Day 24: Seek Forgiveness through Repentance

INTRODUCTION:

Islam encourages quality, excellence at work, and a sense of responsibility. At the same time, recklessness, carelessness, and heedlessness is discouraged. However, Islam takes into account the nature of human beings and their shortcomings. It also takes into consideration the unavoidable situations that they may undergo resulting into sins. It should also be noted that Islam calls for taking caution from our mistakes and experiences with others. That’s why the Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, said: a Muslim should not be bitten from the same hole twice.

Verily, Allah forgives sins, no bloody sacrifice needed. All we need to do is sincere repentance with a commitment not to return to those evil ways. In addendum, we shouldn’t be among the bandwagon who often say “innallaha ghafurun raheem”, yet they fail to acknowledge that the same Allah is “Ash-Shadeedul ’eqab”. They do this while dweling on incessant hope of repentance in sinfulness. Knowing fully well that Allah isn’t foolish but mindful of each and every of our deed.

INSPIRATION:

Ibn Abbas, radiyallahu 'anhu, reported that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, said: "Truly Allah has for my sake pardoned the mistakes and forgetfulness of my community, and for what they have done under force or duress."

[A fine hadith related by Ibn Majah, Al-Baihaqi and others]

REFLECTION:

• Indeed we’ve been pardoned for being among the ummah of the noble messenger. This is a great favour from Allah.
• Being excused for what is done mistakenly or out of forgetfulness does not mean that there will
  
  be no consequent rulings. This means that a person might be forgiven but he still has to take
  
  responsibility for his actions.
• What is mentioned in this hadith should not be abused. Some Muslims today abuse what the
  
  hadith implies by using it as an excuse to not uphold a responsibility or to break a promise.
• Allah knows our intentions and we should not take what is mentioned in the hadith to get away from
  
  the responsibility of fulfilling a commitment or an obligation.
• In the situation where a person is forced to do something which is not acceptable in Islam, he bears no sin. This is examplified from the story of the sahabi Ammar bin Yasir when he was forced to deny faith and he related the story to the prophet.
• Every human sins, but the best of sinners are those who repent sincerely.
• Some of the conditions of earning Allah’s forgiveness includes; sincere repentance, regret for indulging in the act and a commitment not to go back to the evil ways.

CONCLUSION:

We should look at this from a positive perspective. Islam does not encourage people to become reckless or feel unaccountable. We should have a complete view of what Islam has already established or stressed such as excellence in our performance, accountability and many other issues that we have to observe. As humans, we commit mistakes out of forgetfulness, yet Islam leaves room for these shortcomings and makes it possible for them to be excused and forgiven. We ask Allah to be amongst those who repent when they err and earn Allah’s forgiveness.