Assalamu’alaikum warahmatuLlahi wabarakatuh,

Is it better to be born perfect or not so perfect but purified by Islam? I mean by perfect as someone who has impeccable habits and very put together and is naturally like that. As compared to someone who is average, more disorganized but tries hard to implement what he learns in his deen but still makes mistakes. It seems that the latter has the advantage of going against his nature and that his intention would be purer. Which is more beloved to Allah?

wa `alaykum as salam wa rahmatullah

The natural traits and dispositions that people are born with are beyond their control. From the perspective of the servant, “better” and “good” apply to what is within the sphere of their choice. It’s “better” for me to work to improve my servanthood, for example.

Allah Most High has given everyone their own unique tests that they must overcome in this life. The servant focuses on what he does for His Lord, and anything else is a distraction.

Assalamu’alaikum warahmatuLlahi wabarakatuh,

JazakAllahu khayr shaykh Hamza.

Therefore if the lack of good traits that we are born with, such as we are not as generous as so and so or we are not as kind as so and so, it does not restrict our getting close to Allah swt?

wa alaykum as salam wa rahmatullah

That’s right. If one is born with faults (and who isn’t?) they are there for us to struggle against and thereby earn Allah’s pleasure, not for us to lament over ourselves and stay mired in our faults. The former is the approach of those who have tawfiq; the latter is whisperings from Shaytan.

Hamza.

Assalamu’alaikum Wa RAhmatullah
Subhan-Allah, the posts by the Shuyookh of Sunnipath are, as always, good reminders that help us think and reflect. I think this topic can easily and concisely be summed up in one ayah

[al Zukhruf 43:60] And if We willed, We could have established angels on the earth instead of you.

This shows that indeed there is divine wisdom in the way we are created, with choice and the ability to make mistakes. We may know this, but sometimes we forget.

May Allah forgive us (esp me) for our mistakes and guide us to the truth. AMeen
Wasalam, Hassan

Subhanallah, great posts.
I have a confusion though. How to find the balance between: the hadith that a mumin does not make the same mistake twice; and Allah loving the repentant person (this implies that a person makes mistakes many times).
How does one reconcile the humanness and shame of the mistake with the hope of trying to get better??
Thanks.

Assalamu alaikum shaykh Hamza

Very nice post How would one extrapolate this in terms of parenting style with correcting the mistakes of our children…

Assalamu alaykum,

I would love to know the answer to comment 6, I was just thinking about how to make sense of that hadith about a believer not making the same mistake twice…

Assalamu’alaikum warahmatuLlahi wabarakatuh,

When one commits and one really feels bad about it, what are the things that one should reflect on? I can think of 2, the cause and the wisdom. Are there any more? It seems that reflecting on just one over the other would cause an imbalance.

assalamu `alaykum wa rahmatullah

Re: Comments 6 and 8: The hadith about the Muslim not being stung from the same hole twice is saying exactly the same thing as this blog post–one learns from being stung the first time how not to be stung the second time. The hadith is telling us to learn from our mistakes. Were it not for the first sting, one wouldn’t have learned how to avoid the second sting.

Re: Comment 7: When children make mistakes, parents should see the mistakes as opportunities to help the child grow. They should build on the child’s sense of shame and remorse to create a moral sense in the child to not make the mistake again, and to teach the child how to proactively avoid falling into the same mistake again. This may at times have to be accompanied by a reprimand, but never by humiliation. A reprimand helps the child grow by teaching him/her to take responsibility; humiliation destroys the child by teaching him that he’s incapable and useless.

Re: Comment 9: One should make plan of how one will not fall into the same mistake again.

Assalaam o alaikum wa rahmatullah,

Relecting on my mistakes, and even simply recalling a mistake has caused me to repent and seek Allah’s forgiveness and mercy… even though I have repented and sought Allah’s forgiveness many times before and feel Allah has forgiven me. The realisation of Allah being al-Ghafoor ar-Raheem magnifies the ugliness of my mistake, therefore stirring an urge to be far apart from my mistake(s). I’m trying harder to steer clear of falling back into that hole.

Ultimately the mistake has become a source of closeness to Allah SWT & urgent neediness; the consciousness of the lowliness of my soul. My mistakes have grounded me.

Can I thank Allah for these mistakes which have turned on their head to become guidance?