As Ramadan draws to an end, Let us not miss this last opportunity to be forgiven.
THE goal of every Muslim is to be saved from Hell, because then he or she will automatically enter Paradise. It is either Paradise or Hellfire – there is no other alternative. And everyone wants Paradise. Period.
Isn’t it ironic that we all continuously sin in spite of the fact that only sins take us to Hellfire? But we should not despair, as there is great wisdom behind this.
The Prophet (salallahu alayhi wasallam) said: “By Him in Whose Hand is my life, if you were not to commit sin, Allah would sweep you out of existence and He would replace (you by) those people who would commit sin and seek forgiveness from Allah, and He would pardon them.”
Since Allah loves those who repent’, He created us as beings that would sin so we could turn to Him in repentance and seek His forgiveness. Taubah (repenting to Allah) and seeking forgiveness, by the Mercy of Allah, wipe away sins completely and leave a person’s slate free from sins. What a bounty and mercy from our Lord!
The most effective way for protection from Hellfire is to seek Allah’s Help in the following areas:
Beg Allah the Almighty, who answers all du`aa, to help you in avoiding sins;
But since you will slip and commit sins – as the Messenger of Allah (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) said that Allah said: “O son of Adam you sin by night and by day and I forgive sins, so seek forgiveness from Me and I will forgive you…” –, beg Allah to guide you to seek forgiveness and repent immediately after committing any sin. This will erase the sin as Istighfaar (to seek forgiveness) means “seeking the total removal of sins”. Tawbah (repentance) also has the same result.
Another way of wiping away sins is to do good deeds. The Messenger of Allah (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “Fear Allah wherever you are and follow up an evil deed with a good deed and it will erase it…”
And Allah says: “Establish worship at the two ends of the day and in some watches of the night. Lo! Good deeds annul evil deeds. This is reminder for the mindful.”
Some scholars are of the view that this verse is only speaking about the forgiveness of minor sins, and that major sins need specific repentance. However, number of other scholars hold that the verse “Good deeds annul evil deeds” is general in meaning and it applies to all sins – major and minor.
Even if a person’s good deeds do not expiate the sin directly, there can be no doubt that those good deeds will weigh on the balance of deeds on the Day of Judgment in the person’s favor. Whosever’s good deeds outweigh the evil deeds on that Day will attain salvation. Allah says: “The balance that day will be true: those whose scale (of good) will be heavy will prosper, and as for those whose measure (of good deeds) is light, their souls will be in perdition, for that they wrongfully treated Our signs.”[6]
May Allah, the Most Forgiving, Who loves to pardon sinners, help us to understand the vastness of His Mercy. He gave us Ramadan, which offers all the perfect opportunities for anyone who does not want to go to Hell. Follow us in this small article to see the vast opportunities Ramadan provides to help us (sinners) be safe from Hell.
Who is your Lord
Who – except those who are arrogant and ignorant – can miss being forgiven when we have a Lord with such beautiful Names as follows:
Allah is At-Tawwaab which means ‘He who guides His servants to repent and accepts their repentance’.
We also understand that Allah is the only One to grant forgiveness. He possesses the following Attributes:
Allah is Al-Ghafoor – ‘The One who forgives’
He is Al-Ghaffaar – ‘The Oft-Forgiving’ – This attribute is even wider in meaning than Al-Ghafoor
He is Al-‘Afuww – ‘The One who pardons (all sins).’
Allah has taught us His perfect Names so we could constantly use them to beg Him for forgiveness. The Names demand that we frequently repent to Him. O Allah! Please make us from among those who constantly repent and seek your forgiveness! Ameen!
So, who can miss being forgiven when he can ask Allah by all these beautiful Names? “And to Allah belong the best names, so invoke Him by them.”
Important point: Fellow sinners, please be aware that one of the most effective ways to make du’aa for forgiveness is through the following of Allah’s Names: Al–Ghafoor, Al-Ghaffaar, and Al-`Afuww.
Who could miss being forgiven when His Lord Allah loves to forgive so, so much. The Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “By Him in Whose Hand is my life, if you were not to commit sin, Allah would sweep you out of existence and He would replace (you by) those people who would commit sin and seek forgiveness from Allah, and He would pardon them.”[8]
O sinner, your Lord loves to forgive you. Should you not love what He loves? After all, He does not benefit from this, only you do – so reflect!
Who can miss being forgiven when Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His slave than a person who has lost his camel in a desert carrying all his provision and then finds it? Consider carefully the following Hadeeth of the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam):
“Verily, Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His slave than a person who has his camel in a waterless desert carrying his provision of food and drink and it is lost. He, having lost all hopes (to get that back), lies down in shade and is disappointed about his camel; when all of a sudden he finds that camel standing before him. He takes hold of its reins and then out of boundless joy blurts out: ‘O Allah, You are my slave and I am Your Rubb’. He commits this mistake out of extreme joy”.
