Question about Sin and Repentance
I have a question ,I don't remember whether I've commited a sin or not what should I do? Should I think I have done it?
Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh,
Dear Sister,
Since human soul (nafs) is prone to evil, no human except the blessed prophets are sinless. So, there is no doubt that as human beings we all have sins. What we need to do is to make tawba and seek forgiveness from Allah (swt) all the time. The following ayah and hadith state this fact clearly;
"Nor do I absolve my own self (of blame): the (human) soul is certainly prone to evil, unless my Lord do bestow His Mercy: but surely my Lord is Oft- forgiving, Most Merciful." (Surat al Yusuf; 53)
“Every human commits sin. The best of sinners are those who repent (turn back from their mistakes regretfully)." (Tirmidhi)
It is easy to notice the major sins; on the other hand minor sins are sometimes ignored. So, we should always bear in mind that we have mistakes, sins that we are unaware and we should ask Allah for His pardon. It says in the hadith that; “If the minor sins are insisted, they don’t stay minor. If istighfar is made in the major sins, they don’t stay major.” (Dailami)
To see our sin as a mountain
Not neglecting even a tiny sin and considering it as a mistake and feeling sorry and frightened about it is a sign of “faith”. The hadith says that;
“A believer considers his sin as a mountain and feels frightened about it, but a hypocrite considers it as a fly that has perched on his nose and will fly away immediately.” (Bukhari)
“Avoiding a tiny sin is better than the total worship of all jinns and people.” (Riyad-un Nasihin)
So, we hope your concern, care and delicacy about your actions may be a means of pleasure of Allah (swt).
Repentance (tawba) is a sort of worship that is enjoined upon Muslims in many Quranic verses some of which are;
“And O my people! Ask forgiveness of your Lord and then repent to Him, He will send you (from the sky) abundant rain, and add strenght to your strength, so do not turn away as Mujrimun (criminals, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah)” (Surat al Hood, 52)
"And all of you beg Allah to forgive you all, O believers, that you may be successful." (Surat an-Noor, 31)
"If they then repent, it will be better for them” (Surat at-Tawbah, 74)
The Blessed Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), although his sins had already been forgiven, used to seek forgiveness 100 times a day
Al-Agharr al-Muzani, who was one amongst the Companions (of the Holy Prophet) reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: There is (at times) some sort of shade upon my heart, and I seek forgiveness from Allah a hundred times a day. (Muslim; Dhikr, 6522)
Our Blessed Prophet (pbuh) teaches us to seek forgiveness not only for our previous sins but also for our future sins
Narrated Ibn Abbas: When the Prophet got up at night to offer the Tahajjud prayer, he used to say:
“… O Allah ! I surrender (my will) to You; I believe in You and depend on You. And repent to You, And with Your help I argue (with my opponents, the non-believers) And I take You as a judge (to judge between us). Please Forgive me my previous And future sins; And whatever I concealed or revealed…”
Daily Istighfar
What we get from the ayahs and hadiths is that we shouldn’t wait to commit a sin to make repentance, but rather, we should perform it as a daily act of worship.
“He who does not make istighfar twice a day, he tortures himself.” (Abu Dawood)
We should seize any opportunity to make repentance before it is too late
Hadhrat Umar bin Al Khattaab (Radiyallahu ‘anhu) has narrated that the Holy Prophet Sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam said:
Verily Allah the Almighty will accept the repentance of his servants right until the last moments of his death. (Tirmidhi)
Dear Sister,
If you have any further question about this issue or any other, please feel free to ask. We are here to assist you as best as we can.
Best Regards!
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