O God! I Never Thought It Would End Like This
The Power of Hope in Divine Mercy: A Reflection for Sha'ban
The record is closed. Everything has been counted with terrifying precision—every hidden sin, every moment of heedlessness, every wasted breath. The Scale of Justice is indifferent to excuses. As the weight of your errors pulls the scale down, the decree is issued:
“Toward the fire you have built for yourself!”
You begin to walk, your heart heavy with a reality you cannot reconcile. After a few steps, the weight of it becomes unbearable. You stop. You turn back, eyes shining with a mixture of disbelief and desperate longing, staring into the distance toward that infinite Majesty... as if, even now, you are waiting for a miracle.
A command echoes across the boundless plains of Resurrection:
“Stop him!” A voice resounds: “My servant! Why do you look back? Did you not see for yourself that your scale of good deeds is empty?”
Your throat tightens. From the depths of utter loneliness, you cry out:
“O God! This wasn’t how I thought of You. I hoped that You would, in the end, fix all these dead ends for me. My hope was in Your mercy, not my empty hands.”
Suddenly, the command changes:
“Bring him back. He is now among those who are saved. I am as My servant thinks of Me. Since he held a good opinion of Me, I shall treat him with the goodness he expected.”
The Treasure of Hope
Do you see, my friend? In the end, our only true possession is this hope. At the moment when everything seems lost and no deed is enough to save us, it is this “good opinion” of God that turns the page.
During these blessed days of Sha’ban, do not look at your empty hands; look at His Boundless Mercy. Say to Him:
“My God, I am counting on Your ‘Godhood.’ You can rebuild someone like me who is tired of himself. You can embrace my past in such a way that it is as if no wound had ever touched it.”
This is the treasure hidden within the Munajat Sha’baniyyah:
“O God, I’ve placed my hope in what is with You.” Sha’ban is the month of the “backward glance”—a time to return to Him before the clock runs out and declare with all your soul: “I still have hope in You.”
Scriptural Foundations: Mercy & The Good Opinion
From the Holy Quran
The Ultimate Assurance: “Say: O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.” (Surah az-Zumar, Chapter 39, The Companies, Verse 53)
The Sufficiency of Trust: “And whoever puts their trust in Allah, He will be sufficient for them.” (Surah at-Talaq, Chapter 65, The Divorce, Verse 3)
The Standing Invitation: “Call upon Me; I will respond to you.” (Surah Ghafir, Chapter 40, Sad, Verse 60)
From the Wisdom of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS)
On Certainty: Imam Ali (AS) said: “The one who has hope in God will never be disappointed.” (Ghurar al-Hikam)
The Divine Mirror: The Prophet (S) narrated that Allah says: “I am as My servant thinks of Me. So let him think of Me as he wishes.” (Al-Kafi). This is the core of Husn al-Dhann—God mirrors your highest expectations of His grace.
The Sinners’ Refuge: Imam al-Sajjad (AS) in the Whispered Prayer of the Hopeful: “O God, if You do not forgive except the sincere ones, then where do the sinners go? If You do not show mercy except to the obedient, then who will help the wrongdoers?”
The Plea of Sha’ban: From the Munajat Sha’baniyyah: “O God, if You take me to the Fire, I will announce to its people that I love You.” It is a month of radical, defiant hope.