Fell Back into an Old Sin I Promised to Leave
Assalamu alaikum everyone, I’m reaching out because I seriously need advice. I made a promise to Allah that I’d stay away from a certain sin, but today I slipped and went back to it-visiting a sex worker. I feel crushed. Growing up, I wasn’t really guided in the deen. My childhood had a lot of family turmoil and moments where I felt totally alone and let down. It’s hard to put into words, but all that stress built up, and I just wanted an escape. So I turned to all kinds of bad habits-drugs, alcohol, gambling, and yes, this sin too. At first, it felt like I was free from the weight on my chest, but deep down I was just running from my problems instead of facing them. Alhamdulillah, over the past few months I’ve been trying to change. I started praying five times a day consistently-something I never imagined I could do. I kept asking Allah to remove those old habits from my heart, and I genuinely believed I had quit for good. I thought I was finally climbing out of the hole I’d been in. But today, I proved to myself that I’m still the same broken person. I relapsed. I broke my promise to Allah. It feels like I’ve undone every bit of progress I made. I can’t shake the feeling that I failed the one commitment I made to my Lord. What can I do? How do I fix this? I can’t bear the thought of trying so hard for so long, only to fall back. I really need help-counseling, guidance, anything. If there’s a punishment due, I’ll accept it, but I just can’t wrap my head around failing Allah like this. Please, if anyone has advice or support, I’m begging for it.