🕌 Islamic education

Forgiving and forgiveness

📖 In short

Forgiving means pardoning someone who wronged us and not paying back harm with harm. A forgiving person has a peaceful heart, and God and people love them. The Prophet ﷺ was the most forgiving of people, even towards those who harmed him.

وَلْيَعْفُوا وَلْيَصْفَحُوا ۗ أَلَا تُحِبُّونَ أَن يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ
Surat an-Nur (The Light), verse 22

🤩 Did you know?

  • “Al-'Afuww” is one of God's names, meaning the One who wipes away sins.
  • The Prophet ﷺ said: “God only increases a person in honor when they forgive” (reported by Muslim).
  • A Muslim must not stay in a quarrel with their brother for more than 3 days.
  • Joseph forgave his brothers after many long years apart.

🔎 Find out more

🌟 Why do we forgive?

We all make mistakes, and we like others to forgive us. If we forgive others, God forgives us. Staying angry wears out the heart, but forgiving gives it rest.

🔍 The Prophet's ﷺ forgiveness

When the Prophet ﷺ entered Makkah, its people had harmed him and driven him out for many years. He told them: “Go, you are free”, and forgave them all.

💡 Saying sorry

When we do wrong, we quickly say sorry: “Sorry, I won't do it again.” And when someone says sorry to us, we accept with a smile and don't keep reminding them of their mistake.

🎯 No long quarrels

The Prophet ﷺ said a Muslim must not stop speaking to their brother for more than three days, and the better of the two is the one who greets first. So let's be the ones who make peace first.

📚 Key words

Pardon
Not punishing, and forgiving the one who did wrong
Overlooking
Forgetting the mistake and not blaming the person
Not speaking
Cutting someone off and not talking to them

🌱 Put it into practice today

If you've fallen out with someone, be the one to greet them first today. If not, write a thank-you card to someone who forgave you before.

🧩 Test yourself

1 Who is the better of two people who've fallen out?

2 What did the Prophet ﷺ tell the people of Makkah on the day he entered it?

3 Your friend says sorry to you. What do you do?

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🎮 Try it yourself