Be at peace, look to nobody’s faults
So that Allah may forgive your error
Forgiveness means pardoning sins and mistakes, not punishing a crime, and not criticizing the sinner.
“Al-Afuw” is one of the attributes of Allah the Almighty. It means the One Who is most-Forgiving, the One Who cleanses the sins, forgives the repenting, and does not punish the sinners.
“Al-Ghafur” is another attribute of our Lord the Almighty. This attribute means the One Who does not make His servants feel ashamed in this world and in the Hereafter; the One Who conceals, covers, and forgives the mistakes of His servants, and the One Who does not punish His servants for their sins. Since Al-Ghafur and al-Ghaffar are among the names in the intensive forms, it is not appropriate to name people after them; they are exclusive to Allah the Almighty.
Believers should try to forgive each other, just as Allah the Almighty forgives His sinful servants; because hate and grudges towards others are not among the traits of a true believer. Some of the verses, which invite and encourage the Prophet (pbuh) and the believers to be forgiving, are as follows:
خُذِ الْعَفْوَ وَأْمُرْ بِالْعُرْفِ وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ الْجَاهِلِينَ
“Hold to forgiveness; command what is right; but turn away from the ignorant.” (al-A’raf 7; 199)
فَاصْفَحِ الصَّفْحَ الْجَمِيلَ
“…So forgive, (O Muhammad), with a gracious forgiveness.” (al-Hijr 15; 85)
Anas b. Malik (r.a.) reported one of the sayings of the Prophet that encourages forgiveness:
“Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) was sitting with us when we saw him smiling so much that his molar teeth could be seen. Umar (r.a.) asked:
“May my mother and father be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allah! What is it that makes you smile so much?” Allah’s Messenger said:
“Two men from my followers sat on their knees before our Lord Almighty.
One of the said:
“Dear Lord! Take my right from my brother.” Allah the Almighty told him:
“How am I going to take your right from your brother, for he does not have any rewards left?” The man said:
“Then take some of my sins and load them upon him.” Just then Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) began to shed tears and said:
“Judgment Day is such a day that people need to load their own sins upon others.” And then he continued:
“Allah the Almighty says to the one who asks for his right:
“Raise your head and look at the heavens.” The man raised his head and said:
“O Lord! I see cities made of gold and palaces made and adorned with gold and pearls. For which prophets and righteous servants have they been built?” Allah the Almighty told him:
“If you would like, you may have them.” The man asked:
“How?” Allah the Almighty replied:
“By forgiving your brother” The man said:
“O Lord! I have forgiven my brother.” Upon this Allah the Almighty told him:
“Hold your brother’s hand and take him to Paradise.” After narrating this, Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) said:
Be pious towards Allah and try to reconcile your relations. (As you see) Allah the Almighty reconciles between believers.” (Hakim, IV, 620)
Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) presented examples of forgiveness under very hard times. As a result of these lofty moral characteristics, he attracted people’s hearts and souls; and they embraced Islam in crowds. It has been narrated on the authority of Aisha, the wife of the Prophet (pbuh), who said to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh):
“O Messenger of Allah! Has there come upon you a day more terrible than the day of Uhud?” He said:
“I have experienced it from your people. And the hardest treatment from them was that which I received from them on the day of Aqaba. I betook myself to Ibn Abd Yalil b. Abd Kulal with the purpose of inviting him to Islam, but he did not respond to me as I desired. So I departed with signs of deep distress on my face. I did not recover until I reached Qarn al-Tha’alib. Where I raised my head, lo! Near me was a cloud which had cast its shadow upon me. I looked and lo! There was in it the Angel Gabriel who called out to me and said:
“Allah the Honored and Glorious, has heard what your people have said to you, and how they have reacted to your call. And He has sent to you the angel in charge of the mountains so that you may order him what you wish (him to do) with regard to them. The angel in charge of the mountains then called out to me, greeted me and said:
“O Muhammad, Allah has listened to what your people have said to you. I am the angel in charge of the mountains and your Lord has sent me to you so that you may order me what you wish. If you wish that I should bring together the two mountains that stand opposite to each other at the extremities of Mecca to crush them in between, (I shall do that).” But I said to him:
“Rather, I hope that Allah will produce from their descendants such persons as will worship Allah, the One, and will not ascribe partners to Him. (Bukhari, Bad’ul Khalq, 7; Muslim, Jihad, 111)
Even when his body was in pain and his heart was broken, Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) did not accept the Angel’s offer. Thus, he showed that forgiveness is the praiseworthy response to the bad treatment and mistakes of harsh and ignorant people. His mission was not to satisfy his own self and to gain comfort by punishing those who treated him badly. His only object was to save people by guiding them to the straight path and lead them to happiness not just in this world, but also in the Hereafter. And most importantly, he tried to increase the number of people who accepted Allah’s Oneness and obey Him.
Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) forgave even the ones who had come to kill him. It has been narrated on the authority of Anas b. Malik (r.a.) that eighty people from the inhabitants of Mecca came down upon the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) from the mountain of Tan’im. They were armed and wanted to kill the Holy Prophet (pbuh) and his Companions unawares. Yet he (the Holy Prophet), captured them and spared their lives.” (Muslim, Jihad, 133)
Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) faced many traps and tricks from the hypocrites, but he forgave them. Even though he knew their names, he did not tell them to any one of his Companions except Hudaifa b. Yamani. Thus, he generally continued his social relations with them. He even wanted to pray for their forgiveness despite their open enmities and lies. Zaid b. Arqam reported:
“We set out on a journey along with Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) in which we faced many hardships. Abdullah b. Ubayy said to his friends:
“Do not give what you have in your possession to those who are with Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) so that they desert him. And in this case when we return to Medina the honorable ones shall drive out the meaner ones.”
