The Merciful Lord

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أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah.

All praise is due to Allah, to Whom no eyes can see, and no thoughts can mix with Him, and no descriptors can describe Him. And no accidents can change Him, and no circles can fear Him. He knows the weight of the mountains, and the size of the seas, and the number of the rain drops, and the number of the leaves of the trees, and the number of the darkness of the night, and the brightness of the day.

And no heaven or earth is hidden from Him, nor is there a sea at its bottom, nor is there a mountain at its top. And may Allah's peace and blessings be upon our Master Muhammad, and upon his family and companions, and upon those who were guided by his guidance, and who followed his Sunnah until the Day of Judgment. As for the rest, I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan.

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Say, O My servants who have transgressed against yourselves, do not despair of Allah's mercy. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins.

Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful. And Allah Almighty said in another place:

O you who have believed, repent to Allah with sincere repentance. Perhaps your Lord will remove from you your sins, and will admit you to Gardens through which rivers flow.

On the Day when Allah will not disgrace the Prophet and those who have believed with him, their light will run between their hands and in their right hand. They will say, O our Lord, perfect for us our light and forgive us. Indeed, You are Able to do all things.

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2816)

And the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, No one of you can save him from his deeds. They will say, nor can you, O Messenger of Allah. He will say, nor can I, unless Allah protects me from him with forgiveness and mercy.

Or as the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, Allah Almighty has spoken the truth, and His Messenger, the Noble Prophet, has spoken the truth. And we are of those who have witnessed and are grateful. And all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad. And bless and send peace. O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad. And bless and send peace. O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad. And bless and send peace.

Divine Mercy and the Path to Repentance

We begin by thanking Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, and praising Him and glorifying Him, how He ought to be. And we ask Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, to send the purest of blessings upon the beloved Prophet, صَلَّىٰ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. We thank Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, for the numerous blessings that He has granted us, from being able to see, from being able to talk, from being able to walk, from being able to hear, and from being able to have this beautiful life and to have this blessing of إِيمَان.

Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, from His numerous blessings has sent down the Qur'an to our beloved Prophet, صَلَّىٰ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. And this Qur'an is very unique. Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, sent this Qur'an in such a way that it gives a lesson to the philosopher. It strikes a chord with the old. It gives some hope to the person who is oppressed. It gives a light at the end of the tunnel for the one who has transgressed, for the one who has lost hope in the mercy of Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ.

Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, has sent this all-encompassing message to us, for everyone, not just for one person, not just for a set of group of people, but rather for all of mankind. And Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, has said in this beautiful message, this Qur'an, Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, says, Say, O Prophet Muhammad, صَلَّىٰ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ:

O My servants who have transgressed against themselves. They have went against, they have went past the boundaries. Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, says, tell them:

Do not become despondent. Do not lose hope in the mercy of Allah, عَزَّ وَجَلّ.

Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, forgives all types of sins, whether done in public, whether done in private. Any type of sin, Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, will forgive them. This is not me saying this, this is Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, saying this in His Qur'an.

Indeed, I am the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful. So if we dissect this ayah part by part, Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, first says this to the most beloved person in the history of mankind. The most beloved creation to Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ. Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, is telling him that, O Prophet of Allah, tell My servants:

tell My servants. And over here, we can immediately draw some lessons. Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, is giving نِسْبَة of us to Himself. He's not calling us some type of creation. He's saying, My servants. When you refer to your children or someone that you love, you have this nickname that you give them. When you love someone, you call them in a certain way that no one else usually calls them by. So Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, the way that He addresses His beloved, He says, He uses the word عَبْد, servant. And this is the highest form of praise. In the second كَلِمَة:

This كَلِمَة says that, the Prophet of Allah is Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, servant first and then His messenger second. What do we learn from this? We learn that the highest form of praise even given to the Prophet of Allah was servant. And Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, is referring to us as His servants.

My servants. He's telling My servants that, look, I have a message for you.

Those who have transgressed. Those who have committed too many sins. What do we learn from

That first of all, these servants, they recognize. They know that, you know what? I sinned. And this is the first step that we need to take. That we first need to recognize that, you know what? We are sinners. Because if we do not pass this hurdle, if we do not even pass this hurdle when we begin to return back to Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, then how can Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, even forgive us? If we do not recognize ourselves that we need forgiving. So how do we recognize a sin? How do we recognize that we have sinned? Prophet of Allah, صَلَّىٰ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, gave us a formula. He told us. No stones are left unturned when it comes to Islam. Prophet of Allah, صَلَّىٰ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2553)

That a sin is something that, it caused some type of wrong, you know, something inside of you. That when you do it, you know you're doing something wrong. That is what a sin is. And also:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2553)

That you fear that you don't like when someone else finds out that you're even indulging in something like this. This is the definition that Prophet of Allah, صَلَّىٰ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, gave to a sin.

