Sunday, March 24, 2013

Essence of trust

This is a very beautiful message. Read on...

Raziya



Little Boy and his mother were crossing a bridge. The mother was kind of scared so she asked her little one, 'Sweetheart, please hold my hand so that you don't fall into the river.'


The little Boy said, 'No, Mom. You hold my hand.'
'What's the difference?' Asked the puzzled Mother..
'There's a big difference,' replied the little Boy.
'If I hold your hand and something happens to me, chances are that I may let your hand go.
But if you hold my hand, I know for sure that no matter what happens, you will never let my hand go.'


In any relationship, the essence of trust is not in its bind, but in its bond.


So hold the hand of the person who loves you rather than expecting them to hold yours…

add to your mobile 112

Thank you, Koki, for this info. Most people know of it, and it's a universal distress number like 999 or 911 (USA), which works on mobiles.

Unfortunately, in our country, only sometimes does it get answered by our cops. In fact, the same is the case with 999, too.

So, if one is in dire need of police help here, it's better to dial a cop's number (IF, you know of one), than these toll-free emergency ones. Oh, which also means that you have to have enough credit on your cell-phone to be able to ring the cop's number IF you have it, in the first place!

Best wishes all,
Raziya



Plase read and be aware!
Koki


Not sure if it works everywhere, but no harm in sending, if even 1 person is going to benefit from it.


MUST READ VERY IMPORTANT NEWS TO READ FOR SECURITY REASON

    I know you don't all live in Dorset but a mobile is a mobile where
Ever you live. I didn't know about 112 did you?

A bit of useful advice - verified by the Dorset Police. The number
Does work from a mobile.

This actually happened to someone's daughter. Lauren was 19 yrs old
And in college.

         This story takes place over the Christmas and New Year holiday
Break.

It was the Saturday before New Year and it was about 1.00pm in the
Afternoon and Lauren was driving to visit a friend, when an UNMARKED
Police car pulled up behind her and put its lights on. Lauren's parents
Have 4 children (of various ages) and have always told them never to
Pull over for an unmarked car on the side of the road, but rather wait
Until they get to a service station, etc.



         Remembering her parents' advice, Lauren telephoned 112 from
Her mobile phone. This connected her to the police dispatcher. She told
The dispatcher that there was an unmarked car with a flashing blue
Light behind her and that she would not pull over then but wait until
She was in a service station or busy area.




         The dispatcher checked to see if there was a police car where
She was and there wasn't. He told her to keep driving, remain calm and
That he had back-up already on the way.




         Ten minutes later 4 police cars surrounded her and the
Unmarked car behind her. One policeman went to her side and the others
Surrounded the car behind.

         They pulled the guy from the car and tackled him to the
Ground. The man was a convicted rapist and wanted for other crimes.    

         I never knew that bit of advice, but especially for a woman
Alone in a car, you do not have to pull over for an UNMARKED car.
Apparently police have to respect your right to keep going to a 'safe'
Place. You obviously need to make some signals that you acknowledge
Them I.e. Put on your hazard lights, or call 112, as Lauren did.


         What a pity that the mobile phone companies don't give you
This little bit of wonderful information                


So now it's your turn to let your friends know about 112          (   
     112 is an emergency number on your mobile that takes you straight
To the police because 999 does not work if you have no signal).


        This is good information that I did not know!

Please pass on to all your friends, especially any females.

As far as I am aware, 112 uses a system called triangulation so they
Can also pinpoint exactly where you are phoning from.

READ IT THEN PASS IT ON DON'T JUST DELETE - IMPORTANT

Innovation in Kumbh Mela....!!!

What an excellent and genius idea!

Similar efforts should be made re hand washing importance in other developing nations, I think.

It would go a long way in controlling infectious diseases. Of course, the availability of CLEAN WATER would be a MUST, which in many places is still not easily available.

Raziya


Brilliantly innovative!
Koki and Hemant





WOW THIS ONLY HAPPENS IN INDIA!!!

