Mufti Menk – Do People Deserve Second Chances

			Alhamdulillah Allah amin well Arqiva to Lima
		

			Illa Allah alameen wa shadow Allah ilaha illa Allah hula hula Sherry Kela wash hadoo Mohammedan Abu
Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa ala Lee, he was happy he a drummer in my beloved brothers and
sisters, when a person has committed this sin, do they deserve a second chance? That is a very
important question. In order to answer it, we must look at both sides of the coin. The first is when
the person has committed the sin between them and Allah. And the second is when a person has
committed a sin between them and a fellow human being. The first one known as Coco Cola, in the
rights of Allah, someone has faulted, someone committed adultery, someone has consumed intoxicants,
		

			someone has not fulfilled their prayers that are obligatory, someone may have not dressed
appropriately or has behaved in an immoral way. These are sins that are committed between you and
Allah.
		

			And these sins are such that Allah subhanho wa Taala warns us about them. He tells us that yes, he
wants us to change our ways and habits. And yes, there is hope for us and there will always be hope
for us. So if we were to answer that question, do you deserve a second chance? The answer is yes,
indeed, you deserve a second, and the third, and the fourth, and as many chances as you wish for as
long as Allah's mercy is greater, and you know that it's greater than the sins that you are
committing between you and Allah subhanho wa Taala. So turn to Allah before it is too late. Because
what we have been taught by Allah subhanho wa Taala is if there are sins committed between you and
		

			Allah, in the rights of Allah subhanho wa Taala. without the involvement of another human being,
then there are four conditions for the sin to be forgiven. The first is, you must admit the sin. The
second is, you must regret it. The third is you must repent, seek the forgiveness of Allah. And the
fourth is that you must promise never to commit the sin again Subhana Allah. So one might wonder,
Well, if we are promising Allah never to commit the sin again. What if we've committed the sin
again? Well, Allah subhanho wa Taala very clearly tells us that if a person is genuine, at the time
of seeking forgiveness, they did promise Allah that they won't do it again. And that promise was
		

			powerful, it was strong, it was definitely a true promise. Allah says, we would have wiped that sin
out immediately. The chances of you not being forgiven are far slimmer than those of you being
forgiven. So have hope in the mercy of Allah subhanho wa Taala. In fact, it is highly unlikely that
they would ever be a circumstance where you are genuine in repenting to Allah and he does not
forgive you. So don't let shapen overtake you, by making you think that you are beyond repair, or
that you are not worthy of the forgiveness of Allah subhanho wa Taala because that is also a trap of
the devil, a trap of shape and he keeps trying and he keeps his traps all over such that he wants us
		

			to be misguided once again, after we found the guidance, my brothers and sisters, remember, as much
as we should be talking about the hope in the mercy of Allah, we should also be speaking about the
fear of the punishment of Allah subhanho wa Taala. And striking the balance between the two is
something absolutely important. My brothers and sisters.
		

			Let's understand that a person who does not have that correct balance will falter. Those who sin
with false hope in the mercy of Allah have a very small chance of being forgiven by Allah, because
to sin out of defiance of Allah is actually disbelief to say, Oh Allah, a stove, stove Allah. But if
someone were to say, Oh Allah, because you've made this prohibited, I'm going to defy you that would
immediately be considered as disbelief. But if someone were to say, Oh Allah, I know what is
happening.
		

			I know what is haram. I believe that Allah is what you've made Helen. And I've believed that Haram
is what you've declared Haram. But out of human weakness, I have sinned. I have faltered, please
forgive me, Allah will forgive you because you've recognized him. He is the decider. He's the one
who declared what was permissible, what was prohibited. And you know, he can either punish you or
forgive you. The fact that you send out of human weakness and not out of defiance of Allah is of
essence, that is what makes you a true believer, when you know that Allah subhanho wa Taala, as your
Lord, He is the Most Merciful, the most forgiving, the most kind, the most compassionate, and so on.
		

