Allah Almighty says: {Take to forgiveness, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the ignorant.} [Al-A‘rāf: 199] He also says: {So forgive with gracious forgiveness.} [Al-Hijr: 85] And He says: {And let them pardon and overlook. Would you not like that Allah should forgive you?} [An-Nūr: 22] And He says: {And those who restrain anger and who pardon people - and Allah loves the doers of good.} [Āl-‘Imrān: 134] He also says: {And whoever is patient and forgives – indeed, that is of the matters firm resolve.} [Ash-Shūra: 43] There are many other well-known verses in this regard.
1) We are urged to forgive graciously, meaning to forgive without blame or rebuke.
2) Recompense is of the same type of the deed. A person who forgives is shown forgiveness by his Creator.
3) Patience and tolerance are traits of those who possess firm resolve.
643/1 - ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that she asked the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him): “Was there ever a day harder on you than the day of (the Battle of) Uhud?” He replied: “Indeed, I have suffered a lot at the hands of your people, the harshest of which was what they did to me on the Day of Al-‘Aqabah when I went to Ibn ‘Abd Yālīl ibn ‘Abd Kulāl with the purpose of inviting him to Islam, but he did not respond to my call. So I departed with deep distress. I did not recover until I arrived at Qarn Al-Tha‘ālib. There, I raised my head and saw a cloud shading me. I looked and, lo and behold, I saw in it Gabriel (peace be upon him), who called me and said: ‘Indeed, Allah Almighty heard what your people said to you and the response they gave you. He has sent to you the angel in charge of mountains to order him to do whatever you wish concerning them.’ Then, the angel of the mountains called me, greeted me, and said: ‘O Muhammad, Allah heard what your people said to you. I am the angel of mountains, and my Lord has sent me to you so that you may give me your orders concerning them. If you wish I would bring together the Akhshabayn (two mountains) to crush them in between.’ I replied: ‘No, I hope that Allah will let them beget children who will worship Allah alone ascribing no partner with Him.’” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
The Akhshabayn: two mountains surrounding Makkah.
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Ibn ‘Abd Yālīl ibn ‘Abd Kulāl: one of the chiefs of Taif, from the tribe of Thaqīf.
Qarn al-Tha‘ālib: a place on the way from Taif to Makkah. It is the Miqāt (place of assuming Ihrām for pilgrimage) for the people of Najd. It is also called Qarn al-Manāzil and better known now as Miqāt al-Sayl al-Kabīr.
1) It shows the Prophet’s forbearance, deliberateness, and forgiveness, even though he suffered severe harm. This continued until Allah Almighty enabled him to reach his goal and granted him clear victory.
2) A person should endure harm patiently, especially if this happens for the sake of Allah. He should not take revenge for himself.
3) Preachers should be patient in conveying the religion of Allah. It is not wise to invoke Allah Almighty to hasten punishment for those who oppose the religion. Indeed, the purpose of calling to Islam is to keep people away from the punishment of Hellfire. A preacher would thus say: Praise be to Allah Who saved him from Hellfire through me!
644/2 - She also reported: “The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) never struck anybody with his hand, neither a woman nor a servant, except when fighting in the cause of Allah. He never took revenge upon anybody for something wrong done to him except when one of the sacred ordinances of Allah Almighty was violated, in which case he would take revenge for the sake of Allah Almighty.” [Narrated by Muslim]
1) It shows the Prophet’s magnanimity, as he would never strike anyone for anything related to his personal rights.
2) Anger for the sake of Allah does not contradict forbearance, deliberateness, leniency, and forgiveness, for it constitutes support for the religion of Allah.
645/3 - Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “I was walking with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and he was wearing a Najrāni cloak with a thick hem. A Bedouin approached him and pulled him violently by his cloak. I looked at the Prophet’s neck and saw that it was chaffed by his hard tug. The Bedouin then said: ‘O Muhammad, give me some of Allah’s wealth that you have with you.’ The Prophet turned to him, smiled, and ordered that he be given something.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
Najrāni cloak: from the town of Najrān in Yemen.
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1) It shows the Prophet’s good character and his patience over the harshness and rough conduct of Bedouins. He would face their harm with patience and forgiveness.
2) A person should follow the Prophet’s example in forbearance and kindness and in responding to offense with kindness.
3) We ought to console the heart of a wrongful person and refrain from rebuking him, for this is more beneficial as advice and more effective in bringing him back to the truth.
646/4 - Ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “It is as though I am looking at the Messenger of Allah as he tells the story of one of the prophets (peace be upon them) as his people struck him and caused him to bleed, and he wiped the blood from his face, saying: ‘O Allah, forgive my people for they do not know.’” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
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1) It shows the prophets’ perfect manners, as they were the most afflicted among people, followed in this by the most pious and then the next in the level of piety.
2) It is recommended to supplicate Allah Almighty to guide the disbelievers, and it is permissible at times to supplicate against them.
3) We are required to be patient and endure harm in the way of Allah Almighty.
647/5 - Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The strong man is not the one who can overpower others (in wrestling); rather, the strong man is the one who controls himself when he gets angry.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
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1) A truly strong person is the one who fights and overpowers his anger.
2) It was the approach of the prophets to correct people’s errors and teach them. So, seekers of knowledge should be keen to correct people’s common mistakes and non-Islamic habits.
3) A person who calls people to the true and good path could miss a great deal of opportunities to achieve his goals on account of his anger. Most people tend to get close to well-mannered and well-spoken persons, regardless of whether they are right or wrong. So, we should be keen to call to Allah Almighty by a sound judicious approach and right guidance and manners.
Ibn Al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy upon him) said:
“Religion is all about good manners. So, if a person is better mannered than you, then he is more religious than you... Good manners rest upon four necessary pillars:
Patience, chastity, bravery, and justice.
Patience: It drives a person to endure, restrain his anger, refrain from harming others, and show forbearance and gentleness... Chastity: It prompts a person to avoid all vices and reprehensible deeds or actions and to be bashful, which is the key to all goodness. It also prevents him from immorality, stinginess, and lying...
Bravery: It urges a person to be dignified, seek lofty morals and traits, and give to others, and it prompts him to restrain his anger and act with forbearance...
Justice: It prods a person to be upright and moderate in his manners, midway between exaggeration and neglect... All good morals stem from these four pillars...” [Madārij al-Sālikīn]