So now we have understood that what a sin is. But now I want everyone to take a step back and imagine a scenario. Imagine a colleague of yours, a friend of yours, maybe your son, your daughter, maybe your parents, anyone. And you say something that you perhaps might not know that will hurt them. But you know, you still say it. And the person feels a little hurt. But he realizes the other person that you said this out of ignorance, that you didn't know that it was going to hurt me. And you corrected the person right then and there. So there's the aspect of, you know, you didn't know that this is a sin. And this is why I've explained to you what exactly a sin is. But we take a step further that what if even after you know that this thing, this action of yours, this statement of yours, will hurt the person inside. You know, it will strike a chord inside of them. They won't like it. But you still say it. You still do that action. The person knows that he's not supposed to do it. But he still does it. So there's a statement that was said, in the tafasir that was mentioned, tafsir al-sha'arawi, under the ayah:

There's a very nice statement that was mentioned and perhaps I may reproduce it before you. The statement goes that, Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ revealed to one of his prophets that what is wrong with the type of people who hide their sins from my creation. This is Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ talking. He's saying, you hide your sins from my creation. But then you come open arms and you present it to me that this is a sin. These specific sins I did, I did in front of you while you were watching. And you know what,

Perhaps you thought that I wasn't watching you. Perhaps that's why you committed the sin. You probably were under the assumption that I wasn't watching you. This is Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ talking.

He's saying, if you think that I wasn't watching you then this is a form of شِرْك. Because Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ himself says in the Qur'an over and over in many places in the Qur'an, He says:

He's all watching, all knowing, all wise. Everything you can think of Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ is.

Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ says, perhaps you thought that I wasn't watching you and you committed the sin. Or:

Okay, fine. You do know I was watching you and you still committed this act. You know, you knew that I was watching you but you still committed this act, this sin in front of my eyes.

So if you thought that I was watching you, if you knew I was watching you, Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ is saying, that if you knew I was watching you, why did you make me the worst of watchers? That you actually thought if I was watching you, then why did you think and do this still in front of me?

The lowest of those who watch. Because you know, you hid it from my creation. But you still knew that I was watching you. And on top of that, you still committed the sin. Why? Why would you do that? Why did you consider me so low? Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ is talking.

So it's possible that we still commit sins, and we know that Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ is watching. Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ is asking, why do we still do this? So this is another step that we need to realize.

That those who have transgressed beyond the bounds, that we need to recognize that when we commit the sins, Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ is still watching. Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ is watching. A poet says:

Very beautiful. He says that when you are in the lowest, you know, in the lowest of the covers of darkness inside of your room, and you think that Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ is not watching. And when you are in the cover of darkness, and you begin, you know, your نَفْس calls you towards sin.

Then know and rectify yourself and tell your نَفْس:

that the One who created the darkness that you are hiding within is still watching you because He was the One who created it. Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ is all-watching, all-knowing. He sees you from the lowest of depths. Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ sees you even in the covers of darkness. So after we realize that Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ is watching and you know, we have committed the sin, then this is the point where شَيْطَان will come to you.

What will شَيْطَان say at this point? He will come to you and he will come to you with two things. The first thing that شَيْطَان will tell you is that the sin that you are committing, look at the person who's committing that sin though. You know, you may, you know, just take something without no one looking. You know, no one was looking, I just decided to take it. It's like, oh, why are you blaming me? You know, look at that person. That person is doing way more than me. Right, my sin is nothing compared to that sin. This is the شَيْطَان will come to you and tell you this. That your sin is too small. That it doesn't matter, you can forego. It's okay, you can keep going with life, it's just a small sin. And on top of that, شَيْطَان will come and the second thing he'll tell you is that you can procrastinate a little bit. That you know what, just delay the تَوْبَة. Delay the repentance. Delay the إِسْتِغْفَار just a little bit. What's the harm in delaying it a little bit? You know, just a little bit. شَيْطَان will tell you this. That first, the sin is too small to even be recognizable. But second that, if it isn't even a little bit recognizable, then just delay it. You know, procrastinate. Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, you have your whole life. Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ will eventually forgive you. There's no problem with that. And Imam Shafi'i رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ, may Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ descend countless mercies upon him. He said a very interesting quote. He said:

He said, do not look at how small the sin is. Don't look at how small the sin is. Why? Because:

That every time that you belittle a sin, according to you, then it becomes that much greater in the sight of Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ. It becomes that much greater in the sight of Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ. Because even regarding a sin as being not enough to have repentance, for it to be deserving of repentance, that in itself is a major sin. And Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ looks very highly on that. He does not like something like that. Imam Shafi'i says:

Do not look at how small a sin is.