			And this is why if a person were to commit a sin, and they were to seek true forgiveness of Allah,
and then out of human weakness, after having promised Allah not to repeat the sin, they happen to
fall back into it, and they seek the forgiveness again, Allah says, We will forgive you the second
time, for as long as you have sought true forgiveness, and promised again, that you won't do it. And
if you are genuine at the time of seeking forgiveness, even the second time, then you happen to fall
into it a third time later on in your life, for as long as you were genuine at the time of seeking
forgiveness, for the third time He will forgive you, and for the fourth and the fifth, and so on. It
		

			is unlimited until the day you actually die. But that does not mean that now you begin to sin,
hoping in the mercy of Allah, because that too, is a very dangerous game to play. My brothers and
sisters, our relationship with Allah Almighty is not a game. So we can never ever say that because I
know Allah is most merciful. That is why I'm going to sin. If we were to say that we would be
totally wrong, we would actually be like I said, playing a game with the mercy of Allah, but rather
out of human weakness, you've committed a sin, you stand a great chance of being forgiven instantly,
as soon as you seek the forgiveness of Allah subhanho wa Taala. In fact, Allah subhanho wa Taala
		

			tells us through the blessing lips of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, that he speaks to the
angels regarding a person who's committed a sin once and then sought sincere forgiveness, fallen
into it again, and then sought sincere forgiveness, promising never to do it again, falling into it
a third time, and then seeking forgiveness a third time sincerely saying and promising that he or
she will not repeat it. Allah says to His angels Anima Abdi and Allah who Robin Yahoo to be zombie
while Pharaoh, wish he do come nearer to LA. My worshiper knows and believes that he has a lord who
can either punish him for the sins or forgive him. So I want you to bear witness that I have totally
		

			forgiven him. Subhana Allah, look at Allah, the fact that the worshiper recognizes the power of
Allah, the fact that he is Lord, the fact that he can forgive or he can punish. And that is why we
keep seeking forgiveness. Allah says, I want you to bear witness, I forgiven him. May Allah grant us
forgiveness. I mean, my brothers and sisters, this is why the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam
tells us about the good news for the one on whose pages on the Day of Judgment lots of repentance is
found. To bar lemon Wuji Daffy Asahi fatty he is still foreign coffee. Ah, good good news. of a
lofty place in paradise to the one on whose pages lots of repentance is found. So seek the
		

			forgiveness of Allah on a daily basis. We are human beings, and it is only human that we will
falter. The Hadith in Sahih Muslim says, If mankind did not sin, Allah would have come with another
species who would have sinned and sort the forgiveness of Allah. This Hadith does not mean that we
should commit sin but it means we should have hope in the mercy of Allah after having committed sin,
no matter what sin it is. And like I said, we are speaking here so far, about the rights of Allah.
Like I said, if a person has committed adultery, or consumed intoxicants, or dressed
inappropriately, etc, or miss their prayers, these are from the rights of Allah, that you have
		

			sinned, and therefore, there is great hope in the mercy of Allah when you turn to Allah subhanho wa
Taala.
		

			So my brothers and sisters again, we hear what Allah subhanho wa Taala says in the Quran in surah al
Furqan in
		

			da ba
		

			Manohar Amina Melo Sahni.
		

			He can no longer say
		

			he makes an exception when it comes to mentioning punishment, and says, Those who have sought the
forgiveness of Allah repented and changed their ways thereafter. For them, the reward will be not
only paradise, but Allah will convert their bad deeds as good deeds on the right side of the scales
on the Day of Judgment. For Indeed Allah is most forgiving, Most Merciful. Why? And when would Allah
do that? The answer is simple. If a person committed sin, or lead a life full of sin, and then
repented in a way that they never, ever went back to those bad ways, because of their love of Allah
and their relationship with Allah and the fear of the punishment of Allah, Allah says, You know
		

			what, we will convert those bad deeds they did in their previous life, into good deeds on the right
side of the scale, simply because they quit those sins for our love for our sake, and nothing was
stopping them from it. Besides their relationship with Allah, they deserve an abundance in reward.
That's what Allah says, amazing. So if a person has changed their lives in a way that they did not
go back to those sins, good news to such people, may Allah make us from among them. But if a person
fell back and law says, although we forgave you, the first time, we are telling you, we will still
forgive you, the second and the third and the fourth. And as many times for as long as you're
		

			breathing, you're alive, and you have not got to the point of meaning, the angel of death has not
started taking your soul away, there is still hope. May Allah subhanho wa Taala. Grant us a lovely
turning point. My brothers and sisters, these are the verses of hope, the verses of mercy, the
verses of kindness, but we have one major problem. The problem is, human beings are not as merciful
as Allah. Human beings at times are very unforgiving. They may never give you a second chance. In
fact, they may judge you wrongly when you haven't even sinned. That is the test that Allah places in
your lives and mind. And this is why when someone has wronged you as a human being, you are
		

			encouraged to overlook and forgive one year for
		

			Allah to him Buena
		

			Vista, Rolla Hola.
		

