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والله إنِّي لأَسْتَغْفِرُ الله وأَتُوبُ إِلَيْه في

اليَوْمِ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ سَبْعِينَ مَرَّةً

By Allah I seek forgiveness from Allah and repent to him more than seventy times in a day
[Tirmidhi]
A person cannot progress on the path of tazkiyah (spiritual purification) without sincere tawbah (repentance). Tawbah is to return to one’s original pure state. The Ulama (scholars) of tazkiyah say that a person should be repentant every moment of the day. Repentance is not only verbal, but more importantly, repentance should be in one’s state of heart and mind.

The proof of tawbah and it’s main component is remorse and one can never be remorseful without remembering one’s sins. A person’s character should be dripping with remorse and this inspires others to forgive. The true state of tawbah reveals itself in a person’s speech, gait and appearance.

Source: Content Soul

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Commentary
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam wanted to tell the five above mentioned things. In order to attract the attention of the listeners, he first said, “I want to tell a few special things. Who among you will like to learn them? But he will have to pay back their claim by acting upon them himself, and, also, relating them to others so that they, too, may profit.”
It shows that there are two claims on anyone who acquires the knowledge of faith, he should act according to it and, also, pass it on to others. Even if he does not carry out into practice fully what he learns, he must not refrain from imparting it to others.

The five things the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam has taught in this Tradition are of fundamental importance.

(i) He is most devout bondsman and a great worshipper who abstains from what is unlawful though he may not be offering up a great deal of supererogatory (nafl) prayers and observing much of supererogatory fasts.

(ii) One derives immense satisfaction and peace of mind from being content with what Allah has decreed for him.

(iii) Good and noble behaviour towards the neighbour is a prerequisite of perfection in Faith.

(iv) A true Muslim must always wish well of others to the extent of desiring for them what he desires for himself.

(v) One should not laugh much because excessive laughter deprives the heart of feeling and makes it insensitive.

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After some time, another bondsman of the Lord passed by and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam asked the same person again, “What do you think of him?” He replied, “O Apostle of Allah! He is one of the weak and indigent Muslims. He is such a man that if he makes an offer of marriage anywhere, it will be rejected and if he makes a recommendation in any matter, it will be turned down and if he wants to say anything, it will not be heard.”

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, thereupon, said, “If people like the one who passed by earlier (are so numerous as to) fill the earth, this weak and poor bondsman is still better than (all of) them.”
(Bukhari, Muslim)

Commentary
Generally, material prosperity and worldly eminence are considered to be the criterion of greatness and people are impressed by them while those who are not rich and influential are looked upon as lowly, however good and noble they may be from the moral and spiritual point of view. The above saying is aimed at removing the folly.

It is quite possible that the person who was sitting with the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, and with whom he was talking to at that time, was also a victim of it and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam had spoken to him like that for his correction.

Commentators have opined and the words of the Tradition also show that both the persons who passed by were Muslims, but with the difference that the first one to go past was superior in wealth and position and the second inferior financially and in social rank.

It was because of this that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam remarked that if the likes of the first mentioned were so numerous that the earth was filled with them, the poor and the needy bondsman who passed by later would by himself be better and nobler than all of them.

It is related by Abu Hurairah radhiyallahu anhu that the Apostle of Allah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said: “Many among those whose hair are dishevelled and bodies covered with dust and who are pushed away from the door (due to their apparent wretchedness) occupy such a lofty place in the sight of the Lord, that if they vow in the name of Allah: Allah will surely fulfil their vow.”
(Muslim)

Commentary
It shows that no one should be scorned at or rejected as inferior because of his unkempt and untidy condition. Some of them attain a position of such nearness and preference with the Lord, by effacing themselves for His sake, that if, relying upon Him they swear about a thing that it will or will not be that way, Allah does not put them to shame and makes it happen accordingly.

It is worth remembering that the object of the above Tradition is not to encourage squalor and untidiness, as some people imagine. From the Prophet’s sallallahu alayhi wasallam sayings and other biographical accounts it is clear that he, generally liked to be neat and clean and advised others also not to be dirty and ill-clad. When he saw anyone going to the extreme of self-denial and wearing dirty and tattered clothes and caring nothing for their appearance, he reproved them sternly. This Tradition is intended merely to give a warning advice to those who regard the poor and destitute bondsmen of the Lord as despicable and do not want to mix with them due to self-conceit.

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(1) safe-keeping of trust;

(2) truthfulness in speech;

(3) good manners; and

(4) caution and abstinence in food.”

Musnad-i-Ahmad and Bayhaqi

Commentary
The word ‘trust’ is used in a very wide sense in the terminology of Islaam. It includes the fulfilment of the rights of Allah and of men as well as the carrying out of covenants and promises. Thus, a person who is trustworthy, i.e., who fulfils the rights of Allah as well as of men honestly and is truthful when he speaks and possess good manners and noble qualities of mind and character and exercises self-restraint in food and drink and does not over eat or partake of things that are forbidden or of a doubtful nature is, positively a very fine specimen of humanity. He is not only a perfect man in this world but in the never-ending life of the hereafter, too. Such exceptional favours will be conferred upon him that each one of them will be more valuable than all the blessings of the world put together. If a man like him remains poor in the earthly existence, he should not grieve for what he has is far superior to all that the world has to offer.

