السُّقُوط ← الرُّجُوع
From Falling to Returning
Falling → Returning
You are here. Allah's guidance reaches you here.
Qur'an
وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا فَعَلُوا فَاحِشَةً أَوْ ظَلَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ ذَكَرُوا اللَّهَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا لِذُنُوبِهِمْ وَمَنْ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَلَمْ يُصِرُّوا عَلَىٰ مَا فَعَلُوا وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ
“And those who, when they commit an immorality or wrong themselves, remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins—and who forgives sins except Allah?—and they do not knowingly persist in what they have done.”
Surah Āl ʿImrān (3:135)
Personal Reflection
Sometimes I slip into the same thing I promised myself I would leave behind.
And when I do, I may wonder:
How many times can I return?
But Allah tells me to remember Him when I fall.
My mistake does not have to become my distance.
I can acknowledge what I did, seek forgiveness, and turn back again.
I fell.
But I can still return.
This is the author's own contemplation. It is not tafsīr.
Insight from Tafsīr al-Mīzān
Al-Mīzān draws attention to the connection between remembering Allah and seeking forgiveness. When a person falls into sin, remembering Allah awakens the person to the reality of what they have done and turns them toward repentance.
The verse then distinguishes repentance from iṣrār: knowingly remaining upon the sin.
The important movement is therefore not that the believer never falls, but that after falling, they remember Allah, seek forgiveness, and do not knowingly persist.
The fall is not the end of the return.
Remember. Seek forgiveness. Return.
Tafsir al-Mīzān — Commentary on Surah Āl ʿImrān (3:135)
almizan.orgGuidance from the Ahlulbayt
Imam Muḥammad al-Bāqir (ع) was asked about a believer who sins, repents, and then returns to the sin.
“Whenever the believer returns with repentance and seeks forgiveness, Allah returns to him with forgiveness. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving, Merciful, accepts repentance, and pardons sins." Then the Imam said: "Beware of causing the believers to despair of the mercy of Allah.”
— Imam Muḥammad al-Bāqir (ع)
al-Kāfī, Vol. 2, Book 1, Chapter 191, Hadith 6 · Graded ṣaḥīḥ according to Allāmah al-Majlisī, Mirʾāt al-ʿUqūl, Vol. 11, p. 302
Du'a
رَبَّنَا أَتْمِمْ لَنَا نُورَنَا وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا ۖ إِنَّكَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
“Our Lord, perfect our light for us and forgive us. Indeed, You are over all things competent.”
Surah al-Taḥrīm (66:8)
One step forward
Make the next return.
If you have fallen, don't stay there.
Admit it. Ask Allah's forgiveness. Then take one small step back toward Him.
You can return today.
Journal Reflection
What do I do after I fall? When I make a mistake, do I turn toward Allah—or hide from Him? What would returning look like today?
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