There is an article that I think would help. It's called;
Why would Allah forgive a big sinner like me?
lt is reported by a trustworthy man of the past that as he was passing through a street he saw the door of a house open. A woman came out with a child who was crying and pleading while she was pushing him out. She left him outside the house and slammed the door shut in his face. The child left the door and walked a distance. Then he stopped, looked about, began to think, and not finding any other place but his own house where he could take shelter nor anyone who would care for him as his mother would, he returned to his house dejected, sad. He found the door shut. He sat at the sill, put his cheek on the threshold and slept with tear marks on his cheeks. He was in this state when the mother opened the door. When she saw him in this state she could not control herself. She bent down, grabbed him to her bosom, began to kiss him and say in tears: "Oh my boy! My dear child! My very soul! Where were you? Didn't I tell you not to disobey me? Do my bidding, and don't force me to punish you, while I hate to do that." Then she carried the child back and closed the door behind her.
That is the story of a mother and a child: the story of disobedience, punishment, return, forgiveness and unbound love. But the Prophet, salla Allah u alihi wa sallam, has told us that: "Allah loves His creation more than a woman does her child." In fact, there is no comparison between the love of a mother for her child and that of Allah whose Mercy encompasses everything. Allah, azza wa jall, is immensely pleased with a man when he repents and turns to Him. And we shall never be deprived of anything by a Lord who is more pleased with the repenting man, than that man..
"..who was traveling through an arid land. He dismounted and took shelter under a tree seeking some rest. He lay there with his beast, loaded with food and water, at his side. But when he awoke, lo! The beast was gone! He began to search for it frantically. He climbed a hill but couldn't see a trace of it. He climbed another hill and still no trace of it. Finally, when hunger and thirst overtook him, he said, 'Let me go back to the tree, and lay down there until death overtakes me.' So he went back to the tree, and lay there with eyes closed - in total despair. And lo! As he opened his eyes and raised his head, there the beast was, right before his very eyes, with all the food and water loaded on it intact! He rushed to it and picked up its halter. (Can you imagine his happiness) But lo! Allah is happier with a man when he turns to Him seeking His forgiveness, than the man who found his beast when he had lost all hopes."
Know it, my dear brother, that true repentance of every sin also brings with it humility and devotion to Allah, and that pleading of a penitent is very dear to Allah. So that what follows after repentance is obedience of a greater degree to the extent that sometimes Satan regrets that he enticed him into that sin at all. That is why you will see that those who repent become very much changed personalities.
Allah does not abandon a man who comes to Him a penitent. Compare the situation with that of a father who used to look after his son with great love and care, providing him with the best of clothing, food and toys. Then one day the father sent him on an errand. But, as the boy was walking an enemy took hold of him, tied him and carried him away to the land of the enemies. There his master treated him exactly in the opposite manner. So that whenever the boy remembered his father and his treatment, his eyes swelled with tears, and the heart with pain. He was in this condition of ill-treatment at the hands of his enemies, when their caravan happened to pass by his father's place again. As he looked around he found his father standing nearby. He ran to him and threw himself at him crying "My father! My very father!". His master followed him and was trying to pull him away, but the boy clung to his father, refusing to let him go. What do you think of this father? Do you think he will abandon him to the enemy, refusing to take back the child? If not, then what is your opinion of the Lord whose love of His creation is greater than the love of a father for his child? When a slave of His runs away from his enemies, and throws himself at the threshold of His door, rolling down in dust before him, saying: "O my Lord! Have mercy upon him who has no one to show Mercy save You, no Helper save you, no refuge save You, no Savior save You, I am Your slave, in Your need, dependent on You, beggar at Your door, You are the refuge, with You is the shelter, there is refuge but with You, nor escape from You except to You" then surely the Lord is not going to turn him back empty handed.
Come along then. On to the good deeds, to virtuous living, in the company of the righteous, steering yourself safe from deviations after the right direction, and misguidance after guidance. And Allah is with you.
