If Allah forgives all sin, why should I do any good deeds?

Question

I am asking this question not from a personal point of view, but more philosophically. I often come across Muslims who are openly committing every type of sin, and they justify it by saying, "only god can judge me and god will forgive me."

I know god is the most merciful and forgiving, however, this seems unfair to those muslims who strive to do good and be good in their lives.

I understand that between sins committed against other humans cannot be forgiven by God, and I am not referring to those. I mean sins such as alcohol, zina, shirk, etc.

If all we have to do is repent and god will forgive, does this really mean we can live a life full of all sorts of sins, and repent shortly before death, and all will be forgiven ? What is then the incentive to live piously ?

Answer 1

This is actually the overall picture. Not all sins are forgivable, for example if someone leave Islam, Allah will never forgive him. Also, if someone converts to Islam then he will have no more sins and will have a fresh start. Allah forgives sins when someone asks for forgiveness, only if that person is sincere.

Now for the sins you listed: if a person asks Allah to forgive him for alcoholic drinking, he shouldn't ever come back to doing it. If he does he could ask Allah forgiveness again, but Allah knows the intentions of this drinker: if he was asking forgiveness but was willing to do it again, then his forgiveness won't be accepted.

If a person does zina then he/she gets punished before Allah forgives the prostitutes. And shirk is an unforgivable sin (if a Muslim leaves his religion and decides to worship someone else other than Allah).

The bottom line is that if someone asks Allah for forgiveness, is willing not to do it again, and it isn't from one of the very big deeds, then Allah will forgive that person.

May god guide us on the right path

Answer 2

One can not guarantee that they will be able to ask forgiveness before death. A person can die at any moment e.g. in an accident or because of a stroke. Or they might forget to repent. Or their hearts might harden so they willingly do not repent. Or their eventual repentance might be insincere and hence not accepted. So if a person only plans to repent in the end then Allah might repay him by not giving him the chance to repent at all.

A person who has done good deeds and abstained from sins all their life will have a higher reward than one who has only repented at the end of their life.