The Habit Of Returning To Allah - Sheikh Azhar Nasser | Night 17 - 2026 MYC Ramadan Program

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Topic: The Habit Of Returning To Allah Speaker: Sheikh Azhar Nasser Program: Night 17 of the 2026 MYC Ramadan Program Location: Islamic Institute of America - Dearborn Heights, MI, USA #islam #shia #muslim #sunni #ramadan #ramadankareem #ramadanmubarak #hijab #lecture #shahrramadan #eid #qazwini #prophetmuhammad #devil #sins #deeds #quarantine #myc #mycmedia #levels #shiavssunni #islamicfigure #hijab #porphetmuhammad #muhammad #fast #fasting #ethics #venting #complaining #mentalhealth #abuhamza #dua #duaabuhamza #friends #children #kids #namingkids #kidsnames #raisingkids #quran #readingquran #quranrecitation #dayofjudgement #Allah #allahswt #judgement #death #soul #identity #liberation #repent #sins

Transcript

[0:00]Amen.

[0:18]Alhamdulillah.

[0:27]Sayham.

[0:38]Amen.

[0:59]Respected elders, my dear brothers and sisters, Nearly a decade ago, a

[1:15]man by the name of James Clear published a book titled Atomic

[1:24]Habits.

[1:23]It quickly became a bestseller in this country and even in around

[1:31]the world.

[1:31]And the message of this book is that we can transform our

[1:44]lives with small consistent habits.

[1:46]If you look at any individual who has achieved greatness, you'll find

[1:55]that greatness is not achieved by doing a great act or accomplishing

[2:00]something once in a while, but rather great personalities are individuals.

[2:09]Now in the Islamic tradition, this is something that has been emphasized

[2:14]by our imams.

[2:18]The same principle applies even to spirituality.

[2:22]Last night I mentioned that we have an opportunity in this crisis

[2:32]to show the world the difference between our leaders and the individuals

[2:40]who are running this world today.

[2:43]And we mentioned that our the leaders of the Shia world they

[2:53]drew their inspiration from and they emphasized that to develop our souls.

[3:09]It's not enough for us to devote ourselves to ibada and worship

[3:17]every once in a while in a haphazard way, but rather there

[3:22]is a need for the development of consistent habits.

[3:28]And hence we have a narration from the fifth im of im

[3:36]where he says and the narration is reported to us by one

[3:43]of his prominent students.

[3:48]He narrates from imbak and listen to what the imam says.

[3:53]This is one of the most important principles in spiritual development where

[4:00]he says im he says the most beloved action to Allah subhana

[4:21]wa ta'ala among of the most beloved deeds to Allah are those

[4:29]deeds that a believer performs that a servant of Allah performs consistently

[4:36]even if they are small in the month of Ramadan during some

[4:45]of these holy nights we engage in certain practices we'll recite dua

[4:52]for For example, we'll recite a ju of the Quran, a half

[4:58]Ju, but then what happens?

[4:59]We stop.

[4:59]Immatur is teaching us that it would be better if we do

[5:07]something small but consistently.

[5:10]Meaning, it's better for example to read five ayat of the Quran

[5:19]per day consistently.

[5:20]rather than reading one ju of the Quran every day in the

[5:26]month of Ramadan and stopping after that.

[5:29]So what is needed is what is consistency.

[5:33]And this brings us to the first atomic habit of the true

[5:40]believer.

[5:42]One of the most important habits of of is the habit of

[5:55]consistently seeking forgiveness from Allah subhana wa tala the habit of some

[6:04]of us we barely doar we will repent we will turn to

[6:12]Allah subhana wa ta'ala When our lives start to crumble, that's when

[6:16]we'll wake up.

[6:18]That's when we'll turn to him and we'll be so sincere in

[6:21]our and the moment life gets a little bit better, we go

[6:26]back to our old ways.

[6:26]We need to develop the habit of now the thing with habits

[6:34]is it's difficult to commit to a habit unless you understand its

[6:40]value.

[6:40]You're not going to do something consistently day in and day out

[6:47]unless you truly understand the value of this action until you appreciate

[6:53]the worth and the effect that this action has.

[6:56]Now when we speak about many of us we don't engage in

[7:06]on a regular basis.

[7:06]We don't make it a part of our daily routine simply because

[7:12]we don't truly have a deep understanding of what it is.

[7:17]You see when you look at the concept of you find that

[7:26]scholars say that there are actually two levels of the first is

[7:34]what we can call basic repentance basic repentance which is to ask

[7:44]Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for forgiveness when You commit a sin, you

[7:51]do something that Allah prohibited.

[7:53]Of course, this is obvious.

