If a man sinned too much and if it is not possible to be purified from those sins, can he/she want to die?

If a man sinned too much and if it is not possible to be purified from those sins, can he/she want to die?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Prophet Muhammad’s statement on this subject (PBUH) is as follows:

Hz. Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates. The Prophet (PBUH) said, "None of you should wish for death because of a calamity befalling him; but if he has to wish for death, he should say: "O Allah! Keep me alive as long as life is better for me, and let me die if death is better for me.' " (Bukhari, marda, 19) 

Explanation: 

1-  Although the first addressee of Prophet Muhammad (BPUH)’s hadith is Ashab Al-Kiram (the Companions), all Muslims who will continue to come till Doomsday will be the addressee of this hadith. That is to say, the validity of this prohibition is eternal.

2-  Most of salaf scholars regarded the calamity mentioned in the hadith as a worldly one. According to this, if there is a possibility of a religious calamity, it is stated that this will be excluded from the prohibition mentioned in the hadith. 

If a Muslim is exposed to a sin, repenting is the way of doing it. Man has been created in a disposition inclined to do both evil and good deeds. For this reason, he may commit sins intentionally or unintentionally. Regarding the matter, Allah lets us know He can grant pardon for any fault with this statement in the Qur’an: “Allah forgiveth not (the sin of) joining other gods with Him; but He forgiveth whom He pleaseth other sins than this” (Qur’an, Women (An-Nisa), 4: 116). 

Our books also state that repenting from the bottom of one’s heart is going to be accepted. Thus, Allah Almighty decrees that all the repentances can be accepted by saying, “O ye who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere repentance: in the hope that your Lord will remove from you your evil deeds and admit you to Gardens beneath which Rivers flow”. Qur’an, -Holding (Something) to be Forbidden (At-Tahrím), 66: 8) 

We can hope that Allah will accept our repentance on condition that we act in accordance with those conditions.

However, man should always remain between hope and fear. We can neither be sure of ourselves and proud of our worshipping, nor can we fall in despair because of our sins. It is wrong to consider like this: “I am a very good slave of God and well accepted by Him; similarly, it is mistaken to think, “I am finished, I do not think Allah will accept me. Besides, realizing his own faults and then asking for God’s forgiveness and taking shelter in Allah is a very great worship.

İbrahim Canan, Kütüb-ü Sitte Muhtasarı tercüme ve şerhi Akçağ Yayınları, V 5, p: 6

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