I came to Allah’s Apostle (pbuh) and informed him about that and he sent someone to Abdullah b. Ubayy and he asked him whether he had said that or not. He took an oath to the fact that he had not done that and informed me that it was Zaid who had stated a lie to Allah’s Messenger (pbuh). Zaid said:
I was much perturbed because of this until the following verse was revealed attesting to my veracity:
“When the hypocrites come unto you (O Muhammad), they say: We bear witness that you are indeed Allah’s Messenger. And Allah knows that you are indeed His Messenger, and Allah bears witness that the hypocrites are speaking falsely.” (al-Munafiqun 63; 1).
Zaid said that:
“Allah’s Apostle (pbuh) then called them in order to seek forgiveness for them, but they turned on their heads and left. (Bukhari, Tafsir, 63/1-2; Muslim, Sifat al-Munafiqun, 1)
In this tradition, it is stated how hard the Prophet (pbuh) worked for the forgiveness of the hypocrites and how heedless they were.
Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) sometimes forgave serious faults commited by his Companions. The most obvious example in this regard is the incident that Hatib b. Abi Balta’a sent a letter to the Meccans to warn them about the Muslim troops coming for the conquest of Mecca. When the letter was captured, Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) called him and said:
“O Hatib, what is this?” He said:
“O Allah’s Messenger, do not be hasty in judging my intention. I am a person attached to Quraish while those who are with you amongst the emigrants are their blook relations and thus they would protect their families. I wished that when I had no blood-relationship with them I should find some supporters from (amongst them) who would help my family. I have not done this because of any unbelief or apostasy and I have no liking for unbelief after I have embraced Islam.” Thereupon Allah’s Apostle (pbuh) said:
“You have told the truth.” Umar (r.a.) said:
“O Allah’s Messenger, permit me to strike the neck of this hypocrite. But he (the Holy Prophet) said:
“He was a participant in Badr and you little know that Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, revealed about the people of Badr: “Do what you like for there is forgiveness for you.” (Bukhari, Maghazi, 9; Muslim, Fada’il al-Sahaba, 161)
When Mecca was conquered and believers entered the Ka’bah, the people of Quraish, who had tortured Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) and the believers for years, gathered in the mosque and sat around the Ka’bah. They were waiting to see what the Prophet (pbuh) was going to do with them. Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) asked:
“O People of Quraish! O Meccans! What do you say? How do you think I am going to do with you?” People of Quraish replied:
“We are hoping for goodness from you. You are a generous and good brother and the son of a generous and good brother. Now you have the power so treat us nicely.” Thereupon, Allah’s Apostle (pbuh) told them:
“The situation between you and me will be like the situation between Joseph (A.S.) and his people. Just as Joseph (A.S.) said to his brothers, I tell you:
لاَ تَثْرِيبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْيَوْمَ يَغْفِرُ اللهُ لَكُمْ وَهُوَ أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ
“…this day let no reproach be (cast) on you; Allah will forgive you, and he is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy.” (Yusuf 12; 92) Go! You are free.”
Even though the people of Quraish were captured and submitted, Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) forgave them and set them free. This is why in Islamic sources the Meccans are called “Tulaqa or the freed slaves.” (Ibn HIsham, IV, 32; Waqidi, II, 835; Ibn Sa’d, II, 142-143)
The Companions, who witnessed the examples of forgiveness in the life of the Prophet (pbuh), followed in his footsteps and manifested examples of forgiveness. One of the examples of forgiveness from the life of Umar (r.a.) happened as follows:
“Uyaina b. Hisn b. Hudhaifa, who was known for his impolite behavior towards the Messenger of Allah, came and stayed with his nephew Al-Hurr bin Qais. Al-Hurr bin Qais was a learned person whom Umar (r.a.) respected very much.
Uyaina said to his nephew,
“O son of my brother! You are a respected person in the presence of the caliph, so get me permission to see him.” Al-Hurr said,
“I will get permission for you to see him.” So Al-Hurr asked permission for Uyaina and Umar admitted him. When Uyaina entered, he said,
“Beware! O the son of Al-Khattab! By Allah, you neither give us sufficient provision nor judge among us with justice.” Thereupon Umar became so furious that he intended to harm him, but Al-Hurr said,
“O leader of the believers! Allah said to His Prophet:
“Hold to forgiveness; command what is right; and leave (don’t punish) the foolish.” (a;-Araf 7; 199) and this (i.e. Uyaina) is one of the foolish.” By Allah, Umar did not overlook that verse when Al-Hurr recited it before him; he observed (the orders of) the Book of Allah strictly.” (Bukhari, Tafsir, 7/5; I’tisam, 2; Ibn Abd al-Barr, III, 1250-1251; Ibn Athir, Usd al-Ghabah, I, 471-472; IV, 331)
Among the best attitutes is to not lower onself to the level of the ignorant, since the highest level of virtue is to visit someone who does not pay visits, to give someone who does not give and to forgive someone who does injustice. It is said that:
Do not be upset by the words of the ignorant
For if he knew, he would only say (that which is) good.