The Oft-Forgiving 2

Assalaamu alaikum [peace be to you],

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We read in the first part of this article that many Islamophobes claim ignorantly that the God in Islam is merciless, unforgiving and un-Loving. but we saw, through several verses that the Qur'an says otherwise (which means the claim of these people is baseless).

Many islamophobes ignorantly claim that the God in Islam is far and doesn't answer our prayers. yet we read in the Qur'an the God saying:
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ ۖ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ ۖ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ
And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed close (to them): I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calls on Me: Let them also, with a will, Listen to My call, and believe in Me: That they may walk in the right way.
^{translation of verse 2:186}
Yet some people claim that the God doesn't do any effort to come near us. Look at the Prophet Mohammed -peace be upon him- once saying: 'My Lord says: "If My servant comes nearer to me for a span, I go nearer to him for a cubit; and if he comes nearer to Me for a cubit, I go nearer to him for the span of outstretched arms; and if he comes to Me walking, I go to him running."
Can you find any god more generous than the God Almighty as described in Islam?
Furthermore, the God stated:
مَن جَاءَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُ خَيْرٌ مِّنْهَا ۖ وَمَن جَاءَ بِالسَّيِّئَةِ فَلَا يُجْزَى الَّذِينَ عَمِلُوا السَّيِّئَاتِ إِلَّا مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
Whoever comes [on the Day of Judgement] with a good deed will have better than it; and whoever comes with an evil deed - then those who did evil deeds will not be recompensed except [as much as] what they used to do.
^{translation of verse 28:84}
So if you do a good deed, you get a better reward than what you did. if you do wrong, you only get punishment equal to your bad deed. Indeed, Justice couldn't be any better. but that's not all. Mohammed -peace be upon him- said: "The Great and the Glorious Lord said (to the angels who record our deeds): Whenever it occurs to my servant* that he should do a good deed but he actually does not do it, write down one act of goodness to him, but if he puts it into practice, write down ten good deeds in his favour. When it occurs to him to do evil, but he refrains from doing it, write one good deed for him. But if he commits it, write it as one evil deed against his name.
The prophet added: "He who amongst you is good of faith, all his good deeds are multiplied from ten to seven hundred times (and are recorded in his name) and all the evils that he commits are recorded as such (i, e. without increase) till he meets the God Almighty".
I don't remember hearing anything more generous and just and fair than this. Glory be to the God Almighty.

Now a questioner may ask: "then how do we ask God's forgiveness?"
The Prophet Mohammed was once asked by Abu-Bakr: "O Allah's Apostle! Teach me an invocation with which I may invoke Allah in my prayers." The Prophet replied "Say: O Allah! I have wronged my soul very much (oppressed myself), and none forgives the sins but You; so please bestow Your Forgiveness upon me. No doubt, You are the Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."

May Allah Almighty forgive us and guide us to what pleases him and benefits us.
Ameen

When you hear anything about the God in Islam, positive or negative, and you want to build conclusions, don't believe everything you hear. I invite you to check things by yourself and believe only what you discover by yourself. the Qur'an is public. take a copy or translation and start reading from page one. everything is there.

I hope this was beneficial.

^{* Servant: from an Islamic point of view, the God is the Owner and Master of all creations. All the creatures of the universe, including us humans, are servants of the Lord.}


IN THE DRAWING:
Al-Ghaffar (the Oft and All Forgiving) name of the God written in Thuluth Calligraphy script. same name in the frame around in Kuffic script.


More on the God in Islam:



if I'm right, it's from the God. if I'm wrong, it's from myself.