 Innovation at Kumbha Mela


Ogilvy Action tied up with over 100 dhaba owners in the vicinity of Kumbh Mela and
handed out more than 2.5 million chapattis stamped with the Lifebuoy message.
'Did you wash your hands with Lifebuoy?' That was the message, in Hindi, stamped on over 2.5 million chapattis at the Maha Kumbh Mela , the largest congregation of human beings on the planet.

The unusual advertising medium certainly had pilgrims taking notice.
The campaign enabled Unilever, the company that makes the soap, to reach a large audience in a low-cost but effective manner. 

Rotis with a message

Unilever has the advertising agency Ogilvy Action to thank for the brilliant advertising idea.


Vipul Salvi

Vipul Salvi, the 34-year-old National Creative Director of Ogilvy Action, is the one of the people behind the campaign. He says the idea needed to be big and innovative. "The obvious options were to put up stalls and play games around health and hygiene, but that would have been too gimmicky," remarks Salvi.

Those ideas were rejected since the Maha Kumbh is a spiritual affair. The mandate, therefore, was to look at other ways of getting the consumer in touch with the brand.

The ad agency deliberated over the campaign for close to eight months and came up with over 200 ideas before zeroing in on the roti campaign. 

Rotis being stamped with the message

A heat stamp was specially made to make an impression on the chapattis.
The agency tied up with over 100 dhaba owners in the vicinity and handed out more than
2.5 million chapattis stamped with the Lifebuoy message.


The heat stamps used to make an impression on the chapattis

Lifebuoy achieved its aim of increasing awareness and getting people in touch with the brand.
And many of the millions at the Maha Kumbh Mela ate with cleaner hands.


Monday, March 18, 2013

Re: NEW TRANSFORMER G49178 -11-630-04-10 LYING IDLE FOR OVER A YEAR

Oh, thank God that something is being done, Insha'Allah, about your transformer problem - Alhamdulillah! Let's hope and pray that they keep their word and work fast.

Now, that leaves us guys in Nyali. I wonder IF that problem will EVER get solved. 

Their favourite statement when and IF you get them is for us to have patience. 

We've been trying to do this for YEARS now with no improvement and now reached a point where we have no patience left. 

God help us with such irresponsible 'service' providers.

Raziya
On Mon, Mar 18, 2013 at 11:35 AM, Hussein A Abbas Al Hussein
Dear Hon Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir ,

Thanks for your quick respond and our sister Raziya Mohamedali who
has been having problems in their area at Nyali for many years now .
I hope something will be done in that area also .

Hon Abdulswamad , yes it falls under Mvita Constituency which you are
our MP Elect. We don't have any documents we had informed KPL Staff's
the problems we are facing in our area . Such problems off/on Power cut
every now and than they told us they have problem , shortage of Transformer
and have no place to install one in this area . So we provide them a place
and yes they did install one which sorry to say it takes now almost if not
wrong 2 years to fix it accordingly . 

Let me  take this opportunity now to thank Mr. Ben Chumo who took a very
quick action by sending email to Ms. Anne Siyamo to follow up the issue and
Ms Anne did respond and promise to follow up also.

So Hon Abduswamad , I suggest let us wait and see their respond within at
list 3 days if action will be taken . Inshallah we will come back to you .

Thanking all of you and we hope this problem to be solved soon .

Best Regards

Hussein Abbas
Mobile : 0720612905/0735036612
Mombasa , Kenya   


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From: asnassir@radiorahma.co.ke
Subject: Re: NEW TRANSFORMER G49178 -11-630-04-10 LYING IDLE FOR OVER A YEAR
Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2013 11:00:52 +0300
To: raziya


Could the person who was following this up kindly contact me with necessary documentation. If this case is in Old Town then I believe it falls under Mvita Constituency. Allow me to follow this issue with KPLC to get an amicable way forward. 

Abdullswamad Shariff Nassir

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 18, 2013, at 10:31 AM, Raziya Mohamedali wrote:

So, THIS is how our so-called power company 'works'. 

