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By Kaniz Fatma, New Age Islam
Ramazan is the month of mercy and forgiveness. In this month the mercy of God Almighty transcends and He gifts us bountiful rewards for our acts of worship. This is the blessed month about which the Prophet says,
“When the month of Ramadan starts, the gates of heaven are opened and the gates of Hell are closed and the devils are chained” (Sahih Bukhari).
From this month we want to benefit as much as possible by doing acts of worship. However Some Muslims are depressed due to their great amount of sins and stop worshiping, thinking that their sins are unforgivable. They forget that God Almighty is the Most Forgiving and the Most Merciful and He forgives all sins, greater or minor. Therefore we should not be depressed.
On the one hand, Muslims are optimistic and benefit from this sacred month by doing acts of worship. On the other hand there are some Muslims are depressed due to their great amount of sins, thinking that their sins are unforgivable. They forget that God Almighty is the Most Forgiving and the Most Merciful and that He forgives all our sins, greater or minor.
Allah Almighty says in the Quran,
“Would you not like that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.”(24:22)
Also,
“Verily, Allah is the Forgiving, the Merciful” (42:5)
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud reported:
I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, tell the story of a prophet who was beaten by his people and he wiped the blood from his face, saying: “My Lord, forgive my people for they do not know.” (Sahih Bukhari 6530)
With these beautiful teachings of forgiveness, we should not be depressed. We should seek forgiveness in this blessed month and promise God Almighty not to repeat the mistakes.
It is narrated by Hazrat Abu Hurayrah:
Allah’s Apostle said, “Whoever observes fasts during the month of Ramadan out of sincere faith, and hoping to attain Allah’s rewards, then all his past sins will be forgiven.” (Bukhari 2:37)
No one in this world has attained perfection, except for the prophets. We the human beings are not infallible creatures. Our mistakes are what make us deserve the blessing of divine forgiveness.
It is narrated by Abu Sirmah from Hazrat Abu Ayyub:
When death reached him, he said: “I have concealed something I heard from the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) from you. I heard the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: ‘If you did not sin, God would create a creation that would sin, so He will forgive them.’”
This statement gives us a clear message that our sinning is not a big issue; however being depressed and not seeking forgiveness is a big issue. We commit sins regularly but when we do not turn to God for attaining forgiveness, this is a real problem.
Allah Almighty says,
“ O you who have believed, repent to Allah with sincere repentance. Perhaps your Lord will remove from you your misdeeds and admit you into gardens beneath which rivers flow [on] the Day when Allah will not disgrace the Prophet and those who believed with him. Their light will proceed before them and on their right; they will say, “Our Lord, perfect for us our light and forgive us. Indeed, You are over all things competent” (66:8)
In this Ayat, God Almighty is calling the believers for a sincere repentance and by doing so they should be sure that God will accept their repentance.
It is with this hope that we should spend our Ramadan. We are fallible but this is the blessed month of forgiveness. We should not be among those who fear the divine wrath during a month in which God has promised His mercy. Ramadan is the month of mercy and forgiveness in which we should beg Him to forgive the sins of the past and keep our steadfast for the future.
It is narrated by Hazrat Abu Huraira:
“I heard God’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) saying regarding Ramadan, ‘Whoever prayed at night in it (the month of Ramadan) out of sincere Faith and hoping for a reward from God, then all his previous sins will be forgiven.’”
Hazrat Ibn Abbas narrated that, “The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was the most generous of all the people and he used to become more generous in Ramadan when Gabriel met him. Gabriel used to meet him every night during Ramadan to revise the Quran with him. God’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) then used to be more generous than the fast wind.”
Let us all spend the month of Ramadan in full obedience to Allah, asking Him to accept our fasting, prayers, words of forgiveness and grant His special mercy in our community and country.
URL: http://www.newageislam.com/islam-and-spiritualism/kaniz-fatma,-new-age-islam/ramazan-–-the-month-of-mercy-and-forgiveness/d/11855
