forgiveness

Learning to Forgive

They used to live in my grandmother’s neighbourhood. A big, poor family of eight children. After the eighth child was born, the husband and wife were constantly quarrelling –the husband hadn’t wanted another child, it just meant another stomach to feed and another body to clothe. The wife didn’t mind. God has given us another child, she said, we should be grateful.. But that only angered the husband more. One evening, after weeks of yelling and slamming doors, the couple began to argue again. The wife was making chapattis...

03 December 2011 | Repentance | death, forgiveness, murder, Repentance | 10 Comments

Drowning in Sin

Her fingers stretched toward the disturbed surface of water. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head. Then, she plunged. She plunged into a world where people did not care about their Lord, a world where shades of black engulfed her, where a searing pain cut off her feeble air supply. The only certainty was uncertainty, the only relief defeat. Her limbs flailed helplessly, her mouth moved in soundless cries for help. Bubbles sprouted from her mouth, carrying away the praise of Allah she so desperately needed to...

29 November 2011 | Depression, Desires | delight, despair, dreams, forgiveness, guilt, hope, life, light, sins, sorrow | 33 Comments

Sweeter Than Sleep

She wakes to the galaxy of Styrofoam forming her popcorn-ceiling and wonders why she can discern the intricacies of it before dawn? Groaning, she covers her face in shame; the sun has risen, but He needs not light to see what she has failed to do. The makeshift shelter of her hands is dismantled and gropes for the blanket that once appeared a comfort, making sleep seem sweeter. But throughout the globe, wherever the submitters reside, men from among them called out before dawn, Salah is better than sleep....

05 May 2011 | Prayer | forgiveness, progress, Salah, sleep, whispers | 6 Comments

How To Perform Repentance (Part 2)

How to do Tawbah? It’s not difficult at all, from a physical perspective. But firstly, the scholars have derived, from the Qur’an and statements of the Prophet Muhammad, that certain conditions must accompany the tawbah for it to be valid and correct. Shaykh Ibn `Uthaymeen mentions the following in Sharh Riyaadh as-Saliheen: 1. Sincerity - It’s very important that the person is not repenting for any other purpose, or reason (for example, for the sake of reputation, to be seen by others or to get closer to them, or because...