Am I Still a Believer If I Sinned?
Question: Am I still a believer if I sinned, and will Allah forgive me?
Answer:
Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,
I pray this finds you in the best of health and states.
It is a great gift from Allah that He inspires us to repent.
Am I Still Muslim If I Commit Sins Knowingly?
A person remains Muslim even if they commit sins knowingly.
Allah says in the Quran addressing the believers,
“And repent to God, all of you believers, so that you may succeed. “[Quran 24:31]
Notice Allah addressed believers to repent, therefore committing sins does not remove you from being a Muslim as long as one does not believe that the sin they are committing is lawful.
What Makes a Person No Longer a Muslim?
What constitutes disbelief is when a person rejects that which is established in beliefs, or in other words, when a person does not believe in something they are required to believe in. For example, a person who drinks alcohol is committing a major sin. He is Muslim if he believes it is forbidden (haram) but knows he is committing a sin. However, if he believes that drinking alcohol is lawful and now changes its status, then this would be disbelief ( kufr)
Allah’s Mercy Is Vast
“Say, O My servants who have transgressed against themselves: do not despair of God’s mercy, for God forgives all sins. He is indeed the Forgiver, the Clement.” [Qur’an 39:53]
“Truly, Allah loves those who turn unto Him in repentance.” [Qur’an 2:222]
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “The one who repents from a sin is like the one who never committed it.” [Ibn Majah]
In another hadith, the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), said,
“All of the children of Adam are sinners, and the best of sinners are those who repent. ” [Tirmidhi]
Our beautiful religion teaches us that Allah’s mercy and acceptance are always there. My advice to you is to keep to your noble intentions to obey Allah. If you have a relapse or it happens again, do not let the devil trick you and convince you to quit your striving. Even if it happens again, repent again and making a new resolve. If it happens again, repent again and so on. Allah will help you and give you victory over your weaknesses through your struggle.
May Allah bless you and grant you success.
[Imam] Yama Niazi
