of the person who killed 99 people and then eventually killed the 100th. This person, after killing 99 people, finally realized that he was doing something majorly wrong. And then he kills the 100th — but he still understands that maybe there is some way that he can be forgiven. So finally he finds a scholar, and the scholar tells him: go to a different place, Allah will forgive you as long as you do not commit the sin again.

So Allah loved this aspect of him so much — that he was trying so hard after recognizing his sins — that Allah shortened the distance so that he could be entered into Jannah in the hereafter.

The Example of Umar ibn al-Khattab

Let's take another example: Umar ibn al-Khattab رضي الله تعالى عنه — one of the greatest men to ever exist in this world, second only to Abu Bakr رضي الله تعالى عنه, buried next to Nabi ﷺ. His accolades go on and on — honestly, this whole khutbah could be about him and I could not stop.

What did he say?

(Attributed to Umar ibn al-Khattab رضي الله عنه; recorded in Musnad Ahmad and other collections of athaar)

He said: "Hold yourselves accountable before you are held accountable. Weigh yourself and evaluate yourself before you are evaluated in the future. For surely the reckoning of the hereafter will be easier if you reckon with yourself today."

Umar رضي الله تعالى عنه — even though he was given the glad tidings of Jannah multiple times, essentially guaranteed that he was going to get into Jannah — رضي الله تعالى عنهم أجمعين — he himself also told us to reflect on our sins. He told us to take account of ourselves now, before Allah takes account of us in the future.

Practical Steps for Self-Reflection

So what are some practical steps we can take? Obviously we can think — but there are steps that need to be taken before we can reach that level of introspection.

1. Correct Intention (Niyyah)

The very first thing, of course, is:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1907)

A person's actions are only and solely dependent upon their intentions. Allah will only judge a person based off of what intention they make. So for example, if a person starts to reflect over their actions and they think, "Okay, in the past 24 hours, what did I do?" — and they start thinking, "But this person harmed me like this, and that person swore at me, and another person treated me really badly" — then all they're going to do is use the things that people did to them as ammunition to hurt other people. They have gotten nothing out of their introspection; all they have taken is ammunition against another person.

So if a person has the wrong intention when they're reflecting over their past and over their mistakes, then there will be no point to any of this. A person should have the righteous intention that they want to fix themselves — they want to change the mistakes that they have made — so that, insha'Allah, Allah allows them and accepts their struggle in trying to fix themselves.

2. Seek Knowledge

The next way is to seek knowledge. If a person reflects for the whole day, it will not make a difference until they actually realize what is right and what is wrong. So if a person — and I know this is an absurd example — thinks that not praying salah is okay, and then he doesn't pray salah all day, and he thinks back on the past 24 hours and says, "I had a very productive day" — he only thinks that because he thinks not praying salah is okay.

If a person has certain things that he is doing which are not allowed in Islam, or which are harming other people while he himself is benefiting, then it is something that he needs to stop or realize. But if he doesn't have the knowledge of that, then there is no point to any of it. So much so that Nabi ﷺ has said:

(Sunan Ibn Mājah, Hadith 224)

Seeking knowledge is fard and mandatory upon every believer — and every believer needs to seek knowledge up to the extent that it matters or applies to them. So for example, if someone is in a specific business, then they need to know all of the dealings related to that business. If they end up harming someone or oppressing someone through that business, but they don't know that there are certain rulings regarding it, then they will never know that they committed anything wrong. So a person needs to have the knowledge so that they can understand when they are doing something wrong.

3. Seek Istighfar (Forgiveness)

The next practical step is to seek istighfar. Nabi ﷺ used to do istighfar more than 70 times a day, and in some narrations more than 100 times a day. خَاتَمُ الْأَنْبِيَاء — the person who is forgiven 100%, who will guide the rest of the believers into Jannah — he sought forgiveness. Why? Because it was a lesson for us to also then seek forgiveness. We are riddled with sins; we are nothing compared to Nabi ﷺ. But if he sought forgiveness, then we too must seek forgiveness as well.

And seeking forgiveness becomes the first stepping stone to turning our mistakes and our sins into good deeds. How? Allah says in the Qur'an:

"Besides those who repent and believe and do good and righteous actions — Allah will change their unrighteous actions and their bad deeds into good ones." So if a person seeks forgiveness and follows it up with a good deed, Allah will erase that previous bad deed and in fact give him a good deed on top of that. So if a person seeks forgiveness, then insha'Allah Allah will help them take the path to become a better person.

4. Your Environment

The next practical step is your environment. Like the person who killed a hundred people — what was he told? "Go to a better place. This place is not good for you. All of your friends around here are telling you to do this and that, and that is not something that is acceptable." What does Nabi ﷺ say?

(Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Hadith 4833; Sunan al-Tirmidhī, Hadith 2378)

A person is on the religion of his friend. And this "friend" doesn't have to be just the person sitting next to you on your right or your left. No — it can be your friend, it can be the routines that you have taken, it can be the habits that you have. If you have certain things that lead you to make certain sins, then that also becomes the environment that you are in. So if it is the phone that you use at night — that is your khalil. If it is the friend with whom you listen to music in the car — that is your khalil as well. So you need to cut out those things that lead you to an environment of haram.

5. Set Specific Goals

The next practical step is to have specific goals in mind. It is good to say, "Oh, I want to make myself a better person," but until you take the steps that are required to become a better person, it is all in vain. If a person says, for example, "I want to pray every salah in the masjid" — that's a good step, that's a good first step. They have the niyyah there. But they have not made any goals or any actions to actually fulfill that niyyah.

So if they start by maybe one salah in the masjid, or they say, "Okay, I will not miss Salatul Isha in the masjid, and I will make sure I go to Salatul Isha every single day" — then they need to keep themselves to that promise. If they miss a day, maybe make some sort of punishment for yourself: "I will give five dollars in sadaqah if I miss Salatul Isha in the masjid." There are definitely things that every one of us can do that will allow us to keep ourselves to the vows that we take. So if we say we are praying Salatul Isha in the masjid, we keep ourselves to that.

6. Take Accountability

And the last — most important — step is to take accountability. A person can have all the introspection they want, but it will lead to nothing if they don't take accountability of their actions. If a person says, "Oh yeah, I did that sin, but that was only because I was with this certain person," or "Oh, I did it this time, but I won't do it the next time," or "Oh, because I was in this certain situation, that caused me to commit this sin" — no. You have to take accountability of yourself. If you did this action, then take accountability: "I committed this sin; I must fix myself."

And you've got to ask yourself those hard-hitting questions: Is this sin of mine harming other people? Is this harming my relationship with Allah? Is this mistake that I'm making — am I making it so consistently that it harms my relationship with my parents? Does it harm my relationship with my co-workers? Is it harming my relationship and my spiritual growth over time? And if I look at my actions that I've prepared for the hereafter — am I satisfied with it or not? If we don't take accountability of ourselves, then there will be no point to any of this introspection.

Do Not Despair of Allah's Mercy

Now, ultimately, it all boils down to making sure we look at our past. But if we look too much, sometimes all we see is our bad deeds — years upon years of sins and mistakes that we have committed. But remember that Allah said:

"Say, O My servants — those that have transgressed upon themselves by doing sin — do not become despondent of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah can forgive all sins. Indeed, He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful."

Allah is always there to forgive a person, as long as they make the steps necessary — as long as they make tawbah, as long as they recognize that what they are doing is incorrect. Allah is prepared and ready to forgive anyone. If you ask for forgiveness once, Allah will forgive you. And if you commit a sin again, Allah is still there, ready to forgive you.

May Allah allow us to look back at our past, acknowledge the mistakes we make, allow us to reflect upon our mistakes, and become better people in the future. And our last call is that all praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds.

Announcements

All the brothers are requested to come forward and fill in the gaps. There are a lot of gaps in the front. Please pray your sunnahs insha'Allah. Please pass the donation boxes from left to right and donate generously. Sadaqah wards off calamities and draws the mercy of Allah. Nabi ﷺ said: charity given on the day of Jumu'ah is greater in reward than any other day.

The Tafheem Weekend Islamic Studies class begins January 11th to May 24th, 2025. Spring 2025 enrollment is now open. You can register at masjidds.org.

Save the date for a No-Tech Retreat — Unplugged: Connecting with the Creator, February 8th and 9th. Register at masjidds.org/unplugged.

Please join the ICCD Masjid which is hosting a weekend course with Sheikh Samir al-Nass. He will be discussing a collection of authentic hadith and Islamic jurisprudence from January 3rd to 5th.

Join us for our weekly programs: Team Fajr will be tomorrow from Fajr Salah — Fajr iqamah is at 6:15 AM. There will be no Tafseer this Tuesday; it will resume from January 14th insha'Allah. Weekly Urdu Seerah program every Thursday after Isha Salah. The Sisters' Thursday Tafseer will resume from January 9th insha'Allah.

Please make du'a for Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and all the Muslim Ummah.

Salatul Janazah Announcement

إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ

It is with great sadness that we express the passing of brother Muhammad Akram, who has returned to Allah. We request all the brothers and sisters to join the Salatul Janazah. The Salatul Janazah will be taking place immediately after the remaining sunnah prayers.

Brothers need to proceed to the gymnasium, which is located in the seminary building across the courtyard. Sisters need to proceed to the banquet hall on the lower level. Please note: if you remain in the women's prayer hall where you just performed salah, even though you may be able to hear the voice of the Imam, your Salatul Janazah will be invalid, as you will be praying ahead of the Imam.