Ramadan 2025 | The Power of Prophetic Prayers | Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed | 03/20

Ramadan 2025 | The Power of Prophetic Prayers

We started a little bit later today, as those especially who are waiting online, just for the brothers who are, alhamdulillah, joining here for our i'tikaf, and were getting registered and getting their bags placed, etc. So we just waited a little bit, so we apologize for the delay. Inshallah we'll have about 15 minutes today, inshallah, our talk.

The Middle Ten Days and the Final Ten Days

Yesterday, I began with the aspect of istighfar, the middle 10 days, which today we have the next 20 minutes, that are part of the final minutes of the middle 10 days. And the famous hadith speaks about how:

The middle ten days are days of forgiveness.

So we're supposed to seek forgiveness from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala throughout the entire month, but the middle 10 days are a very special time to do so.

And then the last 10 days is for:

Deliverance from the fire of Jahannam.

Sayyidul Istighfar — The Master Prayer for Forgiveness

I'm reading from the book called Prayers for Forgiveness. I started off yesterday with going over the detail of Sayyidul Istighfar. Whoever recites it in the morning and passes away anytime that day will go to Jannah. Whoever recites it in the evening and passes away anytime in the night will go to Paradise. This is a du'a we should all memorize, make a habit of reading. Even if we can't memorize it, then at least read it.

The translation, commentary, all of that we discussed yesterday.

The Book: Prayers for Forgiveness by Hasan al-Basri

Then I selected a book for us to kind of look through. It's called Prayers for Forgiveness, by the Imam of the Tabi'un, the leader of the Tabi'een, Hasan al-Basri, rahimahullah, in which he has gathered approximately 70 different ways of seeking forgiveness from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And I was reading the introduction of that yesterday.

Four Things to Cleanse the Heart

Part of that was that in order to cleanse the heart, you have to do four things:

One — the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, dhikr.
Two — repentance, tawbah.
Three — istighfar.
Four — inabah, humbly turning to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

So four things: dhikr, tawbah, istighfar, and inabah. And every single one of us is a sinner, besides the anbiya who are ma'sum — protected from sin. So no matter how much we try, we're definitely going to have flaws and faults and we will need to turn to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala repeatedly.

We talked about how clothing or a computer or a mobile phone or email is cleansed repeatedly, regularly. Delete all the extra trash stuff, spam, to keep it running smoothly. If you have apps that have viruses and bugs on your phone, it's going to slow down your entire processor. So you have to cleanse it, delete it. This is what we have to do to our heart on a regular basis — cleanse our heart from all the filth that comes into it every day.

The Prophet's Own Istighfar

The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 48, Hadith 83)

The Prophet ﷺ, sayyidul anbiya, sayyidul insan — the leader of humans, the leader of angels, the leader of jinn, the leader of the prophets — he says: Indeed my heart gets cloudy.

What does that mean, getting cloudy? It means the continuous meeting and mingling with the people has a bad effect on a person. Because if you're washing dishes, you are sweeping the floor, you are doing some other type of manual labor — it doesn't make a difference who you are — your clothes will become dirty. This is part of life. So when we meet and mingle with people, then all of the toxic type of things that they have in their life get splashed onto us, no matter who you are. And so you have to cleanse yourself.

Like a sponge that is so needed to clean all the dishes — but if the sponge doesn't get cleansed, then there's no dish that stinks as bad as a stinky sponge. Although that sponge is being used to clean tens of dishes, it also needs its time to be thrown into the washer, or whatever else — it needs to be cleansed.

SubhanAllah, if the Prophet ﷺ is saying يُغَانُ عَلَى قَلْبِي and he seeks forgiveness from Allah more than 70 times a day — and in one narration 100 times a day — then where do I stand, where do any of us stand? So it's such an important point for us to have a dedicated time for istighfar.

Who's gonna do istighfar? The one who actually thinks he's a sinner. If you don't think you're a sinner, you're not gonna do istighfar. And that's the biggest sin — to think you're not a sinner. To think that everything is fine, I'm in great shape. So turning to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in seeking forgiveness is a blessing. We talked about yesterday also, because it also relieves you from the burden of that sin. Many times a person feels overwhelmed by the burden of committing sin, and he feels depressed, he feels down.

