Title: Regarding Illness and Sins Question: It is often said that whenever we fall sick God in turn helps us loose our sins. It is also said that any one who dies after a pro longed illness or a painful death is to have lost a lot of his sins. Is there any such thing for a fact that for the illness of this world God forgives our sins? Abdul Rahim Shahab Pakistan Answer: God has created this universe to test people. He tests people by putting them in various forms of situations and checks how they respond in them. Suffering from illness is one amongst these tests. When God puts someone into such tests, it is to cleanse an individual of the bad deeds that he might - knowingly or unknowingly - have committed in the past. If he remains steadfast, faithful to his Lord, turns toward repentance, and requests God for forgiveness, this behavior definitely results in loosing his sins and all his bad deeds are washed away in the life of this world, which guarantees his success in the life hereafter. On the contrary, if a person does not respond in the right manner to illness, then this illness - rather than becoming a source of cleansing for that individual - may only add to the person's miseries in the life hereafter. The foregoing explanation implies that having illness is not a sufficient cause for loosing sins. It rather requires the right kind of response from the person. If a person responds to illness with steadfastness, patience and repentance, then this response, as a result, leads to success in that particular test and elevates his rank in the life hereafter. I hope this helps. Regards, Ameer Abdul Basit June 9, 2002