The secret about sinning

The Secret About Sinning

When you commit a sin, Allah is teaching you about Himself and His names and His attributes. Think how?

1. Allah Covers You — الستَّار As-Sattār

The first thing — when you commit a sin, oftentimes nobody's seen you except you, and Allah has covered you. So you remember Allah's name, As-Sattār. Allah is the one who doesn't expose you, He covers you.

2. Allah Delays Your Punishment — الحليم Al-Ḥalīm

When you commit a sin, Allah could send a lightning bolt from the sky and finish you off straight away — He has all the right. But He delays your punishment until the Day of Judgment. This is Allah's tolerance, Al-Ḥalīm.

3. Sin Humbles You and Brings You Back — الهادي Al-Hādī

When you commit a sin, one of the greatest benefits of sinning is that it reminds you that you are fallible and you are human and you're not perfect — and it humbles you down and it brings you to the point of sujood. And this is one of the greatest gifts from Allah. By pushing you into sin, it makes you come right back to Him — and this is Allah Al-Hādī, the great guide.

4. Allah Forgives You — الرحيم، الغفور، الجواد، الكريم

When you sin, when you make a mistake, you ask Allah's forgiveness and He forgives you. And imagine how amazing it is and how generous Allah is — not just that He tolerates you on a day-to-day basis, but even when you turn against Him, He still tolerates and He forgives you and He has mercy and He wipes it clean. What is this except Al-Raḥīm, Al-Ghafūr, Al-Jawād, Al-Karīm? How many names of Allah can come into this interaction?

Repentance Is the Engine

Ibn al-Qayyim says — when you commit sins and you realize and you repent and you have remorse, this is the engine. Tawbah — repentance — is the engine of your train that's going towards Allah.

You fall and you get back up. You fall and you get better. You fall and you get better. Repentance, making mistakes, committing crimes is not taking you far from Allah.

If you bounce back — it is the greatest way to the closest of Allah, and knowing Him and understanding Him. And this is the secret about returning to Allah that most people don't know.