[7:58]And usually you and I, we associate with this.

[8:02]I commit a sin.

[8:01]I need to repent to Allah subhanaa.

[8:05]This is basic repentance.

[8:09]Allah subhana wa ta'ala commanded me to pray.

[8:13]I didn't pray.

[8:13]I need to seek.

[8:14]I intentionally did not pray and in addition to in addition to

[8:24]making up the prayer I have to also ask for forgiveness.

[8:30]If I have not observed the hijab I have to do what?

[8:38]I have to start observing it and I have to ask Allah

[8:42]for forgiveness for the years and the months and the days that

[8:45]I did not fulfill this obligation.

[8:46]It's not enough to just say okay now that I'm 25 I'm

[8:50]going to wear the hijab starting today and everything is fine.

[8:53]Of course it's commendable that you are now fulfilling this duty.

[8:59]But how about the 15 years that passed the 16 years that

[9:03]passed?

[9:02]those 16 years when you did not observe the hijab it requires

[9:08]what it requires is so this is one level of repentance repenting

[9:15]for sins repenting for neglecting our obligations and by the way I

[9:24]want to state this parathetically we have a huge obligation towards our

[9:30]brothers and sisters in Iran and Lubnan today.

[9:35]Just today I saw a report that there are nearly 1 million

[9:41]people who are displaced in Lubnan today.

[9:44]Do you know what that means?

[9:46]For 1 million people to be driven out of their homes.

[9:51]That's about 20% of the entire country.

[9:55]Just last night, one of the the Mashiach from Lubnan, he was

[10:02]tell he was sharing with some of the brothers that before I

[10:09]came, a woman came to me, an older woman.

[10:14]She had left her village, doesn't have anything, left with nothing but

[10:21]the clothes on her back.

[10:23]And because of her sense of honor, it was difficult for her

[10:31]to ask.

[10:30]But it reached a point that she went to this sheh and

[10:36]said she I we have given everything.

[10:39]My son is a shahid and I don't want anything from this

[10:43]dunya.

[10:43]We have given what is the most valuable that we have.

[10:48]But I just want one thing.

[10:50]She says, "I just want a blanket at night so I can

[10:56]sleep because it's too cold." Brothers and sisters, Allah subhana wa ta'ala

[11:05]is going to question us.

[11:07]We have to ask Allah even when we give, even when we

[11:13]donate, we should never donate thinking that I've done my job.

[11:17]No matter how much you give, it's not going to be enough.

[11:21]I'm telling you, I'm not exaggerating.

[11:23]No matter how much you give, even when you give, after you

[11:28]give that, after you give that donation, we still have to ask

[11:31]Allah for forgiveness because we're still falling short.

[11:35]This is one level of.

[11:42]But there's a higher level of repentance because we see that the

[11:51]prophet used to ask Allah for forgiveness is not just about sin.

[11:58]It's not just associated with the one who has failed to fulfill

[12:02]their obligations or neglected their responsibilities.

[12:05]There is another level of which we can call a type of

[12:12]advanced repentance.

[12:13]Now what is this advanced repentance?

[12:17]This is the type of repentance that we see among people who

[12:23]are at a higher level of spirituality.

[12:27]They're seeking forgiveness not because of a sin that they committed.

[12:32]They're seeking forgiveness for falling below the standard that has been set

[12:44]for them.

[12:44]They have not fulfilled they feel that they have not fulfilled the

[12:52]requirement of their spiritual status.

[12:54]And hence my dear brothers and sisters and I'll give you a

[12:58]simple example to illustrate what I mean.

[13:00]We have to understand that as our spirituality grows, Allah's expectations of

[13:09]us also increase.

[13:11]You know, imagine imagine you have a child.

[13:14]For those of you who have children, you know that kids, they

[13:22]like to draw portraits of the family.

[13:23]Subhan Allah.

[13:24]It's something that it's like every kid does this.

[13:28]They'll spend 20, 30 minutes, an hour, maybe two, three hours drawing

[13:34]a picture of the family.

[13:36]Fouryear-old, 5-year-old.

[13:38]They show you the picture.

[13:41]You look at the picture, bunch of stick figures.

[13:46]Everyone's head is the size of a and you look at it.

[13:53]What do you say?

[13:53]You say mashallah this is so beautiful even though objectively speaking it's

[14:01]not really beautiful at all.

[14:02]What do you do?

[14:04]You put it on the refrigerator.

[14:06]You have to look at it for the next 6 months.

[14:10]Why do you praise the child?

[14:14]Because for a 5-year-old, this is good that they're able to draw,

[14:19]they're able to focus, and this is the best that they can

[14:28]do.

