SOMETHING TO PONDER
Some of us may have committed such serious sins that even Iblees may feel shy and embarrassed for us. These sins may have been so severe that we hit rock bottom and became worse than animals. As a result, we may feel that there is no way we could ever redeem ourselves and there is no hope in attaining Allah's mercy; we may even be convinced that we don't deserve it.
But you know what? We are human beings and our nature is that we err and slip up. We can sometimes be so good that we are better than the angels and at other times we may get so caught up in evil that we reach the level of animals. Such is the nature of man.
Remember though that 'all the children of Adam are prone to err, and the best of them are those who frequently turn to Allah in repentance.'
The important thing then is that we not remain in that state of sin. We may fall and become weak and give in to temptation, but as soon as we realize what we've done, we have to try and make it right. We have to flee to the One we were disobeying, for He is unique; He is more than happy to receive us and forgive us even after we betray Him and disobey Him. There is none like unto Him!
There was once a gorgeous prostitute from Bani Israel who couldn't be had for less than 100 Dinars. Everyday, she'd pass this devout worshipper in his monastery; a man so devoted to Allah that he never sinned. But one day he fell for this woman, he was human and was tempted. He tried to have his way with her, but she refused unless he could pay the 100 Dinars. The man, however, was poor and owned nothing. He wanted her so badly though, that he left his monastery and began labouring to collect the 100 Dinars.
When he finally had enough, he went to her home and knocked on the door. She answered, dressed to kill and in all her beauty. The man said, here I am, here's the 100 Dinars. She invited him in and beautified herself even more and climbed on to her bed of gold. She then called him to herself, but at that point, he just fell to the ground.
The woman scolded him, you claimed that you wanted me so badly and went and collected all this money, and now that I'm offering myself to you, you just sit there! The man responded, I remembered that I will have to stand before Allah, the Exalted and Mighty, and my limbs wouldn't allow me to get up, that's why I remained sitting.
These words had an impact on the woman as well; after hearing them, she too began to tremble and was overcome with fear. She said to him, by Allah, I won't allow you to leave this home until you marry me. He swore that he wouldn't marry her and begged her to let him go, but the woman refused. The man told her to take the money and just let him leave but she refused. So finally he said to her, my home is in such and such a village; perhaps when you've repented you can come there and I might marry you. The man simply wanted to leave, so he gave her that hope.
The man then left, filled with remorse, regretting his disobedience to Allah, regretting leaving his worship of Allah to collect 100 Dinars with which to commit fornication. He left turning to Allah in repentance and begging of His forgiveness.
As for the woman, she too repented to Allah and began detesting the sins she had so often committed. She then set out looking for that person who was the catalyst for her repentance.
She found his village and asked around until she found the man's house. She knocked on the door and he opened it; but upon seeing her, he recalled that horrible day on which he was about to commit a filthy act and fell to ground, dead from shock!
She was saddened by his death but vowed to marry one of his relatives due to her love for the man. She was told that he had a poor and righteous brother, and she agreed to marry him. From that marriage, Allah granted them seven righteous, devout and ascetic worshippers.
La ilaha illallah!!! Look at what a great thing taubah/repentance is! So who is up to it? Who will turn to Allah and knock on His gates right now, begging of His forgiveness and mercy?
(Story taken from the book at-Tawwabin by Ibn Qudamah)
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