Finding Redemption: A Young Muslim's Struggle With Guilt After Committing Zina
Following advice of Dr. Shahzad Saleem might help you: https://www.al-mawrid.org/Question/60a204a3923f0b12074d86c2/am-i-being-punished You can also choose to hold a personal consultation session with Dr. Shahzad Saleem to ask any questions specific to your situation that are disturbing your mind. Please register at the following link : https://www.ghamidi.org/consultation-registration/ __ As a principle , The Almighty has asserted ( Quran 6:54 ) that He has made mercy incumbent upon Himself and therefore He never punishes people who after sinning repent and mend their ways. And when honest forgiveness is sought from Allah, even from the major sins, not only Allah will erase those bad deeds from the person’s account, but also convert those bad deeds into good deeds with an equivalent reward: وَالَّذِيْنَ لَا يَدْعُوْنَ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَهًا آخَرَ وَلَا يَقْتُلُوْنَ النَّفْسَ الَّتِیْ حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ وَلَا يَزْنُوْنَ وَمَن يَّفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ يَلْقَ أَثَامًا. يُّضَاعَفْ لَهُ الْعَذَابُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَيَخْلُدْ فِيْهِ مُهَانًا. إِلَّا مَنْ تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا فَأُوْلَئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ حَسَنَاتٍ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيْمًا. وَمَنْ تَابَ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَإِنَّهُ يَتُوْبُ إِلَى اللَّهِ مَتَابًا. And [are those] who do not call any other deity besides God, do not kill any soul held sacred by God and do not commit fornication – whosever does these sins, will bear its consequences. On the Day of Judgement, his torment will continue to increase and he will forever abide in it disgraced. Except he who repented, professed faith and did good deeds, then it is such people whose bad deeds God will transform into good ones . In reality, God is very forgiving; ever-merciful. And he who repents and does good deeds should rest assured because he returns to God with full success . ( Quran 25:68-71 ) In this regard, the rule is that if people repent immediately after they commit a sin the Almighty definitely forgives them; however, He does not forgive people who deeply indulge in sin all their lives and when they see death approaching start to repent and seek forgiveness from the Almighty. Similarly, He also does not forgive people who deliberately deny the truth if they continue on this denial till death. This practice of God regarding repentance has been mentioned in the Quran in the following words: إِنَّمَا التَّوْبَةُ عَلَى اللّهِ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السُّوَءَ بِجَهَالَةٍ ثُمَّ يَتُوبُونَ مِن قَرِيبٍ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ يَتُوبُ اللّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ وَكَانَ اللّهُ عَلِيماً حَكِيماً وَلَيْسَتِ التَّوْبَةُ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ حَتَّى إِذَا حَضَرَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ إِنِّي تُبْتُ الآنَ وَلاَ الَّذِينَ يَمُوتُونَ وَهُمْ كُفَّارٌ أُوْلَـئِكَ أَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا God’s responsibility is to forgive only those who commit a sin while being overwhelmed with emotions and then quickly repent. It is they who are forgiven by God . God is all-knowing and wise. But He will not forgive those who sin all their lives and, when death comes to them, say: “Now I repent!” nor those who die as disbelievers. It is for these whom We have prepared a grievous punishment . ( Quran 4:17-18 ) The way to move forward is to have good faith in the mercy of God and one should try to be consistent with his repentance and should not relapse into the same sin. One can make achieving pinnacle of morality as his objective and should work on that instead because it is something admired highly by the Almighty. Also with an objective in mind and continued struggle to achieve that objective, chances are high that one might get out if this entangled web of guilt and start moving forward with a positive frame of mind with pleasure of God as the ultimate objective and his actions will stand witness to this fact. Pinnacle of Morality : Discussion 37174