‫ﺑﺳم ﷲّٰ اﻟﺭﺣﻣٰﻥ اﻟﺭﺣﯾم‬
Sins got you down and you don't know how to stop
by Asma bint Shameem
Making mistakes and committing sins are a part of human nature and no one will be free of
it. All of us fall short, commit sins, and make mistakes. The Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa
Sallam said:
“Every son of Adam sins, and the best of those who sin are those who repent.” (Tirmidhi,
hasan by al-Albaani)
And surely, man is weak but it is Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta'ala Who created us and He
knows that we are weak. So out of His Mercy, The Most Merciful has opened the gate of
repentance for us so that we can turn to Him every time we sin. He Subhaanahu wa Ta'ala
says:
ُ‫ﻗُلْ ﯾَﺎ ﻋِﺑَﺎﺩِﻱَ اﻟﱠﺫِﯾﻥَ أَﺳْﺭَﻓُﻭا ﻋَﻠَﻰ أَﻧﻔُﺳِﻬِمْ ﻻَ ﺗَﻘْﻧَطُﻭا ﻣِﻥ ﺭﱠﺣْﻣَﺔِ ﷲﱠِ إِﻥﱠ ﷲﱠَ ﯾَﻐْﻔِﺭُ اﻟﺫﱡﻧُﻭبَ ﺟَﻣِﯾﻌًﺎ إِﻧﱠﮫُ ھُﻭَ اﻟْﻐَﻔُﻭﺭُ اﻟﺭﱠﺣِﯾم‬
“Say: O ‘Ibaadi (My slaves) who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil
deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allaah, verily, Allaah forgives all sins. Truly, He
is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful” [surah Zumar:53]
And He said:
‫ﻭَﻣَﻥ ﯾَﻌْﻣَلْ ﺳُﻭءًا أَﻭْ ﯾَﻅْﻠِمْ ﻧَﻔْﺳَﮫُ ﺛُمﱠ ﯾَﺳْﺗَﻐْﻔِﺭِ ﷲَّ ﯾَﺟِﺩِ ﷲَّ ﻏَﻔُﻭﺭًا ﺭﱠﺣِﯾﻣًﺎ‬
“And whoever does evil or wrongs himself but afterwards seeks Allaah’s forgiveness, he
will find Allaah Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful” [al-Nisa’ :110]
And the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam said:
“Allaah spreads out His hand at night to accept the repentance of the one who sinned
during the day, and He spreads out His hand by day to accept the repentance of the one
who sinned during the night, (and that will continue) until the sun rises from the west.”
(Muslim)
So here's what one can do:
1. MAKE SINCERE TAUBAH
It is essential, rather VITAL, that you should turn to Allaah and repent to Him. Make sincere
taubah and try your best to stay away from the sin that you are committing.
The ulama tell us that sincere taubah requires some conditions in order for Taubah to be
accepted. They are:
1-
You should give up the sin RIGHT AWAY.
2-
You should have great REGRET that you did it.
3-
You should have FIRM resolve NEVER to go back to it.
If any one of these three is missing, then the repentance is not sincere.
And if the sin has to do with the rights of another person, then there is a fourth condition in
addition to the three mentioned above. And that is, restoring the rights of that person or
seeking his forgiveness. For example, if someone stole money or property, it must be
returned to the person he stole from, etc.
2. MAKE DUA
Make sincere Dua to Allaah and ask Him to keep you away from whatever it is that you're
doing. Cry over your sin, beg Him for His Mercy and ask Him to guide you, to give you
strength to stay away from bad deeds and set your heart right.
You can make Dua any time of the day or night but especially during times when Dua is more
likely to be accepted such as in your sujood during salah, in the middle of the night during
tahajjud, at the time of breaking your fast, between the adhaan and iqaamah, etc.
