Know, and may Allah be merciful to you, that Allah, the Exalted has made repentance a protection for the exposed bad actions, a purification for the impurities of error, a destruction for what has passed and a reparation for what will come. Repentance is the life after death (meaning the death of the hearts).
Further, you must know that whoever neglects repentance is in transgression (dhulmun). Whoever procrastinates concerning repentance is far away from Allah. Adherence to repentance is nearness to Allah. Rushing to repentance is obligatory (fard).
Allah the Exalted said, "Hurry towards forgiveness from your Lord and to a paradise whose width is like the heavens and the earth." Meaning by that, "Hurry by means of repentance from disobedience, to Me and know that performance of good deeds for My sake; obligates for you My paradise and My good pleasure." And Allah the Exalted says, "O, you who believe, repent to Allah all together so that you may prosper." And Allah the Exalted says, "Truly Allah loves those who turn in repentance and He loves those who have a care for purification."
Therefore, the first of the stations of praiseworthy character is repentance (tawbah). And nothing after it from good deeds is accepted except by means of repentance. The likeness of the servant when he commits an act of disobedience, is like a brand new cooking pot, under which a fire is lit for some time until it becomes blackened. But if one hurries to wash it, it will become cleansed from that blackness. However, if you neglect it and continue to cook in it over and over again; the blackness is established on it. Then there will be no benefit after that in washing it.
So, repentance is that which washes the blackness of the heart. For when actions are presented to Allah, there will be on them, as a result of repentance, the sweet fragrance of acceptance from Allah. Consequently, if you have truly attained repentance, then Allah, the Exalted will love you. This is true by His words, "Truly Allah loves those who repent." But if you do not repent, then you will be among the transgressors. And Allah, the Exalted says, "For they are truly transgressors, those who do not turn in repentance." He who repents is successful and he who does not repent is among the losers.
When there appears from the servant a fault, then darkness and injustice also appear with it. For, the likeness of the disobedient one is like a fire and the darkness that occurs with disobedience is the smoke of that fire. Whoever ignites a fire in his house – for lets say seventy years – will he see nothing but blackness as a result of the smoke? Likewise is the heart blackened by disobedience. And it cannot be purified except through repentance to Allah, the Exalted. This is because humiliation, darkness, transgression and veiling are instinctively connected to disobedience. However, when you have truly repented to Allah, all sins will be removed from you.
Know, that heedlessness will never enter your heart except by you being negligent of following the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. And elevation with Allah will never happen for you except by following the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. And following the Prophet is divided into two parts; that which is evident and that which is secret. For the evident following of the Prophet is like the performance of the fundaments of Al-Islam. While the following of the Prophet which is secret is your gathering of your whole self during your prayers and the gathering of you concentration during your recitation of the Qur'an.
Consequently, when you have done an act of obedience (like the prayer or the recitation of Qur'an) and find that you have not gathered yourself nor gathered your reflection, know, that you are sick with an inward sickness as a result of pride (kibr), conceit (`ujub), or other than that. The Most High says, "I will turn away from my signs those who are arrogant in the earth without right." And the poet said, "The eye denies the sunlight as a result of eye disease the mouth denies the taste of water as a result of mouth illness."
The most of what is feared for you is your small despicable sins (muhtaqiraat). This is perhaps because you regard the major sins (al-kabaa'ir) as big, so you repent from them. About this, Allah the Exalted says, "You reckon it to be insignificant, but with Allah it is great." The big sins are small with regard to the merciful generosity of Allah and the small sins are great with regard to His justice. For when you make the small sins insignificant in your eyes, they become major sins. This is because poison kills even though it is a small amount. Further, the small sins are like a spark from a fire, which may burn down a whole house (baldah).
And further, what is feared most for you is an evil ending as a result of the extinguishing of the embers of faith (imaan) by the darkness of disobedience and by reason of persistence in sin – until the heart is blackened because of the lack of repentance.
First chapter of a text called Sabeel An-najaah
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Reflections and Thought of the champions of Tasawuff
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Introduction
This blog is dedicated to the Sufi Thoughts of Shaykh Uthman ibn Muhammad – known as Shehu ‘Uthman dan Fodio – one of the greatest reformers (mujaddideen) that was foretold by the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He revived all aspects of the deen, both the inner and the outer sciences, and the revival of Islam’s social order i.e. khilaafah as it was set up by the early community (as-salaf). His reformation was aimed and suited for all segments of the society. He and his companions wrote, lectured and composed poetry which stopped the oppression of the rulers, protected the common-folk from the rulings and judgments of the evil-scholars and their students, protected women from the oppression of their husbands and taught the basics of Islam - as well as its advanced sciences. He would travel to the different villages with his father while on his lecture tours. When he got older he would also become an itinerate teacher. He would go to the market places and call the people back to the worship and obedience of Allah and to the Sunnah of His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. At the age of 40, Shaykh ‘Uthman had a major run-in with the with the psuedo-Muslim government and emerged with a clear victory. He then went into a spiritual retreat. It was after these experiences that he was given the honorable title Saif ul-Haqq – literally meaning “The Sword of Truth”.
