Book Name:The Excellence of Forgiving Others
"If a man were to abuse me in this ear and then apologise to me in my other ear, I would certainly accept his apology."[1]
May Allah grant us this beautiful mindset of pardoning the mistakes of Muslims. Although this task is certainly difficult for the nafs, when intentions are firm, even the most arduous tasks become extremely easy. However, at times, certain obstacles arise that prevent a person from pardoning others; therefore, one should make a full effort to remove these barriers. Let us listen to some of these obstacles:
One of the greatest barriers to pardoning others is pride and arrogance. Arrogance is defined as a person considering themselves superior to others.[2] A person afflicted with arrogance perceives pardoning people as a personal insult; he believes that forgiving is against his dignity, that his status will diminish, or wonders what people will say. Remember! Pardoning never decreases one’s honour; rather, it increases it manifold.
Forgiving Others Increase One’s Honour
The Merciful Prophetصَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم has stated in a Hadith: "Wealth does not decrease by giving charity, and if a servant pardons the fault of another, Allah will only increase his (the pardoner’s) honour. And whosoever adopts humility for the sake of Allah, Allah will grant him loftiness."[3]
اَلْـحَمْـدُ لـِلّٰـه! Amir Ahl al-Sunnah دَامَـتْ بَـرَكَـاتُـهُـمُ الْـعَـالِـيَـهْ is counted among those pious servants through whose Sunnah-inspired gatherings and writings