			Forgive and embrace, wouldn't you like Allah to forgive you? In fact, it is addressed in the third
person, would they not like Allah to forgive them? So Allah is encouraging us to forgive others. And
Allah is encouraging us to overlook. But that's not easy. When do I give a person a second chance?
If someone has abused me, tortured me, someone has done something nasty, they've stolen my wealth.
They've sworn at me. They have harmed me, they may have done something really disastrous. My
brothers and sisters,
		

			it is your right not to forgive. It is your right not to forgive. But Allah strongly recommends you
to forgive. Allah tells you in beautiful, powerful words, encouraging you on the highest level, to
say, forgive the person, find it in your heart to forgive them. So you may choose to forgive and
embrace if that person is genuine, and they are seeking forgiveness. And you see that their attitude
has changed completely. You may choose to forgive and embrace, which means you go back to how it
used to be before, but you have a right not to do that. If the person is seeking your forgiveness,
but you're wary about whether or not they are genuine, you're wary about whether or not they have
		

			changed their ways or habits. You can forgive them but you don't need to embrace them, because the
two are different acts of worship. So Pamela, I forgive someone, but because I don't want to be
bitten by them again. I will stay away from them. There is nothing wrong with that you can keep a
safe distance in order to safeguard yourself from what has happened in the past, you would not be
foolish, especially when the genuineness is not so manifest in the people or the person who is
seeking your forgiveness. Then sometimes they may not seek your forgiveness and perhaps they may
never have changed. You can still find it in your heart to forgive them. But you don't need to
		

			embrace
		

			If you do, obviously, it will be something good. But if you don't, in order to protect yourself, it
is not bad either. May Allah subhanho wa Taala grant us an understanding, so to forgive people, and
to tell yourself, oh, I have forgiven this person for the sake of Allah, even though they may not
have sought that forgiveness, that is something Allah asks you to do. Then we have another scenario
		

			where we say, I forgive this person, but I would like Allah subhanho wa Taala, to show them that
they were wrong to show them or perhaps to let them have a lesson so that they don't do it to others
or so that others are protected from that. That is probably one of the lower levels when forgiving
people. So you forgiven them, released it from your heart. But you have asked Allah subhanho wa
Taala to grant them a lesson Subhan Allah, it is also okay to do that. But it is something that is
of a lower level. And the lowest level which is also your right is to say, I don't want to forgive
this person. Allah tells us many times in the Quran, try to avoid that, try to forgive them, find it
		

			in your heart, even if you are going to stay away from them. Don't hold it in your heart, it
probably has a greater burden within your heart and your shoulders than it has for them. So release
it even if you're releasing it on the lowest level of release. And let it go. May Allah subhanho wa
Taala grant us a good understanding
		

			my brothers and sisters, so do people deserve a second chance I've just told you when it comes to
the sins they commit between them and Allah, Allah will give them as many chances as they wish for
as long as they are doing the right thing when seeking the forgiveness of Allah. A person said
something wrong, they did something wrong, they deserve a second and a third chance when those are
taken from the rights of Allah subhanho wa Taala. However, when they have wronged another human
being, that human being may not forgive them. Now, in today's world, people commit sins. And
sometimes these sins are made apparent to the rest of us. Remember, my brothers and sisters as much
		

			as we gleefully, sometimes enjoy, to expose them and their sin, and we don't realize it was a sin
committed between them and the law. And if you were to expose those sins, perhaps Allah may expose
you if it was a sin between them and Allah. Yes, we should talk about it in a positive way. Bearing
in mind, these are our brothers and sisters in faith. They are our brothers and sisters in humanity,
we are meant to reach out to them not to make them suicidal, simply because the whole world has
excommunicated them for a bad habit that they had or for something they did in their relationship
with Allah subhanho wa Taala and they are remorseful.
		

			If people are remorseful and they are seeking the forgiveness, you need to know if that was from the
rights of Allah, Who are you as a human being to say that they will never ever be accepted again.
May Allah forgive us, the term used nowadays is canceled. Such and such a person is canceled simply
because they said or did something that may actually be forgivable in the eyes of Allah subhanho wa
Taala. Who are we as human beings not to give a person a second chance. If we were taught by Allah
never to give a person who faltered or wrong the second chance none of us would ever have a second
chance in life. So I'm advising you my brothers and sisters, go easy on others, Allah will go easy
		

			on you. Remember, they are human. They suffer and struggle, the consequences of your words, your
actions, way beyond their sin was forgiven by Allah. So be careful because now the sin is actually
yours. We don't enjoy exposing people ever. If you're a true believer, you will never enjoy to
expose people. Why are you exposing them if they deserve to be exposed because of the evil that came
from them? It's not because we enjoy it, but it is because we'd like to save others or perhaps teach
people a lesson. So remember this, it's never the enjoyment.
		

