Any mistake is something that can be conquered and defeated with goodness; doing good, for the sake of Allah, out of love and fear for Allah, cleanses the heart from the stains of sin. Thus, we must live and breathe mindfully. We must do with a conscience. We must think beyond the window of our immediate actions to the consequences their consequences.
Let this serve as a reminder to both you and I, and anyone we may share this with. We must correct our intentions and live with honesty, sincerity, honor, virtue. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), in this hadith, reminds us to be conscious of Allah at any moment-in any place-at any time-in any situation. We must be heedful of our Lord. We must have taqwa. Regardless of what happens to us, what we have been through, where we are or what we are doing, we must be aware that Allah, the All-Knowing (العليم), the Perfectly Wise (الحكيم), the All-Hearing (السميع) and the All-Seeing (البصير) will know what we do, think, say. To have taqwa, a constant consciousness of Allah, is a sign of both love and fear for Him, for we act cautiously with Him in mind, loving that which He loves, and fearing the punishment of that which He does not. In this hadith, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) teaches us that we must have God-consciousness no matter where we are, who we are or who we may be with, no matter what we are doing. Taqwa is a quality all believers should strive for. But even those with taqwa may make mistakes. We are not perfect beings-we are lost at times, temperamental at times, forgetful at times, sad at times, consumed by our surroundings-but this is not an excuse for us to allow ourselves to persist in bad deeds. This is not an excuse for us to continually sin, to accept our errors and say that we are human. We constantly are in battle with our nafs. Our desires. Our egos. Our selves. Add to that battle the push and stab and pull of the shayateen. Yes, we are human. Yes, we make mistakes. No, it doesn't make it okay. We were created to worship, to submit to our Lord, so why do we allow ourselves to stray from our one true purpose? We can rise after falling. There are different kinds of people, those who allow their nafs to overcome them and lead them to ruin, and those who overcome their nafs and made them obey their commands, who correct themselves and act with Allah in mind. We mustn't allow ourselves to dwell in sin, nor should we ever despair in our errors. We are not beyond being forgiven, but it is up to us to make the difference. The way of the people of taqwa is to turn back to Allah no matter what happens, even if they sin-especially if they sin. Allah says in the Quran: "And hasten to forgiveness from your Lord and (to) a garden as wide as the heavens and earth, prepared for the righteous, Who spend (for the sake of Allah) during ease and hardship and who restrain anger and who pardon the people-verily, Allah loves the doers of good; And those who, when they commit an immorality or wrong themselves (with sin), remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their transgressions-and who can forgive sins except Allah?-and (those who) do not persist in what they have done while they know. Those-their reward is forgiveness from their Lord and gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide eternally; How excellent is the reward for the doers of taqwa." (3:133-136) The reward for taqwa is forgiveness. SubhanAllah. Some people are guilty after committing a sin-alhamdulillah for feeling guilty as that is a sign of love and fear for Allah and a sign of guidance if we so choose to act proactively from it. If we transform our guilt as motivation to correct ourselves and follow our bad deeds with good deeds, then we are turning away from sin and seeking forgiveness. Never should we allow our guilt or regret to stop us from moving forward. Having sinned is not a reason to keep doing it. Who are we to question or lose hope in the Oft-Forgiving, the Merciful? When we sin, we should do something good immediately to absolve ourselves and remain positive. This, in turn, allows us to create a habit of checking our actions, thinking before saying or doing, with Allah at the forefront of our thoughts. This allows us to develop good character as we strive to attain the mercy of Allah and do good. The response to a sin should not be to wait, but rather to race to do something good so the sin can be erased. Our attitude should be proactive and positive. We should always have hope that Allah can, and will, have mercy on us as long as we keep struggling and pushing forward. May Allah make us amongst the muttaqeen (those with taqwa), refine our souls with taqwa, and purify our hearts. Ameen.
1 Comment
Anonymous Muslimah
4/13/2015 04:03:32 pm
This is a beautiful take on taqwaa and how Allah never turns anyone away. Anyone can turn back to Allah and thats all it takes. Allahuakbar!
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