Someone said, “Without forgiveness, life will be dominated by endless hatred and revenge.”
Forgiveness requires the greatest power in life; it also brings the greatest hope in life. Nowadays, many people around us are living in hatred – tension among countries, conflict among family members, love turns into hatred between lovers…. and there is no forgiveness. We cannot avoid hurting others, ourselves and at the same time our Lord.
The Quran is full of messages regarding Allah SWT’s willingness to forgive (in the original Arabic text, the word ‘forgiveness’ appears 70 times; ‘forgive’ appears 65 times). ‘Oft- forgiving’ appears 96 times and mostly used together with ‘Most Merciful’; this shows that Allah SWT’s forgiveness is inseparable from His mercy. It is because through Allah SWT’s forgiveness, we will experience His mercy and thus we are willing to forgive others and stop hurting one another.
The essence and characteristic of forgiveness
Essence: means bring harm to others and thus require his or her forgiveness.
Characteristics:
- Only the injured party has the right to forgive;
- It is rather active than passive because forgiveness comes from the heart.
The Quran is full of messages concerning advice to mankind to seek forgiveness from Allah SWT.
When we deviate from the Lord’s teaching (for example, hurting people because of our selfishness), we are offending the Lord and hurting Him. Only He has the authority to forgive us. When Adam disobeyed Allah SWT’s command by eating the forbidden fruit, Allah SWT’s response was the same as any father. Fathers will feel hurt when their children make mistakes, thus Allah SWT also feels sore.
<Quran> Surah 7:22 So by deceit he brought about their fall: when they tasted of the tree, their shame became manifest to them, and they began to sew together the leaves of the garden over their bodies. And their Lord called unto them: “Did I not forbid you that tree, and tell you that Satan was an avowed enemy unto you?”
The consequence of not being forgiven by Allah SWT
<Quran> Surah 7:23 They said: “Our Lord! We have wronged our own souls: If thou forgive us not and bestow not upon us Thy Mercy, we shall certainly be lost.”
<Quran> Surah 3:16 (Namely), those who say: “Our Lord! we have indeed believed: forgive us, then, our sins, and save us from the agony of the Fire;”
This is a picture of two sides of a coin, both showing the same picture. ‘We shall certainly be lost’ – losing the intimate relation with Allah SWT is to reach the agony of the Fire, forever separated from Allah SWT; therefore, this is not a philosophical question, it has to do with whether we can be saved by the Lord!
Key issue: Do you and I need Allah SWT’s forgiveness?
The time to pray for the Lord’s forgiveness is: Now! If this life (today) has passed, no one will be forgiven during the judgment of Allah SWT; or else, judgment will be meaningless. Therefore, many saints as mentioned in the Quran always asked for Allah SWT’s forgiveness instantly – Abraham in Surah 26: 77-82, Surah 60: 5; Moses in Surah 28:16; Solomon in Surah 38:34.
<Quran> Surah 11
v45. And Noah called upon his Lord, and said: “O my Lord! surely my son is of my family! and Thy promise is true, and Thou art the justest of Judges!”
v46. He said: “O Noah! He is not of thy family: For his conduct is unrighteous. So ask not of Me that of which thou hast no knowledge! I give thee counsel, lest thou act like the ignorant!”
v47. Noah said: “O my Lord! I do seek refuge with Thee, lest I ask Thee for that of which I have no knowledge. And unless thou forgive me and have Mercy on me, I should indeed be lost!”
Allah SWT guided Noah not to compromise with evil; however, it was human nature of Noah to value the bond with his family and this was in contrast with what Allah SWT had set. Thus, he immediately sought Allah SWT’s forgiveness.
Forgiveness – give us an opportunity to be renewed!
In real life, many times we had made mistakes and hoped for an opportunity to want to start all over again. In this journey of pursuing our faith, Allah SWT is willing to forgive so as to let us have a chance to start all over. If it is without Allah SWT’s forgiveness, we will face a lot of frustration. The more serious we pursue our faith, the more frustration we will face. This is because we are aware that we can never fully meet Allah SWT’s requirement; nevertheless, Allah SWT’s forgiveness has brought us hope and opportunity to be renewed.
The condition for forgiveness – repentance
Allah SWT is willing to forgive man but, it is not without condition. Practically speaking, without repentance as the basis, forgiveness is of no value.
<Quran> Surah 5:39 But if the thief repents after his crime, and amends his conduct, Allah turneth to him in forgiveness; for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful
Repentance is not only changing over a particular matter (even this is a good thing), most importantly is the total change of heart and mind by Allah SWT, only then we can avoid the crisis of repeating the mistake (behavior is the concrete expression of the mind).
Specific application of forgiveness
1. Due to thanksgiving to the Lord, we give others an opportunity (forgive)
When we are forgiven by the Lord, our heart is full of thanksgiving, thus we will tolerate with others. This is because we clearly know that Allah SWT is being merciful to us.
<Quran> Surah 12
v 90. They said: “Art thou indeed Joseph?” He said, “I am Joseph, and this is my brother: Allah has indeed been gracious to us (all): behold, he that is righteous and patient,- never will Allah suffer the reward to be lost, of those who do right.”
v 91. They said: “By Allah! indeed has Allah preferred thee above us, and we certainly have been guilty of sin!”
v 92. He said: “This day let no reproach be (cast) on you: Allah will forgive you, and He is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy
Joseph was a man of thanksgiving. Even when he was betrayed by his brothers, he understood that Allah SWT was being merciful to his family by allowing this incident to take place so that he could prepare a place to live in Egypt for his family during the famine. Through giving thanks for Allah SWT’s preparation, Joseph could forgive his brothers; furthermore, he also prayed for them for Allah SWT’s forgiveness.
When people are filled with selfish desire, they are not able to forgive people, they are in the bondage of self-centeredness, they can only see how much they have suffered (they set their eyes only on themselves), they cannot see the abundant grace of the Lord (we had hurt people before this but the Lord had forgiven us). On the contrary, those who can forgive are truly free men – they do not only enjoy their freedom, they can remind others to see their own mistakes and repent. If others could see Allah SWT’s love through us when we forgive, then we can lead them to the Lord and pray for the Lord’s forgiveness.
2. Forgiveness – is not only not being fussy, but bear other people’s weaknesses
We forgive for the sake of ourselves or for the sake of others? When we are willing to forgive, not only we ourselves will be released, others also can be freed from guilt. Build others in love, love is to bear including other’s weaknesses; give encouragement so that he or she will grow. This is a picture full of vitality. Do not forget that we will also make mistake, we also need others to build us up in love.
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Note: All Al-Quran verses are sourced from English Translation of Al-Quran by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, with thanks.