3. BE STEADFAST IN YOUR OBLIGATORY DEEDS
Pay special attention to your obligatory deeds, especially praying FIVE times a day. Be very
particular about your salah and DO NOT MISS ANY SINGLE ONE. That's because Allaah
says:
ِ‫ﻭَأَﻗِمِ اﻟﺻﱠﻼَةَ إِﻥﱠ اﻟﺻﱠﻼَةَ ﺗَﻧْﻬَﻰ ﻋَﻥِ اﻟْﻔَﺣْﺷَﺎء ﻭَاﻟْﻣُﻧﻛَﺭ‬
" And establish the prayer. Verily, As-Salât (the prayer) prevents from Al-Fahshâ' (i.e. every
kind of lewdness, obscenities, unlawful sexual intercourse, etc.) and Al-Munkar (i.e.
disbelief, polytheism, and every kind of evil wicked deed)" (Surah Ankabut:45)
4. READ QUR’AN WITH MEANING
The problem that most of us have is that we don't understand the Qur'an. We may read it but
what good is the reading if we don't know what our Rabb is saying to us? How would we know
what is pleasing to Allaah and what is not? How would we know what is good in His eyes and
what is bad? So our Imaan falls low, we are an easy target for the Shaytaan and we continue
to sin. The solution to this problem, no, the solution to ALL problems is that we start reading
the Qur'an with meaning, even if it is just a few ayaat a day. It is better for us and more
pleasing to Allaah if we understand whatever we read and then implement it in our lives than
to read juz upon juz without understanding and without implementation.
5. DO A LOT OF GOOD DEEDS such as doing a lot of nawaafil prayers, or fasting, giving
charity, helping someone, gaining Islaamic knowledge etc.
Allaah tells us that good deeds erase bad deeds. Allaah says:
ِ‫إِﻥﱠ اﻟْﺣَﺳَﻧَﺎتِ ﯾُﺫْھِﺑْﻥَ اﻟﺳﱠـﯾﱢﺋَﺎت‬
" Verily, the good deeds cancel out the evil deeds" (Surah Hud:114)
Also, if you'll be busy doing good deeds, you won't find time to do bad deeds. Besides, by
keeping yourself busy with good deeds. you will feel peace and tranquility. It will increase
your Imaan and you will feel bad about your sins and mistakes and think twice before you go
back to them.
6. STAY AWAY FROM BAD COMPANY
This is a VERY IMPORTANT point. You should stay away from people who do bad things and
don't fear Allaah. Stay away from those who helped you to commit this sin. There are so
many cases in which people have gone back to sin because they resumed relationships with
their former companions. The Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam said:
“A man will be on the path of his close friends, so pay attention to who you make friends with.”
And he sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa sallam also said:
“The likeness of a righteous companion is that of the seller of musk: either he will give you a
gift, or you will buy something from him, or you will smell a pleasant fragrance from him. And
the likeness of an evil companion is that of the man who works the bellows: either he will burn
your garment, or you will smell an unpleasant odor from him.” (Bukhaari)
Bad friends will curse one another on the Day of Resurrection and run away from each other.
So you should keep away from them and break off your friendship with them before they run
away from you on the Day of Judgment.
Allaah says:
َ‫اﻷَْﺧِﻼﱠء ﯾَﻭْﻣَﺋِﺫٍ ﺑَﻌْﺿُﻬُمْ ﻟِﺑَﻌْﺽٍ ﻋَﺩُﻭﱞ إِﻻﱠ اﻟْﻣُﺗﱠﻘِﯾﻥ‬
“Friends on that Day will be enemies to one another except Al-Muttaqoon (the pious)”
[Zukhruf:67]
Instead, choose righteous friends who will help you against your nafs (self) and who will be
an alternative to bad company. Try to attend the masjid regularly, join a Islamic knowledge
class or Dars and fill your time with beneficial things so that the Shaytaan will not find any
opportunity to remind you of the past.
7. KEEP AWAY FROM PLACES OF SIN
That's because going to such places may remind you of your bad habits and your being
there may make you fall into sin again.
