By: Khadija Mansaray
Source: http://maestrouzy.com/
There is a major barrier that’s blocking many Muslims from getting closer to Allah and improving their relationship with Him. This barrier is losing hope in the mercy of Allah. Sometimes people think that Allah will never forgive them because of the multitude of their sins. As a result, they slacken in performing their acts of worship and some even abandon them as they lose hope in attaining the mercy of Allah. However, Allah, The Exalted has said:
“Say, ‘O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.’” (Surah Az-Zumar, Ayah 53)”
What we need to understand is that no one is perfect and part of being imperfect is falling into errors, including committing sins. Because committing sins is a part of our design, that is why Allah’s most emphasized attribute is His Mercy. It is a fact that mankind will commit sins. The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said, “All humans are sinners and the best sinners are those who repent much.” (Recorded in Abu Dawood)
It should also be noted that there are several stories in the Qur’an and Hadith about people who committed dreadful crimes and were forgiven when they repented and sought forgiveness from Allah.
So, what we must do is recognize that Allah is the Most Merciful. We cannot abandon Allah due to our sins because no one is exempt from committing sins. At the same time, we shouldn’t use Allah’s Mercy as an excuse to commit sins. However, we should always have hope in the fact that no matter what we do, or how massive our sins are, Allah will always forgive them if we turn to Him sincerely in repentance and try our best to please Him. It is because of His mercy He made us to sin so that we can turn to Him for forgiveness and get closer to Him. Hence, we should never lose hope in attaining His mercy.
Remember to repent and seek forgiveness before it is too late as we do not know the time of our departure from this world.
The Prophet (SAW) said, “Allah the Almighty said:
“O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask from Me, I shall pardon you for what you have done, and I wouldn’t care. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness almost as great as it.’” (Tirmidhi)”