And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

All of you repent back to Me. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

Do not become despondent from the mercy of Allah. Allah will forgive all your sins.

Learning How to Seek Forgiveness

Many want to seek forgiveness and cherish the thought of being purified, but do not know how to embark on this path. For instance, they do not know what words to use or what to seek forgiveness for. This is the reality. A lot of people do not know how to say, "I'm sorry" to Allah. Actually, they don't know how to say "I'm sorry" to their spouse either. And they don't know how to say "I'm sorry" to their parents or to their kids. And that's why they have so many problems. So we have to learn how to apologize. Once you learn that, life becomes very easy. You have to learn how to apologize to Allah as well.

What words should I use? One of the brothers said, "Why don't you do a du'a workshop?" I said, we have a du'a workshop every single day after Asr. He said, "Because we don't know how to ask from Allah." I said, exactly. That's why we have this. These sessions are here to teach us how to speak to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And the collective du'as that happen here in the masjid — alhamdulillah, since the masjid opened — these are very important learning lessons for us to listen to and then figure out, okay, this is how I've got to speak to Allah. Okay, I can use my own words. Don't copy anyone. Use the du'a that happens here collectively as a springboard to do your own du'a.

Many people do not know what words to use or what to seek forgiveness for. Or they have forgotten about how many sins they have committed. We have this like partial amnesia — we forget all the sins we've committed, but we only remember the difficulties we had in life. Think about that. Every time you had a tire that burst. Every single time you ran out of gas on the road. Every time you had a bad stomachache — we remember all those things. But how often do we remember the times we have disobeyed Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? So we partially forget certain things. Or perhaps deem many of our sins as trivial and insignificant. Or they think there's no need to seek forgiveness. So these are all mistakes that happen connected with sin.

And if they do seek forgiveness, they do so only superficially — using general words like, "Oh Allah, forgive all my sins," or "Forgive them if you wish." They don't do so with any vigor or persistence.

Ask Earnestly — Do Not Say "If You Wish"

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6339; Sahih Muslim, Book 48, Hadith 8)

When one of you asks Allah, he should ask earnestly. For Allah does as He wishes and there is no one to compel Him. SubhanAllah. Do not say, "Allahumma ighfir li in shi't" — "Oh Allah, forgive me if You wish." The hadith is saying: Allah does whatever He wants, no one can compel Him.

Allah does not need to go out of His way to forgive you if you don't want it. If you don't want it, then go — you're not going to get it. Do not think just by simply scratching on the surface of the door, the door will open. You have to sit there and knock and knock and beg and cry at the door if you want the door to open. Because Allah subhanAllah does not need to open the door. He doesn't need us — we need Him. And so if we need Him, we have to show it to Him that we need Him. And that is through really being persistent in our du'a, extending the length of our du'a — our face should show it, our hand should show it, our tears should show it, our heart should show it, our voice should show it — that, Ya Allah azza wa jal, I truly need You in this state.

Du'a Requires a Focused Heart

The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3479)

Allah does not accept du'a from a heart that is ghafil — that is not focused, that is negligent, that's involved in lahw, that's involved in useless things. So when we even listen to a talk, we have to be focused. If our mind is somewhere else, we're thinking we're listening but we're actually not listening. When we're making du'a, we have to be focused. It shouldn't be that I'm joining a large, you know, khatm al-Qur'an du'a just for the sake of it. SubhanAllah, I don't even know if people know what they're doing when they come to these places. When you go to a du'a, you have to be focused. You can do du'a at home. If you want to come to a khatm al-Qur'an du'a, then you should be willing to raise your hand for 30 minutes. You should be willing to pour your heart out in front of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Allah will not accept a du'a from a heart that is heedless, from a heart that comes from a person whose mind is somewhere else.

So our focus, these final 9 days that we have — we're just minutes away from the final 10 to begin and the first odd night to begin — it should be a time where we really focus on our du'as.

