The first sermon of the Friday prayer on 17th January, 1997 CE. / 8th Ramadan, 1417 A.H.
The following is the full text of the speech delivered as the first sermon of the Friday prayer on January 17, 1997 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, at the beginning of the holy month of Ramadhan. In this sermon, the worldly and transcendental effects of committing sins are elucidated on, and with regard to their effects, the importance of forgiveness, as a blessing and a means to destroy the effects of sins, is elaborated on. Moreover, the “barriers to seeking forgiveness”, which are “negligence” and “pride”, are expanded upon in this part. In addition, the two issues of pleading for “a real and thoughtful forgiveness” as well as seeking for “a general forgiveness” are spoken of at the end of this sermon.
In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful
All praise is due to God, Whom we praise, from Whom we seek help, from Whom we draw the power, and Whom we rely on, and peace and greetings be upon His beloved and noble one, the best among His servants, the protector of His secret, the promoter of His message, our master and Prophet, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, upon his immaculate, pure and chosen household, and upon those who guide the guided, especially the one remaining with God on earth. And greetings be upon the Imams of the Muslims, those who support the oppressed and those who guide the faithful. All-Wise God says in His book: “In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful. Whoever commits evil or wrongs himself and then pleads to God for forgiveness, will find God all-forgiving, all-merciful”[1],[2]
May the holy month of Ramadhan – which is the month of God, repentance, invocation, seeking for forgiveness and help – be blessed for all of you and all Muslims of the world. And at the beginning of this sermon, in which I will mention some points about the importance of this month, I advise all the dear worshippers to observe piety. Because this is the month of piety, and fasting is a means of piety, and piety is surely the believer’s investment for this world and the Hereafter, both for the believer and the devout community. And we hope that in this month, God grants this valuable investment to us and to the great Islamic society of Iran and makes us enjoy it. In the supplication which has been recommended for this month, we recite, “This is the month of turning to You (in penitence), this is the month of repentance, this is the month of forgiveness and mercy, this is the month of release from Hellfire”[3]. This month is the month of repentance, forgiveness, and returning to God. Today, on this occasion, I will address some points about seeking forgiveness in the first sermon.
Seeking forgiveness: the opening of the door of divine blessings
“Seeking forgiveness” means seeking mercy and divine pardon for sins. Such a forgiveness, if properly done, would open the door of divine blessings towards mankind. All of what an individual human being and a human society require of divine benefactions – such as divine bounties, divine mercy, divine lightness, divine guidance, divine grace, divine aid in doing things and gaining achievements in various fields – are blocked from our reach by the sins we commit. Sin becomes a veil between us and divine mercy or divine bounties. Pleading for forgiveness takes away this veil and opens a route to divine mercy and its bounties. This is the benefit of seeking for forgiveness. Hence, in Qur’anic verses, you see in several places worldly benefits and sometimes the benefits of the hereafter are stated for beseeching forgiveness. For example, “Plead with your Lord for forgiveness, then turn to Him penitently: He will send copious rains for you from the sky.”[4],[5] Similar examples are in many verses of the Qur’an. It is perfectly understandable and justifiable that the path to all these divine benefactions, because of seeking forgiveness, is opened to the heart of man, human body, and human society. Therefore, seeking forgiveness is important.
Seeking forgiveness, itself, is in fact a part of repentance; and repentance means to return to God. In other words, one of the pillars of repentance is seeking forgiveness which means beseeching pardon from the Exalted God. This is one of the great divine blessings. That is, God the Almighty has opened the door of repentance to His servants so that they can move forward to perfection and their sins do not overpower them, as sins pull man down from the height of human exaltation.
The spiritual effects of committing sins in human beings
Each sin damages the human soul. Surely, sins damage human dignity, spirituality, spiritual progress, luminosity of the human soul, and blind the spirit. They tarnish that aspect of spirituality that exists in man, which is the source of human’s differentiation from the rest of the beings of this material universe, and bring him close to the station of animals, and to that of inanimate objects. Sin is like this.
The worldly and social impacts of committing sin
Sins in human life, in addition to the spiritual aspect, bring in failure and losses. There are many opportunities for human progress in which human beings fail due to the sins they have committed. Of course, these all have scientific and philosophical justifications; and these are not mere words or phrases. All of these have a scientific and a psychological justification. How does sin paralyze a human and make him immobile? Consider in the battle of Uhud, due to the fault of a group of Muslims, the original victory turned into a defeat. First, they won in the battle of Uhud but after the archers, who should have stayed positioned on the mountain side and kept the flank invulnerable, left their trenches in favor of spoils of war and ran downhill to the battlefield. The enemy exploited this move, conducted a raid on the Muslims and overran their flank and rear; this is what caused the defeat.
