A verse to reflect on
﴿قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ﴾“Say: O My servants who have wronged themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.”
al-Zumar 39:53 · translation of the meaning · Quran.com
Allah called those who wronged themselves “O My servants”, so their sins did not remove them from belonging to Him. The scholars of tafsir said the verse is about those who repent: whoever returns to Allah is forgiven, however great the sin.
You are going to the House of the One whose mercy is like this. So do not carry despair with you; carry repentance.
Today’s hadith
“Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, stretches out His hand by night so that the one who sinned by day may repent, and stretches out His hand by day so that the one who sinned by night may repent, until the sun rises from the west.”
Muslim (2759), narrated by Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari
The door is open at every hour of the night and day. The conditions of repentance, as the scholars listed them: stopping the sin, regretting it, resolving not to return to it, and giving back what is owed if it involves another person’s right.
Today’s story: the man who killed a hundred people
The Prophet ﷺ told of a man from before our time who killed ninety-nine people. He asked who was the most knowledgeable person on earth and was directed to a monk. He asked him: is there any repentance for me? The monk said no, so he killed him and made it a hundred.
Then he asked again about the most knowledgeable person on earth and was directed to a scholar. The scholar said: yes, and who can stand between you and repentance? He told him to go to a land where people worship Allah, and not to return to his own land, for it was a land of evil.
He set out, and halfway there death came to him. The angels of mercy and the angels of punishment disputed over him, and Allah commanded them to measure the distance between the two lands. They found him closer to the land he was heading for, so the angels of mercy took his soul. (al-Bukhari 3470, Muslim 2766, narrated by Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri)
The lesson: the man never reached the righteous land, but he set out toward it sincerely. You are now on your way to the purest land; the sincere step is the beginning.
Today’s task
Spend ten minutes alone and write down one sin you want to leave before your journey, and one practical step that blocks its way.
And ask Allah’s forgiveness a hundred times spread through your day. The Prophet ﷺ said: “O people, repent to Allah, for I repent to Him a hundred times a day” (Muslim 2702).
Today’s dua
اللهم أنت ربي لا إله إلا أنت، خلقتني وأنا عبدك، وأنا على عهدك ووعدك ما استطعت، أعوذ بك من شر ما صنعت، أبوء لك بنعمتك عليّ، وأبوء بذنبي، فاغفر لي فإنه لا يغفر الذنوب إلا أنتO Allah, You are my Lord; there is no god but You. You created me and I am Your servant, and I keep Your covenant and promise as best I can. I seek refuge in You from the evil of what I have done. I acknowledge Your favour upon me and I acknowledge my sin, so forgive me, for none forgives sins except You.
The master supplication for forgiveness: al-Bukhari (6306), narrated by Shaddad ibn Aws
“I acknowledge” means I admit and confess. The dua brings together tawhid, acknowledging the blessing, and acknowledging the sin. The Prophet ﷺ said that whoever says it during the day with certainty and dies that day before evening is among the people of Paradise, and likewise whoever says it at night.
A question for self-reckoning
What do you feel stands between you and Allah right now, and what is the first step to remove it?