[14:26]Now, if an art student comes to you and they say, "Look,

[14:31]I have a drawing I want to show you." And they show

[14:37]you the same drawing, the stick figures and the heads that are

[14:43]the size of Are you going to say, what are you going

[14:45]to say?

[14:46]Oh, mashallah, you're such a great art student.

[14:48]What are you going to say?

[14:49]You're going to say, I think you should stick to your day

[14:57]job.

[14:58]Don't pursue this any further.

[15:00]Why?

[15:00]Because you have a higher expectation of an art student.

[15:07]What is good for the five-year-old is not acceptable for the art

[15:17]student.

[15:15]And hence there is a famous spiritual maxim that says what?

[15:32]The good deeds of the righteous, they are the shortcomings of those

[15:40]who are close to God.

[15:41]What does this mean?

[15:44]If you and I, if we pray, if we pray, this is

[15:54]good.

[15:53]We did we offered a prayer that was beyond what was required

[15:59]of us.

[15:58]For us, this is good.

[16:01]Assuming that we are this is good.

[16:06]If were to pray the way that I do, it would be

[16:13]unacceptable because when I pray, I'm going to recite the shortest surah

[16:21]so I can go to sleep, right?

[16:23]The short ones.

[16:25]I'm going to be praying half-heartedly, maybe 30% concentration.

[16:32]I'll finish it in 15 minutes and then I'll sleep.

[16:36]For me it's good for the prophet to pray like this.

[16:43]It would be unacceptable.

[16:43]Allah subhana wa tala would accept expect the prophet to recite longer

[16:48]suras of the Quran to spend more time inj to shed tears

[16:58]as he's standing.

[16:58]So my salat will be considered a sin for the prophet a

[17:03]shortcoming for the prophet.

[17:04]Why?

[17:05]Because Allah has different expectations based on our level.

[17:13]And therefore you find that in the Quran Allah subhana wa ta'ala

[17:18]tells us about prophets who sometimes fell below that divine standard that

[17:27]was set for them.

[17:28]Allah subhana wa ta'ala he tells us about prophet Eunus.

[17:33]Yunus is one of the great messengers, one of the great prophets.

[17:40]But look at what Allah tells the prophet in Allah subhana wa

[17:46]ta'ala says Allah is telling the prophet be careful do not be

[17:57]like the companion of the whale.

[18:01]Now what did what did Ununice do that Allah is telling the

[18:06]prophet don't do what Ununus did.

[18:08]Did Ununice commit a sin.

[18:22]Who's saying that I am I was among Ununas.

[18:26]What volume did he do?

[18:29]You see, Eunus was sent to Naawa, northern Iraq, to preach.

[18:38]He was sent to them and he would preach and preach and

[18:42]he would disseminate the message of Allah.

[18:44]But the community was stubborn.

[18:46]They were close-minded, arrogant.

[18:50]So, Eunus, he thinks to himself that why should I waste my

[18:57]time trying to guide these close-minded people?

[18:59]So what does he do?

[19:03]He leaves.

[19:01]He goes somewhere where else to do his.

[19:05]Allah subhana wa ta'ala punishes him.

[19:07]Not because he committed a sin but because Allah is basically telling

[19:12]you that I expect you to have more patience.

[19:18]I expect you to endure the difficulties associated with guiding a community.

[19:27]So Allah tells the prophet Allah in Mecca when you're preaching to

[19:31]and they're throwing stones at you, do not give up on your

[19:34]community like Ununus did.

[19:41]So Eunus in the belly of the whale, he's asking Allah for

[19:47]forgiveness.

[19:48]For what?

[19:47]For a sin?

[19:49]No, not for a sin.

[19:50]He says, "Oh Allah, forgive me because I have wronged myself.

[19:54]I missed out on the reward of struggling to guide a stubborn

[20:01]community.

[20:04]There's there's there'sab in being persistent and having that resilience.

[20:13]So we have these two levels of what's amazing is that when

[20:20]you look at the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasall in surah surah number

[20:26]40 ayah 55 you find that Allah is telling the prophet to

[20:33]do Allah subhana wa ta'ala says Allah says to the prophet be

[20:42]patient be patient because the promise of Allah is true.

[20:49]You know, it's amazing that Allah even has to tell the prophet

[20:56]that I know it doesn't look good.

[20:57]I know that the world is rallying against you, but be patient.

[21:04]Do not lose hope.

[21:07]Do not feel weak because the promise of Allah is is true.

[21:09]It is going to be fulfilled.

[21:12]And then what does Allah subhana wa ta say?

[21:18]Who is being addressed here and seek forgiveness for your doool?

