Incredible Power of Istighfar

After every affliction

What has our Lord shown you? What is the tradition of Allah?

The tradition of Allah (Blessed and Exalted be He) is that whenever a calamity befalls us He will save us from it

He (Exalted be He) rescues us

Tell me about one calamity that lasts

None whatsoever. No calamity befalls us but that Allah only puts an end to it

How many wars have there been and Allah (Exalted be He) has ended it!

How many financial difficulties that Allah (Exalted be He) has relieved us of!

Many plagues and pandemics have ravaged the world throughout history that were worse and more severe than today’s Allah removed them

All were removed by Allah (Exalted be He)

And indeed, today’s pandemic will end and become memories

This is the tradition of Allah (Exalted be He)

But all we want from you is to help speed the relief

that the calamity/pandemic will sooner be relieved

Sooner rather than later

You may say: and what can I do? There is nothing in my hands!

Who says there’s nothing you can do?

There are so many things that you could do

And even when you say I’ve done everything in my power

I have done everything asked of me

With regard to worldly means, yes

I’m talking about divine reasons

Both are needed

Sure, we don’t abandon material means such as treatment, prevention, and seeking provision, etc.

But divine reasons are much stronger. Why?

As it can relieve not only you but all people of calamity

It’s thanks to you that the calamity may be relieved from us all

Therefore, you have to seek both

Worldly and divine reasons

Worldly means such as prevention, treatment seeking, seeking provision, all are things you can do in this this world

But now we are talking about what you can do related to the divine

What divine reasons could I seek?

Seek Allah’s help; supplicate Him for us all to save us

Do not belittle such supplications, as they are great in the sight of Allah (Exalted be He)

that Allah (Exalted be He) orders to be raised to the heavens

As he (Exalted be He) said: “To Him ascends good speech, and righteous work raises it” (Fatir 35:10)

So beware, what you say will be ascended to heavens

So, stick to Istighfar (asking for Allah’s forgiveness)

As Allah (Exalted be He) honors Istighfar (seeking Allah’s forgiveness)

He (Exalted be He) loves forgiveness and those asking for it that they might be supposed to have a particular illness or have an accident as a punishment

But instead, thanks to seeking Allah’s forgiveness, the punishment was averted from them

A particular calamity was supposed to befall them as a punishment but they were saved from it

And it may be averted from this person alone or from all of his people

Even if the reasons for such calamity were prepared, it could be averted

For A Powerful Supplication

The question that arises here is:

Is the punishment averted from whoever asks Allah’s forgiveness?

No, not every supplication for seeking forgiveness prevents calamity

It depends on the power of the supplication

If it is powerful it will have a powerful effect

And if the supplication for asking forgiveness is powerless then it will have little or no effect

So, what would make my supplication of asking Allah’s forgiveness powerful and effective?

Is it about the numbers of supplications that I recite?

No.

There’re tow things that make your supplication for forgiveness powerful:

First: presence of heart

Some people supplicate with their tongue while the heart is heedless; occupied with something other than the supplication

Some of them don’t understand the meaning of what they are asking Allah for

So, what is the meaning of Istighfar (asking Allah’s forgiveness)

The word “istighfar” is derived from the word “mighfar”

Which means a helmet that a fighter wears and it serves two purposes:

Covering the head

And the second purpose is to protect the head from swords strikes

And the effect of “mighfar”  is a critical protective equipment of fighters against swords and arrows

So, as the helmet protects and covers the wearer

So does forgiveness; serving two purposes

screening the sin from being exposed

And the second is the pardon of sin

So it won’t harm you

As some people may be pardoned, and yet are disgraced in this world

We ask Allah for protection

There are those whose sins are screened, but Allah didn’t grant them pardon

Forgiveness means the sin is screened, and wiped away from you so it won’t harm you

So, when you supplicate for Allah’s forgiveness remember this meaning

These two things, screening and pardoning

The second thing that can make your supplication for forgiveness powerful

Is choosing the right words

There are many ways of asking for forgiveness

But the best among them are those from the Qur’an and Sunnah

Such as “I beseech Allah for forgiveness,” and “O Allah, forgive me”

“Our Lord, forgive us our sins and the excess (committed) in our affairs” (Aal `Imran 3:147)

Sayyed Al-Istighfar

There are many prayers for forgiveness that you can look them up

Of all the ways of asking for Allah’s forgiveness there’s a chief

The most superior one

It is called the best supplication for seeking forgiveness (Sayyed al-Istighfar)

The well-known supplication: “(O Allah! You are my lord. There is no true god except You….”

You can look it up later, all of you know it

Brothers and sisters, every calamity that befallen our lives in the past Allah had removed it

Except for one calamity

The greatest calamity ever

The calamity that continues to afflict us

The greatest loss we have ever faced; it is the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family)

Our hearts have been broken ever since his body was buried (peace be upon him)

During the life time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) Allah was protecting this nation just for being alive among us

By the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) being alive

who to the believers he is kind and merciful

Now that he is gone, what’s left for us?

nothing except seeking Allah’s forgiveness

Allah (Exalted be He) said: “But Allah would not punish them while you, (O Muhammad), are among them” (Al-Anfal 8:33)

And Allah the almighty said: “and Allah would not punish them while they seek forgiveness” (Al-Anfal 8:33)