Stories of Tawbah (Repentence)

The Advice of Al-Khidr

The Advice of al-Khidr

Shaikh al-Ghazaali reported that Musa asked al-Khidr to advise him. He said, "Be someone who constantly smiles, and not someone who is constantly angry. Be someone who benefits others, and not someone who harms others. Refrain from argumentation. Do not walk around without purpose. Do not laugh without a reason. Do not disparage wrongdoers by mentioning their mistakes to them. And cry over your misdeeds, O son of 'Imraan."



The Advice of al-Hasan

al-Hasan once wrote the following short letter to Umar bin Abdul Azeez:

"Fear what Allah told you to fear. Take what is in your hands, and use it for what is to come. At the moment of death, sure news will come to you and peace."


Umar wrote back, asking al-Hasan to advise him some more. Al-Hasan wrote back:

"Indeed the terror of the Day of Resurrection is greater than you might think. Indeed, frightful matters are near at hand. You will have to face all of that, either by facing it all and being saved, or by facing it all and being destroyed. Know that he who takes account of his own deeds will succeed, and that he who is negligent in this regard will fail. Whoever looks at the outcomes of his actions will be saved, while he who obeys his desires will be misguided. Whoever is patient and forbearing will gain profits. Whoever remains awake and vigilant regarding his deeds will be safe, whoever is safe reflects, whoever reflects sees, whoever sees understands, and whoever understands knows. Then if you slip, return and repent. And when you are remorseful, then refrain [from sins]. When you are ignorant, ask. And when you are angry, restrain your anger."



REPENTANCE IS SWEET

A tyrant ruler once left his castle to walk around the streets of his realm in order to enjoy himself. As he was walking, he came across a number of gardens and decided to enter one of them. After spending a short while looking at the garden's beautiful trees, he became thirsty, and so he asked the owner of the garden, who was sitting nearby, for a drink. The owner told him that though there was no water nearby, the ruler was free to take a pomegranate and quench his thirst with that. The ruler agreed, and when he took his first bite from the pomegranate that was given to him, he was amazed to see how wonderfully and almost unnaturally sweet it was. He said to himself, "This pomegranate is indeed wonderful."

He decided to evict the owner and take possession of the garden. But first, he wanted to make sure that all of the pomegranates of the garden were equally wonderful and sweet, and so he asked for another one. When he began to eat a second pomegranate, he was shocked to see that it was very bitter and foul tasting.

He asked the owner if it was from the same tree as the first pomegranate. "Yes," said the owner.

"Then how come it is not as sweet as the first?"

"O leader, perhaps you intended to do some evil, which caused its taste to change," said the righteous garden owner.

"By Allah, the man has spoken the truth," thought the ruler. He repented from his intention to usurp the garden, and decided he wanted to enjoy another pomegranate, and so he asked for one. When he tasted it, it was even sweeter than the first one he had eated. What is more, it was from the very same tree.


وَأَنِ اسْتَغْفِرُواْ رَبَّكُمْ ثُمَّ تُوبُواْ إِلَيْهِ يُمَتِّعْكُم مَّتَاعًا حَسَنًا إِلَى أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى وَيُؤْتِ كُلَّ ذِي فَضْلٍ فَضْلَهُ وَإِن تَوَلَّوْاْ فَإِنِّيَ أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ كَبِيرٍ

And seek the forgiveness of your Lord, and turn to Him in repentance, that He may grant you good enjoyment, for a time appointed, and bestow His abounding Grace to every owner of grace

[Hud : 3]

IT IS INDEED YOU WHO IS THE RIDER, AND I WHO AM THE FOOT TRAVELER

One year, Ibrahim bin Adham decided to perform hajj on foot, walking from his homeland to Makkah. As he was leaving his homeland, a man riding on a camel passed by and said, "O Ibn Adham, where are you going?"

"I am going to perform hajj, if Allah wills," said Ibrahim.

"Then where is your mount, Ibn Adham, for the journey is long," asked the man.

"I have many mounts that I ride upon though you cannot see them," said Ibrahim.

"If I am afflicted with a calamity, I ride on the mount of patience. If I am given a blessing, I ride on the mount of thankfulness. If something that is decreed happens to me, I ride on the mount of contentment. And when my soul invites me to satisfy some lust or desire, I reflect on how the time I have left on earth is less than the time that has already gone by."

"You are indeed traveling by the command of Allah," said the man. "Then, by Allah, it is you who is the rider, and I who am the foot traveler."


THEN HOW WILL YOU WITHSTAND THE FIRE OF THE HEREAFTER?