In the surah of Āl-i ʿImrān, there are several verses, one after another, regarding this issue. Perhaps, ten, twelve or more verses of the surah of Āl-i ʿImrān is about the same case of defeat because the Muslims were extremely upset and uneasy; this defeat was very heavy for them. The Qur’anic verses likewise calmed them down, guided them and made them understand why they suffered this defeat and explained to them how this incident occurred. It comes to this verse, stating, “Those of you who fled on the day when the two hosts met, only Satan had made them stumble because of some of their deeds.”[6],[7]. That is, if you see some of you in the battle of Uhud turned their back on the enemy and were defeated, it was because the ground for this was prepared for in advance; they had internal flaws. “Only Satan had made them stumble because of some of their deeds”[8],[9]. That is, the ill-effects of old sins showed up on the battlefront.
On the military front, on the political front, in opposing the enemy, in advancing construction and education, in where straightforwardness is desirable, in where precise understanding is required, on the minute one should be as sharp as a sword’s blade cutting through the obstacles and nothing should stop him, the sins show up. Of course, this is about the sins for which one had not sought a sincere repentance and a real forgiveness for. In this surah, there is another verse expressing the same meaning in another way. That is, when the Qur’an wants to say: well, it is not surprising that you did not win the battle; you had a problem on the battlefront; such things happen and they are not new. It states, “How many a prophet there has been with whom a multitude of godly men fought. They did not falter for what befell them in the way of God, neither did they weaken, nor did they abase themselves”[10],[11]. That is, what is going on? The defeat of Uhud has shocked you, got you so upset, made you feel weak. Some of you feel desperate because a dozen have been killed. Truly, the previous prophets also faced problems on the battlefields; but, they did not feel weak nor were they despirited because of what had happened. Then, it adds, “All that they said was, ‘Our Lord, forgive us our sins, and our excesses in our affairs…”[12],[13]. This means, in the past, once the prophets’ companions and disciples suffered a disaster in the battles and in various events, they prayed to the Lord, saying, “Our Lord, forgive us our sins, and our excesses in our affairs”[14],[15]. This, in fact, indicates that an incident or a disaster happens mainly due to the effects of the sins you have committed. This is a matter of sins.
So, you see! The sins that human beings commit, these various misconducts, which are caused by sensuality, covetousness, attachment to material possessions, adherence to worldly positions, feeling miserliness toward one’s possessions – sins may also stem from other things, such as jealousy, close-fistedness, greediness, lust and wrath, these various sins have two certain impacts on human existence: one is the spiritual impact which makes the soul lose its spirituality and removes its luminosity. In other terms, it weakens spirituality in humans and blocks the path to God’s mercy; this is the first effect. Secondly, in the context of social struggles, through the ups and downs of life, where it requires perseverance and resistance to manifest the authority of the will of mankind, these sins detain them; and if there is no other factor to compensate for this weakness, these sins subdue them. Of course, sometimes there are other factors, for instance, a good trait or a good deed in humans may compensate it. The discussion isn’t on those cases; sins, on their own, have these effects.
Seeking forgiveness, a divine blessing to destroy the effects of sins
In this regard, God the Almighty has given a great blessing to man, and that blessing is the blessing of pardon. He says if you do a wrongdoing, its effect will definitely take place; as if you entered a microbe in your body, contracting a disease is inevitable. You wounded your body, this is inevitable. If you want to eliminate the effect of this injury, this disease, to heal, God the Exalted has opened a door and that is the door of repentance. It is the door of seeking forgiveness. It is the door of penitence. It is the return to Him. God the Almighty will compensate it. This is the great blessing that God the Exalted has bestowed upon us.
In the supplication of Bidding Farewell to the Holy Month of Ramadhan, which is the forty-fifth supplication of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, there is a statement in which Imam Sajjad (as) addresses the Holiest Essence[16], “It is You who have opened for Your servants a door to Your pardon, which You have named ‘repentance’. You have placed upon that door a pointer from Your revelation, lest they stray from it”[17]. You have placed a guide, from the Qur’an, from the revelation, so that Your servants do not go astray from it; this denotes the verses of the Qur’an. After some words, the Imam adds, “What is the excuse of him who remains heedless of entering that house after the opening of the door and the setting up of the pointer?”[18] What is man’s excuse for not using the opening of this door and not enjoying divine pardon? To have divine pardon, you need to plead for forgiveness; that is, beseech pardon. You must plead for pardon from God the Almighty.
