MAGHFIRAH – مغفرة

 

Allah's pardoning sin. Allah’s pardon, forgiveness and grace. One who has attained the level of mercy due to Allah’s covering and concealing of his sins through His Rahmah.

 

“Together with pointing out to mankind in the samâwî scriptures great rewards like Jannah and terrible punishments like Jahannam, Janâb-i Haqq gives guidance, and many admonishments, reminders, threats and encouragement. Despite, there are so many causes of hidâyah and istiqâmah, the people of îmân are defeated in the face of the feeble, repellent wiles of shaytan's party, which are without merit. At one time this caused me much thought. How is it, I wondered, that while they have îmân, they pay no attention to Janâb-i Haqq's severe threats? How have they not lost their îmân? According to the mystery of the âyah, اِنَّ كَيْدَ الشَّيْطَانِ كَانَ ضَعِيفًا 1 they are carried away by shaytan's weak wiles, and rebel against Allah. Some of my own friends, even, although they affirmed a hundred lessons of haqiqah they had received from me by heart and had an excessively good opinion of me and relations with me, were carried away by the unimportant and hypocritical compliments of a corrupt person who had no heart and assumed a position in favour of him and against me. “Fasubhanallah!”, I exclaimed, "can man fall so low? What a false man he was." I had a ghiybah of the man and committed a sin.

Later, the haqiqah explained in the previous Indications unfolded and illuminated many obscure points. Lillahilhamd, through its nûr I understood both that Al-Qur’an Al-Hakîm's powerful encouragement and assurances are completely in place, and that the people of îmân being deceived by the wiles of shaytan is not due to lack of îmân or weakness of îmân. I understood too that one who commits kabâir does not become a kâfir, and that the Mu'tazilites and some Kharijite sects are in error by stating that "Someone who commits a kabâir either becomes a kâfir or is in a state between îmân and kufr," and that unfortunate friend of mine sacrificing a hundred lessons of haqiqah to win the attention of such a scoundrel was not despicable abasement and degeneration; I offered shukr to Janâb-i Haqq and was saved from the abyss. Because as I said before, through some insignificant matter pertaining to non-existence, shaytan throws man into serious peril. Moreover, man's nafs always listens to shaytan. And his quwwa ash-shahawiyyah and quwwa al-ghadhabiyyah are like both receivers and transmitters of shaytan's wiles.

It is because of this that Janâb-i Haqq's two Names like Ghafûr and Rahîm are turned to the people of îmân with a maximum manifestation. And He shows in Al-Qur’an Al-Hakîm that His greatest bounty to the prophets is maghfirah and calls on them to istighfâr.2 Through repeating the blessed word, بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ at the start of every Surah and ordering it to dhikr at the commencement of all blessed works, He shows that His all-encompassing rahmah embraces the universe and is a stronghold and place of refuge. And through the command, فَاسْتَعِذْ 3 , He makes a shield of the phrase, "A‘ûzu billahi minashshaytanirrajîm"4 ” The Flashes ( 107 )