Asking Ar-Rahman Series Ramadan 1447 AH Day 19: Do Not Despair Of Ar-Rahman — Dr Abioye Ibraheem A.

Do Not Despair of Ar-Rahman

As humans, we tend to be impatient in our desires. To give up quickly after asking for some time. To push and then quickly stop. To assume the worst of situations. To despair. To despair of Ar-Rahman.

Allah says Surah az-Zumar:

قُلْ يَـٰعِبَادِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ ٱلذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ

“Say: O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.”

— Qur’an 39:53

Many scholars described this verse as one of the most hopeful verses in the Qur’an.

It directly addresses despair in faith. Those situations when you feel that your sins are overwhelming and Allah will not forgive them. Or those situations where you feel lost, confident that you cannot find your way back. 

It reminds us that Allah’s mercy is always greater than our mistakes, our delays, and our fears. That Allah can forgive all our sins. All our sins. Not some. Not the small ones. Not the ones you committed by accident. All our sins.

Despair in the faith is a trap of Shaytan. He tells you, “It’s too big a deal. “You’ve gone too far.” “Allah won’t forgive this.” “You’re beyond redemption.”

Lies. It’s a plot to keep you away from the very thing that can save you: turning back to Allah.

If you think your sins are too great, listen to this story that the Prophet ﷺ told us:

Abu Sa’id al-Khudri reported Allah’s Messenger ﷺ as saying:

“There was a person before you who had killed ninety-nine persons and then made an inquiry about the learned persons of the world (who could show him the way to salvation). He was directed to a monk. He came to him and told him that he had killed ninety-nine persons and asked him whether there was any scope for his repentance to be accepted. He said: No. He killed him also and thus completed one hundred. He then asked about the learned persons of the earth and he was directed to a scholar, and he told him that he had killed one hundred persons and asked him whether there was any scope for his repentance to be accepted. He said: Yes; what stands between you and the repentance? You better go to such and such land; there are people devoted to prayer and worship and you also worship along with them and do not come to the land of yours since it was an evil land (for you).”

One hundred murders. And the scholar didn’t hesitate: “Yes, what stands between you and repentance?”

“So he went away and he had hardly covered half the distance when death came to him and there was a dispute between the angels of mercy and the angels of punishment. The angels of mercy said: This man has come as a penitent and remorseful to Allah and the angels of punishment said: He has done no good at all. Then there came another angel in the form of a human being in order to decide between them. He said: You measure the land to which he has drawn near. They measured it and found him nearer to the land where he intended to go (the land of piety), and so the angels of mercy took possession of it.”

— Sahih Muslim 2766

He didn’t even make it to his destination. He died on the way. But his intention to repent, his movement toward Allah, was enough. Allah had mercy on him.

Here’s another hadith that should fill your heart with hope:

 Abu Huraira reported from Allah’s Messenger ﷺ that his Lord, the Exalted and Glorious, said: “A servant committed a sin and he said: O Allah, forgive me my sins, and Allah (the Exalted and Glorious) said: My servant committed a sin and then he came to realize that he has a Lord Who forgives the sins and takes to account (the sinner) for the sin. He then again committed a sin and said: My Lord, forgive me my sin, and Allah, the Exalted and High, said: My servant committed a sin and then came to realize that he has a Lord Who would forgive his sin or would take (him) to account for the sin. He again committed a sin and said: My Lord, forgive me for my sin, and Allah (the Exalted and High) said: My servant has committed a sin and then came to realize that he has a Lord Who forgives the sins or takes (him) to account for sin. O servant, do what you like. I have granted you forgiveness.” 

— Sahih Muslim, 2758

SubhanAllah! The servant sinned three times, and each time he asked for forgiveness. And Allah was pleased with him—not because he sinned, but because he kept coming back. Because he never gave up on Allah’s mercy.

When you pray, be patient 

The Prophet ﷺ said:

“The supplication of a servant will continue to be answered so long as he is not impatient, saying: ‘I made duʿā’ but I was not answered.’”

— Sahih al-Bukhari 6340

— Sahih Muslim 2735

Despair is dangerous. We must never give in to it.

Allah answers duʿā’ in ways we may not immediately see.

Sometimes He gives what we asked for.

Sometimes He protects us from harm we did not see.

Sometimes He stores the reward for the Hereafter.

But the duʿā’ of a believer is never wasted.