[21:36]Glorify and praise Allah when?

[21:42]Once a week in the month of Ramadan, in the morning and

[21:47]in the evening daily.

[21:48]This needs to be a habit for you.

[21:51]This needs to be your routine.

[21:55]Now, why is the prophet asking for forgiveness?

[21:59]This is something that has generated a lot of discussion among the

[22:05]some of us we have this idea that when they do they're

[22:13]just doing it to teach us.

[22:14]It's just all performative that they're just they know that they're being

[22:19]watched and they're doing just for us.

[22:23]No, they're doing of course they're teaching us, but they're also asking

[22:29]for themselves.

[22:29]Now, what is what are they asking?

[22:35]Why is the prophet asking for forgiveness?

[22:36]You see, the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasall unlike you and I, he

[22:42]has a very deep understanding of who Allah is.

[22:47]And to him Allahel is so great.

[22:53]He is so mighty.

[22:53]He is so majestic that as a human being who has to

[23:02]interact with others in this world.

[23:03]The prophet cannot stay in his m and just worship.

[23:07]He has to talk to people.

[23:10]He has to interact with people with his friends with his en

[23:15]enemies.

[23:14]And naturally when you interact with people your concentration your focus on

[23:20]God is naturally going to be reduced as a result of that

[23:27]interaction with people.

[23:26]So because of that slight reduction in concentration on allahawel the prophet

[23:37]feels that he has to do for that.

[23:39]Can you imagine?

[23:42]Can you imagine what type of person this is?

[23:47]What type of personality this is?

[23:49]Furthermore, you find that the Quran also tells us that prophets, messengers,

[23:59]spiritual leaders, they feel a heightened sense of responsibility for their followers.

[24:07]And therefore, when they ask for forgiveness, they're asking for forgiveness on

[24:17]behalf of their followers because they feel responsible for their followers.

[24:22]You know, if you've ever been to parent teacher conferences, right?

[24:28]You go there, you think your kids are doing great and then

[24:32]you sit down with your teacher and subhan Allah the calamities and

[24:35]the that have happened that you don't know about.

[24:39]So even though it's your kid is the one that has acted

[24:44]out you as the father right it should be really the father

[24:47]because he's the wi of the household should be the father the

[24:52]parent does what usually sometimes the parent will apologize not because the

[24:59]parent has done anything wrong per se but they're apologizing on behalf

[25:02]of their child because they feel responsible for the child and this

[25:09]is What Allah subhana wa ta'ala tells us in the in the

[25:13]Quran in >> Allah says in surah 47 ayah 19 know that

[25:33]there is no god but Allah.

[25:36]You know this when Allah says it means that you should have

[25:40]a deep understanding of your understanding of should not be surface level.

[25:47]Allah wants us to understand his oneness on the base of deep

[25:54]knowledge.

[25:59]Allah is addressing the prophet seek forgiveness for your shortcoming, your sin,

[26:06]your then Allah is telling the prophet do for because a true

[26:19]a true leader feels that responsibility for his followers.

[26:26]You know, and we can even tie this to what we see

[26:30]in the political world today.

[26:30]It's very easy to distinguish between a political leader and a spiritual

[26:39]leader.

[26:39]The political leader, as soon as the bombs drop, he gets on

[26:44]his jet and he goes to Germany.

[26:46]This is the political leader.

[26:51]But the spiritual leader does what?

[26:56]When the bombs are dropping and they say go to the bunker,

[26:58]he says my people don't have bunkers.

[27:02]This means what?

[27:04]This is a spiritual type of leadership.

[27:07]These are people who feel a sense of responsibility.

[27:12]Allah was like this.

[27:15]When a mmin commits a sin, Allah feels responsible.

[27:19]They are like a spiritual child.

[27:24]was the same.

[27:32]You and I, we are the spiritual fathers of this nation of

[27:40]this of this ummah.

[27:42]When you look at the hadith, it is truly remarkable when you

[27:49]look at the hadith that describe how the prophet used to do

[27:54]I'll share with you a couple of hadith from Kafi and I

[27:58]say this to every community and I'll say it again my dear

[28:01]brothers and sisters please read please read it should not be that

[28:15]the average Sunni knows their hadith sources.

[28:18]If you ask even a a Sunni who's not religious what is

[28:24]Bkari, they know Bkari.

[28:26]I remember I was sitting with a group of people about 50

[28:31]of them.

[28:33]I asked them have any of you heard of of a book

[28:35]called out of 50 two of them raised their hands.

[28:44]is the second most important hadith collection in Shia Islam.