The residents of an area have got them everything that they supposedly require, but, NOTHING has been done to alleviate their suffering.

That 'new' transformer is heading to becoming 'old' and one wonders if it will even work when it is eventually, if at all, fixed. After all it's been lying around at the mercy of the elements all this time.

Do the powers that be know how this power company despite persistently increasing it's tariffs with no thought of the poverty in the country, wastes the tax-payers hard-earned cash by not fixing a transformer for nearly 2 years?!!!!

What kind of people populate this company? They seem to have no regard whatsoever for the damage they cause to life, limb and property for reasons best known to themselves.

I suspect, similar things are happening else where for example in Nyali. That is also why they never have a legitimate reason for our constant fluctuations and outages.

Shame on them!

Raziya
On Sun, Mar 17, 2013 at 11:50 PM, Hussein A Abbas Al Hussein wrote:
REMINDER

Dear All ,

This is the reminder of my email dated 18th September 2012 concerning the New Transformer G49178-11-630-04-10 Still lying with wires but not connected . We have informed Emergency at Liwatoni but no action has been taken . This is why we are facing problems of power off/on .

Any one who can help us , the Poor Old Town Residence we are suffering and allot of our Electrical Goods are spoiled and KPL is not paying us .

Regards
 
Hussein Abbas
Secretary
OLD TOWN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY SERVICES (OTDC)
Chairman
OLD TOWN TOURNAMENTS ORGANIZERS (OTTO)

Mobile: 0720612905/0735036612
Mombasa , Kenya 



From: alhussein656
To: custcare@kplc.co.ke; customercaremombasa@kplc.co.ke; customercarenairobi@kplc.co.ke
Subject: NEW TRANSFORMER G49178 -11-630-04-10 LYING IDLE FOR OVER A YEAR
Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2012 19:06:32 +0000


We at Old Town Residence (Makadara Ward) Mombasa, having problem
Of Power every now and then some times for over 24 hours and having
Old People and Children's in our Homes. When complaining to the
Mombasa In Charge they told us they have a New Transformer but they
Don't have a Plot to fix it so the Problem can be solve immediately and
We will not have any problem of Power.

So we went up and down and got a Plot where they fix the Transformer
As above subject information's. The area is Between Ndia Kuu Road and
Shariff Khitamy Road near Masjid Shikely. This Transformer have been
Lying there for over a year now without working or been fixed. That
Means the problem of Power in our area remain same on and off without
any warning .   

We will appreciate if , the in charge here in Mombasa will come and see
what is remaining so that the Transformer can start working. As soon as
possible. 

Kindly look after this problem so we can have peace and good sleep.  

Regards

Hussein Abbas
Secretary
OTDC
Chairman OTTO
Mobile: 0720612905/0735036612
Mombasa , Kenya 

Re: NEW TRANSFORMER G49178 -11-630-04-10 LYING IDLE FOR OVER A YEAR

So, THIS is how our so-called power company 'works'. 

The residents of an area have got them everything that they supposedly require, but, NOTHING has been done to alleviate their suffering.

That 'new' transformer is heading to becoming 'old' and one wonders if it will even work when it is eventually, if at all, fixed. After all it's been lying around at the mercy of the elements all this time.

Do the powers that be know how this power company despite persistently increasing it's tariffs with no thought of the poverty in the country, wastes the tax-payers hard-earned cash by not fixing a transformer for nearly 2 years?!!!!

What kind of people populate this company? They seem to have no regard whatsoever for the damage they cause to life, limb and property for reasons best known to themselves.

I suspect, similar things are happening else where for example in Nyali. That is also why they never have a legitimate reason for our constant fluctuations and outages.

Shame on them!

Raziya

On Sun, Mar 17, 2013 at 11:50 PM, Hussein A Abbas Al Hussein wrote:
REMINDER

Dear All ,

This is the reminder of my email dated 18th September 2012
concerning
the New Transformer G49178-11-630-04-10 Still
lying with wires but not
connected . We have informed Emergency
at Liwatoni but no action
has been taken . This is why we are facing problems of power off/on .

