# How To Wipe Out Your Sins | Servants of the Most Merciful Ep. 7

**Author:** Dr. Omar Suleiman
**Series:** Servants of the Most Merciful
**Published:** 2026-01-19
**YouTube:** https://youtu.be/geRnWggvz4U
**URL:** https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/servants-of-the-most-merciful/how-to-wipe-out-your-sins-servants-of-the-most-merciful-episode-7
**Topics:** Acts of Worship, Sharia

## Description
Dr. Omar Suleiman continues his reflection on the characteristics of the Servants of the Most Merciful through Surah Al-Furqan, ayahs 70–71. In this episode, he explains how true repentance is marked by sincere regret, a firm intention not to return to sin, and a commitment to rectifying past...

## Chapters
- 0:00 Hope after fear
- 2:02 The process of repentance
- 3:46 The story of the man seeking forgiveness
- 6:01 The power of sincere repentance
- 8:46 Transforming sins into good deeds
- 11:58 The importance of directional sincerity
- 15:49 Practical steps for repentance
- 20:35 The role of good deeds in repentance
- 29:33 Final thoughts

## Transcript
**[0:00]** I hope everyone is doing well tonight, bi-idhnillahi ta'ala. As Wasif said, I'm gonna keep it probably a little bit shorter tonight, insha'Allah.

**[0:19]** I shouldn't have made fun of the cold last week. I think that, alhamdulillah, 'ala kulli hal. But still, insha'Allah, we'll try to make it instructive and we won't lose ground, bi-idhnillahi ta'ala, as we go through the ayat. If you remember last week, we ended off on Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala talking about yudha'afu lahul 'adhab.

**[0:41]** Allah 'azza wa jal increasing the punishments. We qualified what that punishment actually looks like. And because we qualified what that punishment looks like, it's important now to see how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala instills hope after that healthy fear.

**[0:58]** And we'll talk about these two ayat, bi-idhnillahi ta'ala. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, unless he repents and believes and he does righteous works, for verily, for such people, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will change their evil deeds into good deeds.

**[1:25]** And verily, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is ever forgiving and most compassionate. Now you'll notice here, first and foremost, Allah 'azza wa jal once again bringing hope after fear. But you'll notice that these words, they come in order as if each one of them suggests something else in the process of coming back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

**[1:46]** Because they do. A lot of times when you're reading these ayat and you come across taba wa amana wa 'amila salihan, you read them sort of as a package. Okay, that means once a person comes back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, they're okay. But each one of these words is extremely specific in the process coming back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

**[2:05]** So first and foremost, taba and then amana. Repented and then believed. Here's the thing, what's missing in this process if you're speaking to people that aren't Muslim?

**[2:20]** What's missing in this process between taba and amana? Does anybody know? Aslama, becoming Muslim. Okay. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, of course in Surah Al-Hujurat, he makes a distinction between aslamu and amanu.

**[2:37]** Right? That there is Islam and iman. Of course when it's used together, iman represents the internalizing of those practices of Islam. But there is the embracing of Islam as a whole. So some of the scholars here, they actually said that the word taba here, repent here, actually means aslama.

**[2:57]** Illa man aslama wa amana. Except for those who became Muslim and then believed. And this is actually extremely beautiful when you start to peel back the layers. Because what is the tawbah of shirk?

**[3:12]** Islam. So for the one who is repenting from idolatry, the repentance for idolatry is Islam. So the word taba can mean aslama and more. And that's how you reconcile what the scholars bring together of all of the rich meanings of this verse.

**[3:32]** Taba, meaning if you're not Muslim, aslama, becoming Muslim. And if you are Muslim, then taba means leaving behind whatever it is that you were doing that put you in that state of fear in the first place. Okay? And this is where we can contextualize, subhanAllah, this hadith of 'Amr ibn al-'As (رضي الله تعالى عنه).

**[3:51]** Very famous hadith where he comes to the Prophet (ﷺ). And as he's about to embrace Islam, and he puts his hand out, he then puts his hand back. And the Prophet (ﷺ) says, what is it? He said, I have a condition.

**[4:06]** I want to be forgiven for everything that I've done before this. Right? Like I have a long track record of evil. I mean, I pursued the Muslims in Abyssinia. I tried to blow that whole situation up. I persecuted Muslims in Mecca.

**[4:22]** I killed Muslims in Uhud. Right? I plotted in Khandaq. I mean, I have a long track record of harming the Prophet (ﷺ) and harming the Muslims. And when 'Amr ibn al-'As was dying, (رضي الله تعالى عنه), he said, I divide my life into three places.