[28:50]The reason why we get shaken up when things when things fall

[28:57]apart in the world is because we're disconnected from the words of

[29:05]our we have to change this.

[29:07]We have to know what has what has said what has said

[29:11]what what have the im said about trial and tribulation and patience

[29:18]and resilience.

[29:16]We have to learn we can't be ignorant anymore.

[29:21]Im bak I'll mention this hadith and then we'll go to the

[29:26]others im look at what he says.

[29:27]The father of we call ourselves jafari.

[29:31]the father of our fifth im.

[29:37]He says, he's talking to you and I.

[29:44]If a youth from among the youth of the is brought to

[29:50]me, I im says if I come across a young who does

[30:06]not have deep deep put an underline under who does not have

[30:13]deep knowledge of the religion The Imam says I will discipline him.

[30:19]The Imam he says this is unacceptable.

[30:22]You don't get to be ignorant and say that we are of

[30:27]you have to rise to the occasion.

[30:29]So what have the hadith told us about the of the prophet?

[30:36]Listen to this and these are habits that we have to develop.

[30:40]The narration is in from the sixth imam.

[30:54]You know there's a hadith by the way since that was such

[30:59]a weak salawat.

[31:02]What do they say?

[31:05]They say raise your voices when you recite salawat because it removes

[31:10]from the hearts.

[31:14][sighs] >> Okay.

[31:18]Alhamdulillah.

[31:19]That was a little bit better.

[31:23]Listen to what the imam says.

[31:36]The hadith says the prophet would never get up from a melus.

[31:42]Majulus meaning any type of gathering.

[31:44]He's sitting with his companions.

[31:48]He would never get up until he does 25 times.

[31:57]Why?

[32:00]25 times.

[32:01]Whenever he meets with people, he sits with them.

[32:04]He does 25 times and then he gets up.

[32:08]This is a lesson for us.

[32:11]Many times when we get together, we don't have very productive conversations.

[32:17]Maybe the first few minutes is productive and the rest of it

[32:20]is nonsense.

[32:24]The rest of it is useless talk.

[32:27]And on a good day it's useless.

[32:30]On a bad day it's and it's did you see what she

[32:32]said and what he said and I can't believe they got married.

[32:36]This is how we talk.

[32:38]We engage in sinful talk.

[32:41]But even if there's no sinful talk, most of the time we're

[32:46]wasting our time.

[32:49]You know there's a hadith, you're probably not going to believe it,

[32:55]but it's there.

[32:54]You have to check it.

[32:56]There's a hadith about the kaf for obnoxious laughter.

[33:04]I swear it's a hadith.

[33:06]You know sometimes you sit with people.

[33:10]I say I don't know what to say.

[33:14]Sometimes you sit with people and we all know we all have

[33:20]that friend right there.

[33:24]It's just a very obnoxious laugh.

[33:28]They laugh boisterously.

[33:31]This is actually makru.

[33:33]Something funny happens.

[33:38]It's funny, but the brother is laughing like a hyena.

[33:43]Like this guy.

[33:48]The hadith says from im this.

[33:52]Listen to this.

[33:54]Now, Islam is not against laughter, but there's a certain type of

[34:02]laughter that is not appropriate for a mu.

[34:04]A mu should always be dignified.

[34:06]You know the prophet, the prophet had a sense of humor, but

[34:11]the prophet his laugh was a smile.

[34:16]Allah had the most beautiful.

[34:19]The prophet you would never laugh boisterously.

[34:23]This boisterous laugh im says there's a kaf for it.

[34:29]It's not a kaf it's for someone to say oh Allah do

[34:42]not despise me do not take away your from me.

[34:45]So this shows you that we have to be more vigilant.

[34:49]We have to pay attention to the way that we conduct ourselves.

[34:53]Because when people look at you and I, they are looking at

[35:01]what they believe to be representations of Islam.

[35:04]The non-Muslim is not going to read.

[35:09]The non-Muslim is not going to read the Quran from cover to

[35:12]cover.

[35:13]Usually that's not what's going to happen.

[35:16]the non-Muslim is going to read you.

[35:17]They're going to read you.

[35:19]And therefore, we have to conduct ourselves with with dignity.

[35:25]We have to have a bit more weight.

[35:28]In another hadith that we have again from the sixth Imam 70

[35:41]times every day.

[35:43]When the imams when they say every day they're not exaggerating.

[35:47]every day minimum 70 times says, by the way, the word the

[36:01]root letters are, you know what the literal meaning of means?

[36:06]It means to cover up something.

[36:08]It means to patch up.

[36:12]You see, when we commit a sin, even if you're committing a

[36:17]sin and you're hurting someone else, you know, sometimes we have sins

[36:21]that are personal, we don't pray, but there are other sins where

[36:26]we we transgress the rights of others.