			When people begin to enjoy exposing others, they're doing it for shavon not for Allah. But when
people are exposing the little that they have to for the correct reasons.
		

			And they are not enjoying it at all and it pains them and they're still reaching out to those who
have wronged in a positive way.
		

			Stretching an arm of goodness and reconciliation to them.
		

			Then they may well be doing it for the sake of Allah subhanho wa Taala. May Allah grant us the
ability to do what ever we do for his sake for the sake of Allah. So bear in mind my brothers and
sisters, men is not kafu Rahim he's not most forgiving, Most Merciful, that is Allah. Allah will
give you many, many chances men will not give you many chances, unfortunately, but Allah encourages
us because we're all human. never write off a person simply because they've done something wrong.
Many times people serve a prison period or Correctional Services, they have served their sentence,
we refuse to embrace them when they come out of that sentence. We think they don't deserve another
		

			chance we treat them badly. Is that what Allah once Subhana Allah, if you were to be excommunicated,
because of a sin you've committed, every single one of us would be excommunicated. Just because
Allah has covered you, does not mean you're innocent. It means you're equally guilty, but you're
fortunate that Allah has not exposed you. So go easy on others, and Allah will go easy on you.
		

			My brothers and sisters, those who have been released from the prisons, those who have come out from
the Correctional Services, those who are serving time there, you are our brothers and our sisters,
we stretch an arm of reconciliation with you, we will try our best to reintroduce you into community
and society. Those of you my brothers and sisters who have wronged and faulted, you are still our
brothers and sisters. If you have wronged someone, make peace with them, seek forgiveness from them,
they may not forgiving, but if you've wronged Allah seek forgiveness from Allah, He will always
forgive you. And we will help reintroduce you into society in a way, that will definitely be an
		

			example for humanity at large. We are human beings. We all falter. We all commit sins. Yes, I do
know the magnitude of the crime also matters. It does. It takes longer for people who've committed
major major sins to be forgiven or to be reintroduced into society and community. But still, we are
asked by Allah to give people another chance to give people another chance. If Allah gives someone a
chance, why is it that we won't?
		

			My brothers and sisters, I'd like to make a quick clarification about marriage. Nobody should use
what I've said, to blackmail a person who's being abused into remaining in a relationship when they
are being abused to the degree that they cannot cope anymore. No, my brothers and sisters, remember
it's the mercy of Allah. If a person really cannot manage in a relationship, and they are struggling
in it, they have the right to seek the termination of that marriage or that relationship. They have
a right. So let's not usurp that rights by telling them you have to bear with whatever we're doing
against you, or with whatever the circumstances are against you. That is false. You don't have to
		

			bear it all. If you cannot manage, you cannot cope. And if you are struggling, you have the right to
seek help. And if need be, you may terminate that relationship. Remember that. But my brothers and
sisters, let's have mercy on those who have come back those who have repented when it comes to other
sins, there are people who sometimes their sins are exposed to us. And we were not supposed to have
known those sins, would we look at them with the eye of skepticism for the rest of our lives, when
we know that they sought forgiveness or they are repenting. That's what I'm talking about. We need
to make sure like I said, this is the third time I'm saying it, go easy on them. And Allah will go
		

			easy on you, my brothers and sisters, May Allah give us a chance after chance. We are human. But
let's not abuse that. And let's not misinterpret the term hope in the mercy of Allah.
		

			But my brothers and sisters, let's also learn to be merciful to others.
		

			The Hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says, like Camilla who mala amenas, Allah does
not have mercy upon those who don't have mercy on other people.
		

			May Allah never exposed us, I promise you if we had to sin. In fact, if if our sins were exposed to
others, we probably would be in a worse position than those whose sins have been exposed to us. So
let's not play the nobleman by trying to belittle others instead of helping them and we need to
strike the balance between helping them dealing with the matter ensuring that that is not done
again.
		

			And at the same time seeking the pleasure of Allah subhanho wa Taala
		

			Allah Baraka, Allah Nabina Muhammad