To worry is human

In the early years of Islam, the believers were severely persecuted in Makkah.

One companion, Khabab ibn al-Aratt (رضي الله عنه), approached the Prophet ﷺ while he was resting in the shade of the Kaʿbah and asked:

“Will you not ask Allah to help us? Will you not pray for victory for us?”

Khabāb was one of the earliest companions of the Prophet ﷺ and among the Muslims who endured severe persecution in Makkah. Like the more widely known companion Bilāl ibn Rabāḥ, Khabāb was from the vulnerable class of early converts who had little tribal protection in Makkah. Again and again, he was tortured with burning coals placed against his back. So, you can understand his concern and request to the Prophet.

 The Prophet ﷺ reminded him of the patience of believers before them, then said:

“By Allah, Allah will surely complete this matter until a rider travels from Sanaʿa to Hadramawt fearing none but Allah.”

— Sahih al-Bukhari 6943

But he added:

“You are being hasty.”

 So, remember that people who were better than you and I worried, felt haste, and the Prophet corrected them. Today, we know that the Prophet was right.

Allah also reminds us in Surah Baqarah that believers before us also endured moments of intense hardship: 

. .. مَّسَّتۡهُمُ ٱلۡبَأۡسَآءُ وَٱلضَّرَّآءُ وَزُلۡزِلُواْ حَتَّىٰ يَقُولَ ٱلرَّسُولُ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ مَعَهُۥ مَتَىٰ نَصۡرُ ٱللَّهِۗ أَلَآ إِنَّ نَصۡرَ ٱللَّهِ قَرِيبٞ

“They were shaken until even the Messenger and those who believed with him said, ‘When will the help of Allah come?’

They were concerned that their hardship was not abating. But the verse ends with a promise:

‘Indeed, the help of Allah is near’ (2:214).”

The beginning of that verse establishes a concept:

أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَن تَدْخُلُوا۟ ٱلْجَنَّةَ وَلَمَّا يَأْتِكُم مَّثَلُ ٱلَّذِينَ خَلَوْا۟ مِن قَبْلِكُم 

Do you think you will be admitted into Paradise without being tested like those before you? . . .

The challenges we experience in this world are a test from Allah. To see whether we would draw near to Him. As He reminds us that His help is near.

The Patience of Yaʿqub

Despair was also a temptation for Ya’qub when his son Yusuf disappeared. Allah tells us this story in detail in Surah Yusuf.

Years passed without news. Many scholars indicate it was probably decades!

His grief was so deep that Allah tells us:

وَٱبۡيَضَّتۡ عَيۡنَاهُ مِنَ ٱلۡحُزۡنِ فَهُوَ كَظِيمٞ

“His eyes became white from sorrow, and he was suppressing grief.”

— Qur’an 12:84

Yet even then, he said:

قَالَ إِنَّمَآ أَشۡكُواْ بَثِّي وَحُزۡنِيٓ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ وَأَعۡلَمُ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعۡلَمُونَ

“I only complain of my sorrow and grief to Allah.”

— Qur’an 12:86

And he reminded his sons:

يَٰبَنِيَّ ٱذۡهَبُواْ فَتَحَسَّسُواْ مِن يُوسُفَ وَأَخِيهِ وَلَا تَاْيۡـَٔسُواْ مِن رَّوۡحِ ٱللَّهِۖ إِنَّهُۥ لَا يَاْيۡـَٔسُ مِن رَّوۡحِ ٱللَّهِ إِلَّا ٱلۡقَوۡمُ ٱلۡكَٰفِرُونَ

“Do not despair of relief from Allah. Indeed, none despairs of relief from Allah except the disbelieving people.”

— Qur’an 12:87

Allah returned Yusuf to him in a way greater than he imagined.

His story reminds us that emotions of sorrow, worry, and grief are human feelings. 

To despair refers to action or inaction. Not feelings alone. To despair is to stop praying for that promotion because you have lost all hope that Allah will grant it. It is to walk away prematurely.

Hope Is an Act of Worship

The scholars teach us that the believer exists between fear and hope.

Despair whispers that Allah has forgotten. Faith reminds us that Allah is Ar-Rahman.

The believer continues to ask.

He continues to hope.

Because he knows the One he is calling.

Keep Asking

Delay is not rejection.

Silence is not abandonment.

Your Lord hears every call.

And sometimes the most beautiful answers arrive only after the longest patience.