Forgiving Soul

Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:

Two men among the Children of Israel were opposite of each other. One of them was a sinner and the other would strive in worship. The one who strove would see the one sinning and would tell him to stop. One day he found him sinning so he said, “Stop!” The sinner said, “Leave me alone, by my Lord. Have you been sent as a watchman over me?” The worshipper said, “By Allah, Allah will not forgive you or enter you into Paradise.” Later their souls were taken (after death) and they met in the presence of the Lord of the Worlds. Allah said to the one who strove, “Did you have knowledge of Me? Or did you have power over what is in My Hand?” He said to the sinner, “Enter Paradise by My Mercy.” And He said to the worshipper, “Take him to the Hellfire.”

Abu Huraira said, “By the one in whose Hand is my life, he spoke a word which ruined him in this world and the Hereafter.”

[Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 40, Number 4901, Hasan]

When you are on the path of dawah, calling to Allah, be forgiving. Be mindful that it’s the action that is disliked, not the person himself. Therefore, be merciful upon the Muslims, and at any point, this very person you scorn could repent, and be better than you. Call to Allah, not to yourself. We want people to love Allah, as He is the One who forgives and punishes. We are put here to apply Allah’s religion, and call to it. We command good, and forbid evil. We use good judgment (hikma) and are merciful to others. The reward of one person accepting Islam, or convincing one person to pray, and leave the haram is a reward like none other. This means Allah has made you a reason, a way, a means for others to love Him. Value the blessing, and don’t take advantage of it. Don’t make decisions on behalf of Allah but rather, tell them what He likes and dislikes. Be a good example foremost, both in your speech and action, and lest we forget that it is only Allah that guides whomever He pleases.

Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:

“A man used to give loans to the people and would say to his servant, ‘If the debtor is poor, forgive him, so that perhaps Allah may forgive us.’ So when he met Allah (on the Day of Judgment), Allah forgave him.”

[Sahih Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 56, Number 687]

Be a forgiving soul. Forgive others so that Allah can forgive you. Be lenient in your approach, for people love kindness, and might accept what you have to say when you are delicate with them, rather than forceful. However, in the same time, you can’t compromise the deen of Allah with yourself or your family. Applying Allah’s deen in your life is not a question of kindness, but an obligation. However, with people who are astray, you have to know how to pass along the message. Your quest is gain reward and help people adopt the religion of Allah as their belief, and remember that we are all full of mistakes and shortcoming. Don’t look down at people, but sympathize with them. Praise Allah for guiding you, and pray for them. At the end, we want the deen of Allah to be victorious, and for people to follow it. Allah will take care of His religion, but we ask Allah to allow us to be a means to help the dawah.

Whenever things get hard, or you find yourself confused, go back to the Sunnah. See how the Prophet, peace be upon him, dealt with it. Also see how the Sahabah dealt with. Consult the scholars, and take the effort to gain knowledge. Arrogance leads to mistakes. Intention is not good enough without proper knowledge of right and wrong, and purposely avoiding the truth to have your way is also no excuse.

Be forgiving with people…especially your Muslim brothers and sisters.