You might say: “I want to repent, but my sins are many indeed. There is no kind of immoral act,
no kind of sin, imaginable or otherwise, that I have not committed. It is so bad that I do not know
if Allaah can forgive me for the things that I have done over the years.”
In response, I would tell you that this is not a unique problem; it is one that is shared by many of
those who wish to repent. Let me give you the example of a young man who asked this question
once. He began his career of sin at a very early age, and by the time he was only seventeen, he
already had a long record of committing every kind of immoral act, major and minor, with all
kinds of people, old and young alike. He had even abused a little girl. Added to this was a long
list of thefts. Then he said: “I have repented to Allaah. I now pray tahajjud some nights, and I
fast every Monday and Thursday, and I read Qur’aan after Fajr prayers. Will my repentance be
of any avail?”
The guiding principle for us Muslims is to refer to the Qur’aan and Sunnah when we look for
rulings, solutions and remedies. When we refer this matter to the Qur’aan, we find that Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning): “Say: ‘O My slaves who have transgressed against
themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allaah, verily Allaah
forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. And turn in repentance and in
obedience with true faith to your Lord and submit to Him…” [al-Zumar 39:53-54].
This is the answer to this particular problem. The matter is quite clear and needs no further
explanation.
The feeling that one’s sins are too great to be forgiven by Allaah stems from a number of factors:
The absence of certain faith on the part of the slave in the vastness of Allaah’s mercy
A lack of faith in the ability of Allaah to forgive all sins
Weakness in one aspect of the heart’s action, namely hope
Failure to understand the effect of repentance in wiping out sins
We will answer all these points here:
It is sufficient to quote the words of Allaah (interpretation of the meaning): “… and My Mercy
embraces all things…” [al-A’raaf 7:156]
It is sufficient to quote the saheeh hadeeth qudsi: “Allaah says: “Whoever knows that I am able
to forgive all sins, I shall forgive him, and I shall not mind, so long as he does not associate
anything with Me.’” (Reported by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer, and by al-Haakim; Saheeh al-
Jaami’, 4330). This refers to when the slave meets his Lord in the Hereafter.
This may be remedied by referring to the hadeeth qudsi: “ ‘O son of Adam, so long as you call
upon Me and put your hope in Me, I will forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not
mind. O son of Adam, if your sins were to reach the clouds of the sky, and you were to ask me
for forgiveness, I will forgive you and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, if you were to come to
Me with sins nearly the size of the earth, and you were to meet Me not associating anything with
Me, then I would bring you forgiveness nearly the size of (the earth).’” (Reported by al-
Tirmidhi; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 4338).
It is sufficient to quote the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him): “The one who repents from his sin is like the one who did not sin in the first place.”
(Reported by Ibn Maajah; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 3008).
For those who find it hard to comprehend how Allaah may forgive such an accumulation of sin,
we quote the following hadeeth:
no kind of sin, imaginable or otherwise, that I have not committed. It is so bad that I do not know
if Allaah can forgive me for the things that I have done over the years.”
In response, I would tell you that this is not a unique problem; it is one that is shared by many of
those who wish to repent. Let me give you the example of a young man who asked this question
once. He began his career of sin at a very early age, and by the time he was only seventeen, he
already had a long record of committing every kind of immoral act, major and minor, with all
kinds of people, old and young alike. He had even abused a little girl. Added to this was a long
list of thefts. Then he said: “I have repented to Allaah. I now pray tahajjud some nights, and I
fast every Monday and Thursday, and I read Qur’aan after Fajr prayers. Will my repentance be
of any avail?”
The guiding principle for us Muslims is to refer to the Qur’aan and Sunnah when we look for
rulings, solutions and remedies. When we refer this matter to the Qur’aan, we find that Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning): “Say: ‘O My slaves who have transgressed against
themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allaah, verily Allaah
forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. And turn in repentance and in
obedience with true faith to your Lord and submit to Him…” [al-Zumar 39:53-54].
This is the answer to this particular problem. The matter is quite clear and needs no further
explanation.
The feeling that one’s sins are too great to be forgiven by Allaah stems from a number of factors:
The absence of certain faith on the part of the slave in the vastness of Allaah’s mercy
A lack of faith in the ability of Allaah to forgive all sins
Weakness in one aspect of the heart’s action, namely hope
Failure to understand the effect of repentance in wiping out sins
We will answer all these points here:
It is sufficient to quote the words of Allaah (interpretation of the meaning): “… and My Mercy
embraces all things…” [al-A’raaf 7:156]
It is sufficient to quote the saheeh hadeeth qudsi: “Allaah says: “Whoever knows that I am able
to forgive all sins, I shall forgive him, and I shall not mind, so long as he does not associate
anything with Me.’” (Reported by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer, and by al-Haakim; Saheeh al-
Jaami’, 4330). This refers to when the slave meets his Lord in the Hereafter.
This may be remedied by referring to the hadeeth qudsi: “ ‘O son of Adam, so long as you call
upon Me and put your hope in Me, I will forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not
mind. O son of Adam, if your sins were to reach the clouds of the sky, and you were to ask me
for forgiveness, I will forgive you and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, if you were to come to
Me with sins nearly the size of the earth, and you were to meet Me not associating anything with
Me, then I would bring you forgiveness nearly the size of (the earth).’” (Reported by al-
Tirmidhi; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 4338).
It is sufficient to quote the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him): “The one who repents from his sin is like the one who did not sin in the first place.”
(Reported by Ibn Maajah; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 3008).
For those who find it hard to comprehend how Allaah may forgive such an accumulation of sin,
we quote the following hadeeth:
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