How We Do Dzikrullah :: Istighfar

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem

That sweetful bond

It is mentioned in saheeh ahadeeth that the Prophet s.a.w. made istighfar more than 70 or 100 times per day. Imagine the noble prophet s.a.w. who Allah swt has already forgiven his past and future sins would make istighfar that much, then how many istighfar should we as a sinful 'abd do to wash away our sins?

Rooting from the act of istighfar by the noble prophet s.a.w, we could derive that istighfar is not confined only to wiping away the sins, since the prophet s.a.w. didn't had any. More importantly, it brought with it a deeper meaning of conviction and a sweetful bondage with Allah swt.

Allah s.w.t. has reserved a special love for the ones who makes often istighfar and the ones who makes often purification. Inna Allaha yuhibbu at-tawwaabeen wa yuhibbu al-mutatahhireen. Don't we all want Allah swt to love us?

Therefore, strive to do istighfar. For verily it washes away the sin and stregthens the bondage with Allah swt.

Additionally, Allah swt has abundant love for the ones who are repentant, to the extent that if all the people in the world has stopped sinning, then He would create another creation so that they could make tawbah to Allah swt.

Tips on reaching the numbers

To make istighfar more than 70 or a 100 times is not in reality as hard as or as time consuming as several people would imagine, especially living in our day and age. Since ma'siah is so rampant everywhere and at every time, our lips should've been moist with istighfar. Start the initiative to make it a habit to immediately plead istighfar when a ma'siah inputs through our ears or our eyes.

At the point we see something haram. Istighfar.

At the instance we hear something haram. Istighfar.

And of course, we as a sinful 'abd who makes mistake often, and is unmindful of Allah nearly all the time, should make istighfar for every iota of that action and for every sinful action that we make, when it occurs. Every sinful movement of our eyes, every bad utterance of the tongue, every evil whisper of the heart, every time when our minds are unmindful of Allah.

If we are seriously practicing this, then from the moment we begin our walk to campus and by the time we finish our first class period, we should have at least uttered more than twenty istighfar, especially during the summer when our eyes are intoxicated with temptation.

Gradually insha Allah, as a person grow, he or she will be able to feel that sweet love for istighfar. He'll be able to sit down and do nothing but istighfar with full concentration. At least a 100 times in the morning and a 100 times during the night.

For that utterance of istighfar is not one with absent mindedness and not merely the movement of the lips nor the fast counting with the fingers. But, for each and every istighfar there's a weight that comes with it. Gradually, we'll understand that the istighfar is not only for the sins we've accumulated, but with the inclusion for the things that we could have done better.

"O Allah. I could've waken up earlier today." Istighfar.

"O Allah. I forgot to supplicate after I woke up." Istighfar.

"O Allah. I missed the first takbeer during the fajr jama'ah." Istighfar.

"O Allah. I didn't concentrate fully during the fajr prayer." Istighfar.

"O Allah. I yawned during the fajr prayer." Istighfar.

"O Allah. I didn't pay attention to what the Imam had recited." Istighfar.

The weight of the istighfar is something we should work on. An istighfar without gravity is weightless.

The famous istighfar of Rabi'ah al-Adawiyyah should be treated as an examplar to all of us, when she said "Astaghfirullah, min qillati sidq bi qauli astaghfirullah." Which means, "O Allah, I ask forgiveness for my shortcomings in truthfullness in my utterance of astaghfirullah".

Astaghfirullah min qillati sidq bi qauli astaghfirullah.