THIS PAGE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
Seeking forgiveness-Istighfar
***what does it mean to say astaghfirullah "I seek forgiveness from God":
-asking for forgiveness for one's mistakes and shortcomings and asking for increase in the situation we would wish for instead
-Al-Ghafuur (The Much-Forgiving) (same root as istighfar)
-GhaFaRa (the triliteral root of istiGhFaR and astaGhFiRu and GhaFooR) means both forgiveness and increasing in bounty/blessings
***when do we say astaghfirullah:
-when we fail to see the ihsan (goodness and beauty) in a situation-when our perspective is less than that of a muhsin (one who sees nothing but goodness and beauty)
-when we look at things in mana-i ismi (self-referential meaning) rather than mana-i harfi (other-indicative meaning), i.e. we get lost in the cause and effect relationships (daira-i asbab), instead of seeing all causes and effects created directly by God for us on purpose for each of our individual growths and not because we happened to run into a certain "cause" (which can be people and actions)
-when we think or feel negatively about others,
why?
because we failed to see the ihsan in there: why did God decree for me to be in that situation where I was in contact with that person; what lessons do I have to learn; perhaps I need to pray for that person rather than judging them, etc..
***istighfar vs tawba:
-tawba, repentance is when you have been acting/behaving wrong and you decide to turn around and change your ways completely.
-Istighfar could be before you act upon it, it could be a response to any negative feeling or thought, expressing you do not want to go/act in that direction
يَا بَنِيَّ اذْهَبُواْ فَتَحَسَّسُواْ مِن يُوسُفَ وَأَخِيهِ وَلاَ تَيْأَسُواْ مِن رَّوْحِ اللّهِ إِنَّهُ لاَ يَيْأَسُ مِن رَّوْحِ اللّهِ إِلاَّ الْقَوْمُ الْكَافِرُونَ (12:87)
· 12:87 (Asad) [Hence,] O my sons, go forth and try to obtain some tidings of Joseph and his brother; and do not lose hope of God's life-giving mercy: [88] verily, none but people who deny the truth can ever lose hope of God's life-giving mercy.
***istighfar and hamd (praise in gratitude): why are they the two wings of a bird:
-we cannot fulfill hamd to its fullest unless we are in a state of ihsan-seeing good everywhere in all creation-
-we need to do istighfar whenever we fail from the state of ihsan which when we do tawba and turn around from that attitude will lead us to hamd instead of complaining, getting angry, fearful, etc (negative feelings and thoughts)
-what we fall short in, we respond to our own selves (thoughts, actions, etc) with istighfar, what we accomplish, we respond to our own selves with hamd
-why we fail to fly without both wings:
let's talk about this :) :)
--> CLICK FOR THE NEXT PAGE: C. Glorification exercises
Seeking forgiveness-Istighfar
***what does it mean to say astaghfirullah "I seek forgiveness from God":
-asking for forgiveness for one's mistakes and shortcomings and asking for increase in the situation we would wish for instead
-Al-Ghafuur (The Much-Forgiving) (same root as istighfar)
-GhaFaRa (the triliteral root of istiGhFaR and astaGhFiRu and GhaFooR) means both forgiveness and increasing in bounty/blessings
***when do we say astaghfirullah:
-when we fail to see the ihsan (goodness and beauty) in a situation-when our perspective is less than that of a muhsin (one who sees nothing but goodness and beauty)
-when we look at things in mana-i ismi (self-referential meaning) rather than mana-i harfi (other-indicative meaning), i.e. we get lost in the cause and effect relationships (daira-i asbab), instead of seeing all causes and effects created directly by God for us on purpose for each of our individual growths and not because we happened to run into a certain "cause" (which can be people and actions)
-when we think or feel negatively about others,
why?
because we failed to see the ihsan in there: why did God decree for me to be in that situation where I was in contact with that person; what lessons do I have to learn; perhaps I need to pray for that person rather than judging them, etc..
***istighfar vs tawba:
-tawba, repentance is when you have been acting/behaving wrong and you decide to turn around and change your ways completely.
-Istighfar could be before you act upon it, it could be a response to any negative feeling or thought, expressing you do not want to go/act in that direction
يَا بَنِيَّ اذْهَبُواْ فَتَحَسَّسُواْ مِن يُوسُفَ وَأَخِيهِ وَلاَ تَيْأَسُواْ مِن رَّوْحِ اللّهِ إِنَّهُ لاَ يَيْأَسُ مِن رَّوْحِ اللّهِ إِلاَّ الْقَوْمُ الْكَافِرُونَ (12:87)
· 12:87 (Asad) [Hence,] O my sons, go forth and try to obtain some tidings of Joseph and his brother; and do not lose hope of God's life-giving mercy: [88] verily, none but people who deny the truth can ever lose hope of God's life-giving mercy.
***istighfar and hamd (praise in gratitude): why are they the two wings of a bird:
-we cannot fulfill hamd to its fullest unless we are in a state of ihsan-seeing good everywhere in all creation-
-we need to do istighfar whenever we fail from the state of ihsan which when we do tawba and turn around from that attitude will lead us to hamd instead of complaining, getting angry, fearful, etc (negative feelings and thoughts)
-what we fall short in, we respond to our own selves (thoughts, actions, etc) with istighfar, what we accomplish, we respond to our own selves with hamd
-why we fail to fly without both wings:
let's talk about this :) :)
--> CLICK FOR THE NEXT PAGE: C. Glorification exercises