Oprost: poklon u sredini ramazana / Forgiveness: The gift in the middle of Ramadan

Oprost: poklon u sredini ramazana

Od momenta kad je Allah dž,š, stvorio prvog čovjeka Adema a,s, Iblis je odbio oprost nakon što mu je naređeno da se pokori prvom čovjeku. Iblis je ostavljen da luta oko dženneta, ali mu ipak nije oprošteno, i poznato je u vjerodostojnim predajama da mu nikada neće biti oprošteno, ma koliko bio na Zemlji ipak će biti stanovnik džehennema.

Kazivanje o stvranju svakako se nastavlja sa stvaranjem i Havve. Adem a,s, i njegova supruga Havva su namamljeni da pojedu plodove zabranjenog drveta, obadvoje su učinili prvu grešku prema Allahu, obadvoje Adem i Havva su zatražili oprost od Allaha za učinjeni grijeh i prekršaj.

Obadvoma je oprošteno poslije učinjene teobe i pokajanja, ali su dobili novi zadatak i poziciju da zauzmu mjesto namjesnika na Zemlji. Od tada, potomci Adema i Havve uvjek su činili prijestupe, ali je oprost uvjek bio njihova porcija kao veza između čovjeka i Boga. Allah dž,š, je obećao: I molite Allaha da vam oprosti, jer Allah prašta i milostiv je. Sura Muzemmil 20.

Istina je da Allah dž,š, govori o oprostu i pokazuje manjkavost čovjeka. Ljudi čine greške ali postoji važan aspekt mane i nedostatka u nama samima, a to je okretanje Allahu dž,š, i traženje oprosta ustvari čini nas kompletnim i savršenim.

Takođe ne postoji mjerilo koliko mi možemo činiti grijeha, jer je Allaha dž,š, El-Gafur – Onaj Koji mnogo prašta! Obećao je da će On uzvišeni oprostiti onima koji zatraže Njegov oprost. Dio čovjeka je da čini grijehe. Ali kako god, kao što smo stvoreni tako ili na taj način tj- da slijedimo šejtanske stranputice- to ne opravdava naše činjenje grijeha bez činjenja teobe i pokajanja. Allah dž,š, kaže u suri Nisa 110: Onaj ko kakvo zlo učini ili se prema sebi ogriješi pa poslije zamoli Allaha da mu oprosti – naći će da Allah prašta i da je milostiv. 

U sredini ramazana se nalazi 10 dana oprosta, u ovim danima nam je naređeno da intezivno tražimo oprost. Važna napomena za oprost je da njegov korjen dolazi od Allaha dž,š, jer je On El-Gafur, Onaj Koji mnogo prašta! Bez Allahovog oprosta, nema ulaska u Njegov džennet. Poslanik a,s, kaže: Ko god provede te noći u ibadetu, iskreno i nadajući se oprostu i nagradi, njegovi grijesi će biti opošteni. Imam Buhari i Muslim.

Takođe, ko posti iskreno od ramazana do ramazana njegovi grijesi će biti oprošteni. Dakle mjesec ramazan je pun oprosta. Poslanik a,s, je rekao: Miris iz usta postača je draži Allahu nego miris miska. Oni koji poste, ribe u vodi traže oprosta za njih sve dok se ne iftare. A džennet se uljepšava svaki dan osobi koja posti, šejtani se povežu, i zadnju noć ramaza svi njihovi grijesi se praštaju. Imam Ahmed.

A šta je to oprost? Oprost je napustiti želju i žudnja za ovim svijetom, bilo osjećaja gorčine ili gnjeva, pustiti neka sve ode u prošlost. Dok Allah dž,š, čini ovu vrstu pefekcije i savršenosti tj; oprašta, ali činjenica je da je nama najteže oprostiti samom sebi i zatražiti oprost od Allaha dž,š. Trebali bi započeti opraštati prvo sebi!

Zapitaj sam sebe, šta sam uradio/la? Da li se ja zaista želim promjenuti? Koje loše osobine i greške ja činim? Većinu stvari koje mi činimo zahtjeva od nas da tražimo oprost, jer su toliko loše stvari, prije svega loše za nas. Zato kad god činimo neki od grijeha, mi ne smao da kršimo Božije granice već ustvari mi sami sebi štetu činimo.

