Suhaib Webb – The Repentance of Abu Nawas

There's a great story of a person that

we should reflect on. I've always related to

this person because of my own life,

And that's the Tawba of Abi Nawaz.

Abi Nawaz is one of the greatest poets

of the era of what's called a Muaddisim.

Those poets who came like after the time

of the early poets of Islam and after

the Jahili poets.

The Ulema used to say,

Meaning that this person even though he was

incredibly gifted, he was born a Muslim,

he exhibited tremendous talents as an artist.

They say,

He was

someone who suffered with a chemical addiction.

And he actually

he actually has a form of poetry that

we studied in as hard because it's so

beautiful called.

He was also known for being someone who

committed tremendous amount of sin,

all kinds of sin.

But something happened to him. Number 1 is,

even though he was a sinner,

great scholars kept a line open to

him. Most of the ulema in the area

of Basra

they stayed in touch with him with the

hope that one day

Allah's

love will be manifested through his heart, and

he will come back to Allah.

And one of those is the great imam,

Sayidna Wa Imam Mana Ashaafi'i.

Like, can you imagine? Imam Shaafi,

his friends

with a drunk,

like no one would imagine that. Imam Abu

Hanifa, his neighbor was a drunkard. He bailed

him out of jail.

These people weren't, as doctor West talks about,

caught up in righteous indignation.

They understood that the greatest sign of righteousness

is to have hope that Allah will change

people

and to humbly be their bridge to change.

But Abu Nuwas, unfortunately, his

his life continued as it did

and he died.

The Hebi mentions that the people came

to bury him and they went to the

local imam.

And this is like a lot of us.

We run into people who are religious, who

are nice.

We run into people who are religious, who

are like,

So they went to this imam and they

said, you know, we need you to pray

Janaza

on somebody. He's like, okay. And they're like,

Abu Nawaz, he's like, nah, man.

I got something to do.

And they're like, why? He's like, you know,

Sharia, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah

blah.

And there were rumors that he had made

Toba, by the way, that he had repented.

He had been brought in front of the

government on more than one occasion because of

things he wrote about.

So they were despondent, and they went to

his home,

and they began to undress him and prepare

him for washing.

And they found in his pocket a piece

of, like,

poetry.

And his wife said to them, this is

the last poem he ever wrote.

What does the poem say? It says,

Says, oh Allah.

If my sins

are infinite and great,

I believe with certainty that your forgiveness is

greater.

If the only person that can hope in

you are the righteous,

then who will sinners turn to?

The only one who can turn to you

are the pious people,

then who will the sinner hope in and

pray to if there's nothing left?

I turn to you.

I repented to you

as you ordered me

in humility.

And if you refuse my offering, my hands,

then who's gonna be merciful? Like there's no

one else that can be merciful.

Then he says,

The only

bridge I have to you is hope.

And your beautiful transcendent forgiveness

and I'm a Muslim.

When they read this,

they were overcome

and they went back to the imam.

They said you need to read this.

And he said, like, who wrote that? They

said this this is the last Qasidah

of Abu Nowaz.

Then he said, bring him and we're gonna

pray on him.