Interpretation of the Quran- Surat Al-Nisa' (4)- Lesson ( 63 )- Verses [ ]: Grades of Forgiveness

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1 Interpretation of the Quran- Surat Al-Nisa' (4)- Lesson ( 63 )- Verses [ ]: Grades of Forgiveness Praise be to Allah, the Lord of Creations, and Peace and blessings be upon our prophet Muhammad, the faithful and the honest. Oh, Allah, w e know nothing but w hat You teach us. You are the All- Know er, the Wise. Oh Allah, teach us w hat is good for us, and benefit us from w hat You taught us, and increase our know ledge. Show us the righteous things as righteous and help us to do them, and show us the bad things as bad and help us to keep aw ay from them. O Allah our Lord, lead us out from the depths of darkness and illusion, unto the lights of erudition and know ledge, and from the muddy shallow s of lusts unto the heavens of Your Vicinity. The effect of environment in good upbringing: O' Dear brothers, w e are on lesson "63" of AlNissa Chapter ( 004), Verse "148". Allah says: injustice has been done, and Allah is Hearing, Know ing O' Dear brothers, in this verse there is a guidance for the society of believers that is to stay clean and purified, and to stay aw ay from an unpleasant saying. Allah Al mighty show s clearly that: injustice has been done, [148-AlNissa] [148-AlNissa ] There is the good example of human safety, speech and talk w hen he is grow ing up in a controlled, behaving environment. That is w hen a son is grow ing up in a family that controls its tongue (doesn t curse). This son w ill never say a bad w ord in his lifetime. The family w ith the purified, controlled tongue and deeds is a reflection of the purity and straight guidance on its members. And, w hen a son grow s up in an uncontrolled family environment, then he w ill speak in an unnaturally filthy w ay. So, the family tongue's speaking environment is very effective on its members. Sometimes, the son grow s up in a clean, controlled and w ell-behaved family and suddenly the father hears a bad w ord spoken by his son! And, he looks for its origin: w here did it come from? Who taught him that speech? He finds that his son has heard it from some badly behaved kid in the street or from a similar classmate. In Allah's w ay of life, He Almighty, w ants us to grow up in a clean, purified and controlled behavioral environment: injustice, [148-AlNissa.] Control of speech is a characteristic of the believers: O' dear brothers, you might deal w ith someone w ho is a believer for many years, and this might exceed

2 thirty years w ithout hearing any filthy or bad w ord from him. That is to say: one of descriptions of faith is to control the speech. That is w hat has been revealed to us through one companion asking the Prophet of Allah (peace & blessing be upon him): O' prophet of Allah, are w e answ erable for w hat w e have spoken? O' Muaz, your mother w ill pk you, are there more than w hat people throw on their faces and noses in hellfire? It's their return as a result of w hat they have collected from their tongue's speech [narrated by Termezi, Ibn Majeh and Hakim with the two chaikhs condition] A servant's faith cannot be straight unless his heart is righteous, and his heart cannot be straight unless his tongue is righteous, and control of the tongue is the believer's description and specification. O' Dear brothers, he w ill survive w ho ever counts his speech as a deed, because a person w ho says a w ord w ithout accounting for it, falls in hellfire for seventy autumns. One believing w oman s slander w ill corrupt one year w ork. Sometimes, one joke can frustrate a party and take the attendee's feelings to places that they had never before been to. Thus, A believer is not a cussing or filthy person. Filthy speech cannot be said by the believer. He doesn't say it not because it's filthy talk, but because it's bad manners. Yes, the servant is Suhaib, if he doesn't fear Allah then he w ill disobey. A human self sometimes rises up to the level of religious legislation, so if that talk is not forbidden then he w ill say it. That is the servant Suhaib; if he doesn't fear Allah then he w ill disobey him. Allah permits the believer to defend himself if someone speaks badly of him: The first point, O' dear brothers: We speak out of w hat w e hear. If w e hear the truth then w e speak it, if w e hear the champions stories then w e speak them, if w e hear the stories of those w ho w ent astray, then w e speak them, if w e hear the stories of injustice then w e speak them, and if w e hear the stories of disobedience then w e speak them. The active scholars stories, the pirate stories, the great leader stories, all of those w ere our direct example to follow. But, one thing that is very dangerous is for the speech to be bad, and Allah al mighty w anted to purify this society from a faulty environment. But Allah is the best know er. He know s that the human self w ill be in pain w hen it is hurt, and w hen it is hurt, it w ill avenge, and because this Quran is the w ard of the best Know er. He says: Allah does not love the public utterance of hurtful speech, unless (it be) by one to w hom injustice, [148-AlNissa,] Someone verbally attacks on you, hurts you, and accuses you of w hat you are not, so you, as a human, w ill not accept someone's hurt w ithout avenging for the truth, and the same is true w hen you are accused of injustice, for Allah Almighty has granted his believer to take revenge for his rights: injustice, [148-AlNissa, ] thus, the scholars of legislation have granted the w ronged person to sue his injustice claim to a court's judge by telling his true story, w ithout any back biting account. So, w hen you tell your injustice story to a liberal judge then you've got to say the truth of w hat exactly he said even though it's a filthy term, you are not blamed for that because you are getting back your rights:

