The 365 · Tazkiyah · Day 347 · Heart
Ghurūr bi al-Maghfirah · Taking Mercy for Granted
The disease
الغُرُورُ بِالْمَغْفِرَةِ
al-Ghurūr bi al-Maghfirah
The story
Ibrāhīm ibn Adham used to say: 'How blessed is the one between two fears: the fear of his past sins, and the fear of his future ones.' The believer walks between the two fears with hope; the deluded skips fear and assumes only hope.
Why it's named first
The opposite extreme of despair: the believer who hears 'Allah forgives all sins' and acts as if forgiveness is automatic. This disease forgets that forgiveness requires tawbah, and tawbah requires sincerity and reform. The Qur'an warns: 'do not be deluded about Allah' (Q 31:33).
In the Qur'an
فَلا تَغُرَّنَّكُمُ الحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا وَلا يَغُرَّنَّكُم بِاللَّهِ الْغَرُورُ (لقمان 33). 'Let not the worldly life delude you, and let not the deceiver delude you about Allah.' (Luqmān 31:33)
In the Sunnah
«الكَيِّسُ مَنْ دَانَ نَفْسَهُ وَعَمِلَ لِمَا بَعدَ المَوْتِ، وَالعَاجِزُ مَنْ أَتْبَعَ نَفْسَهُ هَوَاها وَتَمَنَّى عَلَى اللَّهِ». 'The wise is the one who holds himself accountable and works for what is after death; the helpless is the one who follows his desires and merely WISHES from Allah.' (Tirmidhi 2459)
The cure
Pair every awareness of Allah's mercy with awareness of His justice. He is Ghafūr; He is also Shadīd al-ʿIqāb. Both Names are real. The believer holds both: the deepest hope and the most serious fear, simultaneously.
What is at stake
The deluded believer keeps sinning, expecting mercy without effort. The Day reveals that mercy requires turning, and assumed mercy is not granted mercy.
A du'a for this day
«اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ الجَنَّةَ وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ النَّارِ».
The door of mercy
Al-Shadīd al-ʿIqāb. Pair this Name with al-Ghafūr; they are mentioned together repeatedly in the Qur'an.
A reflection to carry
Walk between the two fears (past and future). Hope between the two mercies (revealed and reserved). The middle path is the Sunnah.
Read the longer reflection
Allah's pairing of Names is pedagogical. He names Himself Ghafūr Raḥīm AND Shadīd al-ʿIqāb in the same verse multiple times. The believer who holds only one Name has fallen into delusion or despair. The balanced believer holds both: hope-filled fear, fearful hope. May Allah make us of the wise who hold themselves accountable, not the deluded who only wish.
A verse, a healing, and a Sunnah, every morning.
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