He says, do not look at how small the sin is. But rather look at how big it is regarding who you have disobeyed. Who is Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ?

No one has ever even set eyes upon Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ.

No one even thought and comprehend who Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ is.

No one can even describe Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ.

That nothing can change Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ.

And he is not afraid of being encompassed by anything.

He knows how many mountains there are upon this earth.

And he knows how much the oceans have in them. He knows everything about the oceans. He knows what's on land. He knows what's by sea.

And he knows all of the droplets that fall from the skies.

And he knows every single leaf that belongs to every single tree on this planet.

Everything that the sun can touch and everything that the night covers Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ knows about it.

Look at who you're disobeying.

Nothing that the sky hides is hidden from Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ.

And nothing that the earth, nothing that the planet earth hides from Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, hides from anyone is hidden from Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ.

And everything that is in the depths of the ocean, those species that aren't even discovered yet, Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ knows. Those species that will be discovered, those species that haven't even come to existence, Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ knows about them.

Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ knows what's in the depths of even the stones, the smallest pebbles that lie on the earth and the mountains. Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ knows about them. Who are you disobeying?

Look at the height of who you're disobeying.

A poet goes, he says that, Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ sees that even the blood that flows through the veins of the mosquito in the darkest of nights. Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ knows even the smallest of blood that flows in the veins of the mosquito when it's covered in the darkness. This is who Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ is.

Look at who you're disobeying. After we understand who we're disobeying, then the value of Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ comes and seeps into our heart. And we'll realize that even the smallest of sins is worth our time for seeking repentance for. Every time that we consider a sin to be huge in our sights, even the smallest of sins, we see these people. Even the smallest of sins, it causes some ruckus inside of their heart. It creates like a hurricane inside of them. How can I even disobey Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ? And that is a sign of true piety. Because the statement goes that when you think of a sin to be very very huge in your sight, that's when Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ considers it very less. Because we have realized the true value of Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ. And when the value of repentance comes into our heart, then we'll do whatever we can to turn back to Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ.

So after we recognize all of this, we recognize that we have so many sins on our account. That the angel that's on our left shoulder, it's just writing and writing and writing on and on and on about how many sins we have. And we introspect and we reflect on all of our sins. Then we come to the conclusion that we're burdened with piles, mountains of sins. How can we ever turn back to Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ? And this is when we reach square one. And the Prophet of Allah صَلَّىٰ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ discusses this. He says:

(Jami' at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2499)

And this is a hope for everyone. Because the Prophet of Allah صَلَّىٰ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ himself is including that even I am included in this hadith, in this statement. That every son of Adam is a sinner. We realize that we sin. We realize that we have a lot of sins. And then the Prophet of Allah صَلَّىٰ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ says:

(Jami' at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2499)

This is already acknowledged. We know that you have sins. Because everyone is a sinner. Everyone is a sinner. Prophet of Allah صَلَّىٰ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ is acknowledging this. So after we realize that we have so many sins, and we need to turn back to Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ. The Prophet of Allah صَلَّىٰ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said:

(Jami' at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2499)

Prophet of Allah صَلَّىٰ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ says after that, that the best of sinners are the ones who repent. The ones who turn back.

(Jami' at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2499)

The ones who turn back to Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ. And ask for His mercy. Because we realize that we cannot get anywhere, we cannot even ask for repentance until Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ showers us with His mercy. And again, this is a statement of the Prophet صَلَّىٰ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

(Sahih Muslim, Book 34, Hadith 6456)

In Sahih Muslim, it comes on the 30th of Abu Hurairah رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ. The Prophet صَلَّىٰ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said that no one is successful. That his actions, nor it will benefit you not in any way. It will not save you on the Day of Judgment, your actions, whatever you do. Then the Sahaba رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ were confused. They said, not even you Rasulullah?

(Sahih Muslim, Book 34, Hadith 6456)

Is it not even you Rasulullah? Rasulullah صَلَّىٰ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 34, Hadith 6456)

He said, not even me. Even I won't be saved on that day. He says, except if Allah عَزَّ وَجَلّ enshrouds me, encompasses me, surrounds me with His mercy, His forgiveness. This is the only way that Allah عَزَّ وَجَلّ will forgive me. And I will be successful on the Day of Judgment. And this is again another statement of Imam Shafi'i رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ:

Even Imam Shafi'i, our pious predecessors recognized this. That in the end of the day, it is nothing that we can do that will bring about the forgiveness of Allah عَزَّ وَجَلّ, except His mercy. Imam Shafi'i رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ said that, when I realized that I've sinned so much in my life. He's saying this on his deathbed.