3 injustice, [148-AlNissa ] In Allah w e seek refuge, sometimes you may set dow n w ith some people w ho talk about sex, and all of their speech is related to the low er part of human, and people like those w ith very cheap talk are very far from faith. Also, w e regret to say that some people w ho inhabit mosques use inferior terms in their jokes that a human w ould feel shy w hen listening to them alone. Limits for those who want to take their right: So how in total: injustice, [148-AlNissa,] The verse is very w ide. It is forbidden to say a shameless w ord, w hether it w as back biting, slanderous or as a joke for people to laugh. The bad speech that might hurt or seduce people is forbidden, that is a rule by religion legislation. That is true after you raise yourself up and connect w ith Allah Almighty, after you dye yourself w ith Allah's dye and you are w ell elevated to Allah, then your speech is aw ay from any dow ngraded w ord. It is not forbidden sometimes, but w e say that a person's self has become elevated to the level of religious legislation. O' Dear brothers, but w hen you try getting your law ful right, there are restrictions. Allah says: Whoever then acts aggressively against you, inflict injury on him according to the injury he has inflicted on you When you say: I shall double measure his inflicted injury, that isn't law ful. Or w hen you say: I shall ten-times measure that inflicted injury, that is also ignorant talk. Allah says: And the recompense of evil is a punishment like it, [194-AlBaqara] [40-AlShoura] Those who forgive others have high rank with Allah: But a person may find a very harsh difficulty getting back his complete rights, and if cautious, he might increase so he might fall into injustice. For that, Allah Almighty has opened for us the door of forgiveness: forgiveness is better. So w hen you find difficulty in getting back your right as much as the injustice that w as inflicted on you, the forgiveness is better for you, and Allah w ants you instead to shed forgiveness on your brother. It w as related in the purified tradition saying: "On judgment day, tw o men w ill be in disagreement w ith each other. One says: O' Lord, take my injustice from my brother, then he w ill look and see a palace in paradise. He says: To w hom does this palace belong? Allah says: To w hoever pays the price for it. The reply: O ' Lord, and w ho is capable of paying that price? Allah says: You. The man replies: How? Allah says: By forgiving your brother. When you forgive your brother, you actually raise yourself up to the highest rank. The rank of forgiveness