[36:28]Whether you're transgressing the rights of others or it's a personal sin,

[36:35]every time you sin, you are inflicting a wound on your soul.

[36:40]And is your cry to Allah, your appeal to him.

[36:46]Oh Allah, cover up the wound that I have afflict inflicted on

[36:53]my soul.

[36:53]So even when you insult someone else, the wound is inflicted on

[37:00]you before it is inflicted on them.

[37:02]This is how it works.

[37:05]Whenever you sin, you are damaging yourself first and foremost.

[37:07]So the prophet he used to do this 70 times at minimum

[37:14]and then what does the hadith say and he would say 70

[37:27]times.

[37:28]So 140 times 70 and then 70 times.

[37:33]This was the daily routine and practice of the prophet.

[37:41]If you look at many of you guys have memorized is a

[37:56]surah I would recommend all of you to study it in depth.

[38:00]Allah subhana wa ta'ala says something in this surah that should give

[38:05]us all pause.

[38:04]We should stop and we should reflect on it.

[38:12]The ayah is speaking about victory whether it's conquest of Mecca.

[38:20]The ayah is speaking about the victory of the prophet over his

[38:25]enemies and his adversaries.

[38:36]The victory is what is when you see people in multitudes they

[38:42]are entering the religion of Allah.

[38:44]How should the prophet react to victory?

[38:58]Usually victory is the time for what?

[39:03]It's the time for celebration.

[39:05]We should celebrate.

[39:05]We attained v.

[39:08]We achieved victory.

[39:09]Human beings what do they usually do when they taste victory.

[39:15]They attribute the victory to themselves.

[39:19]They say we did this.

[39:22]We achieved this.

[39:26]Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is telling his prophet that even when you

[39:33]are at the height of power, you should always turn to me

[39:39]and seek my forgiveness because the higher you go, the harder you

[39:45]can fall.

[39:46]So you always need don't ever feel that you are safe and

[39:50]secure.

[39:52]Because you can never adequately thank Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for the

[40:00]blessings and the bounties that he gave you that allowed you to

[40:06]attain this victory.

[40:10]Allah subhana wa tala is telling the prophet that at times of

[40:15]victory you have to be humble.

[40:17]You have to humble yourself before Allah subhana wa ta'ala.

[40:22]And when you commit a sin, when we commit a sin, when

[40:28]I commit a sin, do not delay Toba.

[40:32]Do not delay repentance.

[40:35]Some of us, we delay repentance because we delude ourselves into thinking,

[40:42]"I'm young.

[40:44]I have a lot of time.

[40:46]Inshallah when I go for z I'll repent.

[40:47]When I go for hajj I will repent.

[40:50]No not now.

[40:53]No summer's coming.

[40:52]Inshallah in the winter time I will repent.

[40:57]One of the manifestations of Allah's mercy upon us is what we

[41:05]read in Kafi from Imad where he's addressing one of his companions

[41:12]hs.

[41:12]He saysd if a believing servant commits a sin this is something

[41:24]special for a mu inshallah you're all you have the right you

[41:28]know who Allah is you know who the prophet is you know

[41:33]who your imams are if you are such a person now of

[41:37]course are not infallible we make mistakes yes we have shortcomings Allah

[41:50]subhana wa ta'ala when his believing servant commits a sin, he gives

[41:58]him or her a 7hour grace period.

[42:06]Those angels that are recording our deeds, if a M commits a

[42:16]sin, Allah says to the angel, wait, do not write it.

[42:20]Do not make it official yet.

[42:22]Give him time.

[42:24]Seven hour.

[42:26]If he returns to me in this 7-hour period, don't write it.

[42:34]And then the hadith says what?

[42:37]If the seven hours if they pass and he does not seek

[42:45]for forgi seek forgiveness the sin is recorded.

[42:50]Now you may say but she so does that mean that I

[42:55]can't ask for forgiveness after it's written?

[42:58]No you can but there's a difference.

[43:00]A simple analogy, imagine you have a white sheet of paper and

[43:05]then you you write and then you make a mistake and you

[43:07]have to erase it.

[43:10]You can erase it, but it's not going to it's never going

[43:12]to be like the clean sheet of paper.

[43:16]You've erased it.

[43:18]The one who has never committed, the one who has asked for

[43:24]forgiveness in that seven-hour period, they are going to enjoy a purity

[43:29]that you will not enjoy if you ask for after.

[43:34]Therefore, the moment we sin, we should turn to him.

[43:40]We should say, "Allah, forgive me.

[43:43]Pardon me.

