The Two Guarantees of Allah on Earth: Life of Prophet & Istighfar

Understanding Allah’s Two Guarantees: Life of Prophet ﷺ & Seeking Forgiveness

First, let me clarify the purpose of writing this article so that my main message, along with the subsidiary one, reaches both the general and specific audiences. Denying the death of the Prophet ﷺ has led to the introduction of numerous innovations and superstitions in the religion. In fact, through innovation, heretical beliefs and acts of shirk (polytheism) have also entered, and people are proud and delighted in carrying out such acts. The denial of the death of the Prophet ﷺ arose from the belief that Sufis, saints (awliya), and spiritual guides (pirs) never die, but remain alive forever. Not only do they remain alive, but they also help people, coming and going, walking, eating, drinking, and appearing to listen and watch. When the condition of these saints and guides is such, it follows that they would have to deny the death of the Prophet ﷺ and believe that he too is alive. Thus, in order to legalize earnings from the shrines, the denial of the Prophet ﷺ’s death was introduced, even though no one in this world, whether a Prophet or a saint, remains alive except Allah. Only Allah possesses the attributes of Al-Hayy (The Ever-Living) and Al-Qayyum (The Sustainer), meaning that Allah alone is the Being who is eternally alive and sustaining, while all creation must taste death. There are countless proofs for this in the Qur’an and Hadith, but for brevity, I will refer to only one verse from the Qur’an. I will not elaborate here on shrines, tombs, visions and miracles, seeking help from others than Allah, trading in the name of the dead, exploiting the public under the guise of vows and offerings, or the exploitation of women’s dignity under the pretext of treatment and medicine.

Allah says in Surah Al-Anfal:
وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَأَنتَ فِيهِمْ ۚ وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ مُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَهُمْ يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ
(Al-Anfal: 33)
Translation: And Allah would never punish them while you are among them, nor would He punish them while they are seeking forgiveness.

The explanation of this verse is found in Sahih al-Bukhari:
حَدَّثَنِي أَحْمَدُ حَدَّثَنَا عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مُعَاذٍ حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ عَنْ عَبْدِ الْحَمِيدِ هُوَ ابْنُ كُرْدِيدٍ صَاحِبُ الزِّيَادِيِّ سَمِعَ أَنَسَ بْنَ مَالِكٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ أَبُو جَهْلٍ اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كَانَ هَذَا هُوَ الْحَقَّ مِنْ عِنْدِكَ فَأَمْطِرْ عَلَيْنَا حِجَارَةً مِنْ السَّمَاءِ أَوْ ائْتِنَا بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ فَنَزَلَتْ وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَأَنْتَ فِيهِمْ وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ مُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَهُمْ يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ وَمَا لَهُمْ أَنْ لَا يُعَذِّبَهُمْ اللَّهُ وَهُمْ يَصُدُّونَ عَنْ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ
(Sahih al-Bukhari: 4648)
Translation: Ahmad bin Nadr narrated to us, and he said, “We were informed by Ubaidullah bin Mu’adh, who said: ‘We were told by our father, and he narrated from Shuba, who reported from Abdul Hamid, the son of Kurayd, the companion of Ziyadi, that he heard Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) say that Abu Jahl said, ‘O Allah! If this is the truth from You, then send down stones upon us from the sky or bring us a painful punishment.’ Then the verse was revealed: ‘And Allah would never punish them while you are among them, nor would He punish them while they are seeking forgiveness. What is there for them that Allah should not punish them while they prevent people from the Sacred Mosque?'”

From this verse, it is clear that there are two guarantees of Allah on earth. The first guarantee is the life of the Prophet ﷺ, and the second is the seeking of forgiveness (istighfar) by the believers.

When Abu Jahl demanded punishment from Allah, Allah clarified that as long as the Prophet ﷺ is alive, no punishment will come upon the people. During the life of the Prophet ﷺ, even the disbelievers were spared from Allah’s punishment. Now that Abu Jahl has died and the Prophet ﷺ passed away by the will of Allah, the first guarantee of Allah was lifted from the earth.

An explanation of this is also found in a narration from Tirmidhi, though it is weak, but the meaning is correct:
عَنْ أَبِي بُرْدَةَ بْنِ أَبِي مُوسَى عَنْ أَبِيهِ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَيَّ أَمَانَيْنِ لِأُمَّتِي وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَأَنْتَ فِيهِمْ وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ مُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَهُمْ يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ فَإِذَا مَضَيْتُ تَرَكْتُ فِيهِمْ الِاسْتِغْفَارَ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ
(Sunan al-Tirmidhi: 3082)
Translation: Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “Allah has revealed to me two guarantees for my Ummah: ‘And Allah would never punish them while you are among them’ and ‘nor would He punish them while they are seeking forgiveness.’ And when I depart, I leave the guarantee of seeking forgiveness among them until the Day of Judgment.”

This meaning is also reported from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) and is mentioned in various books of Hadith and Tafsir, such as Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi and Tafsir Ibn Kathir.
أن الله جعل في هذه الأمة أمانين لا يزالون معصومين مجارين من طوارق العذاب ما دام بين أظهرهم فأمان قبضه الله إليه وأمان بقي فيكم قوله: وما كان الله ليعذبهم وأنت فيهم وما كان الله معذبهم وهم يستغفرون
(Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi, Explanation of Hadith Number: 3082)
Translation: Indeed, Allah has placed two guarantees for this Ummah, and as long as these guarantees are among them, they will remain immune from sudden punishment. The first guarantee has been lifted by Allah, and the second guarantee remains among you, which is His saying: “And Allah would never punish them while you are among them, nor would He punish them while they are seeking forgiveness.”

Summary of the Matter
The fact is that one of Allah’s guarantees has been lifted from the earth, and that is the death of the Prophet ﷺ. Know that the departure of the Prophet ﷺ from this world is a great loss for the Ummah. It is extremely unfortunate for those who deny the death of the Prophet ﷺ in order to gain worldly wealth. Even more regrettable is the fact that while the death of the Prophet ﷺ removed one of the guarantees from the earth, the worshippers of wealth and desires celebrate the Prophet’s birthday (Mawlid al-Nabi) every year in his name. Alas, how regretful this is!

One guarantee has departed, but Allah’s second guarantee remains on the earth: the seeking of forgiveness (istighfar) by the believers. Those who are involved in innovation (bid’ah) should repent from their innovations and engage in frequent istighfar. Those who are indulging in sinful behavior should repent from their sins and engage in abundant istighfar. Those who are immersed in disbelief and immorality should rectify their faith, perform righteous deeds, and hold firm to istighfar. Through istighfar, Allah will avert punishment from us.

The condition of Muslims around the world today is dire, and in such circumstances, it is crucial to leave behind selfish desires, irreligious practices, and superstitions, and to turn towards the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. We must correct our deeds, make sincere repentance, and engage in abundant istighfar. This is essential in these difficult times.