I will read a tradition narrated from the Prophet of Islam (saw). I have written it down here that according to this tradition, the Prophet (saw) has said, “God the Exalted forgives the sinners except the one who does not want to be forgiven.”[19],[20] According to this narration, one day, the Prophet (saw) told his companions that the Almighty God forgives the sinners except those who do not wish to be forgiven. Then, the companion asked, “they said, ‘O’ the Messenger of God! Who is the one who does not like to be forgiven?’”[21],[22] “He said, ‘The one who does not ask for forgiveness.’”[23],[24] Therefore, the key to repentance is seeking forgiveness, and it is also the key to pardon. One can gain divine pardon through seeking forgiveness. Seeking forgiveness is this important. Istighfaar, that is to say, beseeching God for pardon.
Now, I will mention two or three short points in this regard – God willing, this may be the means by which we will take advantage of this month of Ramadhan to take a few steps toward the Almighty God and use this divine mercy that is very necessary and useful for the world and the hereafter of our nation, our community and the advancement in these diverse fields that are before us.
Barriers to obtaining forgiveness
- Negligence
One point is that if we are to seek forgiveness and obtain this divine blessing, we need to remove two traits from ourselves: one is negligence and the other is pride. Negligence, that is, man does not understand the whole picture; he is not aware that he is committing sins; like some people. I do not say ‘many’; for this point, it doesn’t matter if there are few or many. In some communities, many people may be like this. There may be fewer people in other communities. Anyhow, there is this kind of person in the world, among human beings, who is negligent. He commits sins; yet, he is not aware it is a wrongdoing he is committing. He tells lies, conspires, backbites, makes mischief, does harm, destroys things, commits murder, incriminates various innocent people on a false charge, on the more distant horizons and on the broader scale, he has dreadful dreams for the nation and misleads people; he is not aware at all that he is committing these wrongdoings. If someone tells him that he is committing sins, he may carefreely chortle and ridicule, “Sin?! What sin? What are you saying?”
Now, these people are negligent. Some do not even believe in reward and punishment. Some of them have some idea of reward and punishment, but are drowned in a state of carelessness, not realizing what they are doing. If we look closely at our everyday life, we will see that some of our state of affairs are similar to that of these negligent people. Negligence is a very strange thing; it is a very big danger. Perhaps, for man, there is no greater danger than negligence; there is no enemy greater than negligence. Some are like this. Well, the negligent man will never think of seeking forgiveness. He does not think that he is committing sins. He is drowned in sins; he is drunken; he is asleep; he is truly like a person who walks in his sleep. Therefore, the people of moral ethics, in expressing the mystics’ phases concerning ethicism and refinement of the soul, names this phase – in which man seeks to abandon negligence – as the phase of “attentiveness”[25] or vigilance. In the Qur’anic terminology, piety is the opposite of negligence. Piety means to be vigilant and constantly be watchful of yourself. If a negligent person commits tens of sins and is not aware of them, the pious person is the complete opposite of him. If he commits a few sins, he instantly feels that he has committed them and thinks of compensating for them. “When those who are Godwary are touched by a visitation of Satan”[26],[27]. As soon as Satan passes by him, just as Satan’s shadow falls upon him or a breath of Satan’s wind begins to blow on him, he instantly discerns that he has been infiltrated by Satan, made mistakes, and fallen into negligence. “They remember [God] and, behold, they perceive.”[28],[29]. Such a person’s eyes are wide open.
This negligence is an obstacle to pleading for forgiveness; it is a great hindrance to seeking for forgiveness. Look, My dear brothers and sisters! Whoever you are; this address is not to a certain group of people – for instance, those who are inexperienced, less-educated, young or fledgling, etc. – no; everyone, even elders, scholars, scientists, prominent figures, personages, grandees, commoners, the rich, the poor, every person must be aware that negligence may sometime or at times come upon them; they may become negligent and reckless. They commit sin; yet, they do not feel it. This is a very important thing.
