Friday, March 29, 2013

Mistakes are part of destiny

No one wants to make a mistake and do himself or others mischief.
However, making mistakes is animportant part of our trial in the life
of this world. Allah created our trial in the life of this world in
this way.Anyone can make a mistake but what is important is that he
repents after his mistake and strive notto repeat this mistake.
Allah reveals in the verses of the Qur'an that human beings are weak
creatures who can forget and be mistaken. A personcan make a mistake
when he does not think something through, ignores something, does not
take the necessary precautions, is overwhelmed by his weak points,
forgets or is mistaken. This is very natural. Howeverthe important
thing ishow the person reactsafter this, rather than the mistake
itself. However big the mistake is, as soon as the person decides to
resign himself and begins to show the attitude hoped to please Allah,
that mistake disappears -by Allah's leave. Almighty Allah reveals as
such in Surah Al- Imran:
" Those who, when they act indecently or wrong themselves, remember
Allah and ask forgiveness for their bad actions (andwho can forgive
bad actions except Allah?) and do not knowinglypersist in what they
were doing." (Surah Al 'Imran, 135)
Allah Creates Everything We Do
Everything a person lives throughout his or her life, everything they
do, every situation they face, allof them are created by Allah with
all of thepros and cons. In the verses it is revealed that not even a
single leaf falls without the knowledge of Allah. (Surah al-An'am,
59). In Surat al-Qalam, it is revealed "Everything they did is in the
Books. Everything is recorded, big or small." (Surat al-Qamar, 52-53).
This means that the personmakes that mistake because Allah wills him
to do so; it is in his destiny to make that mistake. When heacts
according to the Qur'an, something good will happen after that
mistake.
For example, a personmay break a vase when walking by it because he is
not careful enough or does not look ahead. Or he can bump into adinner
plate preparedwith great effort and knock it off a table. Hemay cause
the people waiting for him to delay their jobs because he fell
asleep.Now in all these there is a variety of reasons created by
Allah. Allah is the One Who breaksthat object. Maybe that object would
have caused a conflictbetween its owners or broken in a dangerous way
that would harm someone.Maybe Allah will makea much more beautiful one
to be purchased instead. In the same way, Allah is the One Who makes
the food spill on the floor. Maybe there is an bad ingredient inside
that food and itwould have made someone ill. Maybe that food would
have prevented that personfrom eating something healthier. Also Allah
is the One Who does not wake a person who is late for a job because he
fell asleep because maybehis friends waiting forhim need to be late
aswell. Maybe this will protect them from some danger or maybe bring
the means to carry out a more important job.
If one does not realizethese facts, when he makes a mistake he would
panic and feel anxiety and sorrow. He would feet unease and dismay.
His sadness would increase even becauseof the effect of this situation
on other people and his troubles increase day by day. However, it is
not in line with the moral values of the Qur'an to feel sad, dismay
and troubled because of a mistake, which took place in his destiny by
Allah's will. Muslims overthrow their discomort and anxieties as a
result oftheir mistakes again by turning to Allah and acting according
to the moral values of the Qur'an. They do not fall into depression
like people who do not live by the morality of religion. They do not
feel sadness, sorrow or hopelessness by evaluating their mistakes with
an emotional state of mind. They only experinece a very deep and
strong sense of regret. However this is not anevil kind of regret; it
is a Muslim kind of regret because this feeling of regret helpsthem
hold onto the Qur'an even more strongly. They pray to Allah even more
deeply. Their religiousenthusiasm, determination to live by the moral
values ofthe Qur'an, submission to Allah, faith in the hereafter and
fear of Allah increase tremendaously. They take very sincere decisions
to become better in every way and become more enthusiastic and
energetic by striving more in this way. They know that even if they
could take the time back, they wouldstill make the same mistakes. When
they criticize themselves and feel regret for their actions, they do
not forget that all things have occured according to destiny.
Therefore they do not"live in a sense of guilt" as irreligious people
do. Allah revealed in the Qur'anas such:
"Everything they did is in the Books. Everything is
recorded, big or small.(Surat al-Qamar, 52-53)

It is impossible to claim that a person will never make any mistakes
throughout his life and is complete and flawlessbecause human beings
are created as weak creatures who can make mistakes. Our Almighty Lord
is the One Who is forgiving and accepts repentance. Therefore, a
believer needs to take lessons from the mistakes he made knowingly or
unknowingly or because he followed his inner self. What heneeds to do
is to regret it and follow the truth and submit to our Lord and strive
not to repeat that mistake. Of course he needs to be very careful
about not making any mistakes and commit any further sins and
protecting the boundaries of our Lord. But even if he makes a mistake
it is avery good quality of faith to ask for forgiveness from Allah.
The names of Allah as "The Acceptor of Repentance" (At-Tawwab), "The
All-Forgiving" (Al-Ghaffar), "The All-Merciful" (Ar-Rahman) are
manifested on the believers who regret their mistakes, ask
forforgiveness and turn to Allah.
Believers Take LessonsFrom Their Mistakes
As a result of their faith and fear of Allah,mistakes help believers
become more clean morally. Maybe they make a mistake on one thing, but
they remember that mistake all their lives and avoid making a similar
mistake by taking lessons from it.
However, Allah created human beingsespecially in a character so that
they can use their conscience, feel regret and repent, turn to Him and
ask for His forgiveness and take decisions not to repeat that mistake.
A person must do all he can not to make a mistake; and strive to act
in a very moral way by using his mind, will and conscience to the
end.But when there is a mistake, he needs to act in the way as
described in the Qur'an.
If that mistake has helped the person to better understand his
weakness in the face of Allah's infinite power and his need for Allah,
then this shows that person's sincere faith and fear of Allah. If he
regrets his mistake and fears to be held responsiblein the Day of
Judgment, and if he submits to Allah's mercy and forgiveness, then he
isabiding by the moral values of the Qur'an by Allah's leave. Such a
person prays sincerely so Allah accepts his repentance and forgives
him. He promises to Allah witha true heart not to repeat that mistake.
In one verse, our Lord heralds that He will accept the repentanceof
his sincere servants:
"But if anyone makes repentance after his wrongdoing and puts things
right, Allah will turn towards him. Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most
Merciful." (Surat al-Ma'ida, 39)
The Qur'an is the only measure for believers,so their approach to
aperson who makes a mistake is always in line with the moral values of
the Qur'an. Abeliever knows that every person is a human being who is
weak and who can make a mistake easily.He does not forget that Allah
is the One Who creates everything –by Allah's leave- and he can
distinguish a sincere mistake from a deliberate one. When a person is
sincere, hislove or respect would not change because of a single
mistake - by Allah's leave.

No comments:

Post a Comment