Question:

I ask your advice, I always commit sin and promise Allah I will never do it again, and I will try my best to not do it, but after few days Shaytan gets to me and I can’t help it, I feel so bad all the time I make promise to Allah but I break it, am I sinful is Allah going to be angry with me? I am 15 years old and I try to be good Muslim, somedays I feel my Iman is high and someday it’s so low. Please advise me what can I do to secure forgiveness from Allah and keep my Iman high?

Answer:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullāhi wa barakātuh.

Sister in Islām,

It is common for one to feel that his or her level of practice and strength of īmān are low or below standard. The Shaytān exploits these feelings and attempts to weaken one’s resolve and desensitise his victim to constant sinning or worse. A Muslim must always engage in a continuous struggle with his or her desires, and never allow themselves to give up or become despondent. Allāh Ta‘ālā takes oath by the “self-blaming” (lawwāmah) soul in the Qur’ān (75:2), which is the believer who is conscious of sin and makes every effort to reform his or herself.

Allāh’s mercy is greater than a person’s sins and He is always ready to forgive.

Allāh Ta‘ālā says:

قل يا عبادي الذين أسرفوا على أنفسهم: لا تقبطوا من رحمة الله، إن الله يغفر الذنوب جميعا، إن الله غفور رحيم

“Say (on My behalf), “O servants of Mine who have acted recklessly against their own selves, do not despair of Allāh’s mercy. Surely, Allāh will forgive all sins. Surely, He is the One who is the Most-Forgiving, the Very-Merciful.” (39:53)

Tawbah (repentance) is necessary from every sin. The Tawbah of a believing man and woman is accepted if it fulfils 3 conditions:

1. To remove oneself from the sin at present
2. To regret having committed the sin
3. To make firm resolve never to return to it.[1]

 

We advise you observe the following measures to help you leave sin:

–         Keep the company of pious people from friends and family. Avoid the company of people who do not have consciousness of Dīn.

–         Be sincere in leaving sins by cutting off all avenues to them. For example, if one is tempted by his or her carnal desires, all avenues to sins of this nature must be cut off. This would include not watching television shows and movies, staying away from places where one could be led to temptation and sin or where there is intermingling of sexes, lowering the gaze and so on.

–         Try to keep yourself occupied at all times. It is said an idle mind is the devil’s workshop. Keep engaged in good activities like reciting the Qur’ān, reading Islāmic books, holding study sessions with friends and so on.

–         Make a promise to yourself that whenever you commit a sin, you will perform ‘x’ number of optional rak‘ats of salāh or ‘x’ number of optional fasts. This will serve both as a measure against committing sins and an expiation for them. Nabī (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said: “Follow up an evil deed with a good deed, it will erase it.”[2]

–         Make a habit of reciting the following two du‘ās:

اللهم إن مغفرتك أوسع من ذنوبي ورحمتك أرجى عندي من عملي

Allaahumma inna maghfirataka awsa‘u min dhunoobee wa rahmataka arjaa ‘indee min ‘amalee

“O Allāh! Verily, your forgiveness is vaster than my sins, and Your mercy is more hopeful to me than my deeds.”

And:

أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ الَّذِي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيّ الْقَيُّوم وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْهِ

Astaghfirullah alladhee laa ilaaha illaa huwal hayyul qayyoom wa atoobu ilayh

“I seek forgiveness of Allāh, the One besides Whom there is no deity, the Ever-Living, the All-Sustaining, and I turn (in repentance) to Him.”

We make du‘ā’ Allāh Ta‘ālā increases you in īmān and ‘amal and grants you complete maghfirah (forgiveness).

And Allah Ta‘ālā Knows Best

 

Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.

 

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