The Door of Hope: Understanding Tawbah and Istighfar - Maulana Syed Muhammad Rizvi

Friday Juma KhutbaOctober 24th, 2025- After discussing gratitude to Allah, the topic moves to repentance and seeking forgiveness.- The Qur’an mentions repentance about 80 times and forgiveness about 20 times.- Repentance and forgiveness are the first steps in spiritual cleansing, just as water cleanses the body.- Allah loves those who repent and those who purify themselves.- Without repentance, humans would be doomed; it is the door of hope that leads to forgiveness.- Allah told Adam that evil intentions are not recorded unless acted upon, while good intentions are rewarded even if not carried out.- A single good deed is multiplied tenfold, and sins are forgiven if followed by seeking forgiveness.- The door of repentance remains open until the final moments of life.- The Qur’an (39:53) reminds believers not to despair of Allah’s mercy, as He forgives all sins.- The phrase “astaghfirullāh” is powerful and brings blessings.- Imam ‘Ali advised people to seek forgiveness for problems such as poverty, infertility, and lack of rain.- He recited verses from Prophet Nūḥ stating that seeking forgiveness brings rain, wealth, children, gardens, and rivers.- It is recommended to recite “astaghfirullāh” one hundred times daily.- The first act of repentance came from Adam and Ḥawwa after being deceived by Shayṭān, which was not a sin but leaving the better option.- Adam felt remorse and wanted forgiveness, and Allah taught him the words of repentance and forgave him.- According to narrations, Adam was taught to say, “By the right of Muhammad, Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, and Husayn, forgive me,” and Allah accepted his repentance.- Allāmah Ṭabāṭabā’ī explains that these names represent divine lights and intermediaries through whom Allah’s grace reaches creation.- Adam saw the lights of the Prophet and his Ahl al-Bayt when he was taught the names, and the angels recognized their greatness and submitted to Allah’s wisdom.Donate towards our programs today: https://jaffari.org/donate/Jaffari Community Centre (JCC Live)