Forgiveness and Self-Restraint

  • by

Forgiveness and Self-Restraint

To pardon the guilty and the offender and to refuse to take revenge are among the virtues that are closely related to soft-heartedness. The Prophet (SAW) himself did the same and also exhorted his followers to act thus.

(264/24) It is related by Abu Hurayrah (RAU), “A person once abused Abu Bakr (RAU), and the Prophet (SAW) was sitting (there). He felt amazed and was smiling (at the behaviour of both, the man abusing Abu Bakr (RAU) continuously and the latter bearing it with patience). But when that person went on with it beyond limit, Abu Bakr (RAU) also returned some of the invectives. The Prophet (SAW), thereupon, left the place in some anger. (Feeling greatly perturbed, Abu Bakr (RAU) went after the Prophet (SAW) to find out the reason of his annoyance and to apologise). As he caught up with the Prophet (SAW), and said, ‘Messenger of Allah! How is it that you remained sitting when the man was hurling abuses at me without end, but when I, too, said something, you got angry and departed from the place?’  The Prophet (SAW) replied: ‘An angel of Allah was with you and replying on your behalf for as long as you kept quiet and showed patience, but (when) you answered back, the angel went away and the devil came in, (on seeing an opportunity to add fuel to the fire). Then he said, ‘O Abu Bakr! There are three things that are absolutely true: One, if an injustice is done to anyone and he forgives it solely for the sake of Allah (and does not take revenge), Allah will support him in all respects in return for it (raise him in esteem in both this world and the next). Two, whoever opens the door of giving to others and showing kindness to kinsmen, Allah will bestow prosperity upon him and multiply his wealth. And, three, whoever will open the door of begging (not out of need but) to add to his wealth, Allah will cause a further diminution in his possessions”(Musnad Ahmad).

Though it is permissible to take revenge with justice, a better and nobler thing is to forgive, for the sake of Allah (SWT), even when one has the power to avenge oneself. Since Sayyidina Abu Bakr (RAU) was regarded with special favour by the Prophet (SAW), he did not like him to say anything, by way of retort, to the offender. The Qur’an says:

“The recompense of evil is evil like it. Then the one who forgives and opts for compromise has his reward undertaken by Allah.”

                                                                                     (Al-Shura 42:40)

 

(265/25) It is related by Abu Hurayrah (RAU) that the messenger of Allah (SAW) said: “Musa ibn Imran, the Prophet, once asked the Lord: ‘O Lord! Who are the noblest of bondsmen in Your sight?’ ‘Those who forgive the guilty when they have him in their control (and are in a position to take revenge),’ the Lord replied.”

It is worth remembering that the superiority of forgiving the guilty, as mentioned above, is related to the personal sphere, i.e., where our individual or private rights are concerned. But no one has the right to condone an offence or misdeed that is against Allah (SWT), and upon which a punishment is fixed by Him. The practice of the holy Prophet (SAW), who was the most merciful of men, was also the same. He always forgave those who did a wrong to him, but never failed to punish, according to the Divine Law, men who violated the limits laid down by Allah.

It is related in Bhukhari and Muslim, on the authority of Sayyidah Ayshah (RAM):

“The Messenger of Allah (SAW) never punished anyone in a personal matter, but when a person transgressed an Allah-given law, he used to punish him by reason of the command of Allah.”

(266/26) It is related by Abdullah ibn Umar (RAU) that (once) a person came to the Messenger of Allah (SAW) and said: “O Messenger of Allah! How many times should I forgive the fault of my attendant (slave or servant)?” He replied, “Seventy times each day” (Tirmidhi).

What the holy Prophet (SAW) wanted to stress was that forgiveness was not a thing on which a limit could be set. On the other hand, kindliness demanded that a servant should be forgiven even if he was frequently at fault. The figure of seventy does not denote the exact number, but profusion.

[An excerpt from Ma’arifful Hadith by Maulana Muhammad Manzoor No’mani (RH), published by Darul-Ishaat]

 

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *