Nevertheless we hope that Allah will forgive us whatever sins or mistakes we make. The key to forgiveness is faith and repentance. The latter means that we are really sorry when we yield to temptation and commit a sin. We sincerely regret that and we hope that in future we will not repeat it. Because of the nature of man, however, a second step is always possible.
Man often yields to the law of immediate and easy pleasures.
We must, therefore, strike the right balance between fearing Allah s punishment and expecting his forgiveness and reward. We should always include in our supplication a prayer that Allah forgives us our sins, even the smallest among them and accept our good deeds and render them pure and dedicated to His cause. If we do that and balance our hopes against our fear, then Allah will surely forgive us, if He wills. Some people tend to think little of their chances of being forgiven. They imagine that their sins are too great to be forgiven by Allah.