Since we are not aware that we are committing sins, we do not repent and seek forgiveness for the sin which you and I commit and do not feel. Then, on the Day of Resurrection, once our eyes are opened, we see what things are recorded in the book of our deeds! We will be pretty astounded. “When did I do these deeds?” We will not be able to remember at all. This is the sin of negligence; this is the worry of negligence. Therefore, one obstacle to obtaining forgiveness is negligence.
- Pride
The second is pride or self-conceit. One does a little thing and becomes proud. In the interpretations of supplications and narrations, it is referred to as, “getting conceited with God”[30]. In this supplication of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya – the forty-sixth supplication – which is recited on Fridays, there is a very shocking phrase. I have written it down here, the Imam[31] (as) states, “and the most wretched wretchedness to him who is deluded about You! How much he will move about in Your chastisement! How long he will frequent Your punishment! How far his utmost end from relief! How he will despair of an easy exit!”[32],[33] According to this narration, whoever gets pride in his deeds will be in a state of “getting conceited with God”[34]. This is so. He would be exiled from contentment; he would enjoy a very short source of relief and well-being. Why? For the reason that the very small thing he does, for example, if he says two units of prayer, offers a service to the people, gives alms or does something in the cause of God, he immediately becomes proud that, “I have brought myself to account before God the Almighty and my account of deeds is settled. I do not need anything.” He may not utter this, but in his heart, he believes it.
To disparage sins; be careful, that the Almighty God has opened the door of repentance and says He pardons sins does not mean that sins are slight and pardonable, or they are minor, no. Sometimes sins lay waste to and destroy all the true existence of human beings. A human being, at the highest level of human life, is transformed into an unflattering, filthy animal. Sins are so. Do not imagine that sins are unimportant; this lying, backbiting, disregarding the dignity of human beings, oppressing – even if you oppress a person just with words – are not slight and pardonable, nor they are allowable.
It is not necessary for a person to feel guilty that he should have been drowning in sins for many years. No, a sin is a sin; you should not belittle sins. In the narrations, there is a category for “the underestimation of sins”[35] in which belittling sins is reproached.
The reason that God the Exalted says, “He may forgive” is that the return to God is very important; it does not mean that sin is minor or slight. Sin is a very dangerous thing. Yet, returning to God, paying attention to Him and remembering Him are so important that if anyone does it honestly and truly, the terminal illness will be definingly cured.
So, being enticed by or being proud of our good deeds – which we, here and now, imagine or perceive them to be upright, the ‘good’ deeds may not be so good or very important in reality – should be avoided. Such an enticement would cause you to not seek forgiveness. In another part of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, the Imam says, “But You, my God, are worthy that the righteous not be deluded concerning You”[36],[37]. This is what Imam Sajjad (as) states. See what wording and knowledge he has! This is the path. “The righteous”[38], who have reached the highest level of human beings’ servitude, should not be proud of the fact that they have stayed on God’s path and think that they do not need to take any action. No; “that the righteous not be deluded concerning You”[39]. This is also a hindrance to pleading for forgiveness. Well, if there is no negligence, there will be no “getting conceited with God”[40], neither self-conceit nor self-centeredness. At that point, man may plead for forgiveness.
The conditions for true and determined seeking of forgiveness
The next point is that the seeking of forgiveness that is useful is that which is true and determined. Assume you have a great deal of trouble and ask God to remove them. For example, suppose – God forbid – that a dear one of your loved ones has a problem. You have gone through normal ways of solving it; yet, you could not do it. Now, you resort, pray, and beseech to the Lord of the World. See! See how you beseech God at the moment when your child or a dear one of your loved ones is sick and you turn to God and bring yourself into a mood of prayer. Beseech God’s pardon in the same way. Indeed, seek forgiveness for your sin earnestly, and decide not to commit it again.
Of course, someone may have a decision not to commit sins; yet, he relapses and commits them. That is alright; he can repent again. If he violates his repentance one hundred times, the door of repentance is still open to him. However, those of you who repent and beseech forgiveness should not intend from the beginning that “very well, now we are seeking for forgiveness, then let’s do it again, do the same wrong thing, do the same wrong doing”; this is not right!
I read a narration that is apparently quoted from Imam Reza (as), saying, “The one who repents through his tongue but he is not ashamed in his heart, has made a joke of himself.”[41],[42] In this narration or according to it, the Imam deems the person, who asks for forgiveness with his tongue but does not regret for his sins and is quite happy with committing them while he utters: “I ask God for His forgiveness,”[43] as the one who is making a fool of himself. What kind of seeking forgiveness is this?! Surely, this is not seeking forgiveness. Seeking forgiveness, that is to say, one returns to God the Exalted and asks Him sincerely to pardon his wrongdoings. How does a person dare to beseech forgiveness from the Almighty God while he wishes to do the same wrongdoing over and over again?! What type of pleading for forgiveness is this?!