Any one who can help us , the Poor Old Town Residence we are
suffering and allot of our Electrical Goods are spoiled and KPL
is not paying us .

Regards
 
Hussein Abbas
Secretary
OLD TOWN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY SERVICES (OTDC)
Chairman
OLD TOWN TOURNAMENTS ORGANIZERS (OTTO)

Mobile: 0720612905/0735036612
Mombasa , Kenya 



From: alhussein656
To: custcare@kplc.co.ke; customercaremombasa@kplc.co.ke; customercarenairobi@kplc.co.ke
Subject: NEW TRANSFORMER G49178 -11-630-04-10 LYING IDLE FOR OVER A YEAR
Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2012 19:06:32 +0000


We at Old Town Residence (Makadara Ward) Mombasa, having problem
Of Power every now and then some times for over 24 hours and having
Old People and Children's in our Homes. When complaining to the
Mombasa In Charge they told us they have a New Transformer but they
Don't have a Plot to fix it so the Problem can be solve immediately and
We will not have any problem of Power.

So we went up and down and got a Plot where they fix the Transformer
As above subject information's. The area is Between Ndia Kuu Road and
Shariff Khitamy Road near Masjid Shikely. This Transformer have been
Lying there for over a year now without working or been fixed. That
Means the problem of Power in our area remain same on and off without
any warning .   

We will appreciate if , the in charge here in Mombasa will come and see
what is remaining so that the Transformer can start working. As soon as
possible. 

Kindly look after this problem so we can have peace and good sleep.  

Regards

Hussein Abbas
Secretary
OTDC
Chairman OTTO
Mobile: 0720612905/0735036612
Mombasa , Kenya

Re: Fluctuations & Outages

Yes, I know what you mean. We, at the Coast, seem to be so entrenched in corruption that we keep (most of us, anyway), electing the same old recycled creeps.

And why?

First, because the majority of us are semi- or illiterate. This leads to the second reason....

Due to our literacy rate, we have a lot of poverty and unscrupulous 'leaders' can pay us as little as 200/- to 500/- to make us vote for them. 

We are so unprincipled and daft that we do not realize that we can (if we need the money so much), take these people's money, but, still vote for a good leader at the ballot box.

Re that 9555 number. I don't think it's for Mombasa. It works in Nairobi, ONLY (it seems). But, there too, it will lead your call to an answering machine which will keep telling you to hold on to be served. Since it costs us an arm and a leg to call (it's not toll-free), KPLC has little regard for it's customers' monetary conditions. 

This despite them having and keep on raising their tariffs every year if not more often. The amount they charge is inversely proportional to their 'services', don't you think?!

I also tweeted my email to KPLC via my blog. So, I wonder if they read their 'praises' via twitter. I hope so...

Salaams,
Raziya


On Sun, Mar 17, 2013 at 11:01 PM, Hussein A Abbas Al Hussein wrote:
Dear Raziya ,

This is what is happening here in Old Town since the day
of the elections
which provide others to take advantage
and to do what they want on the
election boxes etc .
Today we had off from 0900 am to 7pm .


I received on 01.03.2013 at 07:59:41am SMS from Kenya
Power stating as
follow :- Dear Customer , you can now
call Kenya Power on the number
95551 for emergency
services , power interruptions , billing , prepaid and
new
connection queries . The same day I call the nuumber not
working I received
answer , sorry we cannot complete the
call as dial please check the number
and try again .
I tried today at 10:45pm again same answer . So this is what
is KPL and they just increase the charges but still they cannot
provide the good services which we customer needs .

Problems
we don't have leaders here in the coast and all coming
are same and special now we are having same leaders coming
back . So we will never get any help or any good services from 
KPL no one after them . But will come a day that they will see
people on the streets and that time will know . 


