Allah (SWT) is the Most Forgiving, thus, we should ask for forgiveness from Him for our sins and trust Him that He will forgive us. Also, forgiving others and seeking of forgiveness from others are the great deeds and they give peace to one’s heart and mind. Forgiving others frees you from the feeling of unrest and revenge. Hence, there is great importance and rewards of forgiveness in Islam.
There is a great importance of forgiveness in Islam and because of this importance, there are great rewards of forgiveness as well.
Forgiving the creation is a quality of Allah as his name Al-Ghafoor (The Most Forgiving) indicates.
“Say, (This is addressed to the Prophet) “O My bondmen who have been extravagant against themselves, (i.e., who have committed sins) do not feel despondent of the mercy of Allah! Surely Allah forgives guilty (deeds) all together; surely He, Ever He, is The Ever-Forgiving, The Ever-Merciful.” (39:53)
To seek forgiveness from Allah who is the Most Forgiving is a great aspect of forgiveness in the religion of Islam. We must ask for forgiveness from Allah for our sins to seek His pleasure and attain Jannah.
Abu Hurairah (RA) said that I heard the Messenger of Allah (SAWW) saying, “I swear by Allah that I seek Allah’s Pardon and turn to Him in repentance more than seventy times a day.” (Al-Bukhari)
Asking others for forgiveness is also a positive deed as accepting your mistake and apologizing for it takes a lot of courage as well. In Islam, it is very important to seek forgiveness or compensate for your mistakes to the person you have wronged as it comes in haqooq-ul-ibad.
“If one has wronged his brother’s dignity or assaulted his assets unrightfully, he must have himself forgiven before the Doomsday where there is no gold or silver to pay. Otherwise, some of his good deeds (equal to the rights of that person) will be taken away from him and given to that person. If he has no good deeds, then the sins of the wronged one will be given to him.” (Hadith)
However, if you have asked for forgiveness from the person you have wronged and he/she doesn’t forgive you, then you should leave the matter to Allah as per Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Prophet Muhammad (SAWW) was very forgiving and he used to forgive his enemies as well.
Abu Abdullah Al-Khadali reported that he asked Hazrat Ayesha (RA) about the character of the Messenger of Allah Prophet (SAWW). Hazrat Ayesha (RA) stated: “The Prophet (SAWW) was not indecent, he was not obscene, he would not shout in the markets, and he would not respond to an evil deed with an evil deed, but rather he would pardon and overlook.” (Sunan At-Tirmidhi)
In Islam, there are great rewards of forgiveness. This is the beauty of the religion of Islam; it rewards people for forgiving others. Thus, forgiveness not only brings peace of mind and heart but is also brings rewards. Moreover, forgiveness also produces positive impacts in a society and promotes harmony.
“And [saying], “Seek forgiveness of your Lord and repent to Him, [and] He will let you enjoy a good provision for a specified term and give every doer of favour his favour…” (Quran, 11:3)
“And the retribution for an evil act is an evil one like it, but whoever pardons and makes reconciliation – his reward is [due] from Allah. Indeed, He does not like wrongdoers.” (Quran, 42:40)
Abdullah ibn Amr reported that the Messenger of Allah (SAWW) said: “Be merciful to others and you will receive mercy. Forgive others and Allah will forgive you.” (Musnad Ahmad)
Thus, seeking forgiveness from Allah and forgiving others are great deeds and we should practice them to have successful journey. Moreover, asking for forgiveness from others is a great deed as well which needs lots of courage and we must apologise others sincerely for our mistakes to have a successful life both in this world and the Hereafter.
