DO NOT DESPAIR

Allah says: “…and despair not of Allah's mercy; surely none despairs of Allah's mercy except the unbelieving people.” Qur’an 12:87 Of course, sinful ones, who want to get the forgiveness and mercy of Allah, have to have hope and expectation. Hope is fostered by serious repentance, giving up disobedience, repairing the previous sins, paying back to people what is owed to them, offering missed obligations and reforming conduct, deeds and morals. Then hope and expectation become possible. For example, the correct hope of a farmer is to plough his fields in autumn to remove obstacles and dregs, and then he sows seeds in the spring, waters the crop in the summer and hopes that his seeds will grow, until, again in the autumn, a rich harvest is his reward. If hope and expectation are not actively fostered, they will be just empty hope and unfruitful expectation, like a farmer who expects to get a yield without working his farm by plowing, seeding and watering. Such illusory and unfruitful hope is talked about in a very important tradition. Someone said to Abu Abdullah as-Sadiq (pbuh)*, “Some people commit sins and say ‘we expect (the mercy of Allah)”. Abu Abdullah (pbuh) said: “These people sway with wishes. They just tell lies. They do not hope. He who hopes for something tries to get it, and he who fears something runs away from it.”[1] According to this tradition, expecting the mercy of Allah must be accompanied with abstaining from sins, avoiding vices and doing good deeds so that one can be fit to get the forgiveness and mercy of Allah. In order to be safe from the torment of hell, you must first pluck out the causes for deserving torment that lie deep within you.