8. DESTROY THE HARAAM
You should also destroy any and all haraam things that you may have in your possession,
whatever it may be that is causing you to sin. They should be broken, destroyed or burnt.
Don't take this point lightly. It is very essential that you should get rid of all such things.
Because keeping these haraam things may cause you to slip back.
9. SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP if you can, for whatever it is that you may be addicted to.
10. SOME DUAS TO RECITE
Here are some duas that one can recite to ask Allaah for forgiveness. You can say them in
Arabic or English, or whatever language you feel comfortable with. The important thing is to
UNDERSTAND these duas and SAY THEM FROM THE HEART, like you mean them.
Don't just read these duas...rather, talk to Allaah. Open your heart to Him and beg.
He will answer you and help you.
a) َ‫ﺭَبﱢ اﻏْﻔِﺭْ ﻭَاﺭْﺣَمْ ﻭَأَﻧْتَ ﺧَﯾْﺭُ اﻟﺭﱠاﺣِﻣِﯾﻥ‬
“Rabbi’ghfir wa’rham wa anta khayru’l-raahimeen”
(My Lord! Forgive and show mercy, for You are the Best of those who show mercy!)”
b) ‫ﺭَﺑﱠﻧَﺎ اﻏْﻔِﺭْ ﻟَﻧَﺎ ﺫُﻧُﻭﺑَﻧَﺎ ﻭَإِﺳْﺭَاﻓَﻧَﺎ ﻓِﻲ أَﻣْﺭِﻧَﺎ‬
“Rabbanaa ‘ghfar lanaa dhunoobanaa wa israafanaa fi amrinaa
(Our Lord! Forgive us our sins and transgressions (in keeping our duties to You).”
c) The Prophet sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa sallam said: “The best prayer for seeking
forgiveness is to say:
d) ‫اﻟﻠﱠﻬُمﱠ أَﻧْتَ ﺭَﺑﱢﻲ ﻻ إِﻟَﮫَ إِﻻ أَﻧْتَ ﺧَﻠَﻘْﺗَﻧِﻲ ﻭَأَﻧَﺎ ﻋَﺑْﺩُكَ ﻭَأَﻧَﺎ ﻋَﻠَﻰ ﻋَﻬْﺩِكَ ﻭَﻭَﻋْﺩِكَ ﻣَﺎ اﺳْﺗَطَﻌْتُ أَﻋُﻭﺫُ ﺑِكَ ﻣِﻥْ ﺷَﺭﱢ ﻣَﺎ ﺻَﻧَﻌْتُ أَﺑُﻭءُ ﻟَكَ ﺑِﻧِﻌْﻣَﺗِكَ ﻋَﻠَﻲﱠ‬
َ‫ﻭَأَﺑُﻭءُ ﻟَكَ ﺑِﺫَﻧْﺑِﻲ ﻓَﺎﻏْﻔِﺭْ ﻟِﻲ ﻓَﺈِﻧﱠﮫُ ﻻ ﯾَﻐْﻔِﺭُ اﻟﺫﱡﻧُﻭبَ إِﻻ أَﻧْت‬
‘Allaahumma anta rabbi la ilaaha illa anta, Khalaqtani wa ana ‘abduka wa ana ‘ala ‘ahdika
wa wa’dika ma astata’t. A’oodhu bika min sharri ma sana’tu, aboo’u laka bi ni’matika
‘alayya wa aboo’u laka bi dhanbi, faghfir li fa innahu laa yaghfiru’l-dhunoob illaa anta
(O Allaah, You are my Lord. None has the right to be worshipped but You. You created me
and I am Your slave, and I am faithful to my covenant and my promise (to You) as much as
I can. I seek refuge with You from all the evil I have done. I acknowledge before You all the
blessings You have bestowed upon me, and I confess to You all my sins. So I entreat You
to forgive my sins, for nobody can forgive sins except You).”
