Ramaḍān - Day 22
It has been said that they, the Muslims, if hurt by someone, do not flare up in anger and do not lose their self-control. Going a step further, they do not submit to the dictates of their anger and do not go for revenge. Not only that, they simply surrender their option of taking revenge and actually forgive the wrongdoer from the depths of their heart. Not stopping at this high enough moral achievement, they rise still higher by doing good to the person who had caused pain to them. This one quality of character seems to be a combination of almost three qualities to subdue anger, to forgive the offender, and then, being good to him. All these three things have been so eloquently identified in the verse:
وَ الْكَاظِمِينَ الْغَيْظَ وَ الْعَافِينَ عَنِ النَّاسِ وَ اللهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ
“And who restrain anger and who pardon the people – and Allāh loves the doers of good.”
[Qur’ān, Sūrah Āl ʿImrān (3), verse 134]
There is an incident in the life of the great Imām Abū Ḥanīfah رحمه الله. Someone accosted him in a busy market place and heaped all sorts of insults and invectives on him. The great Imām controlled his anger and said nothing to him. He went home, took out a considerable quantity of gold and silver coins, put them in a gift-wrapped tray and went out to the home of his confronter. He knocked at his door.
When this person came out, he presented this tray full of coins before him saying, ‘Today, you did something very good to me. You gave me (some) of your good deeds (that you had done). It is in gratitude of this great favour of yours that I am presenting this gift to you.’
The Imām’s unusual conduct naturally affected the man. He repented and got rid of his bad habit forever. After asking for Imām’s forgiveness, he entered into his circle as a disciple and finally became a great scholar.
Forgiving people their mistakes and shortcomings is a quality that ranks very high in human morals. Besides, its merit in the life-to-come is much higher.
[Maʿāriful Qur’ān, Volume 2]
Moulana Huzaifa Saleh