4 exceeds the limited imagination. The forgiveness stage is a very high rank, and the feeling that you get w hen you forgive is many times more pleasurable than your feeling w hen you get revenge. A person can be small in the vision of Allah w hen he seeks revenge, but he is great in the vision of Allah w hen he forgives. O' Dear brother, the people of Mecca punished the companions ( May Allah be pleased w ith them ) for tw enty years, not exempting any harassment w ithout applying it upon them, fighting many times against him; but, w hen Mecca w as concurred and ten thousands sw ords w ere pointed at the people of Mecca aw aiting one w ord from prophet Mohammed ( peace & blessing be upon him ), asking: What are you thinking I am going to do w ith you? They replied: A dear brother and the son of a dear brother. He said: Go and you are free! This is done after having the full control of doing w ith them w hatever he pleases. He said: Go and you are free. Allah grants you the chance of taking you right from inflicted injustice, as an obligatory law ful action, and forgiveness is a volunteered action, and don't forget that you are obligated to do good as w ell as justice. This is supported by a verse that mosque preachers have repeated for hundreds of years: Surly Allah enjoins the doing of justice and the doing of good (to others), [90-AlNahl ] Also, you are obligated to do justice as w ell as good. To do justice is obligatory and to do good is volunteer. Allah did not obligate one's self to more than it deserves, w hether you w ant to revenge or to take your inflicted injustice right, you are obligated to be exact and perfect w ith your action w ithout any increase. For this, Allah Almighty has kept the door of forgiveness opened for you. O' Dear brothers, sometimes it seems that people feel comfortable w hen taking back their rights. That is a specification of one's self creation. The religious legislation isn't for a few people nor for one kind of them. Rather, it is for people in general. There is some person w ho cannot feel comfort unless he takes back his inflicted injustice right. Yes, it is your right. Allah says: Allah does not love the public utterance of hurtful speech, unless (it be) by one to w hom injustice, [148-AlNissa] The purpose of allowing people to take their right: But w hat is the purpose of Allah allow ing the person upon w hom injustice w as inflicted to publicly announce his injustice case? Because the unjust person's action of aggression w ill better for people to know, so they avoid contact w ith him. So there is a w ise social judgment upon this inflicted injustice person, or thief or aggressor. When he is mentioned among people, then people w ill avoid his dealings, and so the w hole society w ill be aw are of his w rongdoings. Now there is a third w isdom: w hen that aggressor s w rongdoings appear to society and his action is w ell-publicized, that might stop his action and before his next action he might count to one hundred, because he know s that if he inflicts injustice again he is going to face publicity again. So, the w isdom of Allah: injustice, [148-AlNissa] The person inflicted w ith injustice w ill feel comfortable w hen taking back his right, and people w ill ignore the unjust person s trade once again. And also, this publicized judgment on the unjust person w ill be a good example for like people to be aw are of transaction w ith their society before w alking on the street again. Then the religious legislation is unlimited, and no matter how much a person is clever w hen hitting tw o birds w ith one stone throw, but Allah Almighty reaches many goals w ith one legislation. So, the one w ho is inflicted unjustly

5 took back his right, the society is getting its protection from such an unjust person and w hen the unjust person sees his outcomes he w ill stop continuing his w alk of injustice. That reminds us of Allah s saying: And there is life for you in (the law of ) retaliation, O men of understanding, that you may guard yourselves When the killer kills, another killer sees his outcome before attempting to kill, so he doesn't kill. He saves himself from attempting to kill and saves the other from getting killed. It is as though killing he w ho kills is a purification for society and a new life for it. [179- AlBaqara ] Muslims are honorable, they don t let others to abuse them: Once, I saw in the criminal court a verse placed over the judge's head for the criminal to see. It said: And there is life for you in (the law of) retaliation, O men of understanding, that you may guard yourselves and another verse w as placed over criminal's head for judge to see, saying: And that w hen you judge betw een people you judge w ith justice, So that is a forw ard order for the judge, and a purification for the criminal s heart w hen he receives punishment. Now, this verse: [179- AlBaqara ] Allah does not love the public utterance of hurtful speech, unless (it be) by one to w hom injustice, reminds us w ith another verse: And those w ho, w hen great w rong afflicts them, defend themselves [58-AlNissa. ] [148-AlNissa] [39-AlShoura] A Muslim w ho receives injustice w ith acceptance, and is afraid of talking for getting back his rights, is not a w ise Muslim. Allah says: And those w ho, w hen great w rong afflicts them, defend themselves [39-AlShoura] Because Muslims are honorable, Allah allows them to take their right: The Muslim is a proud person that doesn't allow others to over-punish him, because that is a representation

