7.23 Supplication for forgiveness that Adam and Hawwa learnt in Paradise
This is the supplication of our forefather Adam and foremother Hawwa (peace be upon them both). It is mentioned in the Quran in Surah al-A’raf (The Heights). This supplication is permeated with sincere repentance, fear of God and trust in the Almighty.
From whom, if not from them, the first people, with whom the human race began and who turned to their Creator with such a supplication, should we take an example?
The story of Allah’s first prophet Adam (peace be upon him) and his wife Hawwa is well known. Living in the gardens of Paradise and until then knowing neither grief nor hardship, they yielded to temptation and one day disobeyed their Lord, after which the Almighty settled them on earth, where a quite different life began for them. This was now earthly life, the life that each of us lives in this world and that inevitably ends in death.
Adam and Hawwa turned to the Lord with this supplication right after committing this offence.
“Our Lord!” they pleaded. Our Creator, who has already bestowed upon us countless favours of every kind, who has surrounded us with His care and provided us so generously with everything we needed, Almighty Maker, whose will no one can resist, who governs all things and sustains the existence of everything He has created!
“We have wronged ourselves,” they confessed. We have acted unjustly towards ourselves, and what we have done, we have done to our own harm.
The Lord of the worlds needs no one and nothing. Our good deeds bring Him no benefit, and our foul deeds cause Him no harm. He has no need of our obedience and is in no way affected by our sins. In doing good deeds we benefit ourselves, and in committing sins we harm ourselves. This is a simple but important truth that none of us should forget.
“If You do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we will certainly be losers.” We have done what we have done and we repent before You, and now our fate depends entirely on You. We have acknowledged our offence and surrendered to Your will. And if You do not will to bless us with forgiveness and mercy, certain ruin awaits us. In that case we shall be left with nothing, we shall suffer a terrible loss, and no one and nothing will save us. For the one with whom Allah is angry and whom He does not forgive has not and cannot have salvation and success, and the road to Paradise is closed to him.
This supplication is also special in that it is not a direct request for Allah’s forgiveness, but a request by allusion, reflecting an even higher degree of courtesy than an ordinary plea.
The whole of this supplication from beginning to end is an expression of humility before the Almighty. In addressing the Almighty, Adam and Hawwa first of all mentioned His Lordship, then mentioned their own condition, that is, they acknowledged their offence, thereby seeking to draw near to Him. And they showed their need of Him, their dependence on His will, their inability to manage without Him, mentioning also what their condition would be if Allah the Almighty did not forgive them. By trying to earn the pleasure of the Almighty in this way, a servant of Allah increases his chances of forgiveness.
This supplication is one of the best examples of how one should ask the Lord for forgiveness. Having committed a sin, whether minor or grave, any believer must, firstly, stop committing that sin, secondly, sincerely repent of his action, that is, regret what he has done, and, thirdly, firmly resolve never to return to this sin again.
This supplication reminds us how important it is to ask the Almighty for mercy and forgiveness, and that it is important for anyone who has sinned to hasten to repent and on no account to put it off until later. This supplication also teaches us not to treat minor sins with disdain. We must not consider any of the sins we commit insignificant, for before Allah it may turn out to be a very serious offence. And so forgiveness should be sought for every sin, including those we no longer remember and those we commit without even noticing.