He's saying, I've completely lost hope in myself. He said, at that moment:

He's saying that at that moment, I put complete hope in Allah عَزَّ وَجَلّ. Because only Allah عَزَّ وَجَلّ is the one who can forgive.

There's no place of refuge and no one that will grant us success except Allah عَزَّ وَجَلّ. He's the only one we can turn back to. Allah عَزَّ وَجَلّ Himself says that, you know, when you think that my mercy will not encompass you Himself, He says:

Allah عَزَّ وَجَلّ says that, my mercy overpowers my anger. And this is also said in the Qur'an:

Allah عَزَّ وَجَلّ says that, inform My servants, again Allah عَزَّ وَجَلّ says,

inform My servants,

that I am most merciful, that I am the most forgiving.

and that My punishment is a severe punishment. But what can we draw from this? The scholars have drawn, have drew a very important lesson in this two ayahs. That Allah عَزَّ وَجَلّ says:

But then He doesn't say, and I am the one who gives punishment. Allah عَزَّ وَجَلّ says that, I am all-forgiving, all-merciful, but He doesn't say that, I am the one who gives punishment. He doesn't say that, I am the one who gives punishment. But He says, I am the one who gives mercy. He attributed mercy and forgiveness to Himself, but didn't attribute the aspect of punishing anyone to Himself. A very interesting point that the scholars have deduced. That it comes to a point where on the Day of Judgment, Abdullah ibn Abbas رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ says that on the Day of Judgment, Allah عَزَّ وَجَلّ will show so much mercy on that day that even شَيْطَان will think that he will be forgiven on that day. So much mercy that شَيْطَان will think that he will be forgiven. And this brought Abdullah ibn Abbas to tears. Just a very thought of this after hearing these two ayahs. Allah عَزَّ وَجَلّ does not say that, He was the one who gives punishment. He says that, I have a punishment. But He says, I am all-forgiving, all-merciful. And this is a source of mercy for us. This is a source of hope for us that Allah عَزَّ وَجَلّ will forgive us. But He says:

Allah عَزَّ وَجَلّ says, turn back to Me. He says, repent, a sincere repentance. Allah عَزَّ وَجَلّ didn't say that, I will forgive you just like that. He says, come to Me and I will come to you.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 7505)

Allah عَزَّ وَجَلّ says in Hadith Qudsi that, He says that, if you come to Me, I will indeed come to you. And if you come to Me even walking, I will come to you hastening, I will come to you running. Allah عَزَّ وَجَلّ says that, but we have to take the first step.

And if we do this, Allah عَزَّ وَجَلّ will cover our sins. And then He will enter us into Jannah.

Allah عَزَّ وَجَلّ will enter us. But what is the first step? The first step is to turn back to Allah عَزَّ وَجَلّ. And the scholars have given, you know, how to repent back to Allah عَزَّ وَجَلّ. I will, you know, in these last couple of minutes, I will tell you, you know, the formula of how to repent back to Allah عَزَّ وَجَلّ. Because we are all in need of repentance.

(Jami' at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2499)

We're all sinners. So we all need to turn back to Allah عَزَّ وَجَلّ. So the scholars have said that, you know, there's a one, two, three step. This is the past, present, and future. Very easy to remember. First step is regret what you have done. You have to recognize the sin. You have to recognize. That's the first thing we mentioned. The first thing is we have to recognize who we have disobeyed. We have to recognize, you know, how huge the sin we have committed is. Whether it may be small, whether it may be big, it is still a sin.

It's still a sin. Recognize and feel genuine regret.

Be sincere in your repentance. So recognize that, you know, you have transgressed.

That you have transgressed. Second step is in the present. What should you do? Do whatever you can to stay away from doing that sin ever again. Do whatever you can. Any means necessary, take it. And then the last step is the future. Make all resolve that you will never turn back to this sin. If you have fulfilled these three criteria, then your تَوْبَة will be accepted.

If you have repented, it's as if you have never committed that sin. If you turn back to that sin, Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ will again forgive you. Turn back, Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ will again forgive you. This cycle will keep going as long as your تَوْبَة is sincere, everything will be okay. As long as you turn back.

We ask Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ to make us from those who have repented and turned back to Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ. We ask Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ to allow us to recognize the hugeness of our sins. We ask Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ to give us the ability to turn back. We ask Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ to allow us to do whatever we can in this month, Rajab and Sha'ban, and allow us to reach Ramadan. I ask Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ to allow us to reach Ramadan. I ask Allah, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ to allow us to witness Ramadan.

Inshallah, we pray our sunnah. If everyone can move forward and fill in all the gaps, there are many people still waiting. Inshallah, they can fill in the gaps in the back.