Hussein Abbas
Secretary ,
Old Town
Development Community Service
 

Mobile : 0720612905/0735036612
P.O.Box 87952
Mombasa - 80100
Kenya



From: rmohamedali
Date: Sun, 17 Mar 2013 14:28:23 +0300
Subject: Fluctuations & Outages
To: bunge@swiftkenya.com; amachasio@kplc.co.ke; bchumo@kplc.co.ke; BMuriithi@kplc.co.ke; rmahaga@kplc.co.ke; DCheloti@kplc.co.ke; jombui@kplc.co.ke; jnjoroge@kplc.co.ke; FTsuma@kplc.co.ke; FObura@kplc.co.ke; yhaid@kplc.co.ke; hvidzo@kplc.co.ke; KMbaluka@kplc.co.ke; LNgugi@kplc.co.ke; MTheuri@kplc.co.ke; pwambua@kplc.co.ke; RGitonga@kplc.co.ke
CC: catherine.gicheru@the-star.co.ke; coastwk@africaonline.co.ke; di_ho_ff@yahoo.com; kenyatimesonline@yahoo.com; letters@the-star.co.ke; mailbox@nation.co.ke; mmwende@yahoo.com; mwangiayub@gmail.com; ntv@nation.co.ke; fountainmedia@fep-group.com; ronklif@yahoo.com; sidobosire@yahoo.com; sundaynation@nation.co.ke; newsdesk@nairobistar.com; vipslit@yahoo.ca; wanjiru.kinoti@nairobistar.com; weekend@nairobistar.com

'Afternoon!

One wonders if there is EVER going to be an END to these two in Nyali.

Yesterday early morning like many days the power went off and this trend continued - on/off, on/off and after sunset it kept fluctuating every few minutes. Those of us who have sollatek devices to supposedly protect our various electric and electronic equipment kept having total outages till such time that the power stabilized.

Of course, this made the on/off interval even shorter.

This happened 5 times!!!

Then, since this morning it has gone at least 3 times and I understand more is yet to come....

The reason, to our satisfaction is NEVER given except for things like broken wires, a tree being the culprit, etc. All of these smack of being lies. Because, one wonders which and how many trees (they can't move around!), could there be. After all we have a deforestation problem in the country. Then about broken wires - this too, is a very tired and recycled excuse. 

I would like to ask Kenya Power (KPLC), why just North Coast and Nyali? And why don't they answer their phones? Maybe, because they are beginning to find their own 'tired' and untruthful excuses ridiculous....?

What are they up to? What is the REAL reason for these persistent, expensive and highly irritating fluctuations and outages.

They tell you to report outages on Twitter. How is someone supposed to do this when computers don't work without their power. Not everybody has phones that are capable of going online or want to punch on little keys to do this.

Will ANYTHING CHANGE now, with a new government and constitution in place?

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Prince Charles reveals he’s been having Arabic lessons for six months so he can read the Koran

The Muslim Times | AlislamSubscribe

Prince Charles reveals he's been having Arabic lessons for six months so he can read the Koran


