Asking for Forgiveness

As we go through life, no matter how hard we may try to be the best Muslims that we can be, we are bound to our human fallibility. Despite our best intentions to stay on the right path, it may be easy to slip up. Whatever the sin may be, at some point, it will weigh heavily on our minds and hearts. How can we go about asking for Allah's forgiveness for the mistakes that we make in our life?

While there are no clear-cut guidelines or rituals that must be followed in order to repent, a few guidelines can help:

1) Acknowledge that a sin was committed.
2) Vow not to repeat the sin and sincerely ask God for forgiveness.
3) If the sin involved wronging another person, rectify the wrong done to the best of your ability and ask for forgiveness from the person.

It may help tor remember that Allah (SWT) is the most forgiving. Sometimes, it can feel that we have strayed so far from the right path that we are beyond redemption. But we should not lose hope or faith in the enormity of Allah's mercy. If we sincerely vow to amend our ways and give up the wrong, we will find our Lord welcomes us in his embrace.The following Hadith attests to the magnitude of His mercy.


On the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah (P.B.U.H.) say: 'All the Almighty said: 'O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you to forgiveness nearly as great as it.' (Al-Tirmidhi) 

The thing about life is that no one knows when their day will come. For most of us in the West, our mortality remains a concern for old age. It then always comes as a shock when we are faced with the end of our time. The truth remains that it could in fact come any day at any moment. What might you have wished that you had done differently when faced with that inevitable moment? What might you have said to those you loved? What might have you avoided? Seeking Allah's forgiveness takes on a whole new meaning when placed in this perspective.