**[4:41]** The first part, when I was the enemy of the Prophet (ﷺ), and if I would have died at that time, I would have certainly been from the people of hellfire. Then the time I spent with the beloved (ﷺ). And at that time, I'm sure I would have been from the people of paradise. And now I don't know.

**[4:57]** Now it's a mixed bag after the death of the Prophet (ﷺ). So 'Amr is someone who's deeply in touch with the concept of time. What happened before, what's going to happen after, past, present, future. So he says to the Prophet (ﷺ), the condition is that I'm forgiven for everything that I've done before.

**[5:14]** And the Prophet (ﷺ) could have simply told him that, yes, Islam does away with everything that came before. But he told him, don't you know that Islam does away with everything that comes before? And he mentioned (ﷺ),

**[5:30]** Al-Hajj, Hajj, does away with everything that came before it. Of course, an accepted Hajj, Hajj Mabrur, does away with everything that came before it. And he mentioned Hijrah, does away with everything that came before it. Right? And in some narrations, Al-Jihad fi sabilillah.

**[5:47]** Okay? So the point is, is that it's not just Islam. And 'Amr was technically just asking about Islam. But the Prophet (ﷺ) added on the other deeds that represent a complete turning of the page with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Now here's something that's very important here.

**[6:03]** Very important for us to get as Muslims. Is it possible for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to forgive all of your sins without you becoming Muslim all over again? Without you doing Hajj? Without you making Hijrah?

**[6:18]** And without you going out fi sabilillah? Is it possible for you to be forgiven? For all of your sins? Yes or no? You're going to make me strain my throat more than I need to. Yes. How? Dhikr.

**[6:38]** Astaghfirullah. You have to sacrifice your son? What is it? SubhanAllah. SubhanAllah. It is that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala can forgive.

**[6:53]** If Allah finds you to be sincere in your repentance, Allah 'azza wa jal can forgive you even in the comfort of your home. And it doesn't have to be Laylatul Qadr. Usually when I ask this question, someone says Ramadan. Laylatul Qadr. It could be the most random moment.

**[7:09]** But you were sincere in that moment. And you turned to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And you internalized that istighfar. That seeking forgiveness from Him. It could be that Allah 'azza wa jal wipes out the minor, the major, and everything else. If Allah finds you sincere in that moment.

**[7:26]** And this is so beautiful because you'll find subhanAllah, even the man who the Prophet (ﷺ) mentioned from a previous nation. That at the time of his death, he told his children to cremate him. To burn his body into ashes. Because he was afraid of being held accountable by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

**[7:45]** And Allah 'azza wa jal gathers him. And this is a haram action. You're not allowed to cremate yourself. This is not an instruction for you to go do that. You would be punished because you have knowledge of it. Right? He did it out of ignorance. He didn't know that this is not going to work.

**[8:00]** He had a sincere desire to be forgiven. And he said let me just be burned to ashes. Allah 'azza wa jal gathered him together. Put him back together. Said why did you do that? And he said khashyatuka ya Rabb wa anta a'lam.

**[8:15]** I feared you oh Allah and you know better. And Allah 'azza wa jal forgave him. Right? Allah forgave him. So you can be forgiven. And there are multiple narrations of the random action. However, however, these are deeds, these are deeds that represent the ultimate expression of that desire to be forgiven for everything.

**[8:39]** So it's just like how a person could technically die shaheed in their bed. Right? If a person is sincere in their longing for shahadah, they could attain the reward of shahadah even in their bed. It doesn't mean that that's equal to someone that's out in the battlefield.

**[8:55]** Right? But that Allah 'azza wa jal does not need the action but he prescribes the action. Do you understand? Allah does not need the action but he prescribes the action. So it's not like let me go become a non-Muslim and then come back into Islam because I can't do Hajj and I can't do Hijrah and I can't do anything that's going to –

**[9:13]** let me just go hopefully not die in the moment that I leave Islam and then come back into Islam. No. It's tawbah. So Islam is tawbah for someone that isn't Muslim. There's a beautiful narration that is mentioned in some of the books of tafsir here.

**[9:30]** And it's also a hadith in At-Tabarani. And the name of the sahabi is actually Abu Tawid. Abu Tawid. Shatab al-mamdud. And he was an old man who had sunken eyes. That's how he's described.

**[9:46]** When he came to the Prophet (ﷺ), and you can imagine the scene. Imagine a man who's embracing Islam in his old age. And you know I'm going to share with you something. I was watching this documentary of some Zionists and some of the crimes that they committed in Palestine.