Abdullah bin Marzuq, who was a close friend of the ruler al-Mahdi, was drunk one day and consequently missed the congregational prayer. His female servant came to him with a piece of burning wood and placed it on his leg. He jumped up with an expression of pain on his face.

"If you cannot withstand the fire of the earth, then how will you withstand the Fire of the Hereafter [which is 70x more intense than the fire of this world]?"

Having understood the point of the painful lesson, Abdullah bin Marzuq repented. Thereafter, he performed his prayers on time and gave away a great deal in charity. After some time passed, al-Fudayl ibn Iyaad and Ibn Uyaynah visited him, and just by looking at him and the furniture of his home, they noticed a drastic change in his lifestyle. They asked, "No one forsakes something for Allah except that Allah compensates him with something equal or better, so what did Allah compensate you with for what you abandoned?"

"Contentment for the situation I find myself to be in," he said.



A VISIT TO THE GRAVEYARD

Once, when Maimun bin Mihraan and Umar bin Abdul Azeez were visiting the graveyard, Umar began to cry. Turning to Maimun he said, "O Abu Ayyub, these are the graves of my fathers from Banu Umayyah. When I see their graves now, it seems as if they never participated with the dwellers of the world in their pleasures and lives. Do you not see how they are beset by trials? The insects are feeding off of their bodies..."

Umar then began to weep until he fainted. When he regained consciousness, he said, "Let us go, for by Allah, I do not know of anyone who is more blessed than he who comes to these graves, yet is saved from the punishment of Allah."



THE RANKING OF A PERSON WHO REPENTS

Bakr ibn Abdullah al-Muzani is the narrator of this story:

There was once a butcher who fell in love with the daughter of his neighbours. One day, the girl's parents sent her on an errand to the neighbouring town. Seeing that she was alone, the butcher followed her until she reached a secluded place, where he made his presence known to her. When he tried to seduce her, the girl said, "Do not do so! Indeed, I love you even more than you love me, but I fear Allah."

The butcher's jaws dropped and he said in self-reproach, "You fear Allah and I don't!" He left her alone and repented for his intentions.

On his way back, he became extremely thirsty. He soon came across a Prophet from the Prophets of the Children of Israel. Noticing the expression on the butcher's face, the Prophet asked, "What is the matter with you?"

"Extreme thirst," said the butcher.

"Let us go supplicate to Allah for rain."

"I have no good deed that makes my supplication worthy of being answered," said the butcher.

"Then let me invoke Allah while you say 'Ameen' to my invocations," said the Prophet.

He then began to supplicate, and the butcher said, 'Ameen,' after each of the supplications.

Suddenly, a cloud appeared, rain fell from it into the nearby town, after which it approached the two men. Wherever the butcher walked, the cloud followed after him, instead of hovering over the Prophet.

"You claim that you have no good deeds," said the Prophet. "Yet despite the fact that it was I who supplicated while you said 'ameen' the cloud shaded the city and then it followed you. What is your story?"

The butcher the told him what happened with his neighbour's daughter.

"One who repents to Allah has a ranking that no other person can achieve," said the Prophet.





WHICH OF THESE IS MORE BELOVED TO ME?

Ibrahim bin al-Haarith is the narrator of this story:

There once was a man who was known for weeping from fear of Allah. One day, he was asked about his bouts of weeping. He said, "I cry when I remember the many ways in which I have wronged my own self, and when I remember how I have not been modest before He Who has the ability to punish me. He has given me respite until the day of eternal punishment, the day of eternal misery. By Allah, were I to be asked, 'Which is more desirable to you- for accountability to be taken of you and for you to then be ordered to be taken to Paradise, or for you to be dust,' I would choose to be dust."

May Allaah forgive our dry eyes and hardened hearts and enrich us with taqwa.. subhanAllah.


A COMPLETE TRANSFORMATION

Ja'far bin Harb was an important government figure and enjoyed as much wealth and status as the governors of the various provinces. The ruler specifically trusted him with his most important tasks, and so Ja'far was preoccupied with worldly pursuits.

One day he heard a man recite the verse


أَلَمْ يَأْنِ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَنْ تَخْشَعَ قُلُوبُهُمْ لِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَمَا نَزَلَ مِنَ الْحَقِّ

Has not the time come for the hearts of those who believe to be affected by Allah's Reminder and that which has been revealed of the Truth

[al-Hadeed : 16]


Ja'far called out, "O Allah, yes.. O Allah, yes.. O Allah, yes.." He then cried many tears of sorrow for his meaningless life.

