The Fate of Those Who Delay Repentance: A Warning with the Wisdom of a Tailor
Delaying repentance by falling for Satan’s deception is one of the greatest examples of wasting one’s life. Every believer should hasten in repentance and be prepared for the last breath. In this article, we will once again remind you of the importance of repentance with the story of a tailor based on a hadith narrated by our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
The Tailor’s Repentance: A Story of Awareness
According to narration, a tailor asked a righteous person the following question:
“–O Prophet of Allah -peace and blessings be upon him- in your hadith: “Allah Most High accepts the repentance of a servant as long as his soul has not reached his throat.” (Tirmidhi, Du’a, 98/3537) what do you say about this?”
The righteous person then asked the tailor:
“–Yes, that is so. But what is your profession?”
“–I am a tailor; I sew clothes.”
“–What is the easiest task in tailoring?”
“–Holding the scissors and cutting the fabric.”
“–How many years have you been doing this work?”
“–For thirty years.”
“–When your soul reaches your throat, can you cut fabric?”
“–No, I cannot.”
The righteous person gave the tailor this advice: “O tailor! You spend some effort learning a task and doing it easily for thirty years, but if you cannot do it at that time, how can you perform repentance which you have never done in your life? Repent while you still have strength and power! Otherwise, you may not receive Istighfar (seeking forgiveness) and Hasanah (good ending)… Haven’t you heard the saying: “Hasten to repent before death comes!” (Munawi, V, 65)
Upon this advice, the tailor sincerely turned to his repentance and joined the ranks of the righteous.
Our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us that people will die as they lived and will be resurrected in that manner. Therefore, we should adorn our lives with repentance and turn towards Allah.
Sources:
- Muslim, Paradise, 83
- Munawi, V, 663