Vrlo često i olahko zaboravljamo naredbe koje se spominju u Kur'anu Časnom i praksi poslanika a,s. Ma šta bio razlog, naučimo da praštamo sami sebi, kad to uradiš, tek tad ćeš shvatiti važnost traženja oprosta. Tada ćeš moći otvoriti svoje srce i zatražit oprosta od Allah dž,š. Allah dž,š, kaže u suri Nisa 149: Bilo da vi dobro djelo javno učinite ili ga sakrijete ili nepravdu oprostite – pa, Allah mnogo prašta i sve može.

Druga dimenzija oprosta je, da oprostiš drugima i da tražiš oprost. Ramazan je perfektno vrijeme za traženje oprosta. Kaže uzvišeni u suri Earaf 199: Ti sa svakim – lijepo! I traži da se čine dobra djela, a neznalica se kloni! 

Zatim Allah dž,š, kaže u suri Šura 40: Nepravda se može uzvratiti istom mjerom, a onoga koji oprosti i izmiri se Allah će nagraditi; On, uistinu, ne voli one koji nepravdu čine. Zatim Allah dž,š, kaže u suri Hadž 60: Eto tako! A onome ko istom mjerom uzvrati za učinjeno zlo, i kome opet nepravda bude učinjena, Allah će, sigurno, pomoći. – Allah je Onaj koji grijehe poništava i koji ih prašta.

Ramazan dolazi jednom godišnje, u njegovoj sredini se nalazi oprost. Onaj ko zatraži oprost Allah dž,š, će mu oprostit. Zato imamo ovih deset dana koje nam je Allah dž,š, pripremio, na nama je da zatražimo oprost kako bi nam bilo oprošteno. Oprost je jaka veza između stvorenja i stvoritelja. Melek Džibril a,s, kada je rekao poslaniku a,s, neka je propao onaj ko dočeka ramazan a ne bude mu oprošteno, poslanik a,s, je rekao amin. Imam Buhari.

Kako ramazan polahko prolazi, neđi vremena da sam sebi oprostiš, da se izvineš onima kojima si nešto rekao, i da konstantno išćeš i tražiš od Allaha oprost. Molim Allaha dž,š, da nam oprosti i da nam da moći da i mi praštamo drugima.

Forgiveness: The gift in the middle of Ramadan

From the moment God created the first man - Adam (peace be upon him) - Iblis (Satan) was denied forgiveness after defying God’s command to prostrate before the first man of creation.

Iblis was left to roam (travel aimlessly) around Paradise, but wasn’t forgiven and it’s a well-known narration that Iblis would never be forgiven despite his duration on earth, and will eventually become a dweller of Hellfire.

The story of creation of course continues with the creation of Hawa (Eve). Adam and his wife, Eve, were lured into consuming forbidden fruit, both made the first error as far as God was concerned, as they defied God’s one single commandment to stay away from the forbidden fruit. Both husband and wife asked God for forgiveness for transgressing His instruction.

Both of them were forgiven after repenting, but were also assigned the position of vicegerents on Earth. From then on, the offspring of Adam and Eve have always committed errors, and forgiveness has always been on the platter as far as the relationship between man and God is concerned. God promises: And seek forgiveness of Allah; surely Allah is Forgiving, Compassionate. (Al-Muzzammil 20)

The fact that God talks about forgiveness shows how deficient human beings really are. Humans do commit error and do engage in wrong doings, but there is an important facet (aspect) to this flaw (a mark, fault,) in our own beings, that turning back to God and asking for His forgiveness may complete us.

