Habib Muhammad al-Haddar reminds us of the greatness of seeking forgiveness and how this confounds the Devil.
The Prophet ﷺ said: “The one who keeps seeking forgiveness is not regarded as a persistent sinner even if he were to return to the same sin seventy times a day.”[1]
All praise belongs to Allah for the blessing of seeking forgiveness (istighfar). Even if you were to keep committing a sin seventy times but you sought forgiveness, your Lord is All-Forgiving. The main thing is you seek forgiveness with your tongue and your heart. If the Devil tries to outdo you by sending you astray, outdo him by seeking forgiveness more.
The Devil says to Allah: “I swear by Your might and majesty, I will continue to deceive the children of Adam as long as their souls are in their bodies!”
Allah says: “I swear by My might and majesty, I will continue to forgive them as long as they seek My forgiveness!”[2]
The Devil will try to make them commit more sins, so they need to seek forgiveness more. The Devil’s plots are weak. In fact, the Devil will wish that he had not driven you to disobey Allah because if you make sincere tawbah, Allah will replace that bad deed with a good deed. If a person had a million bad deeds they would all become good deeds and the Devil will regret trying to lead you astray.
Allah says: those who repent, believe, and do good deeds: Allah will change the evil deeds of such people into good ones.[3]
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[1] Abu Daud and al-Tirmidhi
[2] Al-Tabarani and al-Haythami
[3] Al-Furqan 25:70