In this Khutbah (sermon), Shaykh Dr. Yasir Qadhi discusses 10 ways a person may be saved from the Hellfire.

Allah (swt) says in the Glorious Qur'an, "Whoever manages to save himself from the fire of Hell and is caused to enter into Jannah, that is the one who has truly achieved success..."

These 10 ways are summarized as follows:

1. Tawbah - This is a state of the heart, a psychological state of mind. Nothing can avert it from being acceptable. Tawbah is regret. If you feel guilty you need to make Tawbah. Concept of Tawbah is one of the wisdoms of why Allah created us. When angels asked why Allah is creating humans who will cause Fasaad, “Surely I know what you do not know” was His response. Allah created us so that we can make Tawbah and appeal to His Mercy. The one who makes Tawbah is as if he has never committed the sin.

2. Istighfaar - This is the verbal act of Tawbah, a verbal manifestation of the Tawbah. Every day the Prophet (pbuh) made Tawbah and said Istighfaar 100 times. We should make it a habit to keep saying Istighfaar. Allah (swt) keeps forgiving those of his slaves who keep asking Him for forgiveness. Allah loves the slaves who seek His forgiveness and are in constant Istighfaar.

3. Good Deeds - Good deeds expiate evil deeds. A man came to the Prophet (pbuh) and said to him that he had committed an evil deed, that he had kissed a woman. The Prophet (pbuh) stayed silent. The man started to leave after the prayer thinking his sin would not be forgiven. But the Prophet (pbuh) called him back and told the man that good deeds wipe out bad deeds.

4. Du’a and Istighfaar of other believers - Rabbana ighfir lana wa li ikhwanina allathina sabaquna bil Iman: Our Lord! Forgive us and our brethren who have preceded us in Faith.

5. Calamities, trials, tribulations, grief and anguish - Every emotional and physical pain that we suffer in this life, if we have Sabr, is a means of forgiveness in the hereafter.

6. Undesirable: Punishment of the Grave (Adhaab al Qabr) - There will be people who are major sinners and deserve Jahannam but the punishment of the grave will act as Kaffaara and they will be saved.

7. Undesirable: Punishments and trials of the Day of Judgment - For some Muslims, the suffering of the Day Of Judgment will be an expiation. Our goal is to zoom through this stage.

8. Good deeds gifted to the deceased by the living - For example, a son or daughter making Du’a for their deceased parents or charity given on behalf of a dead person. This allows us to maximize spreading our benefit to others in this life. Another example is of orphans who make Du’a for the person who gave them charity. A person will rise in ranks in the hereafter due to such gifts.

9. The intercession of the Prophet (pbuh) - Whoever gets it will go to Jannah. The Du’a we make after Adhaan is very important. The Prophet (pbuh) said that whoever makes that Du’a sincerely will get his attention.

10. Allah (swt)’s mercy on the Day of Judgment.

An 11th way, and the best way to avoid Hellfire, is to not have committed the sin in the first place. Remember, sins cause grief in this life and the hereafter.

Date of presentation: April 22, 2016 @ Memphis Islamic Center