Wants to avoid mistakes and to learn from them
17-6-2004 | IslamWeb
Question:
i have a very simple but annoying question :
every person in this world can commit a sin but later on he learns from his mistake and try to avoid it next time. But in my case this becomes impossible because every time I make a mistake after a while i repeat that mistake even though I say to myself that I won't do it next time. the funny thing is also when I get bad results in exam I blame myself and say if I would't have made that mistake Allah would have helped me in the exam. Is this thinking good to avoid mistakes . What should I do? Every time I promise myself and even Allah that I will never do that again, no way . give me some advice to get rid of such mistakes and do what Allah told me to do?
I have a problem performing salat al-fajr. Every time I wake up I find the sun shining and then I get angry. Is this acceptable by Allah? Is the reward the same or less ? what can I do to avoid it ?I hope to get answers very soon.
Answer:
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.
Satan is keen on misguiding Muslims and leading them astray. And when a person commits a sin and repents from committing it, Satan would come to him again and tries his best to make him commit that sin again.
Allah says: "Ever feeble indeed is the plot of Shaitan (Satan). (An-Nisa 4:76)
Therefore, if a person endeavors to repel the plots and whispers of Satan, he/she will indeed succeed.
The following are some matters that help avoid falling into sin:
1. To feel that Allah is always looking and watching the person, and to think about His greatness.
2. Not to follow one's thoughts and desires and other plots of Satan.
Allah says: " O you who believe! Follow not the footsteps of Shaitan (Satan). And whosoever follows the footsteps of Shaitan (Satan), then, verily he commands Al-Fahshâ' [i.e. to commit indecency (illegal sexual intercourse, etc.),and Al-Munkar [disbelief and polytheism (i.e. to do evil and wicked deeds; to speak or to do what is forbidden in Islam, etc.)(An-Nur 24:21)
3. To remember death as it can come suddenly. So if a person thinks about this, he will fear committing sins.
4. To supplicate Allah with insistence to grant refuge from Satan and his whispers, and from committing sins.
5. To repent: when a person commits a sin, he/she should quickly repent to Allah.
The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said: "Indeed all of the children of Adam commit sins, but the best of them are those who repent." Reported by Al-Thirmidhi and Ibn Majah.
Thinking that you do not get good results in exams because of your sins, is a correct thought. The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said: "Indeed a man is prevented from a provision because of a sin that he commits." Reported by Ibn Majah in his Sahih from the Hadith narrated by Thawbaan, may Allah be pleased with him?
As regards, Fajr prayer, you have to take the means that will help you pray on time:
1. Go to bed early.
2. Set the alarm clock.
3. Tell someone to wake you up for the prayer by phoning you, for example.
4. Avoid exhaustion during the day by doing very hard work.
5. Sleep in the afternoon for a short while (siesta).
If you take these means, you will wake up for the prayer, and if you oversleep sometimes after taking these necessary means, then, Insha Allah, you are not sinful. In such case the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said: "There is no negligence in sleeping" reported by Muslim from the Hadith narrated by Abu Qatada.
However, if you have the habit of oversleeping and not praying Fajr, and you do not take necessary means to wake up, then this is forbidden.
The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said: "Fajr and Isha prayers are indeed the most difficult prayers for the hypocrites." Reported by Bukhari, from the Hadith narrated by Abu Hurairah.
Allah knows best.