The Best Prayers for Forgiveness

The most superior prayers for seeking forgiveness are those which are mentioned in the Qur'an:

And so forth. Followed by those related from Rasulullah ﷺ. There can be nothing superior to what has come from these two sacred sources — Qur'an and Sunnah. These prayers are found in many of our popular prayer collections. Your Hizbul A'zam, Munajat Maqbool books that you've been hearing every year that you come here — they have all these du'as in there. So we should benefit from those prayers.

And also, then we also have the du'a of our pious predecessors. Like when we make du'a in English or Urdu — people say, can you please make du'a in English or Urdu? We don't just say, we have the Qur'an and Sunnah, why do we do anything else in Urdu and English? We have the number one Qur'an du'as, hadith du'as. And then you want to speak in a language that you understand and your congregation understands. So we do that in Urdu and English, we bring our own personal issues, etc., relevant to where I am today. So similarly, the third type of du'as that we can make is the du'a of the pious predecessors.

Among these spiritual luminaries was Hasan al-Basri, who is known as the leader of the Tabi'een, to whom 70 prayers of forgiveness in this book have been attributed. Initially it was suggested that this book should be read on the 7th, 9th, and the 10th of Dhul-Hijjah. So those who are going for Hajj this year — whoever is listening online, if you know someone who is going for Hajj, this is something, a book to carry with. The Prayers for Forgiveness, because this is where it was originally inspired to Hasan al-Basri, rahimahullah, during Hajj. And it should be read on the 7th, 9th, and 10th of Dhul-Hijjah.

Why 70 Prayers? The Prophet's Practice

How to read this? One should try to read all 70 prayers every day in order to fulfill the practice of the Prophet ﷺ who said:

By Allah — wallahi — indeed I seek forgiveness from Allah and repent to Him more than 70 times every day. The Prophet ﷺ says: I seek forgiveness from Allah and repent to Him more than 70 times each day.

There was one person, when we were studying in South Africa, he came to visit us. He was actually originally South African, then he passed away, subhanAllah, there. But he spent a lot of time in the Haram. They used to call him, Hakim Astaghfirullah. Hakim what? Astaghfirullah. That was his name. I don't even know what his real name was. And why do you think they called him Hakim Astaghfirullah? Because he would always be doing istighfar, all the time. And he was like one of the awliya of the time. Ajeeb instances. Right before he died, he announced it. He called our principal, Mawlana Shabir, and told him, "I want you to do my ghusl, I'm going to be passing away soon." He announced it and told him. And his stories are many. We got a chance to interact with him. He was like a majzoob — a person who completely forgot the world and just focused only on Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But every step that he would take on a flight of stairs, he would be saying: Astaghfirullah, Astaghfirullah, Astaghfirullah.

Now if a person understands really how much sin we have committed, then this is not far-fetched. If the Prophet ﷺ is doing it more than 70 times a day, how much should I do?

If one is unable to read this book or do istighfar 70 times a day, then try to read through 10 out of the 70 prayers over 7 days, and complete it in 7 days.

The most important part of any prayer for forgiveness is that the supplicant focus on what he or she is saying, reflect on the meaning, and then allow the words to flow from the heart. One should feel remorseful and regretful over one's sins, express an earnest desire to be forgiven, and promise never again to commit such sins intentionally. Otherwise, one's du'a may be an empty reading of words. We're not supposed to be just reading through books of du'a — we're supposed to be actually speaking to Allah. But since we don't have the words memorized, we're looking and reading from the book.

A Prayer from the Book of Hasan al-Basri

I'll just read one, because it's time for du'a now. And I encourage all of us to get this book — it's called Prayers for Forgiveness. Many of you already have your own copy. If you forgot it, get it from downstairs in the bookstore. If you don't have it, get your own, and read it ideally every single day.

This is one great thing to do. We are most sinful of people — we really need to spend a lot of time doing istighfar. It might take you 30 minutes, half an hour, 40 minutes to read it. But this is a great way to spend a portion of our night, seeking forgiveness from Allah. And a lot of us do not know, as he said, how to do it. This book is a great way to supplicate to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala through what's here.

I want you to say Ameen as you're reading, because this is after all du'a.

