“O Servants of Allah, indeed, after acts of worship and seasons of goodness, Allah has legislated seeking forgiveness (Istighfar) and repentance (Tawbah) to make up for the shortcomings and heedlessness a person falls into during these seasons.

So, this is rectified by seeking forgiveness and repenting to Allah, Glorified and Exalted. And Allah accepts the repentance of whoever repents.

Seeking forgiveness is required at all times, but after completing acts of worship and after the passing of seasons of goodness, it becomes even more heavily emphasized.

So, seek forgiveness abundantly and repent abundantly to Allah, Glorified and Exalted. For He forgives all sins for whoever repents and turns back to Him.

Especially since you are complaining about the withholding of rain, which you are in desperate need of. Allah has commanded you to seek forgiveness so that He may send down rain upon you and shower you with His blessings.

Hud said to his people:

“And O my people, ask forgiveness of your Lord and then repent to Him. He will send [rain from] the sky upon you in showers and increase you in strength [added] to your strength. And do not turn away as criminals.”
— Qur’an 11:52

And Nuh (Noah) said to his people:

“And I said, ‘Ask forgiveness of your Lord. Indeed, He is ever a Perpetual Forgiver. He will send [rain from] the sky upon you in showers, and give you increase in wealth and children, and provide for you gardens, and provide for you rivers.’”
— Qur’an 71:10–12

And know that if something you dislike afflicts you, it is because of your sins.

Allah, the Exalted, says:

“And whatever strikes you of disaster—it is for what your hands have earned; but He pardons much.”
— Qur’an 42:30

So, seek Allah’s forgiveness and repent to Him so that He may restore His blessings upon you. For He, Glorified and Exalted, is Near and Responsive.

And mankind, the children of Adam, are always in need of seeking forgiveness.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said:

“Every one of you makes mistakes, and the best of those who make mistakes are those who repent.”

And the absolute best of creation—the Prophets, peace be upon them—used to seek forgiveness abundantly.

Our Prophet (ﷺ) would be counted in a single sitting saying more than a hundred times:

“I seek Allah’s forgiveness, I seek Allah’s forgiveness, I seek Allah’s forgiveness, and I repent to Him.”

And he (ﷺ) said:

“O people, repent to your Lord, for indeed, I seek Allah’s forgiveness seventy times a day.”

So, we must seek forgiveness abundantly.

And Istighfar is seeking forgiveness from Allah, Glorified and Exalted.

And this isn’t just about the tongue. Seeking forgiveness with just the tongue doesn’t benefit you at all. Rather, it must be seeking forgiveness accompanied by true repentance.

“Ask forgiveness of your Lord and then repent to Him.”
— Qur’an 11:3

Seeking forgiveness accompanied by repentance.

And repentance is returning to Allah, returning to His obedience, and abandoning His disobedience. That is what repentance is.

So, whoever repents to Allah must repent to Him with a sincere repentance (Tawbah Nasuha). They must repent to Allah with a sincere repentance, which is a pure and truthful repentance.

Allah, the Exalted, says:

“O you who have believed, repent to Allah with sincere repentance. Perhaps your Lord will remove from you your misdeeds and admit you into gardens beneath which rivers flow.”
— Qur’an 66:8

Sincere repentance is that which meets three conditions.

The first condition is abandoning the sins you are repenting and seeking forgiveness from.

You must abandon them completely.

As for someone who seeks forgiveness and repents to Allah with their tongue while still persisting in their sins, making no changes, Allah will not accept their repentance.

The second condition is resolving never to return to those sins.

Rather, they must maintain their repentance until death.

If, in their heart, while seeking forgiveness and repenting, they intend to return to those sins if the opportunity presents itself, then this is merely a temporary repentance. Allah, Glorified and Exalted, will not accept it from them.

However, if their desires overwhelm them and they fall into the sin again after repenting, they must not despair of Allah’s mercy. They shouldn’t say, “I sinned, repented, and then went back to sinning, so Allah will never forgive me.”

That thought is only from Satan.

Instead, they must renew their repentance, even if they fall into sins and transgressions repeatedly.

Allah, Glorified and Exalted, says:

“Say, ‘O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.’ And return to your Lord and submit to Him before the punishment comes upon you; then you will not be helped.”
— Qur’an 39:53–54

And the third condition is to feel deep remorse for what they have done.

To feel sorrow and regret, and to feel a sense of shame before Allah every time they remember their sin. They must truly regret it.

But if someone doesn’t regret their sin and perhaps even boasts about it, then Allah will not accept their repentance. Because that’s the repentance of a liar. They feel no remorse for their sins.

The very essence of repentance is remorse: remorse for what a person has done and a sense of shame before Allah, Glorified and Exalted.

So, whoever feels no remorse for their sins—even if they repent verbally and perform actions of repentance—it will not be accepted from them.

And there is a fourth condition added to these, which applies if the sin involved other people.