He proceeded to distribute all of his wealth as atonement for his sins, even his clothing. To cover his private areas, he walked into the shallow part of a river. Hearing about Ja'far's complete transformation, a man went to the river and gave him clothing as a gift. Owning nothing save the clothes he received as a gift, Ja'far dedicated the rest of his life to knowledge and worship.




[Author's note]: The point of this and similar stories is not to encourage people to go to extremes in their lives. Rather, it is to show how people from the earlier centuries of Islam underwent complete character transformations once they became guided to repenting from their sins. So have we repented sincerely for our sins? If yes, then how much have we changed for the better? And how much more can we do to change for the better? And if no, then has not the time come for the hearts of those who believe to be affected by Allah's Reminder and that which has been revealed of the Truth?



GIVING CHARITY TO ATONE FOR PAST SINS

One day, a man named Habib bin Muhammad, a man preoccupied with the worldly pursuits, decided to attend a gathering of al-Hasan al-Basree. While there, Habib became greatly moved by al-Hasan's sermon. When he left it, he decided to repent for his sins and lead a new life of worship and obedience to Allah.

The first thing he decided was to purify his soul by giving charity. He started off by giving away 10,000 dirhams in the early part of the day. Soon thereafter, he gave away another 10,000 dirhams and said, "O my Lord, this 10,000 is my gratitude for the guidance You have blessed me with." He then gave away another 10,000 dirhams, and this time he said, "O my Lord, if You did not accept from me the first amount or the second amount, then accept this from me." He then gave away another 10,000, after which he said, "O My Lord! If you have accepted from me the third amount, then this is a show of my gratitude for You having accepted my deed."


HOW TO REACH ONE'S DESTINATION 

Silah bin Ashyam used to spend his days worshipping near a graveyard. Whenever he would walk to his place of worship, he would pass by a group of young men who would waste the hours of the day in frivilous entertainment. Silah used to stop and say to them, "Tell me. If a group of people intend to go on a journey, and if they spend their days playing on the road and their nights sleeping in their tents, when will they reach their destination?"One day, he passed by them and asked the same question. One young man present understood Silah's words. Turning to his companions, he said, "O people! By Allah, he is referring to us, for we play during the day and sleep during the night. So how will we reach Paradise?" He then followed Silah, and became his companion in worship until he died.

IF YOU HAVE NO SHAME, THEN DO AS YOU PLEASE 

One of the children of al-Qa'nabi narrated this story."A regular drinker of wine, my father used to keep company with disreputable young men. He one day invited them and then sat down in front of his door, waiting for them to arrive. While he was waiting, Shu'bah passed by on his donkey and a number of people were racing behind him in order to keep up with him."Who is that?" asked al-Qa'nabi. "Shu'bah," answered someone seated nearby. "And what is Shu'bah?" "A scholar of hadith." "Recite a hadith to me," said al-Qa'nabi, who was wearing an indecentred-colored izar. "You are not one of the people of hadith so I do not feel obliged tonarrate to you," said Shu'bah. Al-Qa'nabi took out a knife and pointed it at Shu'bah. "You will report tome a narration or I will injure you," said al-Qa'nabi. "Mansur reported to us," began Shu'bah, "From Rib'i from Abu Mas'ud who said, 'The Messenger of Allah said, If you have no shame, then do as you please.'" [Bukhari 6120] Al-Qa'nabi tossed the knife to the ground and returned to the inside of his home. He took all the wine bottles he had and emptied them on the floor. He said to his mother, "My companions will soon arrive. When they come, admit them inside and offer them food. When they are finished eating, tell them what I did with the alcohol so they will then leave". Al-Qa'nabi immediately left for al-Madinah, where he spent the following years of his life as a student of Imam Maalik bin Anas, and had the honor of reporting hadith from the Imam. 

HOW TO WARD OFF THE EVILS OF WEALTH 

Sa'eed bin Ayman, the freed slave of Ka'b bin Sur, said, "While the Messenger of Allah was speaking to his companions, a poor man came and sat down beside a rich man. From his movement, it seemed as if the rich man were moving his garment away so that the poor man wouldn't touch it. The Messenger of Allah's [color] changed [from anger], and he said:"O so-and-so! Were you afraid that your richness would transfer to him, or that his poverty would transfer to you?" "And is richness evil?" asked the rich man. The Prophet said, "Yes, for your richness invites you to the Hell-fire, while his poverty invites him to Paradise." The rich man asked, "Then how can I save myself from that?" The Prophet answered, "Comfort him with some of it."T he rich man said, "I will do so then." The poor man then spoke, "I am in no need of it." The Prophet said, "Then ask Allah to forgive your brother, and supplicate for him."