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FORGIVENESS


We sin openly and secretly, inwardly and outwardly, major and minor, to the Creator and the creation. It is important that we seek forgiveness from our creator i.e., Allah on daily basis. In fact, there are many supplications (duas) of forgiveness a Muslim can make every day. No one would seek forgiveness more than the blessed Messenger of Allah (SAllahu alaihi Wa Salam) despite all of his sins being forgiven, so how about us? Despite all of this, Allah is willing to forgive us.

 

Table of Contents

 

Qur’an

“…Allah promises you forgiveness from Him and bounty. And Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing.” Qur’an 2:268

 

“and the men and the women who remember Allaah much with their hearts and tongues. Allaah has prepared for them forgiveness and a great reward (i.e. Paradise)” [al-Ahzaab 33:35]. 

 

Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah . Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful." Qur’an 39:53

 

The sins, mistakes or crimes of a person may not deserve to be forgiven but those who believe in Allah (Glory be to Him) are always hopeful for His Mercy, as Allah (Glory be to Him) says [interpretation of the meaning],“…your Lord has written (prescribed) Mercy for Himself, so that if any of you does evil in ignorance, and thereafter repents and does righteous good deeds (by obeying Allah), then surely, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful” Qur’an.Surah An’am 6:54.

 

Hadith

Muhammad said: “By Allah (Glory be to Him), I seek the forgiveness of Allah (Glory be to Him) and I turn to Him in repentance more than seventy times each day.” Sahih Al Bukhari, vol  8:319


“Whoever has wronged his brother with regard to his honour or something, let him ask him for forgiveness before the time when there will be neither dinar nor dirham, and if he has any good deeds it will be taken from him in proportion to the wrong he did, and if he does not have any good deeds (hasanaat), some of the other person's evil deeds (sayi’aat) will be taken and given to him to bear.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 2296).

 

Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in his commentary on this hadeeth: “ ‘Whoever has wronged his brother’ – i.e., if he has done something wrong to his brother. ‘with regard to his honour or something’ – i.e., anything else… this includes all kinds of wealth and wounding, even a slap in the face and so on.

 

Dua for forgiveness

“Rabbana Zalamna anfusana wa-illam taghfir lana watar hamna la nakoonanna minaal khasireen” Translation is "Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers." Qur’an 7:23

 

Forgiveness of Abu Bakr(R)

Abu Bakr forgave a companion for spreading rumours of adultery about his daughter, the wife of the Prophet and our mother, Aisha. Why? Because he understood that the reward of forgiving him is far greater than any justice he would be able to gain in this life or on the Day of Judgement. And this is a greater type of sabr when a calamity befalls someone because in the former you have a choice. The ones we get most angry with are those whom we are closest to and because we see them day in and day out , it is more difficult to forgive them. In fact, the test of good character is not to show it to people you like or don’t know, but people you don’t like.

 

Scholars view

Ibn Taymiyyah said, "Verily, I constantly renew my Islam until this very day, as up to now, I do not consider myself to have ever been a good Muslim."

 

Ibn Qayyim said: “The heart of who you are trying to earn acceptance, is in the hands of whom you disobey.”This is why we must always do things for Allah alone and everything else should be secondary. This way, if you are disappointed by the people, you didn’t do it for them anyway. And any harm they cause us will be worth it because the reward will be higher. In fact, there are eight gates of Paradise and whilst we know one named ‘Rayyan’ exclusively for those who fasted. There is another in which one forgives the one who oppressed them. These eight gates represent the greatest actions one can do in Islam.

 

Allah is Merciful

And yet when Allah forgives, it is almost as though we had not done that sin and He bestows more mercy upon us so that we are not embarrassed to return to him. As one Mufassir (explainer of the Quran) wrote: Allah knows things about you that if your parents would know, they would disown you. That if your wife would know, she would divorce you. If your slave were to know, he would run away from you. If your neighbour would know, they would move away from you. But despite all of this, Allah is Merciful. Allah Said in the Qur’an: Except for those who repent after that and correct themselves. For indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. 3:89

 

References

http://www.islaam.net/main/display.php?id=1700&category=141

 

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