Fath al-Rabbani

Benefits: … Every human being, by nature, stands on the brink of error, and at any moment, any kind of sin may be committed by him—and indeed, this is how it will be. After the Prophets, no one at all can claim chastity and infallibility; every member of the Ummah will inevitably stumble in one way or another. The meaning of these blessed ahadith is that, instead of persisting in sin after committing it, one should turn to Allah, the Exalted, in repentance (tawbah) and seeking forgiveness (istighfar), because this is something He greatly loves—and He loves it so much that if such people were to become extinct, such that there would be none from whom sin would issue, then Allah, the Exalted, would create people who would commit sins and then seek forgiveness, and Allah, the Exalted, would forgive them. This absolutely does not mean that He loves sins or that sinners are beloved to Him; rather, He loves repentance and turning back (inabah), and such people are beloved to Him—and this is the meaning of this hadith.

Dear readers! From the first human, Adam alayhis salam, until today, it has never happened that Allah, the Exalted, destroyed a nation that did not commit sins and replaced them with people who, after sinning, would seek forgiveness from Allah, and He would forgive them. For, in fact, no such nation has ever existed that was not involved in sin. In reality, the above-mentioned ahadith emphasize seeking forgiveness from Allah, the Exalted, for sins, because Allah, the Exalted, is extremely pleased with the person who, after committing a sin, seeks forgiveness from Him. Therefore, no one should take from this hadith the audacity to begin committing sins carelessly.