Prince Charles with his wife


Posted by 
Source: Religion News Service
By Prof. : He is a Professor of Islamic Studies at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, specializing in contemporary Islamic thought and classical Islam.
A recent story about Prince Charles learning Arabic in order to undertake a deeper study of the Qur'an has created a lot of hubbub in the British media.
The story has raised rumors yet again about the heir to the British throne's deep fascination with Islam.
A decade ago, Islamophobes were already filled with dread that Prince Charles might have already converted to Islam.
So what is behind this attraction to Islam?  What about Islam is proving so appealing to Prince Charles himself?   To answer that question, let us listen to some of what he has to say.
Charles approaches Islam not primarily through the lens of security threats and international crises, but rather as a body of spiritual teachings.  He states:
The Islamic world is the custodian of one of the greatest treasures of accumulated wisdom and spiritual knowledge available to humanity.
295
Much of his attractions to Islam actually comes from the insights of the Qur'an that come to identify the natural cosmos as a site where God is revealed and experienced:
There is a profound truth in that seemingly simple, old saying of the nomads — that "the best of all Mosques is Nature herself."
Prince Charles has long displayed a deep concern for the environmental crises of the planet, and like many others he sees this not merely as a matter of science, but as a religious crisis:
The inconvenient truth is that we share this planet with the rest of creation for a very good reason – and that is, we cannot exist on our own without the intricately balanced web of life around us.
'Islam has always taught this and to ignore that lesson is to default on our contract with creation.
Prince Charles and Camilla in Qatar for second leg of Middle East trip.  The Prince revealed he has had six months of private Arabic tuition. But told students he struggles to understand the language
It is his destiny to defend Christianity as head of the Church of England when he is king.
This, however, has not stopped the Prince of Wales from long being fascinated by Islam.
Yesterday, it emerged Charles has taken this interest a step further by having lessons in Arabic for the last six months.
This would enable him to read the Koran in its original form as well as decipher Arabic script on visits to mosques and museums.

Click here to read further in the Muslim Times.

The Muslim Times' Editorial team: If you like what you see, please forward it to friends and family.  To know more about us: click here.
1-800-WHY-ISLAM

Fluctuations & Outages

One wonders if there is EVER going to be an END to these two in Nyali.

Yesterday early morning like many days the power went off and this trend continued - on/off, on/off and after sunset it kept fluctuating every few minutes. Those of us who have sollatek devices to supposedly protect our various electric and electronic equipment kept having total outages till such time that the power stabilized.

Of course, this made the on/off interval even shorter.

This happened 5 times!!!

Then, since this morning it has gone at least 3 times and I understand more is yet to come....

The reason, to our satisfaction is NEVER given except for things like broken wires, a tree being the culprit, etc. All of these smack of being lies. Because, one wonders which and how many trees (they can't move around!), could there be. After all we have a deforestation problem in the country. Then about broken wires - this too, is a very tired and recycled excuse. 

I would like to ask Kenya Power (KPLC), why just North Coast and Nyali? And why don't they answer their phones? Maybe, because they are beginning to find their own 'tired' and untruthful excuses ridiculous....?

What are they up to? What is the REAL reason for these persistent, expensive and highly irritating fluctuations and outages.

They tell you to report outages on Twitter. How is someone supposed to do this when computers don't work without their power. Not everybody has phones that are capable of going online or want to punch on little keys to do this.

Will ANYTHING CHANGE now, with a new government and constitution in place?

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Synopsis of Istighfar

A'ouzo billahi min-aash-shaitan-ir-rajeem... Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

Synopsis of Istighfar

Istighfar means to cover up, protect or suppress. The primary connotation of Istighfar is to supplicate for the suppression of human tendency to fall into error so as to be safeguarded against error or sin.

Its secondary connotation is to supplicate for suppression of consequences of error. Thus Istighfar might connote suppression of a person’s tendency towards falling into sin or error, or his protection against the consequences of such errors or sin, or of the errors and sins of others.

On account of lack of knowledge of Arabic, the true significance of Istighfar has been lost to many. This word is derived from Ghafar, the other infinitive forms being Maghfirat, Ghufran etc. As given in all Arabic dictionaries, the word ghafar means to cover or to protect. Therefore the primary meaning of Istighfar is, seeking protection or a prayer of protection and support. All other meanings usually given to this word are derived or secondary.

To whom is the above prayer addressed?
...and from what is the protection sought?

Since we are discussing this subject from the Islamic point of view, the obvious answer to the first question is to none other than the One God, Allah. The common form of this prayer is Astaghfirullah i.e., I seek the protection of Allah or I pray to Allah for His Protection and this makes it conclusive that the Istighfar is addressed to the One God alone.

