A person may say, “What if I did not know it was wrong to do something – does it count for me as a sin?” The Allah (S.W.A) answers:

“Allah accepts the repentance of people who do evil in ignorance and repent afterwards; to them Allah will turn in mercy: for Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom (4:17)

Allah ( S.W.A) will not punish us for deeds of disobedience in ignorance, but the moment we realize they are wrong, we must repent and never do them again. Below He emphasizes the point:

“On those who believe and do deeds of righteousness, there is no blame for what they ate (in the past), when they guard themselves from evil, and believe, and do deeds of righteousness – again, guard themselves from evil and believe – again guard themselves from evil and do good. For Allah loves those who do good (5:93)”

Last but not the least question can go like this, “What if we sin and sin and sin some more; what is to become of us?” Allah ( S.W.A) responds  in these three verses. He speaks:

“But if any has done wrong and has thereafter substituted good to take the place of evil, truly I am Oft- Forgiving, Most Merciful (27:11)”

Unless he repents, believes and works righteousness deeds, for Allah will turn the evil of such persons into good, for Allah is Oft- Forgiving, Most Merciful (25:70)

Your Lord knows best what is in your hearts: If you do deeds of righteousness, verily he is Most Forgiving to those who turn to him again and again (in true penitence) (17:25)”

There is no such a thing as too many sins that one can not seek redemption from them. No matter how many sins one has committed, they can be repented and forgiven. Allah (S. W.A) is very willing to embrace us when we turn around and decide to carry on with our duties of service, worship and obedience to Him. In confirmation He speaks:

“And whoever repents and does good has truly turned to Allah with an (acceptable) conversion (25:71) –

Allah (S.W.A) is ample in forgiveness. Multiple sins can be readily forgiven. However, those sins should not include worshipping another deity other than Allah (S.W.A), and repeated sins block our chances of receiving Allah (S.W.A)’s mercy. He speaks:

“Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with him but he forgives anything else, to whom he pleases; to set up partners with Allah is to devise a sin most heinous indeed (4:48). 

”Those who believe, then reject faith, then believe (again) and (again) reject faith, and go on increasing in unbelief – Allah will not forgive them nor guide them on the way (4:137).”

“But those who reject faith after they accepted it, and then go on adding to their defiance of faith, never will their repentance be accepted; for they are those who have ( of set purpose) gone astray (3:90).”

Unlike the people of olden days who worshipped idols of stone, today the idols may be material possessions, an idea or a person. Nothing must be loved and praised above the love and praise we accord to Allah (S.W.A). After all, all good qualities in man or in anything are all Allah (S.W.A)’s making and are gifts to whoever holds them. Therefore, all our favors and obedience to anyone should be in response to duty of service and obedience to Allah (S.W.A) (2:165). We should love and appreciate the good qualities in us or in our friends, but we should always remember to praise and thank the true source of the blessings, Allah (S.W.A). For example, If you are Ranadinio Gaucho's fan, it would be wrong to say , 'Ronaldinho is a very good footballer. He is the greatest.' The right way to speak in this situation would be, ' Ronaldinho is a great football player, alhamdulillah.' By praising Allah (S.W.A) it reminds us that whatever the skill Ronaldinho uses belongs to Allah (S.W.A). Besides, all of Ronaldinho is Allah (S.W.A)'s making and control.   

To  Be Continued