Compensation for minor sins
Sayyidunā Abū Hurairah رضي
الله تعالى عنه has narrated that the Prophet of Raḥmah, the Intercessor of
Ummah ﷺ has stated:
“The five
daily Ṣalāh and Ṣalāt-ul-Jumu‘ah compensate for sins till the next Friday, and
Ramadan compensates for sins until the next Ramadan, provided that the major
sins are avoided.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, pp. 144, Ḥadīṡ 233)
Method of repentance
اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ عَزَّوَجَلَّ! Ramadan is
such a blessed month in which rain of mercy showers upon us and it is a means
of our minor sins being forgiven. Major sins are forgiven by repentance.
The way to repent is to mention the sin one has
committed and then feel resentment for it in one’s heart and firmly vow not to
commit it again. Let us say, for instance, that someone lied. He should say,
“Yā Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ! I repent of the lie I have told and I
will not tell lies again.”
Whilst repenting, he must despise the act of
lying and be sincere when he says the words “I will not tell lies again” otherwise his repentance
will not be valid.
If the right of another person was violated, then it is necessary to seek forgiveness from him in addition to repentance.
Dear Islamic brothers! Books of Aḥādīṡ are
full of the virtues of Ramadan. There are so many bounties and blessings in
Ramadan that our Holy Prophet ﷺ even said:
“If my
Ummah had known what Ramadan is, they would wish if only Ramadan had remained
the whole year.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah, pp.
190, vol. 3, Ḥadīṡ 1886)
Heart-warming saying of the Holy Prophet ﷺ
Sayyidunā Salmān Fārsī رضي
الله تعالى عنه has narrated that on the last day of Sha'bān, the Prophet of
Raḥmah, the Intercessor of Ummah, the Owner of Jannah ﷺ
said:
“O people! An auspicious and blessed month has
approached you. In this month, there is a night that is better than a thousand
months. Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ has made it Farḍ to
fast in this sacred month. To offer (Tarāwīḥ Ṣalāh) in its nights is Sunnah. If
you do a good deed in this month, it will be equivalent to carrying out a Farḍ
act in any other month and if you perform a Farḍ act in this month, it will be
equivalent to carrying out 70 Farḍ acts in any other month. This is the month
of patience whose reward is Heaven. This is the month of sympathy, and the
believer’s sustenance is increased in this month.”
In this month, the one who serves a fasting person with something to do Iftār, will be forgiven for his sins and his neck will be freed from the fire of Hell, and he will be rewarded the same as the one who fasted, without any reduction in the reward of the fasting person.
The companions asked humbly,
“Yā Rasūlallāh ﷺ!
Not all of us possess enough money (to present a meal to the fasting person)
for Iftār.”
He ﷺ
replied:
“Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ
will give this reward to the one who offers a sip of milk, a date or a sip of
water to the fasting person, and the one who serves the fasting person with a
meal so that his stomach is full will be given water from my pond (Kawṡar) such
that he will never feel thirsty and will enter Heaven.”
The first ten days of this month are mercy,
the middle ten days are forgiveness and its last ten days are freedom from the
fire of Hell. One who treats his slave leniently in this month (by not
burdening him with heavy duties) will be forgiven and freed from the fire of
Hell.
In this month, there are four things which you
should do in abundance, two of them will earn the pleasure of Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ for you, and you cannot do without the
other two.
The two which will
earn you the pleasure of Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ
are:
- To testify that
there is none worthy of worship other than Allah.
- To ask for
forgiveness.
The two which you
cannot do without are:
- To ask Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ for Heaven.
- To seek refuge of
Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ from Hell.
(Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah, pp.
1887, vol. 3)
Dear Islamic brothers! This Ḥadīs
describes the mercy, blessings and glory of Ramadan in great detail. In this
month, we must make special efforts to please Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ
by reciting the blessed Kalimah as many times as possible and by repenting in
abundance. We must not neglect asking Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ
for entrance into Heaven and protection from Hell. These are the two things we
must persistently ask for.
Four
names of Ramadan
اللّٰهُ
أَكْبَر! How blessed Ramadan is! A renowned exegetist of the Quran,
Mufti Aḥmad Yār Khān رحمه الله has stated in the
exegesis of the Quran Tafsīr-e-Na‘īmī:
“There are four names of this sacred
month:”
- Ramadan
- The month of patience
- The month of sympathy
- The month of increased sustenance
Elaborating the foregoing names, he رحمه الله has further stated:
“Fast is patience whose reward is
Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ. As fasts are
observed in this month it is called the month of patience. Sympathy means
‘treating others well.’ This month is called the month of sympathy because the
reward for behaving well (and sympathising) with the Muslims, especially
relatives, is increased. In this month sustenance is increased and even the
poor enjoy the bounties of Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ;
therefore, it is called the month of increased sustenance.”
(Tafsīr-e-Na‘īmī, pp. 208, vol. 2)
