Man has over time found a means to erase or clean up every mistake made. For instance, the eraser was made to clean mistakes made with the pencil. Some special kinds of erasers can be used for pen or Biro mistakes even though little children seem to prefer adding saliva to an eraser to get rid of biro errors! In the days when typewriters were the vogue, correcting-fluids did the bulk of the cleaning up.
Today, the computer saves us a lot of trouble with the Delete, Undo and Redo buttons which work wonders with just a tap of our fingers. In our homes, we have mops and rags which are very handy in cleaning every mess or spill. One aspect where we may not be able to perfect the act of cleaning up is in the personal aspect of day to day living. We find ourselves in the middle of one conflict or another from time to time; we offend others and are offended, we do things that are way out of line and so on. How do we clean up our personal messes? The sentence "I will forgive but I can never forget" is one we use from time to time whether or not we eventually follow through with it.
Granted, some things can hurt so much that they are hard to forget, but it would make things easier if we could put them behind us and forge ahead. Of course we are just being human; but must we always bring up past offences when settling new ones? For instance, when someone makes a mistake, we bring up a past mistake for which our forgiveness had been sought and supposedly received.
What happened to beginning on a clean slate? The answer to this is simply that unlike our computers that have been programmed to clean up errors and let go of them except when instructed otherwise, Allaah (subhanahu wa taala) made us special and gave us memories that go a long way. Except in special cases, we seem to remember most things. that happen to us; places we go, people we meet, things we like or dont like, things that make us happy or sad and of course people who make us happy or otherwise. When we commit sins, we ask Allaahs forgiveness and take for granted that we have been forgiven.
We sometimes go back to those sins or commit others; in the end, we go back to our old ways. Whenever we repent, Allaah forgives us and gives us another chance. Allaah in His Mercy grants us complete forgiveness. Once we repent and ask for another chance, He gives us a clean slate on which to begin afresh. Think of how many times you have asked for His forgiveness and gone back to your old ways. Imagine receiving a fresh slate each time, if you were in the position to give another person such opportunities, would you not be fed up at some point? Allaah says: "And whoever does a wrong or wrongs himself, but then seeks forgiveness from Allaah, he will find Allaah Forgiving and Merciful." . -Soorah 4(An-Nisaa):110]
Allaah's Favours know no bounds! We offend ourselves and make such a big deal about it but we commit sins and Allaah forgives us as long as we are sincerely sorry! His Love for us makes it possible for us to repent without being reminded of our past misdeeds.
As long as we are alive, we have the opportunity t? earn His Mercy. Let us endeavour to be more understanding of the faults of others and allow them to make things right when they wrong us; after all, Allaah loves and forgives us unconditionally! . "Which of the favours of your Lord do you deny?".-Soorah Ar-Rahman (55)
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited