Many
of you (Muslims) do not speak to one another, your brothers and
sisters. How many daughters-in-law do not speak to their
mothers-in-law anymore? Worse, even between parents and their
children, there is no longer the flow of communication. This list
unfortunately remains very long.
It
goes without saying that a true believer seeks the forgiveness of
Allah, but one of the actions we forsake, whether through ignorance
or ego, is to forgive the one who has wronged us. It is good to know
that Allah forgives whom He wills: “He
forgives whom He wills, and punishes whom He wills. And Allah is
Forgiving and Merciful.”
(Al-Imran 3: 130).
A
question we can ask ourselves - Why
do I have to forgive?
If Allah forgives us, despite all our shortcomings, all our faults
and bad deeds, how is it so difficult for me to forgive my mother, my
father, my own brother or my own sister, my children, in-laws etc.?
It
is the quality of the prophets of Allah to forgive. But we are not
prophets, you would say to me. But the prophets are the best
creatures of Allah that we must take as models. When studying their
lives, it will be noticed that they have won people’s hearts by
forgiving them. This is the quality of a good servant of Allah. In
the Holy Quran, Allah (swt) tells us that among the Muttaqun
who will enter paradise, are those who have forgiven their brothers.
If we really want to be considered as such, then we must develop in
ourselves the will to forgive our brothers and sisters; Allah says
concerning the Muttaqi:
“(Those)
who restrain their anger and forgive others [...]”.
(Al-Imran 3: 135).
What
makes one a Muttaqi
is his capacity to control his anger and despite his strength and
courage, he forgives those who have wronged him. We are not
dishonoured by forgiving. He who forgives his brother, not only does
he lose nothing, but is honoured by Allah. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
said: “Allah
will raise (the status/ degree of) the one who forgives for the sake
of Allah.”
(Muslim).
Forgive
others so as to receive divine forgiveness and the forgiveness of the
people. The prophet has commanded us to act toward others in the same
way that we would like them to act toward us. If it happens that
someone has been wronged or hurt by our word, we would like him to
forgive us, is not it? So let’s forgive others so that they forgive
us too.
The
Messenger of Allah has also taught us that when we forgive our
brother (fellow human being), we benefit from Allah’s forgiveness.
Allah forgive those who forgive others. One way to benefit from His
forgiveness is to develop in us the will to forgive others. We should
avoid attracting the wrath of Allah by forgiving others, for if we do
not forgive others, we close the door of our own salvation.
The
Messenger of Allah said: “Be
merciful to others and you will receive mercy. Forgive others and
Allah will forgive you.”
(Ahmad).
How
many times can we forgive?
According to the Hadiths, it is understandable that a believer is
willing to forgive his brother in abundance. It is reported by
Abdullah Ibn Umar (ra): A man came to see the Holy Prophet (pbuh) and
said: “O
Messenger of Allah! How many times should I forgive my servant
[worker]?”.
The prophet remained silent; then he asked him the same thing, and he
(pbuh) was yet again silent; then when he questioned him the third
time, he (pbuh) said, “Seventy
times in each day.”
(Abu Dawud).
I
hope this sermon will help you turn into humble, wise, gentle,
non-arrogant people and that love for all will reflect in every part
of your body and soul and that hate, boycott and other evils from
each one of you (my followers and other Muslims) will be reduced to
ashes, and burnt as fire burns dry leaves. Insha-Allah.
At that moment, you will become true believers of God.
If each person
forgives his fellow human being, then I am sure that peace will reign
throughout the world. A world where there shall be no war and
killings – the killing of humans just like you. So to have peace in
the house, in the family, in society, in the country and in the
world, it is necessary that each of us learns to forgive,
Insha-Allah.
May Allah open our hearts and minds to forgive and become humble
Insha-Allah
- Ameen
Summa Ameen.
--- Friday Sermon of 27 July 2018 (13 Dhul Qaddah 1439 AH) delivered by Muhyi-ud-Din Al Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba) of Mauritius.