Have you ever sinned and felt ashamed at first? You tell yourself you will quit doing it but are too weak and go back to doing it again? Each time you do the sin, the regret seems less and less until the sin becomes second nature and the regret is gone. At this point in the game, it seems like you’re going to hell anyway so might as well start picking up some more sins on the way. That pesky feeling of regret is annoying, so you start to doubt your faith and question whether God and the afterlife exists. Or you figure you can sin now and repent when you’re old.  Your motto is yolo right? You just want to be happy and have fun and keep chasing the next experience or object that you think will bring you that happiness. Heaven seems so out of reach and is reserved for prophets and saints.

Ten, twenty, thirty years of living this lifestyle and you are still not content. You may be depressed, at the doctor’s asking for meds to get you through the days. You ask, what is the point of this life? The shaytan tricks us into thinking that enjoyment of this life is everything and that Allah will never forgive us. We need to avoid this mindset, Allah is Al- Ghafur, one who is always forgiving us and the one we can turn to at all times. As long as you are above ground, it’s never too late. The benefits of practicing repentance are numerous. The Prophet (SAW) said “Whoever is persistent in regularly asking Allah to forgive him/her shall be blessed by Allah in that Allah will make every concern of his disappear, and every trial to vanish. Moreover, Allah will provide an income and a sustenance from sources he/she never expected!” (Abu Dawud/Ahmad) It is important to have positive thoughts about Allah.

Say, “O My servants who have transgressed against themselves (by sinning), do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful” (39:53)

May Allah forgive and guide us all