By: Shah Rahila
“O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.”(39:53)
“Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His servant than any one of you would be if he were in the desert and found his camel after losing it.”(Sahi Bukhari,577)
The above hadith tells of a man who was traveling in a desert with his camel, which was carrying all his provisions—food, water, and everything he needed for survival. At one point, he lost his camel and searched for it but could not find it. In despair, knowing that he would die without his camel, he lay down under the shade of a tree, resigned to his fate.Then, suddenly, he found his camel standing right in front of him. In his overwhelming joy, the man exclaimed, “O Allah, You are my servant, and I am Your Lord!” He made a mistake out of extreme happiness, reversing the phrases, but it shows how intensely happy he was.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) concluded by saying that Allah’s joy over a servant’s repentance is even greater than the joy of that man when he found his lost camel.
A person seeking repentance and yearning to get closer to Allah often grapples with a profound question: Will Allah forgive me? A true repenter, fully aware of the magnitude of their sins and how they’ve disobeyed Allah, naturally faces this inner struggle. Yet, Allah, in His infinite mercy, reassures us in the Quran:
“Whoever does wrong or wrongs themselves, then seeks the forgiveness of Allah, will find Allah most forgiving, most merciful”
. This divine promise ignites hope in even the most burdened hearts.
There is another Hadith mentioned in sahi Bukhari(3470) and Sahi Muslim(2766)
A man who had killed 99 people wanted to repent. He asked a monk if his repentance would be accepted, and the monk said no, so the man killed him too, making it 100. Then, he asked a scholar, who told him nothing could prevent his repentance and advised him to move to a place where people worship Allah. On his way there, the man died. The angels of mercy and punishment debated over his soul. Allah commanded them to measure the distance to the place of repentance, and since he was closer to it, Allah forgave him.
Another common fear in the mind of a repenter is: What if I sin again? It’s important to remember that Allah created humans with instincts and desires, so we may stumble and sin again. However, continuous repentance and sincere tauba can cleanse our hearts and bring us closer to Allah. While distractions may come, we must not let them overpower our faith. True strength lies in turning back to Allah every time we slip.
When a person is constantly judged by their past, it can lead to a loss of hope and motivation. For those seeking repentance, remember this: you are accountable to Allah, not to people. Your fate is in the hands of your Creator, not in the opinions of those created. Feeling guilt for your sins is a sign of awareness, but don’t let that guilt consume you. Once it crosses a certain limit, it can make you lose hope in Allah’s boundless mercy. Balance your remorse with trust in His forgiveness and strive forward.