“Repentance on the lips, rosary in the hand, but [our] heart is full of passion for sins,
surly grave sins are amused at our [way of] pleading for forgiveness.”[44],[45]
Such a pleading for forgiveness is not adequate. Seeking forgiveness should be true and determined.
Seeking forgiveness is for everyone
Seeking forgiveness is not specific to certain people that have sinned very much. No, all humans, even those at the Prophet’s (saw) level, need to seek forgiveness. “that God may forgive you what is past of your sin and what is to come”[46],[47] The Prophet (saw) also needs to seek God’s forgiveness.
Seeking forgiveness is either for the sins we have committed or for moral sins. If we assume that we have not committed any sin – of course, such people are a few, there are no lies, no backbites, no oppression, no offense, no harassment, no insult to anyone, no destroying people’s property, nor any sin in their book of deeds; yet, so many of such people, who do not have such tangible sins, suffer from spiritual sins, i.e. moral sins. The same person, who does not commit any sin, once he is among people, he says, “Indeed, these poor people are all engaged in sins while we – praise be to God[48] – refrain from sins and do not commit them” and considers himself above them. This is a sin, and he needs to seek forgiveness.
It is an abasement or a fall. The humiliation of humans, knowing oneself above others, giving so much importance to your work more than others’, or some of the other ugly moral traits that humans seem to have, such as jealousy, greed, megalomania, and so on; there is a need to seek forgiveness of them.
If we suppose there is a person who does not even commit these, then the issue of the knowledge of monotheism and cognition of the Lord is not a limited door, a narrow path, and a dead end; it is infinite. The prophets and those close to God, everyone is making progress on this path. They are engaged in the evolution of the soul; they are engaged in obtaining greater knowledge of the sacred essence of the Lord and His perfect attributes. Any moment that they have not advanced in this way is a failure, a lapse, a spiritual disability; there is a need to seek forgiveness.
Seeking forgiveness is for everyone. Therefore, you see that the infallible Imams (as) in these supplications are so ardent. Some people imagine that Imam Sajjad (as) has used such an ardor to teach others. Well, yes, it is true that he is teaching others – both the form and the content of the supplication – but this is not the point. The principle of the matter is that this is the pleading of this righteous servant and great and honorable man. This is his own fervent ardor. This display of invocation to the Lord is for himself. This fear of the retribution of God, this desire to approach Him, and this longing for obtaining His gratification belong to himself. These pleading for forgiveness and seeking pardon from God are for himself.
Pertaining to permissible acts, there are permissible acts in life such as acceptable pleasures or permitted deeds that it is quite possible for a person, who is at the highest level, to consider these acts as a kind of fall and decadence. He wishes that he had not been placed within the framework of material and physical necessities, and he could disregard the permissible acts and the material matters. Then, he could proceed more and more othe path of acknowledgement, and in that infinite valley toward divine gratification and the paradise of His cognition. Since it is not possible, he pleads for forgiveness. Therefore, pleading for forgiveness is for everyone.
These are several statements about seeking forgiveness, which I have stated on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadhan. My dear ones! Seize the opportunity of the month of Ramadhan to plead for your forgiveness and beseech God the Almighty to pardon you. Our nation, with the spirit of sacrifice, with the endurance that it has shown, with the great work that this nation has done, with the bright and good youth that our nation has in this world – this kind of young people, in such numbers, are definitely not found anywhere in the world or in any community other than ours – with these women, men, and mothers, and various sacrifices that have come from these people, this nation has a great potential for advancement in material, spiritual, worldly, and afterlife spheres. This nation should attract divine mercy to itself with pleading for forgiveness.
Everybody needs to seek forgiveness, everybody! Those who worship, those who are moderate in worship, those who are even lazy in worship, those who only do the least; those who even sometimes – God forbid – abandon their obligatory worships; all and all pay attention that this seeking forgiveness improves your relationship with God. Plead for forgiveness from God the Almighty, beseech acceptance from Him, seek pardon from Him, ask Him to remove this barrier of sin, to take the cloud away from the sun of His grace, benevolence and blessings so that His benevolence shines on these hearts and souls. Then, see what exaltation and change occurs.
