Say [from Me]: ‘My servants, you who have transgressed against yourselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Truly Allah forgives all wrong actions. He is the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.’ (Surat az-Zumar; 53)
In many verses of the Qur’an, Allah mentions that Muslims -even those with the most fear of Allah- may make mistakes. In this verse surely Allah brings relief to their hearts, for a Muslim who errs may feel great regret, sorrow and guilt. Allah knows that Muslims are very careful about improving their shortcomings. In the Qur’an, He gives the examples of prophets who have won His approval to show that every person may make mistakes.
So these encouraging and refreshing consolations prevent Muslims from falling into despair after they have made a mistake. Allah has promised to forgive a person’s errors without exception, if that person is sorry and repents of what he has done.
But despite the many consolations in the Qur’an that refresh the spirit and give hope, many human beings still do not admit that they make mistakes, in an ignorant manner. In spite of the glad tidings announced in the Qur’an, after making a mistake they become wrapped in despair and become anxious and downhearted which is totally wrong behavior. An individual who refuses to acknowledge errors he has committed out of pride and arrogance is greatly unhappy by what he has done. He has trouble accepting that he is a creature prone to making mistakes and faulty decisions, and whose actions and words may be wrong. He does not consider that perfection and freedom from error belong only to Allah. He wants to be perfect himself. But he cannot, and the fact that some of his attitudes are wrong, draws him into despair.
A Muslim experiences deep peace by accepting his imperfections and helplessness in relation to Allah and never claims to be free from error.
It should be remembered that the tendency to err and sin -even though one may be a firm believer- makes him more aware of Allah’s perfection. One can conceive of perfection only when he has experienced imperfection. Consciousness of his own failures and weaknesses lets him better appreciate the absolute perfection of Allah. He will have a clear conception that He is exalted above all else while measuring Allah with His true measure and glorifying Him with praise.
