Khutba on Sincere Tawba

الحمد لله، الحمد لله الذي تقبل التوبة عن عباده المومنين، ويعفو عن سيئات عباده المستغفرين، نحمده تعالى ونستعينه، ونشكره تعالى ونستغفره ونستغيثه، نعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا ومن سيئات أعمالنا، من يهد الله فهو المهتد ومن يضلل فلن تجد له وليا مرشدا، ونشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له، له الملك و له الحمد، يحيي ويميت، بيده الخير، وهو على كل شيء قدير،  ونشهد أن سيدنا و مولانا محمداً عبده ورسوله، وحبيبه وصفيه، بلغ الرسالة وأدى الأمانة ونصح الأمة، النبي الأمي الذي أرسله الله بالهدى والدين الحق، بشيرا ونذيرا بين يدي الساعة، صلى الله عليه وسلم وعلى آله وأصحابه ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين.

أما بعد! فيا عباد الله اتقوا الله حق تقاته ولا تموتن إلا وأنتم مسلمون. يأيها الذين ءامنوا اتقوا الله وقولوا قولا سديدا يصلح لكم أعمالكم ويغفر لكم ذنوبكم. ومن يطع الله ورسوله فقد فاز فوزا عظيما. اتقوا الله فيما أمر وانتهوا عما نها عنه وزجر. قال الله تعالى في كتابه العزيز، قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

Allah says in His Noble Book, the translation of which is, “Say: ‘My slaves, you who have transgressed against yourselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Truly Allah forgives all wrong actions. He is the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.’”
In this ayat, Allah is not addressing the kuffar, but us, the believers, for every single one of us is capable of transgressing against ourselves. In other words, of committing wrong action and disobeying our Lord. Indeed, it is almost impossible for the human being to go through life without ever making a mistake, for it is part of the human condition to forget, to be weak and succumb to temptation, to err. We are not angels, we are not beings who have been given absolute immunity from wrong actions. But, rather, we are beings with selves that command to sou’, to wrong. We are creatures in whose blood Shaytan swims, and in whose ears Shaytan whispers and never lets up. We are human. The Prophet said,

كُلُّ ابْنِ ءادم خطاء

“Every son of Adam sins.” This is even true of the awliya and ‘arifin, for when Imam Junayd was asked if an ’arif could commit zina, he replied, 

وَكَانَ أَمْرُ اللهِ قَدَراً مَقْدُوراً

“Allah’s command is a pre-ordained decree,” For while the heart may remain true to Allah, the body can betray itself and slip up. Indeed, sometimes Allah uses that wrong action as the means to bring that slave even closer, as Ibn Ata’illah al-Iskandari indicates in his famous Hikam when he says,

وربما قضى عليك الذنب فكان سببا في الوصول

“Allah may well decree a wrong action for you, and make that wrong action the means by which you arrive.” How can that possibly be, you might ask, for is not wrong action hateful to Allah? Yes, it is, but it can also be a shock to the system and remove any traces of ujb, being overly pleased with oneself and thinking oneself perfect and beyond reproach. It reminds you that nothing is guaranteed and that your affair is completely in the hands of your Lord, and to Him you must always turn. The Prophet said, 

رب ذنب أدخل صاحبه الجنة قالوا وكيف ذلك يا رسول الله. قال لا يزال تائبا فارّا منه خائفا من ربه حتى يموت فيدخله الجنة

“The wrong action a person commits may well be the cause of him entering the Garden.” “How is that, Messenger of Allah,” they asked. He replied, “He continues to be repentant, fleeing from that wrong action and being afraid of his Lord until he dies, and that will take him to the Garden.”
Now, this does not mean that wrong action is something to be aspired to – it is not. There is a reason it is called ‘wrong’. What it means is that wrong action needn’t be the means for a person to go astray and spiral out of control, but instead when viewed in the right way and with the correct perspective can be the means of him returning more fully to the straight path. All that is required is a high opinion of Lord. Never think for a moment that He has abandoned you or that you are lost and beyond redemption. Allah only wants the best for you, He wants for you to have access to His attributes of forgiveness and mercy. The Prophet said,

لو لم تذنبوا لذهب الله بكم وجاء بقوم آخرين يذنبون فيستغفرون فيغفر لهم وهو الغفور الرحيم

“If you had not committed wrong action, then Allah would have taken you away and brought another people who committed wrong action and asked His forgiveness, so that He could then forgive them. He is the All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” 
If it is a necessary part of the human condition to do wrong action, if ever human being errs, then what is it that separates one person from another, what is it that makes one person accepted in the eyes of Allah and the other rejected? The answer is tawba. The Prophet says, after mentioning that every human being commits wrong action,

وخير الخطائين التوابون

“And the best of those who do wrong action are those who make tawba.” In other words, those who turn away from the wrong action and return to their Lord unconditionally. It is through this act of tawba that that mercy and forgiveness about which we have spoken encompass him, no matter how bad the wrong action, For Allah’s mercy is all-encompassing, and there is nothing He does not forgive of those who believe in Him. Allah says,

