Pardon and Forgiveness (1/4)

Pardon means dismissing punishment, while forgiveness means forgetting the offence and not mentioning it nor reprimanding for it. Hence, many people pardon but do not forgive. Allah, the Exalted, says,

“... overlook their faults with gracious forgiveness.” [1] Pardon and forgiveness are also two qualities that Allah, the Exalted, likes humans lo have and apply in their lives. Allah guided us to the first steps on that course by saying, “Let them pardon and forgive. Do you not love that Allah should forgive you?” [2] The first level of such a behavior is also mentioned in the Holy Qur'an, “Those who repress anger.” [3] Repressing anger in itself can be a cause of diseases of the heart and body, unless it is accompanied by forgiveness.

Dr. Shahid Athar wrote that during times of anger, more adrenaline is excreted, the heart beats faster, and serious instability affects mental powers, the ability to concentrate, and control the peripheral organs of the body. Anger can lead to depression due to the drop in epinephrine, dopamine, and amino acids in the brain, as well as an increase in cortisone. [4] Additionally, Myth Caroline tells us in her book Anatomy of the Spirit, "Forgiveness is the key of health." [5]

Repression of anger alone, if not followed by forgiveness, results ill ailments of the heart such as envy and bitterness, and in physical ailments such as liver diseases. This is because the negative energy "the energy of anger" is stored in the human cells in general, and in the liver in particular. This is what is termed the "Memory of Cells."

It has been proven that negative messages are like toxicants that affect the functionality and efficiency of the cell, It is thus much better for a person to pardon and forgive, lost the opposite distract him from obeying Allah, the Exalted, because Allah says, “Those who repress anger,” then followed that immediately with “and who pardon people,” [6] Anger can be detected in the face of a person, where the eyes widen and signals are emitted indicating that negative emotion. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said, "Anger is a firebrand in the heart of man. Do you not notice the redness of his eye and the swelling of his jugular veins?" [7] The Prophet (Peace be upon him) also forbade anyone who is angry to judge between two people saying, "No mam should judge between two while he is angry."[8] This is because one cannot make a sound decision when one is angry.

The third level after the sublime level of forgiveness is found in the Words of Allah, The Exalted, “… Allah loves those who behave with goodness.”[9] Treating offenders with goodness is a high position, not an obligation. It was found that goodness wins the hearts of both normal and abnormal people. Thus, in most cases a person would not assault someone who has treated them with goodness in words or deeds. However, there remain people whose rancor is extreme, and Almighty Allah showed us how to deal with such people in the Holy Qur'an saying, “Whoever attacks you in hostility, then attack him in the same manner.” [10] If however, we lake a wise look ill the mailer from a different perspective, we realize that someone who injures us is actually doing us a great deal of good, because in that ease Allah, the Exalted, will be on our side. In this regard, Al-Hassan Al-Basri said, "How can I not be good lo someone who caused Allah, the Exalted, to be on my side?" Another old saying suggests that, "If you are given power over your enemy, then make pardon your way of thanking Allah for that power."

But what would happen if we left those who offend us personally, and dropped all Forms of retaliation? This would promote us to a higher level of certitude in Almighty Allah, Who says, “Truly, Allah defends those who believe. Verily! Allah likes not any treacherous ingrate to Allah.” [11] This requires patience in contradicting the desires of oneself, which has an innate inclination to retaliate. The more negative thinking is abandoned, the easier it is to be patient and forgiving. Allah, the Exalted, says, “And verily, whosoever shows patience and forgives that would truly be among the most resolute of matters.” [12] The respite that Allah, the Exalted, gives us should not be misinterpreted as neglect, as He says, “Think not that Allah is unaware of what the wrong-doers do, bat He gives them respite up to a Day when the eyes will stare in horror, They will be hastening forward with necks outstretched, their heads raised up, their gaze returning not towards them and their hearts empty.” [13]

Once a man cursed Ash-Shi'bi, so he said, "If you are truthful, then may Allah forgive me, and if you are untruthful, then may Allah forgive you." A man also cursed Abu Dharr Al-Ghtfari, so he said, "Do not curse me too much, and leave room for reconciliation, for we do not repay those who disobey Allah in out regard with more than obeying Allah in their regard.” 

Al-Hassan said, "The tolerant believer does not offend even when offended." Then he recited the Words of Allah, the Exalted, “And when the foolish ones address them, they reply back with (a greeting of) peace.” [14]

The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said, "The strangest of you is one who defeats himself in anger, and the most tolerant of you is one who pardons in spite of being able to take revenge." [15] Based on this principle, Dale Carnegie believed that, "Being tolerant with enemies is a mercy to oneself, as that prevents bitterness from eradicating its goodness." He quoted a paragraph from a circular distributed by the police department in an American city. This noteworthy paragraph read, "If some people harm you, erase their memory from your mind.  Do not try to retaliate, because by seeking to take revenge, you will harm yourself more than you will harm them."

It was reported that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said, "Anyone who dismisses his anger will be dismissed by Allah from His torture, and anyone who preserves his tongue will have his faults concealed by Allah, the Almighty." [16]

The Prophet (Peace be upon him) also said, "Under oath I assert three things, and I will say words to you, so memorize them ...No wealth will be decreased by giving charity, and any man who exercises patience when oppressed will be dignified further by Allah, and any man who opens a door of beggary will be fared by Allah with an open door of poverty or such a word." [17]

He (Peace be upon him) also said, "Anyone who wishes that buildings and ranks should be raised for him, should forgive those who oppress him, give to those who deprive him, and maintain relations with those who desert him." [18]

And, "Have mercy to find mercy, and forgive to be forgiven." [19]

And, "Any man who benevolently forgives for a wound inflicted upon his body will be granted by Allah atonement equal to his benevolence." [20]

And, "When the responsible creatures stand for reckoning, a group of people will come forth placing their swords on their blood-dripping necks and will crowd at the gate to Paradise. It is then said, 'Who are these?' And the answer is said, 'The martyrs, they were alive and sustained.' Then a call will be made, 'Let those whose reward is on Allah rise and enter Paradise.' He said. 'And who may that be whose reward is on Allah?' He said, 'Those who forgive people.' Then a third call is made, 'Let those whose reward is on Allah rise and enter Paradise.' Then several thousand people rise and enter it without reckoning.'" [21]

(Continued)