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Forgiveness and Tolerance in Islam

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Forgiveness and Tolerance in Islam Empty Forgiveness and Tolerance in Islam

Post by Noor'e Sahar Fri Jul 16, 2010 4:45 am

Forgiveness and Tolerance in Islam

by Hanaa Hamad

It never ceases to amaze me that Allah can inspire so much fear in
our hearts when we reflect on His supremacy, yet his mercy is equally as
vast as His dominion. Allah tells us in a Hadith Qudsi (sacred
narration of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ): “O son of Adam, were your sins to
reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me,
I would forgive you”(Al-Tirmidhi). Subhan’Allah
(Glory be to Allah) there is no limit to Allah’s forgiveness, even
though our mistakes are numerous.

But what’s disheartening is how seldom we are able to forgive each
other and how often we are impetuously intolerant toward one another.
Islam teaches us that the strongest of servants are those who not only
have the strength to suppress their anger when they are tested but also
possess an immeasurable capacity to forgive. The Prophet ﷺ said that:
“Whoever suffers an injury and forgives (the person responsible), God
will raise his status to a higher degree and remove one of his sins”
(Al-Tirmidhi). If we can sincerely forgive those who anger us, inwardly
and outwardly, then that cleanses our souls from the shaytan (satan)
and his negative energy. It is important to disregard vain criticisms
and this is the first step toward being tolerant. Of course, this is not
done without difficulty because it is hard to understand why those who
have caused us grievances wanted to do so in the first place. But this
is where the battle with our inner self can take a positive turn and
allow us to elevate our iman (faith). This inner struggle is
what the Prophet ﷺ called “The Greater Jihad” because it involves
tolerance and fighting the evil within ourselves in order to purify our
hearts. This is always done for the sake of Allah and to purify our
spiritual conditions.

Islam also teaches us that the best kind of forgiveness is answering
the oppression of others with kindness. The Prophet ﷺ inspired us with
this practice when he said to his followers: “God had ordered me to
maintain ties with those who sever ties with me, and to give to those
who deprive me, and to forgive those who oppress me.”

The Prophet ﷺ and his companions were so merciful in their conduct
that instead of becoming angry with their offenders, they defended them
and gave them gifts. What immeasurable acts of compassion. They went
beyond human altruism and practiced unmatched generosity. They
demonstrated that when we open our hearts and pardon others, we are
granting ourselves an inner peace. This is how we can prevent spite from
suffocating our hearts, which is crucial because hatred has the ability
to make us internally ill. We think that hatred is a means of revenge
against those who have harmed us, but by begrudging them we are only
harming ourselves. This is because our enemies will never feel our
anger, and they live contently as we suffer. When we forgive others, it
brings relief to our souls because it is a kind of liberating release.
This is because when someone has upset us, they have a power over us
because we allowed them to do so.

Life is short. Let us not waste our energy on being angry at our
enemies and seeking revenge against them. If we can progressively
minimize our spite every day, then soon we will bear no hatred or malice
in our hearts, insha’Allah (God willing). This is how we can
end conflict amongst ourselves, since it is a day to day issue we face.
After all, sometimes our own actions can provoke another person’s wrong
doings and we may not be aware of how we contributed to the conflict. We
tend to judge the faults of others, while being blind to our own. We
forget how we have wronged others, and we only remember how others have
wronged us. In the same manner, we forget the good things that others
have done for us, and remember only the good that we have done for them.
It is an innate human error. But let us try to remember our own
shortcomings before we reflect on the shortcomings of others. Let us
stop victimizing ourselves and think about how we have victimized
others, and then seek their forgiveness. And if they ask our
forgiveness, let us always grant it to them. Because the Prophet ﷺ
taught us that: “Whoever does not show mercy will not be shown mercy”
(Al-Bukhari). And we must keep in mind that however we treat others is
how Allah will treat us.

So insha’Allah when someone hurts us, let us try to meet
their oppression with kindness and forgive them, even if they are not
sorry.

This article was inspired by a lecture by Dr. Aidh Al-Qarni
Noor'e Sahar
Noor'e Sahar

Female Cancer Number of posts : 2362
Age : 112
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Forgiveness and Tolerance in Islam Empty Re: Forgiveness and Tolerance in Islam

Post by *Pearl* Fri Jul 30, 2010 12:28 pm

JazakAllah KHair!
*Pearl*
*Pearl*

Female Gemini Number of posts : 21
Age : 36
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Registration date : 2010-07-06

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