**[10:07]** And these very old men that were talking about the evil things that they did back in the day. I mean they're openly talking about murder and rape and the horrible things that they did. Some of you have obviously seen it because you're nodding your head. I won't lie. I watched that and I said subhanAllah if I saw this man walking into a grocery store,

**[10:25]** I would hold the door for this man. I would honor this man. You'd have no idea that this seemingly innocent looking old man is a murderer, is a rapist, and is proud. Boasting about his crimes even in his old age. Wa nas'alullaha al-'afiyah.

**[10:41]** You would have no idea. So there's something about honoring an elderly person. So you can imagine the scene. This old man comes to the Prophet (ﷺ), and his eyes are sunken like he's very very elderly.

**[10:56]** And he says to the Prophet (ﷺ), Ara'ayta rajulan 'amila dhunuban kullaha falam yatruk minha shay'an. Ya Rasulallah, what about a man who has committed every single sin on the face of the earth

**[11:13]** and has not left any sin except that he committed it. And he actually goes on to say so much so that if you took all the sins of the people of the world, that man committed all of those sins. So he's talking about himself clearly that look I did everything.

**[11:30]** Everything there is to do. And the Prophet (ﷺ) is asked, Fahal lahu min tawbah? Does that person have a chance of being forgiven as well? The Prophet (ﷺ) said, Hal aslamta? Did you become Muslim?

**[11:45]** Qala amma ana fa'ashhadu an la ilaha illallah wahdahu la sharika lah wa'ashhadu annaka rasulullah. As for me, I bear witness that there's only one God, no partner to be associated with him and that you are the messenger of Allah. So the Prophet (ﷺ), he said to him,

**[12:05]** Na'am, yes, you can be forgiven for everything. Qala taf'alu al-khayrat wa tatruku as-sayyi'at. That you should leave, you know, start to do good deeds and you should leave off the evil that you used to do.

**[12:21]** Fayaj'aluhunna allahu laka khayrat kulluhun. So Allah 'azza wa jal would take all of those deeds that you mentioned, those sins that you mentioned and he would turn them into good deeds. The man looked at the Prophet (ﷺ),

**[12:36]** Qala wa ghadrati wa ghadrati wa fujuri. Like all of the betrayals and the evil things that I did. All of it, ya Rasulallah. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, yes. So the man said, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar.

**[12:55]** And he turned around and he kept on saying Allahu Akbar until he got to his house. Right? Why is this narration so important? Because the 'ulama of tafsir will mention that if you take the sahabah of the Prophet (ﷺ)

**[13:11]** and then you take the category of kaba'ir, the categories of major sins, I mean, there is only a handful of them that never did any of those deeds. This is a generation all of converts. How many sahabah didn't drink alcohol?

**[13:27]** How many sahabah did not commit zina before? How many sahabah did not participate in stupid disputes and killing people? You know, and the things that used to happen in jahiliyyah. They've done these things. And so when they're hearing the severity of these warnings,

**[13:42]** they're having a hard time with the guilt that they feel for everything that they've done. Right? I mean, and this gets really, really, really deep and technical. Right? There would be a man that would have, you know, I talk about Jabbar ibn Salma,

**[13:58]** who, subhanAllah, he stabbed the messenger of the messenger (ﷺ) in Raji'. 'Amr ibn Fahirah, the guide of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (رضي الله تعالى عنه). He put the knife right through his midsection.

**[14:19]** And it came right through him. And the man said, fuztu rabbi al-Ka'bah I have succeeded by the Lord of the Ka'bah. And he died right in front of him. I mean, he stabbed him and the man said, I have succeeded by the Lord of the Ka'bah. He's killing a companion of the Prophet (ﷺ).

**[14:37]** And he pulled the sword out. And then he went to Medina. And he said, I killed the man that you sent to me. And he said, I have succeeded by the Lord of the Ka'bah. What is he talking about? And the Prophet (ﷺ) gave him da'wah.

**[14:53]** And he repented and he became Muslim. His one narration in Islam is him talking about how I killed the man that was sent to me. And when I stabbed him, he said, fuztu rabbi al-Ka'bah I have succeeded by the Lord of the Ka'bah. Imagine you're praying next to an old man.

**[15:09]** What's your story? I killed the messenger of the messenger (ﷺ). And then I repented. So this was a difficult turning of the page for many of them. And some of them had a hard time reconciling with their past,

**[15:24]** believing that they were redeemable. Now, here's the thing. It's not just that, okay, I say, ashhadu an la ilaha illallah and I'm done and I don't have to reform. The reform is the testimony to the sincerity of the repentance. The reforming of the self is the testimony to the sincerity of the repentance.

**[15:43]** So I tell people, subhanAllah, you know the hadith of the man who killed 99 people and then he killed 100. When you hear that hadith, can you relate to it? Can you relate to that hadith? I'm trying to identify the murderers here while I sip my tea.

