A Story Of True Repentance

During the time of Bani Israel, there was a great drought, a major drought in the area. And so the people approached Prophet Musa (alayhi salaam) and they said, 'O Musa! Children are starving, the elders are suffering, the animals are dying, the vegetation is all shriveled up. Supplicate to Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala) that he will send down rain to us.' 

And so Prophet Musa (alayhi salaam) gathered Bani Israel in an open area in a desert...and he supplicated to Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala) saying, 'Ya Allah, the children are starving and the elders are suffering, the animals are dying and the vegetation is all shriveled up, dried up, send rain down upon us, ya Allah.' 

Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala) answered him with a statement, 'O Musa, there is a servant amongst you. There is a servant amongst you who has been disobedient to me for forty years. Tell him to leave the congregation and I shall send down rain.' 

And so Prophet Musa (alayhi salaam) looked towards the congregation, and he said, 'O so and so, whoever this person is, have mercy upon the congregation and the people and leave so that Allah may send down rain to us.'

So that person, he knew who he was. He looked to the right, he looked towards the left, nobody was leaving and he knew it was him. Nobody else except him. So he went...he covered himself with his shirt and he started to cry because people were suffering and the rain isn't coming down. If he doesn't leave, but if he leaves, everybody will know that this person has been disobedient to Allah for 40 years. 

So what is he going to do? 

He was so remorseful, so saddened. He didn't know what to do, he just asked Allah, 'Ya Allah, forgive me.'

In tears of sincerity and repentance, mercy in his heart for the people, in repentance. That remorsefulness in his heart caused the tears to come down and as soon as the tears hit the ground, the rain also came down with it. 

So Prophet Musa (alayhi salaam) looked, and he said, 'Ya Allah, nobody left the congregation, why did You send down the rain?'

And so Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala) responded, 'I sent down the rain because of that same person, because of his sincere repentance, and his remorsefulness. I sent down the rain because of that same person.'

And so Prophet Musa (alayhi salaam) said, 'Ya Allah, Ya Allah, show us that repenting servant of yours so that we may be thankful.' 

So Allah (subahaanahu wa ta'ala) said, 'O Musa, for forty years he disobeyed me and I covered up his sins...and now that he has repented, you think I am gonna show you who he is?'

All of us when you look down at the problem and around us, we always start blaming other people, but its no one else except for us. Everyone of us right now, we have to realize Allah has covered up our sins and its time to change. Lets realize that we have to repent and there is a time when you make that conviction that you change. You don’t just say it with your mouth. Istigfar is what you say with your mouth, repentance is the conviction and showing it in action. That’s what we need to do. Not just say it, but to put it in action. And thus, all of us, we have to realize that repentance entails that we make the conviction to be the best that we can be.

commentary by Sheikh AbdulBary Yahya