There is also no measure as to how much error one can commit, as God being Al-Ghafour (the All-Forgiving) promises that He will forgive those who ask forgiveness. Part of being human includes committing wrongdoings and incurring sin. However, just because we were created that way – with the grand possibility to follow evil – it doesn’t justify making the active choices to engage in bad deeds without any conscientious effort to repent. And whoever does a wrong or wrongs himself but then seeks forgiveness of Allah will find Allah Forgiving and Merciful. (An-Nisa’ 4: 110)

In particular, the middle of Ramadan encompasses the 10 days of Forgiveness, and this is when Muslims are commanded to ask for forgiveness the most. The important thing to note about forgiveness is its root comes from God. With God being Al-Ghafour (the All-Forgiving), we pay heed to God’s power to forgive. Without God’s forgiveness, admission to Paradise would be impossible. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said that whosoever stands in worship on this night with sincere faith and with genuine hopes of gaining reward his previous sins will be forgiven. (AlBukhari and Muslim)

In fact, one who fasts sincerely and successfully from one Ramadan to another will have his sins forgiven. So obviously, the month of Ramadan is one of full forgiveness, and to solidify this, Prophet Muhammad said: "The smell from the mouth of a fasting person is sweeter in the sight of Allah than the fragrant smell of musk. For believers who are engaging in the fast, the fish in the sea seek forgiveness until they break their fast. Paradise is decorated everyday for the person who fasts; the evil minded Satan is chained; and on the last night of Ramadan, all their sins are forgiven." (Ahmad)

But What Is Forgiveness? Forgiveness is letting go of the need for revenge, any sense of bitterness or resentment and to let go of the past. While God does this with Perfection, it is in fact harder for us to forgive ourselves first as well as ask for forgiveness. But in order for us to ask for God’s forgiveness, we do need to start by forgiving ourselves.

Ask yourself, what have I done wrong? Do I really want to change? What are the bad habits or the mistakes that I made routinely? Have I given much thought into changing them? If I want to change and be forgiven, I need to do it for God’s sake.

Most of the things that we do that require forgiveness from God are actually bad for us in the first place. So while we are committing an error in the sight of God, we are also committing harm upon ourselves. Do we tell ourselves why it is wrong? How brutally honest are we in our wrong doings? Have we considered checking if what we are doing is correct?

Sometimes it is easy to forget what it says in the Qur’an and Sunnah when we are so busy trying to be ourselves. Perhaps it’s time to realize our priorities with respect to our religion. Are we really committing to good deeds or are we doing them for the wrong intentions?

Whatever it is, learn to forgive yourself first. Once you have done this, you will realize how important asking for forgiveness really is. And this is when you can really open up your heart and ask for forgiveness from God. This will help you truly feel liberated. If [instead] you show [some] good or conceal it or pardon an offense - indeed, Allah is ever Pardoning and Competent. (An-Nisa’ 4: 149)

Another dimension of forgiveness is to forgive others and to ask for forgiveness too. Ramadan is the perfect time to do that as during the days of forgiveness, saying sorry becomes more lightweight than usual. Take what is given freely, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the ignorant. (Al-A‘raf 7: 199)

Furthermore, God says: And the retribution for an evil act is an evil one like it, but whoever pardons and makes reconciliation - his reward is [due] from Allah. Indeed, He does not like wrongdoers. (Ash-Shura 42: 40)

Even if matters do not get resolved between two parties, there is always God’s mercy to fall back upon. That [is so] and whoever responds [to injustice] with the equivalent of that with which he was harmed and then is tyrannized - Allah will surely aid him. Indeed, Allah is Pardoning and Forgiving. (Al-Hajj 22: 60)

Ramadan comes but once a year, and in the middle of it lies days of forgiveness. Forgiveness leaves a telling tale in the hearts of believers as believing in God entails that God will forgive our wrongdoings, if we ask forgiveness. And God provides these special 10 days to go ahead and repent from our sins in order to be forgiven. From the time of creation, to the final reminders through Prophet Muhammad, we are reminded that forgiveness is one of the gems that builds a strong relationship between a believer and God.

Angel Gabriel once appeared before Prophet Muhammad, saying: Woe to him who found the blessed month of Ramadan and let is pass by without gaining forgiveness. Prophet Muhammad replied: Amen. (Al-Bukhari)

Entering the middle of Ramadan, it’s all about forgiveness. Forgiveness is a liberating feeling, especially if it comes from God. So as Ramadan rolls on, find time to forgive yourself, to forgive others, to apologise to those whom you may have wronged, and to always ask from God, the Most Forgiving, who, by His own decree, may single handedly forgive all your sins, this Ramadan.