**[16:01]** Can anybody, does anyone hear that hadith and go, yeah, that sounds a little exaggerated, like killed 100 people, that kind of stuff. There were sahabah of the Prophet (ﷺ) that needed that hadith. They needed that hadith. Because if you're Khalid ibn al-Walid (رضي الله تعالى عنه),

**[16:17]** I killed 100 people, right? Like I've done these things. So the path to redemption had to be made clear to them because they needed to believe that they could be repaired, that they could be reformed. And this is the power of Islam.

**[16:33]** That generation of companions was not just the greatest generation of all time, but it's the greatest generation that rose out of Jahiliyyah, right? Like you look back, subhanAllah, at the battle of Badr, and this is mind-blowing, mind-blowing to me, right?

**[16:50]** It's an authentic narration. Alcohol was not yet forbidden. Khamr was not yet haram, right? Hamzah (رضي الله تعالى عنه), the hero of Badr. After Badr, what did he do? He drank wine. Like this is a process here.

**[17:07]** Wine was made haram after the martyrdom of Hamzah (رضي الله تعالى عنه), or slightly before. I don't remember the time period to Uhud right now. But the point is that they're growing. They're growing. And that's what makes them so incredible, that they grew out of this darkness

**[17:23]** and became the greatest generation of light that ever walked the face of the earth in any way possible, okay? So this is the first thing. Illa man taba wa amana You internalize. Wa 'amila 'amalan salihan

**[17:38]** And you do good deeds. You rectify. You reform, okay? Allah 'azza wa jal says, Fa'ula'ika yubaddilu allahu sayyi'atihim hasanat Verily, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala takes their sins, and He turns them into good deeds.

**[17:54]** Some of the scholars said, this is arja ayah fi kitabillah. This is the most hopeful verse in the book of Allah. Most of them said, Surah Az-Zumar [39:53] qul ya 'ibadiya alladhina asrafu 'ala anfusihim la taqnatu min rahmatillah is the most hopeful verse in the Quran. Some of them said, this is yubaddilu allahu sayyi'atihim hasanat That Allah would take their sins,

**[18:11]** and turn them into good deeds. So what is the tabdil here that's being spoken about? What is the change here that's being spoken about? Sa'id ibn Jubayr (رضي الله تعالى عنه) He says that what this is talking about is that Allah replaces the state and the direction of the person

**[18:28]** from sayyi'ah to hasanah The state and the direction of the person from sayyi'ah to hasanah from evil to good So he says, abdalahum bi-'ibadati al-awthan min 'ibadatillah Allah 'azza wa jal switched them from the state of worshipping idols

**[18:43]** to the state of worshipping Allah wa abdalahum bi-qitali al-muslimin qitalan ma'a al-muslimin lil-mushrikin From fighting against the Muslims to fighting alongside the Muslims against the disbelievers against their mutual opponents at that point like Khalid, 'Ikrimah, 'Amr al-'As

**[19:00]** Right? So Allah changed their state wa abdalahum bi-nikahi al-mushrikat nikaha al-mu'minat And Allah took them from impure relationships and instead replaced it with the pure relationships of matrimony Right? Marrying, believing women

**[19:16]** Imam Al-Hasan al-Basri (rahimahullah) said abdalahumu allahu bi-al-'amali as-sayyi' al-'amala as-salih wa abdalahum bi-ash-shirk ikhlasan wa abdalahum bi-al-fujur ihsanan wa bi-al-kufr islaman He said that Allah 'azza wa jal took their

**[19:33]** their state of committing evil deeds and made them perpetual good doers Allah took them from their shirk to a state of ikhlas sincerity in their worship of Allah Allah took them from their fujur their bursting in evil to purity and chastity

**[19:49]** wa bi-al-kufr islaman and from their state of disbelief to their state of Islam I start with that interpretation before I get to the most obvious one to say that 'Ibadur Rahman is talking about acquiring traits and there's something here about the direction that you take that when you repent from a sin

**[20:05]** you're not just repenting from a sin you're repenting from a sinful direction you're changing course, right and 'Ibadur Rahman is about embodying traits that are good states that yield good deeds none of these things that are mentioned of 'Ibadur Rahman

**[20:22]** are one-time good deeds they're good states that yield good deeds you reach a maqam you reach a station that yields the hasanat, right so this set of ayat is about changing state Now Abdullah ibn 'Abbas (رضي الله تعالى عنهما)

**[20:38]** he narrates that it's not just talking about that but it's talking about their bad deeds literally becoming good deeds their sins actually becoming good deeds and there are multiple ahadith to prove this point

