Juz 5-Juz Gems
Assalaamu Alaykum! Tonight, our mashaayikh will be reciting the majority of Surat an-Nisaa’. Surat an Nisaa’ is a Madani surah revealed shortly after the Battle of Uhud. The surah is replete with laws regarding inheritance and a strong message of the surah is establishing justice on Earth. As we are almost midway through the first 10 days of mercy, this aya proves both reassuring and timely:
وَمَن يَعْمَلْ سُوءًا أَوْ يَظْلِمْ نَفْسَهُ ثُمَّ يَسْتَغْفِرِ اللَّـهَ يَجِدِ اللَّـهَ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا ﴿١١٠﴾
And whoever does a wrong or wrongs himself but then seeks forgiveness of Allah will find Allah Forgiving and Merciful, (Surat An-Nisaa’, aya 110).
We can find ourselves paralyzed with the fear of sinning that we become too stringent and hard on ourselves and each other and strip ourselves from the beautiful characteristic of mercy. On the other hand, we may find ourselves so desensitized by our sins, that we do not even give it a second thought when engaging in something forbidden.
Ramadan is the perfect time to reawaken our senses and become more mindful of our actions. Because we want to conserve energy, we find ourselves talking less, protecting ourselves from the prohibitions of the tongue. We also may be so conscious of our fasting state, that we refrain from lashing out and getting angry. And yet, we still will have missteps and falter- even in Ramadan. This verse reminds us that Allah is more merciful on us than we often are on ourselves.
The Prophet Muhammad (sas) in an authentic hadith reminds us:
“By Him in whose hand is my soul, if you did not sin, Allah would replace you with people who would sin and they would seek forgiveness from Allah and He would forgive them,” (Sahih Muslim).
Allah loves to forgive and His attributes of forgiveness are many: Al-Ghaffar, Al-Ghafoor, Al-Afuw’, At-Tawwaab etc.
Sometimes we may feel like our sins are so heavy, that we fall into despair and doubt that Allah will ever forgive us. When that feeling arises, remember this beautiful Hadith Qudsi:
On the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: Allah the Almighty said: O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it.
May this Ramadan be an opportunity to cleanse ourselves of our past sins by turning back to Allah and seeking sincere forgiveness. Remember, Allah’s promise is true- all we need to do is turn back ❤️