Sheikh Muhammad Ghazali (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
I said to a man who was addicted to drinking alcohol:
“Why don’t you repent to Allah?”
He looked at me with a broken heart, wept, and said:
“O Sheikh! Pray for me.”
I began to think about his condition, and my heart softened towards him. His tears were testifying to how much he felt his shortcomings before his Lord, was saddened by his disobedience, and longed to repent.
Undoubtedly, he is a believer, but he has been caught in a trial. He wants help from me so that he can get closer to repentance and closer to Allah.
I said in my heart:
Perhaps my condition is like that of this man, or even worse.
It is true that I have never drunk alcohol; because it is not customary in the environment in which I grew up.
But it is possible that I have drunk the wine of negligence; until many times I have become distant from my Lord and have forgotten His rights.
He is crying over his shortcomings,
But I and many others do not cry over our shortcomings;
Because perhaps we have been deceived by our own selves.
I turned to the man who was asking me to pray so that he would give up alcohol, and I said:
Come, let us both pray for ourselves:
“Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we will surely be among the losers.”
(Surah Al-A'raf: 23)
The real guidance is that a person should look at his own shortcomings, not the sins of others.
The one who is remorseful for his sin is close to Allah, and the one who considers himself flawless may be deceived by his own self.
May Allah protect us from the deception of the self
Ameen, O Lord of the martyrs and the Mujahideen