During Ramadan, I've noticed that many people tend to drink glasses upon glasses of water at Sehri and then Iftar. Many times during Sehri, those who are fasting try to drink as much water as they can before Fajr. Whereas, during Iftar, those who are opening their fast drink glasses of water to get rid of their thirst. For this reason, I wanted to redirect you to the following Hadiths:

As humans, we sin. Think of it in this way, God created us as humans, not Angels. By doing so, He already knew that we would be inclined to sin and do wrong deeds. We have been created as weak, which is why we need Allah's help and support. Allah is Al-Hayyi and Al-Qayyyum. Meaning, He is the One Who brings into existence and supports what He has created. We have been told in the Qur'an to seek help from Allah:

Thee alone do we worship and Thee alone do we implore for help. [1:5]

WHAT IS ISTIGHFAR?
The root of istighfar is ghafar, meaning to cover up. Istighfar means to get strength from Allah to refrain from sin and evil, and to be able to display this strength to refrain from sin. It helps to suppress any feelings or thoughts that may distance one from Allah.


SIN AND ISTIGHFAR
We should note that sin is not a prerequisite for Istighfar. As people, we wish to make Allah happy and in order to do so we want to become perfect beings. To achieve this perfection we ask Allah for strength. Even the Prophets needed Istighfar, so that no sin should be committed. Istighfar is also needed after an evil has been done. The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) brought people who had completely gone astray to the highest point of civilization through Istighfar.

In the Holy Qur'an, Istighfar is seen as drawing the strength and support of Allah which leads to attaining nearness to Allah and salvation. The Holy Qur'an states:

But surely the righteous will be in the midst of gardens and springs, receiving what the Lord will give them; for they used to do good before that. They used to sleep but a little of the night; and at the dawn of the day they sought forgiveness...[51:16-19]

This verse shows that the one who does Istighfar is doing a righteous deed and is the recipient of countless blessings. Istighfar isn't to protect one from the torment of fire rather a part of goodness. For example, if one becomes a Mohsin he is at a stage where he is unable to sin. However, them doing Istighfar isn't necessarily to protect them from Hell, rather to get the necessary strength and support from Allah so that they stay firm on the right path and don't fall into the wrong path. Only because he knows that as a human, he can easily fall weak, and needs Allah's help.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ISTIGHFAR AND REPENTANCE
Istighfar and repentance are two separate things. The strength to repent comes after one does Istighfar. This is because, until we seek strength from Allah (through Istighfar) we are unable to do anything. It is with this strength that we can then stand up and express remorse about a wrongdoing or sin.

The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

If anyone continuously asks pardon, Allah will appoint for him a way out of every distress, and a relief from every anxiety, and will provide from him where he did not reckon [Abu Dawud]

HOW TO DO ISTIGHFAR

Continuously recite Astaghfirullah - "I seek forgiveness from Allah" to abstain from doing wrong such as envy, jealousy, pride etc.

Sayyad-ul-Istighfar (Best Prayer for Seeking Forgiveness)
Hadhrat Buraida relates the Holy Prophet (saw) said that whosoever recites this prayer morning or evening and dies on that day or that night he will enter heaven:


O Allah, You are my Lord, there is none worthy of worship except You. You created me and I am Your servant. And I am steadfast in Your convenant and Your promise to the best of my capability. I seek refuge in You from the evil effects of my deeds. I acknowledge Your blessings and favours. I confess my sins, so You forgive me, as there is none except You who forgives sins.

Prayer for Forgiveness and Pardon
Hadhrat Abu Musa-al-Ashari tells us of this prayer of the Holy Prophet (saw):


O Allah, forgive my mistakes, my lack of knowledge, my transgressions in my affairs and all my affairs about which know more than I do. Forgive my sins, my intentional or unintentional mistakes and my frivulous jokes. All these are my failings. O Allah, forgive my earlier or later sins. Forgive my hidden and manifest sins. You cause things to advamce and cause them to retard. You have authority over everything.

An Effective Prayer for Forgiveness



I seek forgiveness from Him, except Whom there is none worthy of worship. He is Living and Self-Subsisting. He brings others to life and sustains them. I incline towards Him and repent.

Basically, the one who resorts to Istighfar and admits his weakness to Allah becomes nearer to Him. When you continuously recur to Istighfar and turn to Allah for help, it allows you to resist evil tendencies with the help and strength given to you by Allah.

[39:43] Allah takes away the souls of human beings at the time of their death; and during their sleep of those also that are not yet dead. And then He retains those against which He has decreed death, and sends back the others till an appointed term. In that surely are Signs for a people who reflect.

