What Happens to the Servant after his Lord Pardons him?
Erring and falling short are parts of human nature. It is well established that we all commit sins and no one can sanctify himself. We are only endowed with a Merciful Lord Who forgives all sins, in as much as we sincerely repent. Shall I tell you one beauty that comes with earning Allah’s pardon? It is that all your sins are wiped away and converted into good deeds. This sounds surprising, right? Let’s journey through this hadith and see how the Messenger upon him be peace relates it to us…
Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “The Messenger of Allah peace be upon him said: (I know the last person who will be brought forth from Hell, and the last person who will enter Paradise. A man will be brought and it will be said, “Take away his major sins and ask him about his minor sins.’’ So it will be said to him: “On such and such a day, you did such and such, and on such and such a day, you did such and such.’’ He will say, “Yes, and he will not be able to deny anything.’’ Then it will be said to him: “For every evil deed you now have one good merit.’’ He will say: “O Lord, I did things that I do not see here.’’) He (Abu Dharr) said: “And the Messenger of Allah smiled so broadly that his molars could be seen.’’ — Muslim.
Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Abu Jabir heard Makhul say, “A very old man with sunken eyes came and said, `O Messenger of Allah, a man betrayed others and did immoral deeds, and there was no evil deed which he did not do. If (his sins) were to be distributed among the whole of mankind, they would all be doomed. Is there any repentance for him’’ The Messenger of Allah said: (Have you become Muslim) He said, “As for me, I bear witness that there is no God but Allah Alone, with no partner or associate, and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.’’ The Prophet said: (Allah will forgive you for whatever you have done like that, and will replace your evil deeds with good merits.) The man said: “O Messenger of Allah, even my betrayals and immoral actions’’ The Prophet said:
(Even your betrayals and immoral actions.) “The man went away saying `La ilaha illallah’ and `Allahu Akbar.’’’ Allah tells us how His mercy extends to all His creatrues, and that whoever among them repents to Him, He will accept his repentance for any sin, great or small. Allah says: (And whosoever repents and does righteous good deeds; then indeed he has repented to Allah Mataba.) meaning, Allah will accept his repentance. This is like the Ayat:
(And whoever does evil or wrongs himself but afterwards seeks Allah’s forgiveness, he will find Allah Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful) [Q4:110] — Ahmad
So the conditions for earning this big treat after pardon are as such:
- Repent by giving up the sin
- Regret by feeling sober for what you have done
- Resolve not to go back to the evil ways.
If one of the aforementioned is missing, then the repentance is not sincere nor complete. Also, if the sin has to do with infringing the rights of another person, then there‘s one more condition as an addendum to the aforementioned three: Restoring the rights of that person who’s been wronged. May Allah count us among those who will earn His Pardon and Pleasure. Ameen!
Yaumul Khams18th Ramadan 1440H // Thursday 23rd May 2019.
