Forgiveness
God is Ever Merciful
and we always expect that He will deal mercifully with us
and forgive our mistakes even if we falter again and again.
But often we do not show mercy to others. There are
instances which warrant clemency on our part but we choose
to become callous instead. If a person commits a mistake
accidentally or does so in ignorance and forgetfulness, we
still scold and punish him. Similarly, at times, we become
harsh and unforgiving even after a person has made amends
and is genuinely sorry for his bad behaviour. Sometimes, we
do not forgive a person even after we have taken revenge. At
other times, we castigate someone for a small mistake or
chide him much more than his mistake calls for. Similarly,
at times, we adopt an unforgiving attitude towards a person
who comes forward and confesses his mistake even before it
comes to our notice. No doubt, all these are instances which
warrant clemency and compassion from us. But we become
callous, cruel and ruthless.
The Qur’an says that
though a person can avenge the wrong inflicted on him by
someone, yet forgiving and forgetting this wrong will earn
great reward and indeed the pleasure of the Almighty.
Perhaps the most
effective way to become a forgiving and forbearing person is
to keep a constant and watchful eye on one’s own faults and
blemishes. We expect God and our fellow human beings to be
magnanimous towards us by forgiving our faults. So, we
should be all the more ready to forgive the faults of
others.
However, there can
be instances which warrant an unforgiving attitude on our
part. For example, if a person is not sorry for his mistake
and repeatedly commits the same mistake. Similarly, if a
person does not realize his mistake and in fact shows
arrogance in this regard, we need not show mercy or
compassion. We may do likewise if a person continues to
show carelessness and indifference in realizing that he has
done something wrong.
Perhaps, the real
test in this regard is to correctly and judiciously choose
the instances which merit our forgiveness and those which do
not.
____________
|