At the end of the first sermon, at noon Friday, I recite this prayer, “I ask You God and call You by Your greatest, most magnificent, most dignified and most respected Name and by the sanctity of Your Names and Your patrons, O’ Lord.”[49]
Dear God! Make us Your righteous servants.
Dear God! Grant to all of us, in the true sense of the word, success in repentance, turning in penitence, and returning to you as well as pleading for forgiveness.
Dear God! Let Your grace and benevolence, which in all respects have always been shined on this nation, shine more and more.
Dear God! Forgive and pardon our shortcomings, failures and lavishness.
Dear God! Extend Your pardon, mercy and forgiveness on our mistakes, ignorance, deficiencies and flaws.
Dear God! By the pure and righteous people, by the pure-hearted who are among our community, our people and the crowd gathered here today, O’ Lord, cleanse the dust of ignorance and remove the curtain of darkness from our hearts.
Dear God! Endow us with Your cognition.
Dear God! Reward all of us with progress on the path to You and on the way to human perfection.
Dear God! Absolve our sins.
Dear God! Bestow your goodness and grace on this nation.
Dear God! Keep these enemies – the enemies of this nation, the enemies of this country, the enemies of this revolution, those who are unfamiliar with You, those who are angry with you, those who are distant from you and are hostile with this nation due to the association of it with you – away from this nation! Make their evil harm themselves. Make our nation successful in all fields.
Dear God! Provide us with closeness to Qur’an and Qur’anic teachings in this month.
Bestow Your mercy and forgiveness on our deceased ones – especially our
great Imam[50]
and the souls of our honorable martyrs.
[1] “اَلحَمدُ لِلهِ رَبِّ العالَمينِ. اَحمَدُهُ وَ اَستَعينُهُ وَ اَستَمِدُّ مِنهُ وَ اَتَوَکَّلُ عَلَيه وَ اُصَلّي وَ اُسَلِّمُ عَلي حَبيبِهِ وَ نَجيبِهِ وَ خِيَرَتِهِ في خَلقِهِ وَ حافِظِ سِرِّهِ وَ مُبَلِّغِ رِسالاتِهِ، سَيِّدِنا وَ نَبيِّنا اَبِيالقاسِمِ المُصطَفي مُحَمَّد وَ عَلي آلِهِ الاَطيَبينَ الاَطهَرينَ المُنتَجَبينَ، الهُدا×ِ المَهديّينَ المَعصومينَ، سيَّما بَقيَّـ÷ِ اللهِ فِي الاَرَضينَ وَ صَلِّ عَلي اَئِمَّـ÷ِ المُسلِمينَ وَ حُما×ِ المُستَضعَفينَ وَ هُدا×ِ المُؤمِنينَ. قالَ اللهُ الحَکيمُ في کِتابِهِ: «بِسمِ اللهِ الرَّحمنِ الرَّحيمِ. وَ مَن يَعمَل سوءًا اَو يَظلِم نَفسَهُ ثُمَّ يَستَغفِرِ اللهَ يَجِدِ اللهَ غَفورًا رَحيمًا”
[2] The Holy Qur’an, 4:110
[3] “وَ هَذَا شَهْرُ الْإِنَابَةِ وَ هَذَا شَهْرُ التَّوْبَةِ وَ هَذَا شَهْرُ الْمَغْفِرَةِ وَ الرَّحْمَةِ وَ هَذَا شَهْرُ الْعِتْقِ مِنَ النَّارِ”
[4] “اِستَغفِروا رَبَّکُم ثُمَّ توبوا اِلَيهِ يُرسِلِ السَّماءَ عَلَيکُم مِدرارًا”
[5] The Holy Qur’an, 11:52
[6] “اِنَّ الَّذينَ تَوَلَّوا مِنکُم يَومَ التَقَى الجَمعانِ اِنَّمَا استَزَلَّهُمُ الشَّيطانُ بِبَعضِ ما کَسَبوا”
[7] The Holy Qur’an, 3:155
[8] “اِنَّمَا استَزَلَّهُمُ الشَّيطانُ بِبَعضِ ما کَسَبوا”
[9] ibid.
