Oh What’s that! ‘Too sinful to be forgiven. Too bad to do good’ ?

Emails are filling up my inbox with information on the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah; Whatsapp is buzzing with numerous reminders and forwarded messages and images on it; Shuyookh’s audio and video recordings on it are being circulated; facebook is brimming with feeds by friends writing all about it… and here I am.

Dazed Awestruck perhaps. No, I don’t know the right word yet.

With an overwhelming feeling of a myriad of emotions. I yearn to be there among the crowd, chanting the praises of My Lord. I long for it so much, I get lost in thoughts of my last visit to the place. And then the heart turns to being grateful; so grateful for having been given the much undeserving honor before, the chance to face the house of the Almighty.

And then again, when my thoughts come back to my room, I look at the amount of opportunities He has continued to bestow us with. While Hajj is in itself a purification of the self, HE has given us the opportunity to be forgiven for the past and coming year, simply by observing a day of fast on the 9th of Dhul Hijjah. When the hujjaaj are standing on mount arafah seeking His forgiveness, here we are given the opportunity to do likely.

So we have been repeatedly reading about these days being blessed, sworn upon by Allah SWT himself, and there are no better days than these. Although my immediate thoughts are about making the best of these days, I’m more lost in the Mercy of Allah SWT in our lives.

How many times a year do we get reminders like these? Time and again HE grants us various opportunities throughout the year- to repent, to go back to Him, to do good (actually that too for ourselves and those around us) and be forgiven, and forgiven again. Even if we knowingly sinned, we have the chance to repent until we face the angel of death or even then, until death actually reaches our throat!

We know it’s in the fitra (nature) of human beings to err. HE knows it better. And opens so many doors for us throughout the year for being forgiven. No really, I cannot fathom this.

From forgiveness for the year, to weeks (between fridays), to days, to even hours and minutes. We have so many opportunities; and how many do we grab?

Imagine being a sinner throughout the year and then just fasting a day out of sincere faith and ALL those sins are just erased off your book. That’s all! THAT easy! THAT Merciful!

Forgiveness for two years-
It was narrated from Abu Qatadah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Fasting on the Day of ‘Arafah, I hope from Allah, expiates for the sins of the year before and the year after.” [Ibn Majah]

Forgiveness for the year-
Abu Qatadah narrated that :The Prophet said: “Fast the Day of Ashura, for indeed I anticipate that Allah will forgive (the sins of) the year before it.” [Tirmidhi]

Forgiveness for ALLL PAST SINS!-
Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “Whoever observes fasts during the month of Ramadan out of sincere faith, and hoping to attain Allah’s rewards, then all his past sins will be forgiven.” [Bukhari]

Forgiveness between weeks-
Allah’s Messenger said: “Whoever performs Wudu, performing his Wudu well, then he comes to the Friday (prayer), and he gets close, listens and is silent, then whatever (sin) was between that and (the last) Friday are forgiven for him, in addition to three days. And whoever touches the pebbles, he has committed Lagha (useless activity).” [Tirmidhi]

Forgiveness during the day-
It was narrated that ‘Amr bin ‘Abasah said: “The Messenger of Allah said: ‘When a person performs ablution and washes his hands, his sins exit through his hands. When he washes his face, his sins exit through his face. When he washes his forearms and wipes his head, his sins exit though his forearms and head. When he washes his feet, his sins exit through his feet.'” [Ibn Majah]

Forgiveness between the hours-
‘Uthman said: “I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: ‘There is no man who performs Wudu’ and does it well, then prays, but when he prays it, he will be forgiven whatever (sins he commits) between that and the next prayer.” [An-nasai]

Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Say Amin when the Imam says Amin, for it anyone’s utterance of Amin synchronises with that of the angels, he will be forgiven his past sins. [Muslim]

And even if there are some major sins to be forgiven, Allah SWT has provided easy ways of kaffarah for them. He hasn’t asked you to beat yourself to death or tie yourselves to be stoned, to be forgiven.

These few ahadith are just a drop in the vastest ocean..There’s so much more! Angel Gibrael says he feared that Allah swt would’ve even forgiven Phiraun, out of His mercy, had Phiraun repented.

Dear soul, what then makes you despair from the Mercy of Allah SWT?’

 

So When we say, ‘Who am I to seek His help, when I sin a lot’, Allah the Most High says-

‘Allah says: 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.” [Sûrah al-Zumar: 53] 

Reach the end of the tunnel, for there definitely IS light. :’)