I'm just curious on the concept of forgiveness, why do we ask? What exactly does it mean to ask for forgiveness???
Is it because we did something we shouldn't have done, or didn't do something we should have done, so now we ask God to overlook that so we don't have to answer for it?
How exactly does asking for forgiveness get one closer to God? If it's just a means of wiping a record so one can get to heaven, then isn't it only done for the reward not really getting closer to Allah?
I hope you all understand what I am getting at and can just explain more in detail the concept of forgiveness?
Asking for forgiveness from Allah, and Allah alone, gets you closer to Him because it is only through Him that you get granted this forgiveness with no intermediary. It also shows that you recognize right from wrong and know when you've done wrong so you start repenting. The reward is getting closer to Allah. You certainly can't do that if you went to hell, can you? Yes, we get rewarded for doing something good and punished for doing something bad. There is nothing shameful about wanting to achieve the pleasures of Allah.
If you've knowingly committed a sin, why would you not ask for forgiveness? Once you lack a fear of Allah, you start going down a hole which will be harder to climb out of. Not only will you start getting used to living a certain life style but, it may escalate into something worse. InshaAllah I've understood your post correctly.
How exactly does asking for forgiveness get one closer to God?
I think Keiv gave a good reply.
Just another way to look at when you sin and repent, the greater struggle in not to repeat that sin again. If asking forgiveness challenges you to change your future behaviour, this will help you on your journey and bring you closer to God. Our sins separate us from God.
I feel one of the more important aspects (often overlooked) is that when we seek forgiveness we automatically humble ourselves to Allah. If we look at how we conduct our own lives, we would not seek forgiveness from anyone if we feel in 'the right' and that they are in 'the wrong' and the same can be applied when we feel that we have done nothing wrong in our deen.
edit : Lost my chain of thought when I tried to conclude.. so here it is..
When we feel in the right, the act of seeking forgiveness for whatever transgressions we may have unknowingly committed, means we are humbling ourselves and removing any traces of arrogance within self. So to seek forgiveness really is an act of humility.
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