What do sins and plastic have in common?
- Many come out of a mindset of “convenience”. It’s convenient to commit sins. It takes actual thought to be either obedient or repentant.
Sins are that which make us think the Final Day is far away. It’s this mistake that creates the slippery slope into other sins because we think that Day is “far away”.
إِنَّهُم يَرَونَهُ بَعيدًا
وَنَراهُ قَريبًا
“They see it as something distant, but We see it as very close.” — Qur’an 70: 6-7
- We commit sins like we consume plastic: we often think it a good thing but in reality we’ve created a problem for ourselves as well as those around us (i.e., the environment) and like plastic, those sins just don’t go away. They have to be dealt with.
أذنب عبدي ذنباً، فقال: اللهم اغفر لى ذنبي،
فقال الله تبارك وتعالى: أذنب عبدى ذنبا، فعلم أن له رباً يغفر الذنب، ويأخذ بالذنب،
ثم عاد فأذنب، فقال: أي رب اغفر لي ذنبي، فقال تبارك وتعالى: أذنب عبدي ذنباً، فعلم أن له رباً يغفر الذنب، ويأخذ بالذنب،
ثم عاد فأذنب، فقال: أي رب اغفر لى ذنبي، فقال، تبارك وتعالى: أذنب عبدي ذنباً، فعلم أن له رباً يغفر الذنب، ويأخذ بالذنب،
قد غفرت لعبدى فليفعل ما شاء
Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet said,
“Allah, the Exalted, and Glorious said: ‘A slave committed a sin and he said: O Allah, forgive my sin,’
and Allah said: ‘My slave committed a sin and then he realized that he has a Lord Who forgives the sins and punishes for the sin.’He then again committed a sin and said: ‘My Lord, forgive my sin,’ and Allah said: ‘My slave committed a sin and then realized that he has a Lord Who forgives his sin and punishes for the sin.’
He again committed a sin and said: ‘My Lord, forgive my sin,’ and Allah said: ‘My slave has committed a sin and then realized that he has a Lord Who forgives the sin or takes him to account for sin.’
I have granted forgiveness to my slave. Let him do whatever he likes*“.
* The last sentence “let him do…” means, as long he keeps asking for forgiveness after the commission of sins, and repents, Allah will forgive him because repentance eliminates previous sins.
