THE Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Musa, the son of Imran once asked, 'Oh my Lord! Who is the most honorable of Your servants?' And He replied, the person who forgives even when he is in a position of power" (Baihaqi).
There are many days when we get into an argument with our friends and relatives and the idea of forgiving them is very challenging and a tough task. Moreover, the thought keeps you from forgiving, ‘Why should I? He has hurt me’
Yes, you are right. Why should you? But, isn’t it astonishing that we expect Allah to forgive us for all our mistakes but we don’t have the strength and moral imperative to forgive another person who has hurt us.
Allah says in the Qur'an: "Be quick in the forgiveness from your Lord, and pardon (all) men; for Allah loves those who do good." (Qur'an, 3:133-134)
Forgiveness is one of the most distinguishing features of Ramadan. If we truly want Allah's love, mercy and forgiveness, we must remember that the pleasures in this world are transient, and we are working toward that which is permanent. Is it worth being bitter and stunting our growth? Will it really benefit us? Will our anger and bitterness change the person who has hurt us?
Another Hadith, which emphasizes on forgiveness, Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “A man used to give loans to the people and he would say to his servant: If the debtor is poor you should forgive him so that perhaps Allah may forgive us. So when he met Allah, Allah forgave him.” (Sahih Bukhari)
Let us use this Ramadan to open our hearts to those who have wronged us and forgive them as we beg Allah to forgive us.
Here is an incident, a very apt example when it comes to how rewarding forgiving others is in the sight of Allah: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was seated in a gathering with the sahabah when he looked toward the entrance and said, “A man of Paradise is coming.”
Someone who appeared to be quite ordinary in outlook entered the mosque and quietly sat with them. A companion was so curious as to why the Prophet said this followed the man to his house. The companion told the man that he was a traveler and stayed as a guest. For three days, the companion saw nothing unusual so he finally disclosed what the Prophet (peace be upon him) had said about him and sought to know what was so special about him. The man thought for a long time and said, “There might be one thing — before going to sleep every night I forgive everyone and sleep with a clean heart."
A friend of mine recently sent text to everyone which said ‘I want Allah to forgive all my sins in the month of Ramadan but before I ask him for forgiveness I will ask my sisters to forgive me if ever I hurt them intentionally or unintentionally. By forgiving me you will feel spiritually uplifted and will Insha’Allah gain reward from Allah’
A very simple yet meaningful text which makes us realize that both the forgiver and the person asking for forgiveness are rewarded by Allah.
Let us open our hearts in Ramadan