[10:57] He it is Who gives life and causes death, and to Him shall you be brought back.

Lately, I feel like the word taqwa is being used more often. Huzur (may Allah strengthen his hands) continuously stated in his Friday Sermon on July 4, 2014, that we should all aim to adopt taqwa.


Piety, God-Fearing, Righteous...these are all words that mean taqwa. However, I would say that the best word to describe taqwa is being God-concscious. This is an essential quality of a believer, and one of the central concepts in the Qur'an. Some of you may have heard the following example of taqwa: If you were to walk through a path of thorns, what would you do? You would be extremely cautious to avoid the thorns. You would protect your clothes and self from being harmed. And you would be completely aware of your surroundings while walking. This is taqwa. While walking through this dangerous journey of life, we must protect ourselves from sin so that we can complete this journey untouched by sin. In order to do this, we must understand that God is everywhere, and aware of our every action. We must also understand our relationship with Him. He is our Creator and we are His servants. As servants, we must always try to please our Creator and avoid doing anything that displeases Him. However, what makes this challenging yet rewarding is expressing such a level of alertness, when He is not actually visible. We know that Allah is not physically present or visible by our eyes. But, He is always Present and Unseen.


HOW DO YOU LOSE TAQWA?
Love of this world goes hand in hand with greed, pride, hatred and enmity towards fellow human beings. All of these traits can cause you to feel like you have power, and don't need Allah. Not being aware of Allah is what leads to these traits. This is because if you were aware that Allah dislikes such characteristics in His servants, you wouldn't adopt them.

This isn't a concept that's only seen in Islam, it's also seen in other religions such as Christianity. The fear of God in order to fear displeasing Him, is a central theme in the Bible as well. And the reason for this is that if we aren't aware of God and His presence, then we won't be able to refrain from displeasing Him altogether. Think of it in this way, when a child knows that their mother is watching, they are less likely to do something that will displease her. In the same way, when a believer is aware that Allah is present and watching, they will be less likely to displease Him.

Take a moment to ask yourself, 'Who do I hang out with the most?' for the majority of us the answer will be 'my friends' (consisting of students or colleagues). We share the majority of our life with these people. It's human nature to adapt to the lifestyle of those that we spend most of our time with in order to fit in. Unfortunately, many times we tend to adopt the negative habits of these friends. For this reason, it is important to surround ourselves with friends who will make us better people, not worse. This takes me to the following Hadith:

The Prophet (peace be upon him) was reportedly asked: "Which of our companions are best?" He replied: "One whose appearance reminds you of God, and whose speech increases you in knowledge, and whose actions remind you of the hereafter."



In another Hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "A person is on the religion of his companions. Therefore let every one of you carefully consider the company he keeps." [Tirmidhi]

I've slowly come to realize the influence people who strive towards Allah and the people who don't, have on me. As well as, the impact I have on these people. In the past, I've had groups of people who I've considered friends, who've had no connection with Allah through any religion. It was such people that made me feel like religion wasn't important. Unfortunately, I was too interested in having friends, then caring about their religious background or character. Looking back now, I realize how lost I was and how drawn to the world I had become. Slowly, my group of friends changed to girls who had a strong love for their Creator, consisting of: A Hindu, A Buddhist and two Muslims. It was their positive and pious vibe that increased my love for Allah. Hanging around such people made me understand their faiths, as they understood mine. I no longer had to make up excuses of 'being busy' to avoid parties and mixed gender hangouts. Only because they knew my comfort level and reasoning, as I knew theirs. Just as they impacted me, I was constantly told by them, the impact I had on them. I had one Muslim friend, who wasn't overly consistent in prayers, nor did she aim to have a better relationship with Allah. However, she noticed me saying things like 'Be right back, I have to pray', 'I read in the Qur'an that...' and the simple words: InshAllah, Alhamdulillah, MashAllah and Subhanallah. Once she realized the positive impact Islam had on my life, she strived to do the same. Sometimes I would receive a message from her saying, 'Guess what? I read all five prayers today!' Seeing this excitement within her, made me glad to have been a minor influence on her bond with Allah.

Some of you may not have a tight-knit group of friends who guide you to the path of Allah. But this does not mean that you will never be able to achieve the tranquility of your heart. If we find that our companions are unable to influence us to be more mindful of Allah, then we must take on the responsibility of changing this atmosphere. We should also seek for ways of finding company that will guide us to Allah. Whether this be friends from local Masjids, religious conferences, or community groups. Make the effort!

"The believer sees his sins as if he is sitting at the foot of a mountain fearing that it might fall on him, while the sinner sees his sins as a fly that lands on his nose, he just waves it away." [Bukhari]