Also having access to free Islamic books may help you greatly so here is a link I saw awhile back:
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As far as feeling sad. There is an article about why Muslims are not encouraged to feel sad:
"May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be Upon You"
Praise be to Allaah, we seek His help and His forgiveness. We seek refuge with
Allaah from the evil of our own souls and from our bad deeds. Whomsoever Allaah
guides will never be led astray, and whomsoever Allaah leaves astray, no one can
guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allaah, and I bear witness that
Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.
Bismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah
As-Salaam Alaikum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakatuhu
Being SAD is NOT Encouraged In Our Religion
So do not become weak [against your enemy, nor be sad... (Quran 3: 139)
And grieve not over them, and be not distressed because of what they plot.(Quran
16: 127)
Be not sad, surely Allah is with us. (Quran 9: 40)
Referring to true believers, Allah informs us that:
Upon such shall come no fear, nor shall they grieve. (Quran 2: 38)
Sadness
enervates the souls will to act and paralyzes the body into
inactivity. Sadness prevents one from action instead of compelling one
towards it. The heart benefits nothing through grief the most beloved
thing to the Devil is to make the worshiper sad in order to prevent him
from continuing on his path.
Allah, the Exalted, says:
*Secret
counsels [conspiracies] are only from Shaytaan [Satan], in order that he may
cause grief to the believers. (Quran 58: 10)
In the following hadith, the Prophet (bpuh) said:
"In a company of three, it is forbidden for two to hold secret counsel to
the exclusion of the third, since doing so will be a cause of sadness
for him."
Contrary to what some believe (those who have an
extreme ascetic bent); the believer should not seek out sadness, because
sadness is a harmful condition that afflicts the soul.The Muslim must
repel sadness and fight it in any way that is permissible in our
Religion.
There is no real benefit to sadness; the Prophet
(bpuh) sought refuge from it in the following supplication: "O Allah, I seek
refuge in you from anxiety and grief."
Grief is coupled
with anxiety in this hadith. The difference between the two is that if a
bad feeling is related to what is going to happen in the future. Then
one is feeling anxiety. And if the cause of this feeling concerns the
past, then one is feeling grief both of them weaken the heart, causing
inactivity and a decrease in will power.
Despite what has been
mentioned above, grief may sometimes be both inevitable and necessary.
When they enter Paradise, its dwellers will say:All the praises and
thanks be to Allah, Who has removed from us [all] grief. (Quran 35: 34)
This
verse implies that they were afflicted with grief in this life, just as
they were afflicted with other forms of hardship, both of which were
out of their control. So whenever one is overcome by grief and there is
no way to avoid it, one is rewarded, because grief is a form of
hardship, and the believer is rewarded for going through hardship.
Nonetheless, the believer must ward off grief with supplication and
other practical means.
"Whatever befalls the believer in terms of anxiety, hardship or grief, Allah
will remove his sin"
It
indicates that grief is a trial with which the believer is afflicted,
and through which some of his sins are atoned for. However, it does not
indicate that grief is something to be sought after; the believer should
not seek out means of finding grief, thinking that he is performing an
act of worship.
And as for the alleged hadith, "Verily, Allah loves all sad hearts," the chain
of its narrators is unknown, so it is not an authentic hadith, especially in
view of the fact that the basic
principles of our religion are contrary to it.
In this
verse, Allah says of his Prophet Israaeel (Israel):And he lost his
sight because of the sorrow that he was suppressing. (Quran 12: 84)
Here
we are informed of his grief over losing his beloved son. Simply
informing about something does not in itself signify either approval or
disapproval of that thing. The fact is that we have been ordered to seek
refuge from sadness, as it is a heavy cloud that hangs above its
victim, and is a barrier that prevents one from advancing to higher
aims.
There is no doubt that sadness is a trial and a hardship,
and is in some ways similar to sickness. However, it is not a stage,
level, or condition that the pious should actively seek out.
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From a Yahoo group Love Islam Live Islam