For instance, if they wronged them, transgressed against them, backbit them, insulted them, spoke ill of them, mocked them, or belittled them; if they have violated the rights of others, then, in addition to the previous conditions, they must seek their forgiveness.

If they have taken any of their rights or property, they must return it to them.

But if someone repents while still holding onto stolen property or people’s rights, their repentance will not be accepted. Because the rights of people must inevitably be reclaimed from them, sooner or later.

Justice will absolutely be served unless they ask for forgiveness in this life and restore the rights they unjustly took.

However, if they spoke ill of someone and they fear that informing them would cause hatred or anger, or if the person has already passed away, then, in such cases, they should supplicate for them and praise them frequently, especially in the very same gatherings where they used to backbite them.

So, they should praise them abundantly and pray for them, and that will serve as an expiation for their sin, by the permission of Allah.

Fear Allah, O Servants of Allah, and seek repentance and forgiveness abundantly.

Seek repentance and forgiveness abundantly.

None of us should say, “I repented once; that’s enough.”

Rather, constantly renew your repentance and seeking of forgiveness, day and night, so that Allah may accept our repentance and yours.

I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan.

Allah, the Exalted, says:

“And those who, when they commit an immorality or wrong themselves, remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins—and who can forgive sins except Allah?—and [who] do not persist in what they have done while they know. Those—their reward is forgiveness from their Lord, and gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide eternally. And excellent is the reward of the workers.”
— Qur’an 3:135–136

May Allah bless me and you through the Great Qur’an, and benefit us with its verses and wise reminders.

I say this, and I seek Allah’s forgiveness for myself, for you, and for all Muslims. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

All praise is due to Allah for His bounty and benevolence.

And I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone, with no partner.

And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

May Allah exalt him, his family, and his companions, and grant them abundant peace.

To proceed:

O people, fear Allah Almighty and seek His forgiveness at all times and in every moment.

However, seeking forgiveness is heavily emphasized in certain situations and times.

As for the situations, as we’ve already discussed, a person should seek Allah’s forgiveness and repent to Him after acts of worship. For example, after the five daily prayers.

The Prophet (ﷺ) used to, when he concluded the obligatory prayer, say:

“I seek Allah’s forgiveness, I seek Allah’s forgiveness, I seek Allah’s forgiveness.”

So, seek forgiveness abundantly after the obligatory prayers.

And likewise, after the night prayer (Qiyam al-Layl).

For whoever Allah blesses to pray the night prayer, or even a part of it, it is highly recommended that they conclude it by seeking forgiveness.

Allah, the Exalted, says:

“They used to sleep but little of the night, and in the hours before dawn they would ask forgiveness.”
— Qur’an 51:17–18

And He, the Exalted, says:

“…and those who seek forgiveness before dawn.”
— Qur’an 3:17

So, these are the times in which we hope for the answering of supplications: in the last third of the night.

In an authentic hadith, the Prophet (ﷺ) said:

“Our Lord, Glorified and Exalted, descends every night to the lowest heaven when the last third of the night remains, and He says: ‘Is there anyone seeking forgiveness, so I may forgive them? Is there anyone repenting, so I may accept their repentance? Is there anyone asking, so I may give them?’”

And this happens every single night.

So, expose yourselves to the divine breezes of your Lord during these magnificent times, so that Allah may forgive us, you, and all Muslims.

Know that the best speech is the Book of Allah, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (ﷺ).

The worst of all matters are newly invented matters, and every religious innovation (Bid‘ah) is a misguidance. Hold firmly to the congregation (Al-Jama‘ah), for the hand of Allah is over the congregation. And whoever isolates himself, isolates himself in the Hellfire.

Allah, the Exalted, says:

“Indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allah to grant him] peace.”
— Qur’an 33:56

O Allah, send Your peace and blessings upon Your servant and Messenger, our Prophet Muhammad.

And be pleased, O Allah, with his Rightly Guided Caliphs, the rightly guided leaders: Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman, and ‘Ali (رضي الله عنهم).

And with all the Companions, the succeeding generation (Tabi‘un), and everyone who follows them in righteousness until the Day of Judgment.

O Allah, grant honor and might to Islam and the Muslims.

And humiliate Shirk (polytheism) and the polytheists. And destroy the enemies of the religion.

And make this land safe, secure, and peaceful, along with all the lands of the Muslims, O Lord of all worlds.

O Allah, rectify our leaders and the affairs of the Muslims.

O Allah, rectify our leaders and the affairs of the Muslims.

O Allah, place our leadership in the hands of those who fear You, are mindful of You, and seek Your pleasure, O Lord of all worlds.

O Allah, appoint the best among us to lead us, and protect us from the evil of the worst among us.

And do not impose upon us, because of our sins, someone who does not fear You and will not show us mercy.”

Aameen!

— Adapted from a sermon by Shaykh Ṣāliḥ al-Fawzān (حفظه الله).