**[20:54]** Abdullah ibn 'Amr al-'As (رضي الله تعالى عنهما) said that the Prophet (ﷺ) said that a man from my ummah will be called before all of creation on the day of judgment and 99 scrolls will be spread out for him each one of them extending to the end of his eyes

**[21:10]** all right sometimes you need a practical manifestation of this put yourself in the shoes of this person let's say that you have fines to pay you show up to pay your fines 99 scrolls of fines

**[21:27]** each one penalties each one to the end of your eyesight imagine it on the day of judgment those are your sins 99 scrolls of sins spread before your eyes and this person and this person

**[21:43]** as he is looking at this in this hadith Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says hal tunkiru min hadha shay'? do you deny any of this? do you deny any of this? and he says no oh lord and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says to him

**[22:00]** azhalamtuka katabati? have my angels wronged you? and the man says no they didn't wrong me like all of this is actually what I did and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will say

**[22:15]** and do you have anything to show for yourself? of good? so the Prophet (ﷺ) said the man will get terrified like i'm really like i don't have the good to be able to deal with all of these sins

**[22:40]** Allah says yes you actually do have a good that can compete with all of this evil and you will not be wronged today so the Prophet (ﷺ) says that Allah 'azza wa jal will bring out bitaqah a card

**[22:56]** that says on it ashhadu an la ilaha illallah wa anna muhammadan 'abduhu wa rasuluhu the shahadah and the man will say ya Rabb ma hadhihi al-bitaqah what is this card going to do with all of these scrolls of sins

**[23:13]** what's this going to do for me? so Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says innaka la tuzlam you will not be wronged and Allah 'azza wa jal puts the card on one side and he puts the scrolls on the other side and the card sends the scrolls of sins flying out

**[23:29]** this is an authentic hadith another hadith the Prophet (ﷺ) said i know the last of the people of fire to depart from the fire and the last of the people of paradise to enter into paradise

**[23:44]** so the Prophet (ﷺ) says that a man will be brought forth and he will say ask about his small sins and hide his large sins so it'll be said to him did you do this on the and this on such and such day

**[24:00]** did you do this and this on such and such day and the man as he's going through and he's admitting his sins and he's saying bala bala bala ya Rabb yes yes yes yes Allah 'azza wa jal will then say to him

**[24:15]** fa'inna laka makana kulli sayyi'atin hasanah in every one of those sinful places you have a good deed for me instead now there are multiple hadith in fact most of the chapters have about 20 to 30 hadith

**[24:31]** all that are completing one another the paraphrasing i'm reading the narration as it is here the paraphrasing is that in another narration did you make istighfar did you repent yes you repented right so that's why you have in every one of the places of that evil deed

**[24:48]** you have a good deed instead so Allah 'azza wa jal yubaddilu allahu sayyi'atin hasanat every single sin on the record then starts to transform into a good deed so imagine watching this happen before your eyes

**[25:03]** so the Prophet (ﷺ) would say that the man will say ya Rabb laqad 'amiltu ashya'an ma araha huna my lord i did some sins i don't see on these scrolls let me go back and think about some other sins that i committed

**[25:19]** and the Prophet (ﷺ) dahika 'alayhi as-salatu was-salam he laughed until his back teeth showed (ﷺ) recalling this moment ula'ika yubaddilu allahu sayyi'atihim hasanat is literal that when you make istighfar for a sin

**[25:35]** Allah 'azza wa jal turns it into a good deed now the 'ulama give all types of qualifications for this again it's directional if that sin became a catalyst for you turning back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala then you have the forgiveness of the sin

**[25:53]** and you have the good deed that went in its place that we'll talk about inshallah ta'ala because we said Allah 'azza wa jal will not punish a person beyond the sin that they committed on the day of judgment we explained what that means right? but here Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala

**[26:08]** has ways in which he builds your record of good deeds and the Prophet (ﷺ) said that my shafa'ah is for the major sinners of my ummah my intercession on the day of judgment is for the major sinners of my ummah here's the thing do you read that and go okay alhamdulillah

**[26:23]** i can do major sins now because i'm going to have the shafa'ah of the Prophet (ﷺ) or do you think if Allah is so merciful that he granted the shafa'ah of the messenger of Allah (ﷺ) on the day of judgment for ahlu al-kaba'ir for the people of major sins imagine what the shafa'ah of the Prophet (ﷺ)

**[26:39]** is for the one who did not do major sins imagine how much more the closeness to the messenger of Allah (ﷺ) is on the day of judgment right? so these are all means by which Allah 'azza wa jal shows

**[26:57]** that any sin no matter how major if it is repented from it actually can become a good deed as well another meaning of tabdil is actually tamkin it's actually Allah 'azza wa jal keeping something which is Allah preserving the good deeds of a person before they entered into Islam

