The Secret That God Erases Bad Actions
The aim of believers is to earn the good pleasure, mercy and paradise
of God. However, man is created weak and forgetful; therefore, makes many
mistakes and possesses many failings. God, Who knows His servants best
and Who is the most merciful and compassionate, has informed us that He
will erase the bad actions of His sincere servants and will give them
an easy reckoning:
As for him who is given his Book in his right hand, he will be given
an easy reckoning and return to his family joyful. (Surat al-Inshiqaq:
7-9)
No doubt, God does not change the bad actions of every person into good.
The attributes of those believers whose bad actions God erases and forgives
are informed in the Qur'an.
THOSE WHO AVOID SERIOUS WRONG ACTIONS
In a verse, God states: "If you avoid the serious wrong actions you have
been forbidden, We will erase your bad actions from you and admit you
by a Gate of Honour." (Surat an-Nisa': 31). Believers who are aware of
this fact observe the limits set by God meticulously and avoid committing
what is forbidden. If they ever err out of forgetfulness or heedlessness,
they immediately turn to God and repent and ask for forgiveness.
God informs us in the Qur'an about His servants whose repentance will
be accepted. In this sense, knowing the commandments of God, yet deliberately
committing sins, saying "no matter what happens I will be forgiven" shows
completely flawed reasoning. That is because, God forgives the wrong actions
of His servants who commit them out of ignorance and who, without losing
any time, repent and display no insistence on them and make up for them:
God only accepts the repentance of those who do evil in ignorance and
then quickly repent after doing it. God turns towards such people. God
is All-Knowing, All-Wise. There is no repentance for people who persist
in doing evil until death comes to them and who then say, 'Now I repent,'
nor for people who die while they are disbelievers. We have prepared for
them a painful punishment. (Surat an-Nisa': 17-18)
As the verses suggest, studious avoidance of sins is essential if a person
wants his bad actions to be erased and to feel no regret on the day of
judgement. A believer who commits a sin, on the other hand, should lose
no time in asking for repentance from God.
THOSE WHO ENGAGE IN GOOD DEEDS
In other verses, God states that He will cover the bad actions of those
who act rightly. Some of the relevant verses are as follows:
On the Day He gathers you for the Day of Gathering
- that is the Day of Profit and Loss. As for those who believe in God
and act rightly, We will erase their bad actions from them and admit them
into Gardens with rivers flowing under them, remaining in them timelessly,
forever and ever. That is the Great Victory! (Surat at-Taghabun: 9)
Except for those who make sincere repentance and
believe and act rightly: God will transform the wrong actions of such
people into good - God is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful - (Surat al-Furqan:
70)
Each act and all behaviour displayed to seek the favour of God are a
"righteous deed". For instance, any attitude such as communicating the
morality of the religion to people, reminding someone who does not put
his trust in God about fate, hindering someone from gossiping, keeping
one's house and body clean, expanding one's horizons by reading and learning,
talking graciously, reminding people about the hereafter, caring for the
sick, showing love and compassion to the elderly, earning money through
lawful means so that one can use it for the good of people, staving off
evil with good and patience can become righteous deeds when they are done
to earn the good pleasure of God. Those who desire their wrong actions
to be remitted and transformed into good in the hereafter should always
choose to act in the way that God will be most pleased with. For such
an end, one should constantly remember the reckoning on the Day of Judgement.
It is obvious how one would act, for example, if he were made to stand
before the fire of hell, he were shown the bad actions he had done in
his life, and were warned that he had to act in the right way in order
to be forgiven. A person who sees the fire, who hears the despair, remorse
and groaning of the people of hell under that painful punishment and who
witnesses the punishment of the hell with his own eyes would surely act
in the way that would most please God and strive with his utmost striving.
This person would pray on time, perform good deeds, would never be careless,
would never dare to choose an act when he knows there is another act that
would please Him. Because hell, which remains right beside him, would
always remind him of his eternal life and of God's punishment. Such a
person could not defer his deeds. He would immediately and perfectly perform
what his conscience commands him to. He would be meticulous and persistent
in prayers. So, in the life of this world, the wrong actions of only those
who perform good deeds, fearing God and the day of judgement, as if they
had seen the hell and returned back to the world, or as if they always
see the fire right beside them will be transformed into good. These believers
are certain about the hereafter and they greatly fear and try to avoid
God's punishment.
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