[43:46]My nephs overpowered me.

[43:46]Show me mercy.

[43:51]The prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam.

[43:58][sighs] >> He says accustom your tongues to recite.

[44:12]Do it as much as you can.

[44:16]Why?

[44:25]You know, if you think about it, who taught us how to

[44:32]repent?

[44:31]Allah subhana t in the Quran, what does he say?

[44:41]This practice of seeking repentance from Allah.

[44:45]Allah subhana wa ta'ala taught us.

[44:49]He taught Adam and that knowledge was passed down generation to generation

[44:53]until it reached us.

[44:56]The prophet is saying that Allah would have never taught you how

[45:02]to repent unless he wanted to forgive you.

[45:04]Allah subhana wa ta'ala wants to forgive us.

[45:08]The Quran also tells us that the process of is actually not

[45:16]even initiated by you and I.

[45:18]What does the Quran say?

[45:26]When Allah in the Quran when he speaks about Toba sometimes he

[45:32]attributes it to himself.

[45:31]Allah does Toba and we do Toba.

[45:34]Now, what does it mean for Allah to do Toba?

[45:40]Allah did Toba on them so that they could repent to him.

[45:47]What does this mean brothers and sisters?

[45:52]It requires meaning Allah is the one who has to inspire us

[46:01]to want to go back to him.

[46:05]He has to put that feeling of yearning in our hearts for

[46:09]us to turn to him and ask for forgiveness and then he

[46:14]forgives us.

[46:13]You know, it's very similar to the analogy.

[46:16]Imagine there is a loving father who cares very much about his

[46:21]son.

[46:22]But his son being rebellious, he gets into an argument with his

[46:32]father and he runs away.

[46:31]He leaves the house.

[46:33]This father who is loving and merciful, what will he do?

[46:38]He will reach out to someone to go send a message to

[46:43]him saying come back, come back home.

[46:46]This father is going to send someone or send a message to

[46:52]the son to come back.

[46:56]And when the son come back comes back, the son apologizes.

[46:57]And of course, it's a if it's a Middle Eastern father, there's

[47:00]going to be a shah or a belt involved.

[47:04]But the point is the return of the son is initiated by

[47:11]who?

[47:12]The father.

[47:13]The father sends the message.

[47:15]The son returns, apologizes and then the father forgives.

[47:18]Meaning between our are two tobas of Allah.

[47:26]Allah turns to us with his love with his special mercy.

[47:31]He inspires us to turn to him.

[47:33]We ask him for forgiveness and he forgives us.

[47:37]Look at how how merciful Allah subhana wa ta'ala is.

[47:42]How forgiving he is.

[47:46]When you look at is not just a command where Allah says

[47:51]repent or ask me for forgiveness.

[47:56]If you go to is the whispered prayer of the repenters by

[48:03]im at the end of the look at what the Imam says.

[48:08]He says, "My Lord, oh Allah, you are the one who opened

[48:26]a door for your servants to seek your pardon.

[48:31]You opened a gate for them and you called it the gate

[48:38]of repentance.

[48:37]What is the IM trying to say to us?

[48:40]He's saying that number one, a gate implies what?

[48:44]You're meant to go through this gate.

[48:47]Allah erected this gate for us to pass through it.

[48:52]And a gate signifies what?

[48:54]Are you walking through that gate as a criminal or are you

[48:59]being welcomed back with honor?

[49:01]When you walk through a gate, it denotes honor that Allah subhana

[49:09]wa tala is receiving you back with honor.

[49:14]Allah subhana wa ta'ala, he wants his to come back to him.

[49:17]You know, sometimes in life, brothers and sisters, we have moments where

[49:22]we think about our past.

[49:25]We feel guilt.

[49:27]Has it ever happened to you?

[49:28]you're sitting and then you think about something that you did many

[49:33]many years ago, a shortcoming, a moral failure.

[49:38]Imakam, he says, he says sometimes a commits a sin.

[49:53]Sometimes a mu will remember a sin that he committed 20 years

[50:04]ago.

[50:02]And this is Allah's mercy.

[50:07]Sometimes we forget our sins, but Allah doesn't forget.

[50:10]The angels, they don't forget.

[50:12]The Imam is saying that sometimes recalling that sin is a sign

[50:20]of Allah's mercy upon you.

[50:21]Allah wants you to remember.

[50:25]He wants you to remember so that you can ask for his

[50:27]forgiveness.

[50:28]So you can remove that darkness that is in your heart.

[50:32]In this month, my dear brothers and sisters, we have to do

[50:38]realar.

[50:37]Do you know how to do realar?

[50:41]Many of us, we've never done it properly.

