Make A U-Turn

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Allah Almighty warns us of the great torment. He says,

وَلَنُذِيقَنَّهُم مِّنَ ٱلْعَذَابِ ٱلْأَدْنَىٰ دُونَ ٱلْعَذَابِ ٱلْأَكْبَرِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ ﴿٢١﴾ وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّن ذُكِّرَ بِـَٔايَـٰتِ رَبِّهِۦ ثُمَّ أَعْرَضَ عَنْهَآ ۚ إِنَّا مِنَ ٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ مُنتَقِمُونَ ﴿٢٢

And we will surely let them taste the nearer punishment short of the greater punishment that perhaps they will repent. (21) And who is more unjust than one who is reminded of the verses of his Lord; then he turns away from them? Indeed We, from the criminals, will take retribution. (22)

[Qur'an As-Sajda 32:21-22]

When we are faced with problems and difficulties, big or small, the first thing we should do is ask forgiveness from Allah, whether we have sinned or think we have not, for known sins or unknown sins. As humans, we are prone to sins, big or small. And then we should ask Allah to make us aware of our wrong ways so that we can put them right.

Sin is not a problem in itself, but it becomes a serious problem when we start making excuses for ourselves and justify going against the wishes of Allah.

For example, two people could not wake up for Fajr prayer, yet when they did wake up, one of them is filled with guilt, remorse and a feeling of loss and tries to wash it away with wudhu' and make up his fajr prayer, asking forgiveness from Allah and promising not to miss it ever again, and give charity. Then he goes about his activities with a greater awareness of Allah, saying astaghfirullah whenever he remembers that he did not pray on time. His heart is humbled by the realization of his own sin.

But the other person casually gets out of bed and replaces his guilt with excuses like "My alarm didn't go off," "No one woke me up," "I was so tired," "My back hurts, can't wake up," or some worse remarks ... and then putting aside any further thought of what he has missed. He is taken over immediately by his worldly goals. He gets ready, has breakfast, and goes off to work, doesn't care that He has sinned against the same Lord who gave him the food and all the comfort of his life.

Tawbah (repentance) cannot be complete without correction, and correction can only be done through recognizing our slips.

Allah loves those who are constantly repentant.

إِنَّ ٱللَّـهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلتَّوَّٰبِينَ وَيُحِبُّ ٱلْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ ﴿٢٢٢ ...

...Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves." (222) [Qur'an Al-Baqarah 2:222]

It is not that the first person will never sin again, but every time he makes a mistake he comes even closer to Allah and does even more good deeds to try make up for his loss. How will anyone make up for the loss if they don’t even realize the loss?

It is by Allah’s extreme compassion and mercy that if the road we have taken in life does not lead us to success then He puts some speed-bumps in the way in the form of minor illness or accidents, losing a few bucks or small things, bad neighbor, or some other discomfort so that we slow down and turn back because this way leads to fire. But a lot of times we ignore these small warning signs and kept going. Some people even kept going and ignore huge roadblocks and sign posts warning us of the road to destruction and a never ending torment -- in the form of major illness or accidents, financial crises, social crises, marital trials, natural disasters, wars, etc. They ran over the obstruction so that they can move on with life, not caring about the clear warnings those signs telling them to take a U-Turn.

Narrated by Abdullah ibn Abbas, the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,

The one who continuously asks forgiveness from Allah, then Allah will make a way out for him in all problems and will give him ease in all difficulties and will provide for him sustenance from where he could not even imagine.

Allah is Al-Hakim (All-Wise) and Al-Adl (All-Just). He does not do things without purpose nor haphazardly.

Sometimes great troubles are faced by His most beloved people, so that through their patience and perseverance Allah might raise their ranks with Him, Dhul-Jalali Wal-Ikraam (The Lord of Majesty and Bounty).

May Allah grant us good in this life and the next and enable us to keep turning back to Him and keep us on the straight path to Him and grant us tawfiq to the highest station. Ameen.

Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam