Every Son Of Adam Is A Sinner
While going through the daily grind, living out our lives day in and day out, there is absolutely no doubt that we do things that we regret. It can be anything from forgetting to lower our gaze, to backbiting about another person, to talking back to our parents - the opportunities to sin are endless.
With all of these evil instances guaranteed to happen to us at one point or another, is their any point to go on? It seems as if we’re just set up to fail. If you’ve ever felt distressed or depressed about the transgressions of your soul, Allah has got answers for you that you will not want to miss.
Through His beloved Prophet Muhammad [saw], Allah reminds us about the nature of our being. “Every son of Adam is a sinner,” the Prophet [saw] began a hadith. In this first part of his statement, the Prophet is reminding us of our total weakness to fall into temptation and give in to the possibility to sin. He reminds us that we will, without a doubt, misbehave; that there will never be a period of time which we do not do wrong.
Kind of a bitter reality check, right?
After this reminder sets in and establishes itself as a tangible reality within the human, the Prophet [saw] finishes the hadith, “and the best of sinners are those who repent constantly.” Thus while we will never be able to make it through a complete day without stumbling once or twice, we are reminded that the fact that we sin is not really what matters, but what truly is important is that we counter our inevitable faults with prayers for forgiveness.
This doesn’t mean that we should just give in to every sin we encounter and rely on our repentance alone, however. Part of effective repentance from the inevitable sins comes in two parts: first is to stay away from doing the sin at all costs, and the second is to sincerely repent if the resistance isn’t strong enough.
But is saying sorry enough? Won’t our sins accumulate to a point where Allah will not even accept our prayers for forgiveness anymore? Let’s quench our heart’s thirst with this verse from the Qur’an:
“Tell them (oh Muhammad): ‘My (God’s) Servants who have committed excesses against themselves, do not be in despair in the mercy of Allah - surely, Allah forgives all sins. Verily Allah is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful’”
[Surah az-Zumar 39:53]
For all of us who, at one point or another, thought that we were beyond help. At times when we had sunken into sadness over our own shortcomings. When we missed fajr that morning, when we yelled at our mom when she was just trying to help us, when we looked at that girl when we know we shouldn’t have - this verse gives us hope.
Allah [swt] is commanding us, not advising us, to never lose despair. Because of the word choice and way He is using it, it is taken from this verse that it is actually prohibited, forbidden, and haram upon us to lose hope in Allah’s mercy, for surely “Allah forgives all sins.” Again, while this definitely isn’t a free ticket to go and party hard in haram fashion, it is a reminder to balance our hearts in regards to fearing Allah’s punishment, and hoping for His love and mercy.
So let the light at the end of the tunnel stay lit, let the rays of sun coming from behind those dark clouds shine through. There is hope for Allah’s forgiveness, and we know this because He tells us so. We may have faults and shortcomings, but it’s nothing that Allah can’t forgive; coupled with sincere repentance, getting forgiveness is as close as asking for it insha Allah.
“The heart is like a bird; Love is the head, and the two wings are hope and fear.”
Madaarij as-Salikeen by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah
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6 Responses to “Every Son Of Adam Is A Sinner”
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dude…you wrote this at the most perfect time ever! jazaks.
ASA, I must say that this was really good and came in its time!
Those scholars sure do love their bird analogies. I also happen to like the successful-marriage-is-like-a-bird analogy: the two wings are love and mercy.
Asalam alaykum brother AbdelRahman,
Masha’Allah I looking at some blogs online and I came across your blog and masha’Allah it is wonderful to see young Muslims spreading the religion of Allah. Masha’Allah please update and keep it up insha’Allah and always remember to do everything you do to please Allah.
And masha’Allah this post was very helpful, may Allah swt reward you for posting it.
Adhd and valtrex….
Valtrex. Side effects of valtrex….