[10] “وَ کَاَيِّن مِن نَبيٍّ قاتَلَ مَعَهُ رِبّيّونَ کَثيرٌ فَما وَهَنوا لِما اَصابَهُم في سَبيلِ اللهِ وَ ما ضَعُفوا وَ مَا استَکانوا”
[11] The Holy Qur’an, 3:146
[12] “وَ ما کانَ قَولَهُم اِلّا اَن قالوا رَبَّنَا اغفِر لَنا ذُنوبَنا وَ اِسرافَنا في اَمرِنا”
[13] The Holy Qur’an, 3:147
[14] “رَبَّنَا اغفِر لَنا ذُنوبَنا وَ اِسرافَنا في اَمرِنا”
[15] ibid.
[16] i.e. Al-dhat al-aqdasiyah referred to God the Exalted.
[17] “أنْت الّذِي فتحْت لِعِبادِك باباً إِلى عفْوِك وسمّيْتهُ التّوْبة وجعلْت على ذلِك الْبابِ دلِيلاً مِنْ وحْيِك لِئلاَّ يضِلُّوا عنْهُ”
[18] “فَمَا عُذْرُ مَنْ أَغْفَلَ دُخُولَ ذلِكَ الْمَنْزِلِ بَعْدَ فَتْحِ الْبَابِ وَإقَامَةِ الدَّلِيْلِ”
[19] “اِنَّ اللهَ تَعالى يَغفِرُ لِلمُذنِبينَ اِلّا مَن لا يُريدُ اَن يُغفَرَ لَهُ”
[20] Hadith: 3rd
[21] “قالوا يا رَسولَ اللهِ مَنِ الَّذي يُريدُ اَن لا يُغفَرَ لَهُ”
[22] ibid.
[23] “قالَ مَن لا يَستَغفِر”
[24] ibid.
[25] يَقظَه
[26] “اِنَّ الَّذينَ اتَّقَوا اِذا مَسَّهُم طائِفٌ مِنَ الشَّيطانِ تَذَکَّروا”
[27] The Holy Qur’an, 7:201
[28] “تَذَکَّروا فَاِذا هُم مُبصِرونَ”
[29] ibid.
[30] “اَلاِغتِرارُ بِالله”
[31] i.e. Imam Sajjad (P.B.U.H.)
[32] “وَ الشَّقاءُ الاَشقى لِمَنِ اغتَرَّ بِكَ مَا أكْثَرَ تَصَرُّفَهُ فِي عَذَابِكَ، وَمَا أَطْوَلَ تَرَدُّدَهُ فِيْ عِقَابِكَ، وَمَا أَبْعَدَ غَايَتَهُ مِنَ الْفَرَجِ، وَمَا أَقْنَطَهُ مِنْ سُهُولَةِ الْمَخْرَجِ”
[33] Hadith: 13th
[34] “اَلاِغتِرارُ بِالله”
[35] “اِستِحقارِ الذُّنوب”
[36]“فَاَمّا اَنتَ يا اِلَهي فَاَهلٌ اَن لا يَغتَرَّ بِكَ الصِّدّيقونَ”
[37] Imam Sajjad (P.B.U.H.). Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, Sup. 39.
[38] صدّيقين
[39] “اَن لا يَغتَرَّ بِكَ الصِّدّيقونَ”
[40] “اَلاِغتِرارُ بِالله”
[41] “مَنِ استَغفَرَ بِلِسانِهِ وَ لَم يَندَم بِقَلبِهِ فَقَدِ استَهزَاَ بِنَفسِهِ”
[42] Hadith: 21st
[43] “أستغفر الله”
[44] “توبه بر لب، سُبحِه در کف، دل پُر از شوق گناه معصيـت را خنـده ميآيد ز استغفــار مـا”
[45] Qodsi Mashhadi, Haji Mohammedjan (1996). Divan Haji Mohammad Jahan Qodsi Mashhadi. Ed. Mohammad Ghahreman. Mashhad: Ferdowsi University Press.
[46] “لِيَغفِرَ لَکَ اللهُ ما تَقَدَّمَ مِن ذَنبِکَ وَ ما تَاَخَّرَ”
[47] The Holy Qur’an, 48:2
[48]”الحمدالله”
[49] “نسئلک اللّهم و ندعوک، باسمک العظیم الاعظم، الاعزّ الاجلّ الاکرم و بحرمة اسمائک و بحرمة اولیائک یااللَّه”
[50] i.e. Sayyid Ruhollah Mūsavi Khomeini (1902-1989)- an Iranian Shia Muslim religious leader, philosopher, revolutionary, and politician as well as the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution. (Trans.)