God’s Mercy Is Wider: The Story of Hammad ibn Salamah and Sufyan ath-Thawri

I heard a beautiful tale about Imam Hammad ibn Salamah, may God have mercy on him, when he visited Imam Sufyan ath-Thawri one day. Sufyan asked him a heartfelt question: “O Abu Salamah, do you think our Lord would forgive someone like me?” Imagine, Sufyan ath-Thawri, the devout worshiper and ascetic, scared about his sins! Hammad replied with full confidence: “By God, if I were to choose between being judged before my Lord or before my parents, of course I’d pick God’s judgment, because He, glory be to Him, is more merciful to me than my own mother and father.” This talk reminds us of God’s mercy that knows no bounds, even more merciful than the closest people to us. Don’t despair of His mercy no matter what the sins are, for He is a Generous Lord, the Concealer of faults.