Praying for Forgiveness and Repentance

By : Harun Yahya

All through their lives, certain people pursue a flawless image for themselves. Their efforts center around one goal: to be perfect and to look perfect.

This is a natural consequence of finding it degrading to make a mistake. The ideal person, they consider, is one who can project an aura of impeccability.

clipped from www.readingislam.com Searching for the perfect look is an illusionary goal. Picture ©Microsoft.com [If God were to punish men according to what they deserve, He would not leave on the surface of the earth one single living creature: but He gives them respite for a stated term: when their term expires, truly, (they will know that) God has in His sight all His Servants](Fatir 35:45) [Those who turn to God in repentance; who serve Him, and praise Him; who fast in devotion to the cause of God; who bow down and prostrate themselves in prayer; who enjoin good and forbid evil; who observe the limit set by God, shall be richly rewarded. Proclaim the glad tidings to the believers.](At-Tawbah 9:112) In Arabic, the word for "asking for forgiveness" is istighfar which is "asking for God's attribute of Ghafir, or He who forgives. ["Our Lord! Forgive us our sins, remove from us our iniquities, and take to Yourself our souls in the company of the righteous"](Aal `Imran 3:193)