by Maryam Amir-Ebrahimi
What do you think of when you see a sister who isn’t wearing hijab? How about a brother who is laughing with many girls?
Ever look down on them? Think you’re better than them? It’s easy to be self-righteous. It’s even easier to fall prey to this attitude if you sport the ‘righteous’ look.
But let’s ask ourselves this question: has Allah written us amongst His righteous servants? Or is that a title we have only given ourselves?
Check this:
I was once sitting at the table for my on-campus Muslim Students Association (MSA) and a female student, dressed in typical jeans and a t-shirt approached me. I was decked out in my hijab and jilbab and I really had no idea what she was thinking as she made the move to speak to me. She asked if she could have a Qur’an, and of course, I was happy to give one to her. Then she said, “Can I ask you a question?” “Sure,” I answered. The question sounded kind of deep, so I invited her to sit next to me on the empty chair. She took up the offer.
“Please don’t judge me,” she began. Allah Akbar (God is the greatest)! I had a feeling this was a Muslim sister. SubhanAllah, the courage it must have taken for her to come and speak to me, considering that we were dressed so differently from each other.
After reassuring her, how could I judge her?, she began—
She told me that she became involved in a relationship for the first time in her life with a Muslim guy. Her intention was to eventually get married, but she felt so terrible doing it, even though she was supposed to feel good. She told me that she knew her relationship was a big sin and that she wanted to stop, but she explained that it was just too hard. And she asked me…Can Allah forgive me? Subhan’Allah (glorified is Allah).
While this girl was speaking, I was looking at her thinking: look at the jihad she is going through for Allah. She hates what she is doing, she asks Allah to forgive her, but it is so hard for her to leave the sin. Her desire to repent became so intense that she came to a girl she has never met before, who could easily judge her, and poured out her heart. And the most amazing part is that she wanted to know, can Allah forgive her? Could He subhanahu wa ta’ala (glorious and exalted is He) really forgive such a sin?
I told her, Allah is Ghafurun Raheem! Allah is the Most Forgiving and Especially Merciful! He will forgive ANYTHING. Even if a person commits fornication Allah will forgive this person if they repent and leave it. I kept telling her about Allah’s Mercy, about how Allah is so, so happy to turn and accept the repentance of His slaves.
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