The translation: Oh Allah, I seek Your forgiveness for every sin that my body, empowered by the good health that You had granted, was able to commit. Every sin that came within the reaches of my power, only due to the grace of Your bounties. Every sin to which my hand, nourished by Your ample sustenance, extended. And while sinning, I hid myself behind Your veil from the people. And when fearing You, while engrossed in my sin, I relied on Your assurance of safety and forgiveness. And I took refuge in Your clemency, not to smite me. And I depended on Your noble countenance and pardon to forgive me.

Meaning: Oh Allah, every blessing You gave me — I used these blessings right back against You. I would have never been able to sin if it wasn't for the blessings You had given me. And instead of using those blessings to please You, I used those blessings to upset You. And I was two-faced — I hid my reality from the people, because I don't want people to know who I really was. And then I knew You're watching me and I cannot hide myself from You. So then I told myself, You're Ghafoorur Raheem — You're the most loving, caring. Of course Allah is going to forgive me. So I just thought, let me just sin right now, and afterwards I'll seek forgiveness.

So now — Ya Allah, send blessings and peace upon our Master Muhammad ﷺ, and upon the family of our Master Muhammad ﷺ. And forgive my sin, O best of those who forgive.

SubhanAllah. What a beautiful du'a, right? What does that mean? A person needs to go through this mental process of speaking to Allah. Allah maghfir li, Allah maghfir li, Allah maghfir li. No — don't just say Allah maghfir li. First speak about: Ya Allah, You've been so kind to me. You've done so much for me. And count those blessings of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Then and only then, after that, do we say: Ya Allah, this is how I truly ask Your forgiveness.

I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to accept this du'a from us today. Allow us to supplicate to Him every day 70 times, seeking Your forgiveness.

Du'a

Oh Allah, we ask You to accept our 19th fast. Oh Allah, we ask You to accept our Qiyamul Layl, accept all the Sadaqah, Khayrat, and Zakat we have given so far. Oh Allah, as this middle 10 days comes to a close — most definitely we did not seek forgiveness from You to the level we should have. Oh Allah, but we ask You to forgive us for not asking You for proper forgiveness. Oh Allah, our own istighfar requires istighfar. Oh Allah, the quality and the quantity of our istighfar is nowhere where it needs to be. Ya Allah, grant us complete forgiveness for that. And inspire us to spend the remaining nights and days in a manner that is pleasing to You.

Ya Allah, give every one of us and our loved ones, our spouses and our children, the ability to spend quality time seeking forgiveness for our past, present, and current sins. Oh Allah, we ask You to inspire us with the proper words to seek forgiveness from You. Oh Allah, inspire us with the proper state of mind to seek forgiveness from You. Oh Allah, allow our hearts to be properly focused while making du'a. Oh Allah, allow us to have all the etiquettes that will make our du'as worthy of acceptance.

Oh Allah, our biggest need is our forgiveness. Our biggest need is Your pleasure. Our biggest need is being accepted in Your court. Ya Allah, our biggest need is being guided to the straight path. Ya Allah, we ask You, do not allow our sins to become a means of us being deprived of sustenance. A means of us being deprived of ibadah in Laylatul Qadr. A means of, Ya Allah, even in this month of Ramadan, earning Your wrath.

Oh Allah, we ask You to grant us all that level of connection, Ya Allah, that will bring in Your mercy to life for all of us. Oh Allah, allow Your glance of mercy to fall upon all of us. Oh Allah, we ask You to cleanse our hearts and our eyes and our ears and hands and our feet and every limb of our body from all the evil effects of sins that we have committed.

Oh Allah, we ask You to allow us all to witness Laylatul Qadr. Oh Allah, if tonight — the night of Jumu'ah and the 21st night — is Laylatul Qadr, then give every one of us the unbelievable level of physical and spiritual and emotional strength to utilize every single second and moment of this blessed night. Oh Allah, if tonight is it, accept every second that we spend in it. Oh Allah, and if it is not, then allow our exerting ourselves tonight to become a means of every one of us actually being able to find Laylatul Qadr. And grant us an accepted du'a and accepted ibadah of Laylatul Qadr.