Have you ever said or done something hurtful or wrong to someone and then wished you could grab those words or that action back and have a second chance? Have you ever had someone look you in the eye and say, "How could you say that?" or "How could you do that?" And you are left feeling awful and helpless.

If this never happened to you, you can be sure you are very fortunate. When we make mistakes in our lives, they not only affect ourselves but also the people we care about. Sometimes it's easier to bear a hurt yourself than to see someone suffering for what you yourself have said or done. The awful feeling that is so real and strong — that you could almost touch it — is called regret.

Regret is a very hard thing to live with. Feeling guilty can eat away at your soul and render you weak and spiritually low. Remember that the Day of Judgment is also called the Day of Regrets. What a day that will be! When all mankind is gathered and gets to see his or her life played back just like watching a movie — but this is a real story — your story! Your life! All the words you spoke and hoped no one would ever hear — they'll be plain for all ears that day! All the actions you tried to forget you did will be made known! It is also called the Day of Humiliation. The Day of Regret. The Day of Account. The Day of Judgment. It is also the day of justice — remember all those criminals, cruel, heartless tyrants who harmed others and couldn't care less about what they did — thinking they would get away with it? Well, they'll get their just deserts on that day.

So is there a way to avoid all those regrets, all that humiliation, and the fact that our words and actions will catch up with us? The simple answer is yes, there is. But it requires some effort, constancy, and determination.

Allah is the All-Forgiving and All-Merciful. Sometimes people hurt or offend us and we find it hard to overlook their mistakes — sometimes we hold grudges and begin to really dislike some people; but Allah the All-Merciful is much more merciful than you or me. He turns to us when we turn to Him and forgives us when we ask for forgiveness.



So knowing that, why don't we ask for forgiveness all the time? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was the most perfect human being and yet asked for forgiveness from Allah more than 70 times a day. So what about you and me?

When you sincerely ask Allah to forgive you, He will wipe clean all the evil deeds you said or did. When you pray, the sins you did between each prayer are wiped out, and when you fast in Ramadan, the sins you did from one Ramadan to the next are also wiped out. Also the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said that if you do a bad deed, then you should wipe it out with a good deed. So when you come to the Day of Judgment, just like everyone else, and look at your book of deeds, you just might be pleasantly surprised to see your book with more good deeds than bad.

The problem is that we don't know for sure until we're there. So in the meantime, it's much better and much wiser to do the following:

Pray all your prayers on time and use the chance while in prostration to ask Allah to forgive you and turn your bad deeds into good deeds. Keep wudu’ at all times and remember Allah often.

Sharpen your conscience by reading the Qur'an everyday and doing daily dhikr. If you hear yourself saying a bad word, an unkind word, gossiping, or being rude, say "astaghfir Allah" and try to stop what you were doing.

If the people you are mixing with influence you to do bad deeds and use bad words, start mixing with better people who have more Islamic habits. Most of all, remember that on the Day of Judgment or the Day of Regret, you'll be on your own — no parents, no friends, no one beside you. Just you and Allah — there will be no excuses and in sha’ Allah no regrets!