Question:
i have been reading a a lot. i have read that if you repeat a dhikr for a long time, allah(swt) grants your baseera the meaning of the dhikr.
i also read in miftah al falah that one who has previously been immersed in transgression should stat with a lot of istighfar till the fruit of it is apparent.
i am curious as to what kind of fruit constant istighfar brings.
also, will istighfar get me to the same point as things like the baqiyat al salihat will? and by that i mean the “automatic” dhikr in the heart that occurs without trying.
my problem is i need istighfar, but i want to do al baqiyat al salihat.
Answer:
a`udhu billah mina ‘sh-shaytani ‘r-rajeem
Bismillahi ‘r-Rahmani ‘r-Raheem
Salaam `alaykum,
Istighfar will make your heart clearer and peaceful as you repent from sins you see in your self turning to His Mercy.
Especially if you repent intentionally through the Prophet (saws) Rahmatan li ‘l-`Alamin. As Quran says:
وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذ ظَّلَمُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ جَآؤُوكَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُواْ اللّهَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ الرَّسُولُ لَوَجَدُواْ اللّهَ تَوَّابًا رَّحِيمًا
{If they had only, when they were unjust to themselves, come unto thee and asked Allah’s forgiveness, and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah indeed Oft-returning, Most Merciful.} (Surat an-Nisa, 4:64)
You can make shahadah 3x, astaghfirullah al-`azheem wa atubu ilayh 200x, then Baqiat us Salihat- Subhanallah, al Hamdulillah, wa La ilaha illa Allah, wallahuAkbar, as much as you llke meditating on the meanings.
W ‘allahu `Alam
Kamau Ayyubi