**[27:16]** and this is an authentic hadith as well from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (رضي الله تعالى عنه) that the Prophet (ﷺ) said idha aslama al-'abdu fa hasuna islamuhu kataba allahu lahu kulla hasanatin kana azlafaha wa muhiyat 'anhu kullu sayyi'atin kana azlafaha

**[27:35]** thumma kana ba'da dhalika al-qisas al-hasanatu bi-'ashrati amthaliha ila sab'i mi'ati dhi'af and then he said was-sayyi'atu bi-mithliha illa an yatajawaza allahu 'azza wa jal 'anha

**[27:51]** he said (ﷺ) that if someone becomes Muslim all of the good deeds and their Islam is good all of the good deeds that they did before they became Muslim Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will preserve those good deeds for them and any sin that they committed is taken away

**[28:07]** and then after that the Prophet (ﷺ) said then it is the measure one good deed is rewarded by 10 up until 700 times up until of course when Allah whatever Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants and every sin is punished only exactly in accordance with that sin unless Allah

**[28:26]** subhanahu wa ta'ala forgives that sin so this is an incredible also hadith of hope you see someone becoming a Muslim and subhanAllah it's like a key was turned and all of the good that they did before they became Muslim all of it suddenly transfers into their accounts of good deeds for the akhirah and all of

**[28:46]** their sins are forgiven and so when someone starts to like accuse justice from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala they never have a problem with the grace of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala look at this incredible grace this incredible mercy that exists now again for the believer as well let's say that you slipped and

**[29:03]** you went into a dark phase of your life and you committed many sins for many years do those sins wipe out the good deeds that came before no the good deeds remain but the sins are a blockage once the sins are released from you all of those good deeds still remain as they are and the sins become good deeds as

**[29:20]** well so this is not something that's just exclusive to a person that's becoming Muslim you have to find the parallel to these things as well because these are rules that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has put for us to strive for then Allah 'azza wa jal says, wa man taba wa 'amila salihan fa'innahu yatubu ilallahi mataba

**[29:40]** and whoever repents and does good deeds then verily he truly returns to Allah in the way that he should you read that ayah and it's like it sounds like it's saying the same thing three times okay but Allah 'azza wa jal is emphasizing here

**[29:58]** wa man taba wa 'amila salihan so we'll start there whoever repents and then does good deeds fa'innahu yatubu ilallahi mataba then that is the person that truly returned to Allah the way that he should have been returned to

**[30:14]** what is this referring to if a person repents sincerely from a sin that necessitates that they have no intention of ever returning to that sin that they're not intending to persist in that sin that that person truly is

**[30:31]** turning back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and is not sinning like strategically planning out when to sin you know I'm going to Hajj in a month I'm gonna go to 'Umrah next week let me get these last few things out of the way right you don't sin strategically you don't say well let me say Astaghfirullah now let me put

**[30:48]** this away for Ramadan and then and Ramadan is coming around the corner may Allah 'azza wa jal allow us to reach it Allahumma ballighna Ramadan and be accepted in Allahumma ameen you know put it away for a month do you know how offensive that is I'm gonna put it away for a month right so 'Eid which is

**[31:04]** supposed to be a celebration of good deeds becomes a celebration of the return of those sins that's not tawbah that's not tawbah so Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is changing the way that we think about these things that a person who repents and does good deeds fa'innahu yatubu ilallahi mataba that that's a

**[31:22]** person that's truly turning to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala so it's about directional sincerity not sinlessness you'll never become sinless but directional sincerity towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala Allah 'azza wa jal is

**[31:39]** telling you not that you're never gonna fall again but that you should have the intention to stick to the path towards him right and that that is the proof of your repentance to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that you don't intend to choose

**[31:56]** that sin again and that if you fall into it again that that would come because of another slip and you have the same door back to Allah 'azza wa jal until Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala takes this takes your life away from you and that's why subhanAllah you know when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions here that he

**[32:15]** is 'Afuwwun Karim when we mentioned that he's 'Afuwwun Karim that he pardons and he's generous because it's not just that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala does not hold you to the sin that you committed it's that he still rewards you despite that sin that you committed so long as you turn back to him subhanahu wa ta'ala

**[32:31]** sincerely and one of those ayat in the Quran that he is the one who accepts the repentance from his servants so someone might say okay Allah accepted my repentance but is

**[32:46]** there some of the residue of my sin Allah 'azza wa jal says and Allah 'azza wa jal fully pardons the sins altogether right al-'afw is to wipe it out altogether and then a person might say but what if I'm