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا

the translation of which is, “Truly Allah forgives all wrong actions.” Even leaving the deen, if a person later returns to it, for this aya was revealed about Hisham ibn al-Aasi and others like him who were persuaded by their families to not emigrate to Madina and leave the deen. These people, and indeed the rest of the Companions, used to believe that they were lost and there was no way back, but then this aya was revealed and gave them hope. As soon as it was revealed, Umar ibn al-Khattab wrote it in a letter and sent it to Hisham, who read it and rejoiced, knowing that the door was still open. So he immediately went to his camel, leapt upon its back and set off to join the Prophet in Medina. 
No wrong action is worse than kufr, and yet Allah’s mercy even extended to those who had committed it. So never despair of the mercy of Allah, no matter how far you have fallen, no matter if your wrong actions are as numerous as the stars in the sky and your right actions can be counted on one hand. You can always come back, for one simple sincere act of tawba will transform all those wrong actions into right ones and bring you back onto the sirat al-mustaqim. Allah says, 

إِلَّا مَنْ تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا فَأُولَئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ حَسَنَاتٍ 

the translation of which is, “except for those who make tawba and have belief and act rightly: Allah will transform the wrong actions of such people into good.”
From being far, they are brought near. So never look down on your brother and think badly of him because of some wrong action you have seen him do, for he is not the action and the Prophet has said,

من عيّر مومنا بفاحشة فهو كفاعلها وكان حقا على الله أن يوقعه فيها، ومن عيّر مومنا بجريمة لم يخرج من الدنيا حتى يرتكبها ويفتضح بها

“Whoever openly criticises another believer for an act of indecency will be like the one who did it, and Allah will make him end up doing the same. And whoever openly criticises another believer for a wrong action will not himself leave this world until he has done the same act and been exposed before the people.”
Do not concern yourself with the actions of others, but rather focus on your own actions and make sure they are pleasing to Allah. And make tawba to Allah for any shortcomings that you find. That is the pathway to the Pleasure of Allah.

أقول قولي هذا وأستغفر الله لي ولكم ولسائر المسلمين من كل ذنب فاستغفروه إنه هو الغفور الرَّحيم.

الحمد لله الحمد لله رب العالمين، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له وأشهد أن محمداً عبده ورسوله، صلى الله وسلم وبارك عليه وعلى آله وصحبه، والتابعين وتابعي التابعين ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين.

أما بعد! فيأيها الذين ءامنوا اتقوا الله ما استطعتم واسمعوا وأطيعوا وأنفقوا خيرا لأنفسكم. يا عباد الله أوصيكم وإياي بتقوى الله وطاعته وأحذركم وإياي عن معصيته ومخالفته.

In order for tawba to be accepted there are a number of preconditions that must be met. The first of those is that it must be made before it is too late, and by too late we mean when a person is on his deathbed or when he has witnessed with his own eyes one of the final major signs of the end of time. Allah says,

وَلَيْسَتِ التَّوْبَةُ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ حَتَّى إِذَا حَضَرَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ إِنِّي تُبْتُ الْآَنَ

the translation of which is, “There is no tawba for people who persist in doing wrong until death comes to them and who then say, ‘Now I make tawba,’” The greatest example of that is Firawn who only declared his belief when the flood waters had engulfed and he was staring death in the face. But he was too late. 
The second precondition for tawba is belief in Allah and His Prophet. Now matter how remorseful a disbeliever, and no matter how many good actions he does to make up for his wrong actions, no tawba will ever be accepted from him. Allah says,

وَلَا الَّذِينَ يَمُوتُونَ وَهُمْ كُفَّارٌ

the translation of which is, “Nor is [there tawba] for those who are disbelievers.”
The third is that the tawba be nasuh. Allah says, 

يَأَيُّهَا الذِينَ ءَامَنُوا تُوبُوا إِلَى اللهِ تَوْبَةً نَصُوحاً

the translation of which is, “You who believe, make nasuh tawba to Allah.” `for tawba to be nasuh, it must meet certain preconditions. Al-Kalbi said, “Nasuh tawba is feeling regret in the heart, seeking forgiveness on the tongue, immediately ceasing to do the wrong action, and feeling confident that you will not go back to it.”
The first of these, nadm – regret, is very important. Indeed the Prophet has said,