The answer to the second question is the most important point to be settled and is the main subject of this discussion. Is the protection sought simply from the punishment of evil which a man has wrought or is it sought primarily from the evil itself and sub the evil has been done? For the correct answer, one has to go to the fundamental question of relation between God and His creatures. The God of Islam is not only the Creator but Supporter as well. Whatever has been made by Divine Hand is also supported by it. If, therefore, man needs the creating Hand of God to come into existence, it is equally true that he needs His supporting hand to be saved from corruption. The Divine attribute of creation required that man should be created in the image of God and the requirement of the Divine attribute of support was that what had been created in Divine image should not be given up to corruption and everlasting destruction. It is to denote these two Divine attributes that the adjectives Al-Hayy, Al-Qayyum are used in the Holy Qur’an regarding Allah, which means, the One Who brings into existence and supports that which He has created.

By nature, man needs support for his existence. This is testified in the Holy Qur’an by the verse: man has been created weak. He is a creature and as such is dependent upon his Creator, resembling an infant that needs the assistance of its mother at every step. Thus we have in God, a supporter and in man, somebody who requires support. Almighty God gives support to man in all matters in abundance without his asking. Yet as an intelligent being he must exercise his own will to avail himself of some gifts. Man is feeble in nature and as such is powerless to resist evil tendencies. If he, therefore, does not use his faculties to ask for aid from the Supporter against evil tendencies, he rejects the gift which he could have claimed by asking, and this leads him into evil. The Holy Qur’an teaches man how to ask for God’s help in the opening chapter of the Book:

Thee alone do we worship and Thee alone do we implore for help. (Ch.1:V.5)

Tthe real significance of Istighfar: – seeking protection of God from evil. Hence the necessity of Istighfar by every person is obvious without any consideration of actual commission of sin by him. In short, existence of sin is not a pre-requisite for Istighfar. There is a craving in the very nature of man to attain perfection. To satisfy this craving, he is guided to say Istighfar and this makes up for the deficiency of human nature by imploring strength from God.

Astaghfirulla-ha rabbi, −  astaghfirullaha rabbi, astaghfirullah rabbi min kulli dhanbiñwwa atubu ilaihi .......... I beg pardon from Allah, my Lord. I beg pardon from  Allah, my Lord. I beg pardon from Allah, my Lord, from all my sins and turn to Him.

Istighfar is also needed for protection from the punishment of the evil that has been done. Hence it is of secondary significance, the primary one being the protection from the evil itself, whether a sin has been committed or not. This leads us to the role of prophets who have been raised from time to time among various people. The primary object of their appearance is to deliver men from evil and not to pardon them the sin they go on committing. In this respect Prophet Muhammad(saw) has an eminence not reached by any other prophet. He was raised at a time when darkness prevailed on the face of the earth and people had gone astray in doctrine and practice. The Arabs whom he addressed directly had sunk deep into vice. From this depth of degradation he raised them to the highest pinnacles of civilization.

But how did he bring about this revolution? Since God alone can support man against the forces of evil, it is obvious that the Prophet must have taught them to pray to God for this protection. It is Istighfar that he taught. Istighfar, as seen in the Holy Qur’an, is the true and only means of drawing strength and support of God, the only course for attaining nearness of God and the only path by walking on which man may attain to sinlessness and salvation. The Holy Qur’an speaks of it as the highest accomplishment of good men. In chapter 51 we read:

But surely the righteous will be in the midst of gardens and fountains receiving what their Lord will give them; for they used to do good before that They used to sleep but a little of the night; and at the dawn of the day they sought forgiveness; (Ch.51:Vs.16-19)

Verily the righteous shall dwell amid gardens and fountains with the blessings which their Lord has given them. This is a reward to them, for, before this they were the greatest doers of good, passed the greater part of the night in devotion to God and when morning came, they resorted to `Istighfar’, i.e., they sought the Divine strength and support. As clearly seen here, Istighfar is described as a deed of righteousness and the effect of which is not that they were saved from the torment of hell fire but Divine blessings and favours were showered upon them in abundance.

