Cast of anxiety - Pause to reflect

 

Do not be sad, for that which has been preordained has already been decided upon and will take place though you may not like it.

The pens have dried, the scrolls have been rolled up, and every affair is firmly established. Therefore your sadness will not change your reality in the least.

 

Do not be sad, because, with your sadness, you desire for time's suspension: for the sun to stop in its place, for the hands of the clock to stand still, for the steps of your feet to move backwards, and for the river to flow back to its source.

 

Do not be sad, because sadness is like a hurricane that violently tosses the waves, changing the atmosphere and destroying the blooming flowers of the luxuriant garden.

 

Do not be sad, because the one who is sad is like a person who pours water into a bucket that has a hole in it. He is like a writer who uses his finger to write on water.

 

Do not be sad, because the true span of life is measured by the number of days in which you are content. Do not then spend your days in grief, do not waste your nights in sorrow, and do not be extravagant in squandering your time; for truly, Allah loves not those who are extravagant and wasteful.

 

Do not be sad, for in truth, your Lord forgives sins and accepts repentance.

 

When you read the following verse, does not your heart feel peaceful, are not your worries driven away, and does not happiness permeate your whole being?

 

)Say: 'O' My slaves who have transgressed against themselves [by committing evil deeds and sins] Despair not of the Mercy of Allah, verily Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.) 

(Qur'an 39: 53)

 

He addressed them with, 'O' my slaves,' to tame their hearts and souls. He specifically mentioned those who transgress, since they are more disposed than others to perpetrate evil deeds on a continual basis. How much greater then will be the Mercy of Allah for others!

 

Thus He forbade them from despairing and from losing hope of attaining forgiveness. And He informed them that He forgives all sins of the one who repents, whether they are big or small, important or unimportant.

 

Do you not then rejoice upon reading the following verses?

 

(And those who, when they have committed Fahishah [illegal sexual intercourse etc.] or wronged themselves with evil, remember Allah and ask forgiveness for their sins -  and none can forgive sins but Allah -  And do not persist in what [wrong] they have done, while they know?

(Qur'an 3: 135)

 

(And whoever does evil or wrongs himself but afterwards seeks Allah Is Forgiveness, he will find Allah Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful)         (Qur'an 4: 110)

 

(If you avoid the great sins which you are forbidden to do, we shall remit from you your [small] sins, and admit you to a Noble Entrance)        [i.e. into Paradise].)                             (Qur'an 4: 31)

 

(If they [hypocrites], when they had been unjust to themselves, had come to you [Muhammad] and begged Allah s_ forgiveness, and the Messenger had begged forgiveness for them: indeed, they would have found Allah All-Forgiving [One Who accepts repentance], Most Merciful)

(Qur'an 4: 64)

 

(And verily; I am indeed Forgiving to him who repents, believes [in My Oneness, and associates none in worship with me] and does righteous good deeds, and then remains constant in doing them, [till his death].)

(Qur'an 20: 82)

 

When Prophet Moosa (Moses) killed a man, he said:

 

'O' my Lord, forgive me,' and He forgave him.

 

When Prophet Dawood (David) repented, Allah said:

 

(So We forgave him that, and verily for him is a near access to Us, and a good place of`[final] return [Paradise].) (Qur'an 38: 25)

 

How perfect, merciful, and generous is Allah! He even proffered His mercy and forgiveness for those who believe in the Trinity - that is, if they repent:

 

(Surely disbelievers are those who said: 'Allah is the third of the three [in a limit;]'. But there is no Allah [god] [none who has the right to be worshipped] but One Allah [God - Allah]. And if they cease not from what they say, verily, a painful torment will befall the disbelievers among them.

Will they not repent to Allah and ask His Forgiveness? For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.)

(Qur'an 5: 73-74)

 

In an authentic hadith, the Prophet (bpuh) said:

"Allah, blessed is He and Most High, says: 'O' son of Adam, indeed, you will not supplicate to Me and hope from Me except that I will forgive you, in proportion to what came from you (i.e. your level of sincerity), and l won't mind. O' son of Adam, if your sins were to reach in magnitude the height of the heavens, and then you were to ask me for forgiveness, I would forgive you, and I won't mind. O' son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins that (in their size) almost fill the earth, and you met Me without ascribing to Me any partners, I would come to you with its size in forgiveness."'

 

Bukhari related that the Prophet (bpuh) said:

 

"lndeed, Allah extends His Hand in the night to forgive the one who sins in the day, and He extends His Hand in the day t0 forgive the one who sins at night, and this continues until the sun rises from the west."

 

In another hadith, the Prophet (bpuh) relates that Allah said:

 

"O' my slaves, verily you sin by day and night, and I forgive all sins; so seek forgiveness from me and I will forgive you."

 

In another authentic hadith, the Prophet (bpuh) said:

 

"By the One Who has my soul in His Hand, if you were not to sin, then Allah would remove you, and would bring another nation who sins, and who then seek forgiveness from Allah; and He would forgive them."

 

And the Prophet (Blessings and Peace be upon him) also said:

 

"By the One, who has my soul in His Hand, if you were not to sin, then I would fear upon you that which is more severe than sin; and that is self-conceit."

 

In another authentic narration, the Prophet (bpuh) said:

"Every one of you is constantly doing wrong, and the best of those who constantly do wrong are the ones who are constantly making repentance."

 

He (bpuh) also said in this authentic hadith:

"Truly, Allah is happier with the repentance of His slave than one of you who is on his mount, and upon his mount is his drink and food; then he loses his mount in the desert, and he searches for it until he loses hope; so he sleeps and then wakes up to find that his mount is beside him, and he says, "O' Allah, you are my slave and I am your Lord. He pronounced this mistake as a result of his extreme happiness."

 

He (bpuh) is also authentically reported to have said:

"Verily, a slave (of Allah) commits a sin and then he says, 'O' Allah, forgive me my sin, for indeed, none forgives sins except You'. Then he commits another sin, and he afterwards says, 'O' Allah, forgive me my sin, for indeed, none forgives sins except You'. Then he commits another sin, and he afterwards says, 'O' Allah, forgive me my sin, for indeed, none forgives sins except You'. Then Allah says, 'My slave knows that he has a Lord, Who takes one to account for sins, and Who also forgives sins, so let my slave do as he wishes."'

 

The meaning of this is that as long as Allah's slave is contrite and repentant, then Allah will forgive him.