The 365 · Tazkiyah · Day 346 · Heart
Yaʾs min Raḥmat Allāh · Despair of His Mercy
The disease
اليَأْسُ مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ
Yaʾs min Raḥmat Allāh
The story
A man came to Ibn ʿAbbās saying: 'I have killed; is there tawbah for me?' Ibn ʿAbbās recited Q 39:53 and said: 'Yes.'
Why it's named first
The Qur'an names this disease alongside kufr: 'do not despair of Allah's mercy; no one despairs of Allah's mercy except the disbelieving people' (Q 12:87). The disease is treating one's sin as larger than Allah's mercy. Shayṭān whispers it specifically to repenters.
In the Qur'an
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِي الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ لا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا (الزمر 53). 'Say: O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of Allah's mercy; Allah forgives all sins.' (al-Zumar 39:53)
In the Sunnah
«لَوْ أَتَيْتَنِي بِقُرَابِ الأَرْضِ خَطَايَا، ثُمَّ لَقِيتَنِي لَا تُشْرِكُ بِي شَيْئًا لَأَتَيتُكَ بِقُرَابِهَا مَغْفِرَةً». 'If you came to Me with an earth-load of sins but met Me without associating anything with Me, I would meet you with an earth-load of forgiveness.' (Tirmidhi 3540)
The cure
Memorize 39:53. Recite it daily. When despair whispers, name it; refuse the whisper; cite the verse. Allah Himself has refused our despair; we have no right to insist on it.
What is at stake
The despairer stops trying. The despair becomes the deepest sin: doubting His mercy.
A du'a for this day
«أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ العَظِيمَ وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْهِ» ثَلَاثًا.
The door of mercy
Al-Ghaffar, al-Raḥīm, al-Wadūd. Three Names, none of them welcoming our despair.
A reflection to carry
Despair is itself a sin worse than the one being despaired over. Allah's mercy covers all; doubting that mercy denies His attribute.
Read the longer reflection
Q 39:53 is one of the most quoted verses for a reason: Allah Himself addresses the transgressors with tenderness and forbids despair. The verse names the believers as 'My servants' (ʿibādī) despite their excess. The mercy is so vast that it threatens the despair. May Allah lift every despair from our hearts and may we never doubt His forgiveness.
A verse, a healing, and a Sunnah, every morning.
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