[50:42]Realist is to sit on your prayer mat and to think back

[50:52]to the year that you became Balik.

[50:57]Many of us were 25, 30, 35, maybe you're 50 years old.

[51:00]You have to sit and make an honest effort to recall all

[51:07]of the sins that you committed when you became Balv at 15.

[51:11]How many haram relationships did you get into?

[51:15]How many times did you miss your salah?

[51:18]How many times did you disrespect your parents?

[51:21]You have to try to remember all of these sins and ask

[51:25]Allah.

[51:25]And even if you have to write them down, something private between

[51:28]you and Allah.

[51:30]And you know what's going to happen?

[51:32]I guarantee you, you're going to start crying when you start writing

[51:37]down all of these moral indiscretions, all of these sins.

[51:42]Because you know what you're going to realize?

[51:44]You're going to look at this growing list, this list of crimes,

[51:49]the list of sins, and you're going to think, "Subhan Allah, I

[51:53]did all of this, and Allah is still showering me with his

[51:59]blessings." You're going to look at this list and say, "Look at

[52:01]look at what I've done and no one knows about it.

[52:05]Allah subhana wa ta'ala has concealed this from the world.

[52:11]Allah subhana wa tala he could have exposed me but he didn't.

[52:22]If Allah wants to expose us he can.

[52:27]It's not hard for Allah to expose us.

[52:29]But do you know what would happen if he were to expose

[52:31]us?

[52:32]I he says he mentions he says im he says if Allah

[52:48]exposed you if all of your private sins became public you would

[52:53]lose the respect of all of the people to such an extent

[53:00]that when you die no No one would want to bury you.

[53:03]Allahbar.

[53:06]This is the mercy of Allah subhana wa tala.

[53:10]So when you stand and you sit on your prayer mat, go

[53:14]through this process one by one.

[53:16]Ask him for forgiveness.

[53:18]Not for the sin that you committed today, for the sin that

[53:21]you forgot about that you're remembering from 20 years ago, from 30

[53:26]years ago.

[53:28]One by one.

[53:28]And if you feel overwhelmed by how much wrong you have done,

[53:34]I want you to listen to this narration from Imam Bak and

[53:38]we'll conclude.

[53:39]We always wonder and sometimes we feel is Allah going to accept

[53:46]me?

[53:47]I feel so messed up.

[53:49]I feel so worthless.

[53:51]How can Allah take me back when I've consumed alcohol?

[53:57]I've gone to all of those parties.

[54:01]I've committed zena.

[54:02]I've done drugs.

[54:05]I've disrespected my family.

[54:07]I mistreat my siblings.

[54:10]Sometimes we might think that how is Allah going to take me

[54:16]back.

[54:14]Im Bakam he says he says to one of his students imagine

[54:23]someone is traveling through the desert.

[54:28]In the past people used to load up their camels and they

[54:31]used to travel or their horses.

[54:33]They used to travel throughout the desert.

[54:35]They would take with them their provisions.

[54:38]They would take water, food, extra clothing.

[54:42]The Imam, he says, "Imagine you are traveling.

[54:45]Imagine a person traveling.

[54:49]And as they're traveling, they rest and they wake up and their

[54:57]caravan is gone.

[54:58]Their horse, their mule, whatever they were riding on, it's gone.

[55:03]There's no food.

[55:07]There's no water.

[55:07]There's no shelter.

[55:10]You go and you look for your caravan.

[55:15]You want to find your provisions, but you can't find them.

[55:17]You're now stranded in the middle of the desert.

[55:20]All of your things, your belongings are gone.

[55:25]The Imam says, "And then you you lay on the sand in

[55:32]utter desperation.

[55:35]You have nothing.

[55:35]And then suddenly your caravan appears.

[55:42]The imam says, "How happy do you think that traveler feels when

[55:49]they see their caravan?

[55:52]They see their provisions, their food, their water, all of their belongings.

[55:56]The Imam says, the narrator says they must feel completely elated." Imm

[56:04]he says Allah is more happy when his comes back to him

[56:12]than that traveler who rediscovers his lost belongings.

[56:17]Allah subhana wa ta'ala does not begrudgingly forgive his servants.

[56:24]Allah is waiting.

[56:26]And the narrations even tell us that Allah is more joyful, more

[56:30]happy when his sinful servant comes back to him than when a

[56:38]thirsty person finally finds water.

[56:40]We ask Allah subhana wa ta'ala to forgive us, to pardon us

[56:44]for our sins.

[56:46]We ask Allah subhana wa ta'ala to help our brothers and sisters

[56:50]in Iran.

[57:10]>> [sighs]

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