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It is related by Abu Hurayrah radhiyallahu anhu that the Apostle of Allah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said: “Whoever seeks to obtain wealth by legitimate means (and) with the object that he may not have to beg from others and can provide his dependants with the necessities and pleasant conditions of life, as well as lend a helping hand to neighbours, will appear before Allah on the Day of Judgment, in such glory that his face will be radiant like a full moon. And whoever seeks, though by legitimate means, to obtain wealth with the object that he may become very rich and can give himself airs before others and be able to practice liberality in order to win the admiration of men will appear before Allah in such a state that He will be severely displeased with him.”
(Bayhaqi)

Commentary
It shows that the earnings of wealth by lawful means and for a worthy purpose is not only permissible but a virtue of such a high order that there will be a special favour of the Lord on him on the Day of Judgment due to which his face will shine like the full moon. But if the aim and purpose of obtaining wealth may only be to become rich and important and to make an ostentatious display of one’s prosperity, even if it is earned fairly and honestly, it will be so sinful that Allah will be very angry with such a bondsman on the Day of Requital. Ill-gotten wealth, in any case, is a curse of the highest degree.

It is related by Abu Kabshah el-Anmari radhiyallahu anhu that he heard the Apostle of Allah sallallahu alayhi wasallam say: “There are three things for which I can swear and, in addition to them, there is another thing which I want to tell you. So, remember it. The three things for which I can swear are:

(i) No one will become poor by spending in the way of Allah (i.e., Allah will bestow prosperity on him and multiply his wealth);

(ii) Injustice will not be done to a bondsman Ð an injustice on which he remains patient, Allah will raise him in esteem in return for it (i.e., when a wrong is perpetrated on a person and he bears it patiently, Allah will cause an increase in his high rank and good reputation); and

(iii) No one will open the door of begging but Allah will open the door of poverty for him (i.e., whoever will make it his habit to extend a begging hand towards others will be condemned to want and indigence by Allah).

The thing that I want to tell you and which you should remember, apart from these, is that this world is for four types of men (i.e., four types of men are found here).

(i) The bondsmen whom Allah has granted wealth as well as the knowledge of the correct way of life; they fear Allah in the expenditure and utilisation of their goods and show kindness to relatives by means of them and spend them in the way it ought to be done for the good pleasure of the Lord. These persons are of the highest grade.

(ii) The bondsmen whom Allah has endowed with correct knowledge (and the right spirit) but has not given them wealth; their intention is sound and they (honestly) feel and say that if they come into wealth, they too will spend and utilise it as such-and such a (virtuous) man does. The recompense of both these types of men is equal (i.e., people of the second category will be rewarded in the same way as those of the first due to the purity of their intention).

(iii) The bondsmen whom Allah gave wealth but not the knowledge (and spirit) of using and spending it properly; they spend their goods foolishly and in wrong ways and without the fear of Allah, and do not show kindness to relatives through their worldly possessions nor spend them as they ought to be spent. These are the worst kind of men.

(iv) The bondsmen whom Allah gave neither wealth nor right knowledge (and spirit); they say that if they obtain wealth, they, too, will spend it as such-and-such a (wasteful and self-indulgent) man does. Such is their intention and the sin of both these types of men is equal (i.e., the fault of the people of the last category will be identical, due to their evil intention, to that of the people belonging to the third category owing to their misdeeds).
(Tirmidhi)

Commentary
The meaning of the above Tradition have been explained in the course of the translation. It is, however, necessary to bear in mind that the intention of evil conduct which has been condemned here as equivalent to the evil conduct itself belongs to the class of resolve and determination, i.e., the bondsman may be eager and bent upon committing a sin but cannot do so owing to an incapability or lack of opportunity. When the intention of a person is of that degree, it will amount to the commission of the sin and will be deserving of punishment in the same way as the transgression upon which his heart is set.

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Commentary
What has been said about the ears and eyes in the concluding part of the above Tradition is to underline the importance of the part the two organs play in the life of a man. Whatever reaches the heart which, so to speak, is the monarch in the human body, and affects it, is generally, through the ears and the eyes. Consequently, the success and salvation of the bondsman is dependant on the ability and fitness of his eyes and ears to see and hear.

The last sentence denotes that even though the things of success and good fortune reach a man’s heart through the eyes and ears, salvation and felicity in the Hereafter cannot be attained unless the heart is capable of preserving and making proper use of them.

In the Qur’aan the three faculties of seeing, hearing and understanding have been mentioned, from place to place, in a way as if man’s guidance and deliverance was contingent on their soundness.

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