The Arabic word Muhsin translated as good man in the fore-quoted Qur’anic verse has been defined by the Holy Prophet(saw) as one who worships God so sincerely as if he actually sees Him or at least the one who deems himself in the presence of God Who sees him. It should be noted that when a person reaches this stage, he cannot sin. Hence his Istighfar is not for the protection from the punishment of hell but is a part of his goodness. Such a man keeps himself in the presence of God during the night, praying for Divine protection and support in the morning to keep him firm in His path and not to let him slip. He feels that without the strength and support of God, he would not be able to overcome the frailties of his nature and, therefore, prays constantly that he might not be deprived of heavenly bliss due to the weakness of his flesh.

Another Qur’anic verse which shows Istighfar as a highly commendable deed for righteousness is: the patient, the truthful, and the lowly and charitable and those who resort to Istighfar at morning times. (Ch.3:V.19)

In this verse, the Istighfar is deemed as a necessity for good together with patience, truth, lowliness and charity. Here Istighfar clearly is indicated not only for saving from punishment but also for drawing blessings and favours of God. Not only is Istighfar described as leading to virtuous deeds, but Maghfirat is also promised as a gift of God to those who lead a virtuous course of life. We read in the Chapter Hud, thus: ..those who are steadfast and do good works. It is they who will have forgiveness and a great reward. (Ch.11:Vs.12)

Here maghfirat is promised as a reward to those who do righteous deeds and does not mean pardon of sins, because the persons to whom it is promised are plainly described as being those who have been doing righteous deeds. In fact man always stands in need of maghfirat and maghfirat of God shall continue even in paradise. The Holy Qur’an attests to this in the words:

..in it (paradise) will they have all kinds of fruits and ‘maghfirat’ from their Lord. (Ch.47:Vs.16)

Here maghfirat is plainly described as a reward which shall be granted to the good in paradise. In chapter Al-Tahrim of the Holy Book we read:

Those (who enter paradise) will pray: Our Lord, perfect our light for us and forgive us. (Ch.66:Vs.9)

This unceasing desire for perfection and maghfirat shows clearly that progress in paradise will be endless. From these two verses, it is plain that even after entry into paradise which will only be possible after obtaining God’s pardon for those who have committed sins, the faithful will still have a continuous desire for maghfirat, or in another words, they will resort to istighfar, even though they shall have been saved from punishment.

What does maghfirat in paradise mean?

As mentioned earlier, Istighfar is a requirement of the nature of man as a creature and of the attribute of God as the Creator and Supporter. The attribute of support of the Creator must remain constantly at work as long as there are creatures. Notwithstanding continual progress in heaven, men will still be creatures and still be dependent upon God. Any degree of perfection they may attain in this world or the next cannot be equivalent to the perfection of the Creator. In paradise, the righteous will ever be ascending upwards and will regard every state as defective in comparison with the higher one to which he will aspire and will, therefore, pray to God for maghfirat. Since progress is endless, the desire for maghfirat will never cease. In spite of the fact that God has granted maghfirat to the Holy Prophet (saw) for short comings, past and future (Ch.48:Vs.2), he has been advised to `resort to Istighfar’ and seek maghfirat from God (Ch.110:Vs.4) even after the assurance of God (Ch.48:Vs.2).

In short, Istighfar is the closest form of communion with God, the highest flight of the spirit of man towards the Divine Being. The man who resorts to Istighfar humiliates himself before God, admitting the weakness of his nature and dreads the Power and Glory of the Creator. His whole delight, his very paradise, is in this fact that he should fly to that rock of strength, without Whoseshelter he cannot live. His own self is annihilated and God alone becomes His objective. The man who constantly reforms to Istighfar, feels his own dependency and turns to God for help and aid and thus gives evidence that he has overcome the weakness of flesh and resisted the evil tendency because the strength of God is with him and His light descending upon him, has suppressed every infirmity of nature which could have led to sin.

Acknowledgments
• The Review of Religions, 1903, From writings of Hadhrat Ahmad(as), the Promised Messiah and Mahdi
• The Qur’an – Preface to the English Translation by Sir Muhammad Zafrullah Khan.