O Muslim, Allah is pleased when you repent. Do you not want to make Him happy with you?
And who could miss being forgiven by Allah when He is stretching out His Hands (showing how much He wants us to return to Him, as a child running to his loving parents whose hands are outstretched to receive him). The Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “Allah, the Exalted, will continue to stretch out His Hand in the night so that the sinners of the day may repent, and continue to stretch His Hand in the daytime so that the sinners of the night may repent, until the sun rises from the west”.[10]
Who could miss being forgiven when our Lord, Allah, descends in the last third of every night asking: Is there anyone who is seeking forgiveness, so that I can forgive him…?
So, where are we, O brothers and sisters who are living in sin – what are we doing during that time! Negligent, heedless and sleeping while our gracious Lord is pleading with us to ask His forgiveness so He may forgive us! What a glorious chance you are being offered to erase every sin you have done!
Who could miss being forgiven when his Lord is so, so very Merciful to him. Among the greatest bounty of Allah is that He has made it obligatory upon believers to seek forgiveness. Allah said: “And seek forgiveness of Allah. Indeed, Allah is ever Forgiving and Merciful.”
Tell me O Muslim who could miss being forgiven when Allah said:
“Say: O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. Turn to your Lord repentant, and surrender to Him, before there come to you the doom, when you cannot be helped.”
O my dear brother and sister, how can you not want to repent when if Allah sees sincere repentance from a servant, He not only forgives his sins, but also replaces those sins with good deeds to the servant’s credit. This is from Allah’s infinite grace and generosity. Please consider the following verse carefully:
“…Unless he repents, believes, and works righteous deeds, for Allah will change the evil deeds of such persons into good deeds, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful,”
Allah says this right after mentioning the sins of polytheism, murder, and adultery. However, this blessing is only for one who has faith, whose repentance is sincere, and who strives to do righteous deeds.
There is so much to write on Allah’s vast forgiveness but I really feel that the following Hadeeth says it all. Please read it carefully and reflect, especially when Allah says: “I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind.”
The Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) said that Allah the Almighty said: “O Son of Adam, as long as you invoke Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O Son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and you then asked forgiveness from 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 nearly as great as it [too].”[15]
And if that is not enough, then listen to this Hadeeth. The Prophet of Allah (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
“There was a man from among a nation before you who killed 99 people and then made an inquiry about the most learned person on the earth. He was directed to a monk. He came to him and told him that he had killed 99 people and asked him if there was any chance for his repentance to be accepted.
“The monk replied in the negative and the man killed him also completing 100. He then asked about the most learned man in the earth. He was directed to a scholar. He told him that he had killed 100 people and asked him if there was any chance for his repentance to be accepted.
“The scholar replied in the affirmative and asked, `Who stands between you and repentance? Go to such and such land; there (you will find) people devoted to prayer and worship of Allah, join them in worship, and do not come back to your land because it is an evil place.’ So he went away and hardly had he covered half the distance when death overtook him; and there was a dispute between the angels of mercy and the angels of torment. The angels of mercy pleaded, ‘This man has come with a repenting heart to Allah,’ and the angels of punishment argued, ‘He never did a virtuous deed in his life.’
“Then there appeared another angel in the form of a human being and the contending angels agreed to make him arbiter between them. He said, `Measure the distance between the two lands. He will be considered belonging to the land to which he is nearer.’ They measured and found him closer to the land (land of piety) where he intended to go, and so the angels of mercy collected his soul.”[16]
If Allah loves to forgive, is pleased with the repentance of His servants, loves those who repent, is stretching out His Hands waiting for you to return to Him, does not mind forgiving you, and will exchange your evil with good, then what is holding you back from humbly returning to your Lord?
Forgiveness means our sins are wiped out and that we won’t be punished in Hell. O Muslim, O sinner, what are you waiting for?
My beloved brothers and sisters, I am sure that now having reading about Allah’s Forgiveness and Mercy you will be wanting to turn to Him, pour out all your sins to Him, beg for His forgiveness and repent to Him.
O sinners like myself, please accompany me in this journey toward forgiveness and Paradise!
Who could miss being forgiven in Ramadan!?
Forgiveness! Forgiveness! Forgiveness! And more forgiveness! Forgiveness during the daytime and forgiveness during the night – literally, forgiveness all the time! This is just one of the many precious gifts of Ramadan for sinners! Yes, Ramadan is definitely the Month of Forgiveness!