Human Forgiveness in Islam:
Just as it is important to believe in the mercy and forgiveness of Allah,
it is also necessary to base human relations on forgiveness. We cannot
expect Allah’s forgiveness unless we also forgive those who do wrong to
us. Forgiving each other, even forgiving one’s enemies is one of the most
important Islamic teaching. In the Qur’an Allah has described the
Believers as “those who avoid major sins and acts of indecencies and when
they are angry they forgive.” (al-Shura 42:37) Later in the same Surah
Allah says, “The reward of the evil is the evil thereof, but whosoever
forgives and makes amends, his reward is upon Allah.” (al-Shura 42:40) In
another place the Qur’an says, “If you punish, then punish with the like
of that wherewith you were afflicted. But if you endure patiently, indeed
it is better for the patient. Endure you patiently. Your patience is not
except through the help of Allah (al-Nahl 16:126-127)
In one Hadith the Prophet -peace be upon him- said that Allah has
commanded him about nine things. One of them he mentioned was “that I
forgive those who do wrong to me.”
The Prophet -peace be upon him- was the most forgiving person. He was
ever ready to forgive his enemies. When he went to Ta’if to preach the
message of Allah, its people mistreated him. They abused him and hit him
with stones. He left the city humiliated and wounded. When he took shelter under a
tree, the angel of Allah visited him and told him that Allah sent him to
destroy the people of Ta’if because of their sin of mistreating their
Prophet. The Prophet -peace be upon him- prayed to Allah to save the
people of Taif, because what they did was out of their ignorance. He
said, “O Allah, guide these people, because they did not know what they
were doing.” When he entered the city of Makkah after the victory, the
Prophet -peace be upon him- had in front of him some of his staunchest
enemies. Those who fought him for many years, persecuted his followers
and killed many of them. Now he had full power to do whatever he wanted
to punish them for their crimes. It is reported that the Prophet -peace
be upon him- asked them, “What do you think I shall do to you now?” They
pleaded for mercy. The Prophet -peace be upon him- said, “Today I shall
say to you what Joseph (referring to Prophet Yusuf -peace be upon him- as
mentioned in the Qur’an, Yusuf 12:92) said to his brothers, ‘No blame on
you today. Go, you are all free.” Soon they all came and accepted Islam
at his hands. He forgave even Hind who had caused the murder of his uncle
Hamza -may Allah be pleased with him. After killing him she had his body
mutilated and chewed his liver. When she accepted Islam, the Prophet even
forgave her.
A very striking example of forgiveness we find in the Qur’an in reference
to the most unfortunate event of “Slander of Sayyidah A’isha’”. Some
hypocrites of Madinah accused her. They tried to put dirt on her noble
character. One of the slanderers turned out to be Mistah, the cousin of
‘Aisha’s father Abu Bakr’s. Abu Bakr -may Allah be pleased with him- used
to give financial help to this young man. After he slandered his
daughter, Abu Bakr vowed not to help him any more. But Allah reminded Abu
Bakr and through him all the Believers, “Let not those among you who are
endued with grace and amplitude of means resolve by oath against helping
their kinsmen, those in want and those who migrated in the path of Allah.
Let them forgive and overlook. Do you not wish that Allah should forgive
you? Indeed Allah is oft-Forgiving, most Merciful.” (Al-Nur 24:22) Abu
Bakr -may Allah be pleased with him- came out of his home and said, “Yes,
indeed, I want Allah’s forgiveness. He not only continued to help him but
he gave him more.
Another beautiful example is that of Yusuf alayhi salam when his brothers were ate his power and he could have revenged for what they did to him but he dint even narrate the whole experience of jail and suffering that because of their hatred made him go through instead he forgave them and he even helped them .
this all are examples Allah subhana wataala has placed before us so that we can learn from them so that we can be encouraged in what we do and know that Allah is the one who we seek reward from and not humans and when people do us wrong we remind ourselves of the so many wrong things we do and we still want Allah to forgive us so we learn to forgive the way we want Allah subhan wataala to forgive us .
Islam emphasizes justice and punishment of the wrong
doers, but it equally strongly emphasizes mercy, kindness and love.
Justice, law and order are necessary for the maintenance of a social
order, but there is also a need for forgiveness to heal the wounds and to
restore good relations between the people. We must keep in mind that as
much as we need Allah’s forgiveness for our own sins and mistakes, we
must also practice forgiveness towards those who do wrong to us.
we dont learn to forgive alone but we learn to also forget we wouldnt want for Allah to keep reminding us after He forgives us because once He forgives thats it so us humans we should learn to give people chances even after they have done something wrong just know that it pleases Allah when we are kind to His creatures and rely on Allah to strengthen us after we get hurt .
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