Key to Repentence

KEY TO REPENTANCE (A. R. Chowdry) Islam makes it clear that God is merciful and that His mercy encompasses His anger. On this point the Holy Quran says: “O My servants who have committed excesses against their own souls! despair not of the mercy of Allah; surely All ah forgives all sins. Verily He is the Most Forgiving, Merciful.” (34:54). The holy Prophet of Islam has said that if the unbeliever knew of the extent of the Lord’s mercy, even he would not despair of paradise. It is true that the remission of sins depends upon the mercy of God but in order to earn His mercy it is essential that the sinner must repent and make amends. God lays down this condition in the verse thus: “Their (i.e. sinners) punishment shall not be lightened nor shall they be reprieved, except those who repent thereafter and amend. And surely, Allah is Most Forgiving, Merciful.” (3:90). This repentance is the keynote of the remission of sins. The repentance must be true, sincere and must come from within God’s forgiveness comes flying then. The holy Prophet Muhammad s.a.s. also tells us that whoever seeks to approach God one span He seeks to approach him one cubit; and whoever seeks to approach Him one cubit, He seeks to approach Him two fathoms, and he who walks towards Him, He runs towards him; and whoever comes before Him with the earth full of sins, and believes solely in Him, He comes before him with a front of forgiveness as big as the earth. One objection that is often raised against this idea of repentance and forgiveness is that it might encourage the repetition of sins as the sinner knows that God through His grace would always forgive him. It should be noted that the essential point of any scheme of remission of sins is that there is not only the repentance on the part of the doer of wrong but such a person must make amends and do his best to avoid its repetition. Here one has got to strive hard to avoid the pitfalls in his life and then if any misfortune or vexation befell him