**[33:02]** going to fall again what if Allah 'azza wa jal knows of me that I still have the propensity to commit those sins again and what is the end of the ayah and Allah knows what you do Allah knows what you do so if you start to question

**[33:19]** Allah 'azza wa jal accepting your repentance then instead question whether you were sincere in that repentance and that's it that's it and as that person turns back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala then the mark of sincere tawbah is that that

**[33:38]** erased page that you've turned with Allah you're not going to fill up the next page now with the exact same sin that you had on that page halas it's done it's in the past and sometimes believers have a harder time forgiving themselves right they get plagued and shaytan will make you feel

**[33:57]** plagued by the sin that you committed and feel like there is no way that you can come back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala at this point and this is exactly what these ayat are addressing right so no matter what that sin is what's the direction that you have now taken away from that sin and 'Umar (رضي الله تعالى

**[34:15]** عنه) has a very practical way of us thinking about this he said if you disobey Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in a place then do not leave that place until you've obeyed Allah 'azza wa jal in the same place that you disobeyed him you know fill the places fill the cup of sin yubaddilu allahu sayyi'atihim hasanat

**[34:34]** fill the void that caused you to sin with a good deed in its place engage that part of you with a good deed in its place so for example I'm around bad friends that caused me to commit certain sins replace those bad friends with good

**[34:51]** friends okay I work in this job that causes me to engage in certain sins leave that job and look for a better job I fill my free time with this practice fill your free time with the worship of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala instead or at

**[35:09]** least find something that's neutral that's not going to cause you harm in the hereafter and this is of course one of the most famous ahadith it's one of the 18th hadith where the Prophet (ﷺ) said ittaqillaha haythuma kunta wa atbi' as-sayyi'ata al-hasanata tamhuha wa khaliq an-nasa bi-khuluqin hasan

**[35:29]** the Prophet (ﷺ) said fear Allah wherever you are and replace your sin with a good deed and it will wipe it out wa khaliq an-nasa bi-khuluqin hasan and treat people with good with good character with bi-khuluqin hasan

**[35:46]** now what I want you to think about of that second part and I'll leave you with this bi-idhnillahi ta'ala because we're going to get back into the characteristics inshallah ta'ala 'Ibadur Rahman next week and the things that you don't do if you notice Allah is telling us what 'Ibadur Rahman

**[36:05]** don't do and what they do do instead okay what I want you to think about is this when you commit a sin and you want to wipe that sin out go through the process that the Prophet (ﷺ) mentioned an-nadamu wa an-nadamatu tawbah he

**[36:21]** said (ﷺ) that regret is sincere repentance sit with that sin for a while and feel regret over committing that sin feel regret over committing that sin okay then al-istighfar right the Prophet (ﷺ) mentioned to seek forgiveness for that sin okay so you verbalize it then he taught us

**[36:42]** (ﷺ) that you resolve to never return to that sin again develop resolve wa lam yusirru 'ala ma fa'alu wa hum ya'lamun they do not intend they do not intend and they do not insist upon that sin knowingly then number four if it is someone that you hurt if it's a person

**[37:04]** that's involved rectify that wrongdoing with that person these are the four things that categorize repentance but what you can do is you could also pair you can also parallel those four things with four pathways of Ihsan

**[37:24]** an-nadamatu tawbah I tasted the bitterness of sin and I acknowledge it now what I'm going to do is I'm going to practice a good deed in its place until I taste the sweetness of that good deed please follow this track of thinking in

**[37:39]** shaa Allah ta'ala because the 'ulama mentioned when you're talking about these ways back there's always a level of Taqwa and there's a layer of Ihsan like piety and then there's Ihsan excellence I want to replace the bitterness of that sin with the sweetness of a good deed in its place okay so I'm gonna do a really hard good deed one that initially feels hard to do

**[37:59]** until I taste the sweetness of it Allah 'azza wa jal already because of the nadamah that you felt over the tawbah the regret you felt over the sin Allah 'azza wa jal already removed that sin from you but let me now also taste the sweetness of a good deed in its place number two the second thing was we said

**[38:15]** al-istighfar replace the istighfar of sin with the istighfar with the seeking forgiveness of naqs of deficiency what is the istighfar of naqs of deficiency it's the istighfar of the Prophet (ﷺ)

**[38:34]** when the Prophet (ﷺ) was seeking forgiveness not because of some sins that he committed but because he felt he felt like Allah 'azza wa jal deserves more from him that's why that's the istighfar you make after your prayer astaghfirullah astaghfirullah astaghfirullah istighfar

**[38:54]** because I could have done better I could do more afala akunu 'abdan shakuran should I not be a more grateful servant so replace the istighfar with sin of course you still should make istighfar for sin but with the good deeds that you're now doing you know that 'umrah

**[39:09]** could have been better that salah could have been better the intention for that 'ilm could have been better that charity could have been done in a more beautiful way Allah astaghfiruka wa atubu ilayk I seek your forgiveness because I don't feel like I'm doing good enough you know Sufyan ath-Thawri (rahimahullah)

**[39:27]** he mentions in the ayah something so beautiful it sticks with me especially in Ramadan wa bi-al-ashar hum yastaghfirun and in the last part of the night they're seeking forgiveness he said subhanAllah that there's a time at night where there are two groups of people that meet in their istighfar

**[39:43]** you have the people that woke up earlier and started praying and now they're ending the night with istighfar because they don't feel like their prayer was enough and then you have the people that are waking up that didn't pray and they're seeking forgiveness for not praying and for the sins that

**[40:02]** they've committed so he said if you can't join the lovers in their love then join the sinners in their regrets if you can't join the lovers in their love then join the sinners in their regret so bi-al-ashar hum yastaghfirun there's the second layer of istighfar which is seeking forgiveness for a good deed but

**[40:21]** my good deed wasn't good enough it could have been better for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wa lam yusirru 'ala ma fa'alu wa hum ya'lamun resolve to not commit a sin replace it with resolve to do a good deed wa'mur ahlaka bi-as-salah

**[40:38]** wastabir 'alayha patience with a good deed resolve to do a good deed how quick do we make an excuse to give up a good deed you know I really wanted to start doing this thing but something happened never mind I really wanted to start going to this halaqah but it was cold outside apparently right I really wanted

**[40:57]** to start coming to 'Ibadur Rahman but there were no more seats that were left next week I'm not gonna come right I really wanted to keep going to this masjid I really wanted to keep I really you know I told myself I'm gonna memorize Quran I told my and then you know a week or two past never mind right

**[41:13]** so replace the resolve to never go back to a sin with the resolve to stay upon a good deed and the fourth mirror is if you have harmed someone do good deeds

**[41:29]** for people who have done nothing for you and from whom you have no expectation so that your record with people on the day of judgment is always you doing more you did more for them right innama nut'imukum li-wajhillahi la nuridu

**[41:48]** minkum jaza'an wa la shukuran we feed you only for the purpose of Allah we do not want from you any type of payment or any type of gratitude we'll seek that from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala instead may Allah allow us to be amongst those people who repent to him who directionally turn our adoration towards

**[42:07]** him may Allah 'azza wa jal replace our sinful behaviors with good behaviors and replace our sins with good deeds Allahumma ameen jazakumullahu khayran inshallah ta'ala I will see you all next week wasalamu 'alaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh

**[42:23]** you

## Other Episodes in "Servants of the Most Merciful"
- [Du’a for Marriage and Children | Servants of the Most Merciful Ep. 10](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/servants-of-the-most-merciful/servants-of-the-most-merciful-episode-10-dua-for-marriage-and-children.md)
- [How To Really Revere the Qur’an | Servants of the Most Merciful Ep. 9](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/servants-of-the-most-merciful/how-to-really-revere-the-quran-servants-of-the-most-merciful-episode-9.md)
- [Silence In The Face of Sin | Servants of the Most Merciful Ep. 8](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/servants-of-the-most-merciful/servants-of-the-most-merciful-ep-8-silence-in-the-face-of-sin.md)
- [Understanding Major Sins in Islam | Servants of the Most Merciful Ep. 6](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/servants-of-the-most-merciful/understanding-major-sins-in-islam-servants-of-the-most-merciful-ep-6.md)
- [What Your Spending Habits Say About You | Servants of the Most Merciful Ep. 5](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/servants-of-the-most-merciful/what-your-spending-habits-say-about-you-servants-ep-5.md)
- [How Believers Protect Themselves from Pride | Servants of the Most Merciful Ep. 4](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/servants-of-the-most-merciful/how-believers-protect-themselves-from-pride-servants-of-the-most-merciful-ep-4.md)
- [Those Who Bow When the World Sleeps | Servants of the Most Merciful Ep. 3](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/servants-of-the-most-merciful/those-who-bow-when-the-world-sleeps-servants-of-the-most-merciful-ep-3.md)
- [Training Your Temper and Responding to Insults | Servants of the Most Merciful Ep. 2](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/servants-of-the-most-merciful/training-your-temper-and-responding-to-insults-servants-of-the-most-merciful-ep-2.md)
- [Those Who Walk on the Earth Humbly | Servants of the Most Merciful Ep. 1](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/servants-of-the-most-merciful/those-who-walk-on-the-earth-humbly-servants-of-the-most-merciful-ep-1.md)