Whoever says this during the day, having faith in it and dies before the evening comes, will
be among the people of Paradise, and whoever says it during the night, having faith in it,
and dies before the morning comes, will be among the people of Paradise.” (Bukhaari).
e) The Prophet sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa sallam used to recite the following du’aa’:
" ‫اﻟﻠﱠﻬُمﱠ اﻏْﻔِﺭْ ﻟِﻲ ﺧَطِﯾﺋَﺗِﻲ ﻭَﺟَﻬْﻠِﻲ ﻭَإِﺳْﺭَاﻓِﻲ ﻓِﻲ أَﻣْﺭِﻱ ﻭَﻣَﺎ أَﻧْتَ أَﻋْﻠَمُ ﺑِﮫِ ﻣِﻧﱢﻲ اﻟﻠﱠﻬُمﱠ اﻏْﻔِﺭْ ﻟِﻲ ﺟِﺩﱢﻱ ﻭَھَﺯْﻟِﻲ ﻭَﺧَطَﺋِﻲ ﻭَﻋَﻣْﺩِﻱ ﻭَﻛُلﱡ ﺫَﻟِكَ ﻋِﻧْﺩِﻱ اﻟﻠﱠﻬُمﱠ‬
. ٌ‫اﻏْﻔِﺭْ ﻟِﻲ ﻣَﺎ ﻗَﺩﱠﻣْتُ ﻭَﻣَﺎ أَﺧﱠﺭْتُ ﻭَﻣَﺎ أَﺳْﺭَﺭْتُ ﻭَﻣَﺎ أَﻋْﻠَﻧْتُ ﻭَﻣَﺎ أَﻧْتَ أَﻋْﻠَمُ ﺑِﮫِ ﻣِﻧﱢﻲ أَﻧْتَ اﻟْﻣُﻘَﺩﱢمُ ﻭَأَﻧْتَ اﻟْﻣُؤَﺧﱢﺭُ ﻭَأَﻧْتَ ﻋَﻠَﻰ ﻛُلﱢ ﺷَﻲْءٍ ﻗَﺩِﯾﺭ‬
“Allaahumma’ghfir li khatee’ati wa jahli wa israafi fi amri wa maa anta a’lam bihi minni.
Allaahumma’ghfir li jiddi wa hazli wa khata’i wa ‘amdi wa kullu dhaalika ‘indi.
Allaahumma’ghfir li maa qaddamtu wa maa ajjartu wa ma asrartu wa maa a’lamtu wa
maa anta a’lam bihi minni. Anta’l-muqaddim wa anta’l-mu’akhkhir wa anta ‘ala kulli
shay’in qadeer
O Allaah, forgive me for my sin. My ignorance and my transgression (in keeping my duty
to You), and whatever You know about me better than I do. O Allaah, forgive me for sins
committed in earnest and in jest, by mistake and deliberately, and I have done all of that. O
Allaah, forgive me for what I have done in the past and what I will do in the future, what I have
done in secret and what I have done openly, and whatever You know about me better than I
do. You are the One Who raises and lowers people’s status, and You are Able to do all
things).” (Muslim).
f) The Prophet sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa sallam used to recite one hundred times in one
gathering:
ُ‫ﺭَبﱢ اﻏْﻔِﺭْ ﻟِﻲ ﻭَﺗُبْ ﻋَﻠَﻲﱠ إِﻧﱠكَ أَﻧْتَ اﻟﺗﱠﻭﱠابُ اﻟْﻐَﻔُﻭﺭ‬
“Raabi’ghfir li wa tubb ‘alayya innaka anta’l-tawwaab ul-ghafoor
(My Lord, forgive me and accept my repentance, for You are the Acceptor or Repentance, the
All-Forgiving).” (Tirmidhi)
To conclude:
If you will make dua and try your best to give up this problem, sincerely for the sake of Allaah,
He will surely respond to you and help you give it up. Be SURE of that. Don't ever give up
hope in Allaah or in yourself. With Allaah's help, you can do anything.