الندم توبة

“Regret is tawba.” But tawba is often wildly misunderstood, and confused with guilt, something which has no place whatsoever in the deen. There is a great difference between the two. Regret is thinking badly of the wrong action that you did and wishing that it had never come into being, while guilt is thinking badly of yourself and blaming and reproaching yourself on a constant basis for what you did. Guilt is holding on to one’s wrong actions, dwelling on them and making them a part of your psyche and being while true healthy regret, tawba, is to fully let them go and keep the heart clear of them. Al-Junayd said, “Nasuh tawba is to forget the wrong action and never again call it to mind, for the one whose tawba is accepted comes to love Allah. And he who truly loves Allah forgets all that is other than Him.” 
The second, seeking forgiveness on the tongue, is necessary, for for forgiveness to be granted, the slave must ask for it. Tawba must be a conscious act. The tongue gives expression to what is in the heart. Indeed, the words should never be far from our tongue, for we always have need of our Lord’s forgiveness. Even the one free of wrong action, the Messenger of Allah, said,

يا أيها الناس استغفروا الله وتوبوا إليه فإني أستغفر الله وأتوب إليه في اليوم مائة مرة

“People, make tawba to Allah and seek His forgiveness, for I make tawba to Allah and seek His forgiveness one hundred times a day, during the day and night.”
The third is that you immediately stop doing the wrong action for which you are making tawba. It is not tawba to ask forgiveness for stealing while continuing the whole time to steal. The Prophet said,

المستغفر باللسان المصر على الذنوب كالمستهزئ بربه

“He who asks forgiveness with his tongue while continuing to do wrong action is like someone who openly mocks his Lord.”
The final one is making a firm intention to not go back. Asking Allah’s forgiveness for drinking alcohol while making a date in your diary to go out drinking the next weekend is not tawba, it is lying and hypocrisy. Part of this intention is making sure that you avoid the company of people who you know will making doing that action probable. You must change your companions otherwise you are lying to yourself and your tawba is not truly nasuh.
You must know that tawba is a necessary part of being Muslim. The Muslim cannot blithely go through life committing wrong and thinking nothing of it and never returning to His Lord. That path will inevitably lead to kufr, and is a sign of hypocrisy since the heart of the believer has been conditioned to despise wrong action. Allah says,

وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ حَبَّبَ إِلَيْكُمُ الْإِيمَانَ وَزَيَّنَهُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ وَكَرَّهَ إِلَيْكُمُ الْكُفْرَ وَالْفُسُوقَ وَالْعِصْيَانَ

the translation of which is, “However, Allah has given you love of belief and made it pleasing to your hearts, and has made disbelief, deviance and disobedience hateful to you.” It is only by us returning to Allah on a constant basis, that He returns to us and remains permanently by our side. It is only then that we can hope to get anything done and hope to restore this deen to the glorious position it once and will again occupy. We ask Allah to make us people of tawba, and make our tawba nasuh and sincere.

إِنَّ اللهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ، يَا أَيُهَا الذِينَ آمَنُواْ صَلُّواْ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُواْ تَسْلِيماً. 

اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ وَبَارِكْ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ  أَجْمَعِينَ. وَارْضَ اللَّهُمَّ عَنِ الْخُلَفَاءِ الرَّاشِدِينَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ وَعُثْمَانَ وَعَلِيٍّ، وعن أم المومنين عائشة التي أمرنا الله في سورة النور أن ندافع عنها، وَعَنْ سَائِرِ الصَّحَابَةِ أَجْمَعِينَ، خُصُوصاً اِلأَنْصَارَ مِنْهُمْ وَالمُهَاجِرِينَ، وَعَنِ التَّابِعِينَ وَتَابِعِي التَّابِعِينَ وَمَنْ تَبِعَهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ.

اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِ وُلَاةَ أُمُورِ المُسْلِمِينَ لِمَا يُرْضِيكَ وَلِاتِّبَاعِ سُنَّةِ نَبِيِّكَ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَهُمْ عَلَى الصِّرَاطِ المُسْتَقِيمِ، وَأَصْلِحْهُمْ يَا رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ. 

اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى شَيْخِنَا، وَعَلَى أَمِيرِنَا، وَعَلَى جَمِيعِ أُمَرَاءِ وَزُعَمَاءِ المُسْلِمِينَ. 

اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى المُسْلِمِينَ فِي هَذِهِ المَدِينَةِ، وَوَفِّقْهُمْ لِمَا تُحِبُّهُ وَتَرْضَاهُ يَا أَكْرَمَ الأَكْرَمِينَ. 

اللَّهُمَّ أَعِزَّ الإِسْلَامَ وَالمُسِْلمِينَ، وَاخْذُلِ الْكُفْرَ وَالْكَافِرِينَ، وَانْصُرِ المُجَاهِدِينَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ. وَاجْعَلْ كَلِمََتَكَ هِيَ العُلْيَا وَكَلِمَةَ الْكُفْرِ هِيَ السُّفْلَى. 

رَبَّنَا ءَاتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقَِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ. 

إِنَّ اللهَ يَامُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى، وَيَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ، يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَّكَّرُونَ، وَلَذِكْرُ اللهِ أَكْبَرُ وَاللهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ. وَقُومُواْ إِلَى صَلاتِكُمْ يَرْحَمُكُمُ اللهُ.