6 of his Islamic religion, and w hen a Muslim is in direct aggression that is a direct transfer to his religion. We can see this very clearly in our present w orld. Muslims individuals aren't the ones the aggression is directed against - their Islamic religion is. There are a very bad doings practiced against Muslims but it is actually a practice against Islam. For that, a Muslim in the vision of Allah should at all times stay proud, not accepting aggression against him but to be victorious. Allah says: and then the verse: And on that day the believers shall rejoice (4)w ith the victory of Allah, And those w ho, w hen great w rong afflicts them, defend themselves but the problem exists if they are victorious: And the recompense of evil is punishment like it, and then, Allah draw s believers attention and says: but w hoever forgives and amends, he shall have his rew ard from Allah, [4-5 AlRoum ] [39-AlShoura ] [40-AlShoura, ] [40-AlShoura] There is a special soft touch to this verse. When you think that forgiveness to your brother is in favor of bettering his status, then you are, as a believer, obligated to forgive him, save him from his continuous troubled life. Then Allah w ill rew ard you. If a king said to someone: I w ill give you something you'll be satisfied w ith, w hat the king w ill give? The king gives a pencil, a house at least a house. I say this to clear things up: w hen Allah says:,but w hoever forgives and amends, he shall have his rew ard from Allah, [40-AlShoura ] That means: O' my servant I w ill take care of your prize w hen you forgive your brother, and w hen come nearer to Allah. A child can be careless, hurting himself by jumping before some passing car. The father then has the right to legislate in favor of his son's case, but if the car driver isn't at fault and the father forgives him, this w ill confirm to the driver that in the believer's society, there is one w ho understands the situation, is merciful and is forgiving. When the condition of your forgiveness to your brother is in favor of correcting his status and getting him nearer to Allah, then you must forgive. This deed is rew arding the prize. O' brothers, forgiveness is a very high stage. Some stories about the Prophet s forgiveness of others: The tradition books narrate that Thumama Ben Athall, w as the greatest enemy to the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him). He w asn't just an enemy in his thinking, but he w as also aggressive against the prophet's companions, w ith severe aggression. Once, he w as in captivity and w hen he w as presented before the Prophet (peace & blessing be upon him ) - he is a leader of his tribe - they told the Prophet: This is Thumama. They tied him to the mosque's pillar. The Prophet

7 ( peace & blessing be upon him ) passed by him saying: O' Thumama w hat do you have? Thumama said: If you forgive you w ill forgive an aggressor, if you kill you w ill kill a sinner and if you w ant money then you w ill have w hatever you w ant. That is a good saying. Then prophet ordered his men to pass him some food from his ow n house. On the second day, the prophet again passed by saying: O' Thumama, w hat do you have? Thumama replied: If you forgive you w ill forgive an aggressor, if you kill you w ill kill a sinner and if you w ant money then you w ill have w hatever you w ant. The third day: the Prophet (peace & blessing be upon him ) released his prisoner. Thumama then w ent to city center, w ashed himself and returned to the Prophet (peace & blessing be upon him) saying: I bear w itness that you are the messenger of Allah. The prophet's forgiveness w as the cause of Thumama's entering Islam, even though he had done severe harm to the companions (may Allah be pleased upon them). The prophet ( peace & blessing be upon him ) is a distinguished scholar. He turns an enemy into a friend, and other people w ho are foolish turn a friend into an enemy. The perfect man can turn an enemy into a friend. Another man came to the Prophet ( peace & blessing be upon him), w ho the prophet forgave, and said: I sw ear to Allah that there w asn't on the earth s surface any man more hated to me than you, your religion and your tow n. I leave your place now and there isn't on the earth surface a more loved man to me than you, your religion and your tow n. The case makes people love your religion, not being harsh. And had you been rough, hard hearted, they w ould certainly have dispersed from around you, [159-Al Imran] Muslims should prefer forgiveness to revenge: The master of creatures, the beloved of justice, the one w ho brought miracles, the one w ho brought the Quran, the messenger's angel revealed onto him in the most classical tongue of all times the beautiful face and the perfection. He is the man w ho w as sent revelation, and miracles and fluent tongue. He is the w ise, the merciful and the gentle to w hom the angel said: O' Mohammed: And had you been rough, hard hearted, they w ould certainly have dispersed from around you, [159-AL Imran] So, if one of us isn't a prophet or a messenger, w ith no revelation or Quran or miracles or beautiful face or fluent tongue (but rather rough), then w hat w ould be the outcome? And had you been rough, hard hearted, they w ould certainly have dispersed from around you, pardon them therefore and ask forgiveness for them, and take counsel w ith them in the affair, O' brothers: This verse is very accurate: And those w ho, w hen great w rong afflicts them, defend themselves and w hen they are victorious: Recompense of evil is punishment like it, but w hoever pardons and amends, That is correcting your brother's status w ith your pardon [159-AL Imran ] [39-ALShoura, ] [40-ALShoura, ]

8 he shall have his rew ard from Allah, [40-ALShoura] Difference between the morals of fighting and the morals of calling to Allah Be inclined more tow ards pardon than to revenge. Sometimes, O' dear brothers, the ethics of the jihad w ill interfere w ith the ethics of defense. The ethics of defense are organized in the verse: O' Prophet strive hard against the unbelievers and the hypocrites, and be harsh against them, [Al-Tawba-73] In combat, there is no leniency, no thanks, no apology and no forgive me. Combat is fighting, and that is the ethic of fighting, but the ethic of the missionary is: He betw een w hom and you w as enmity w ould be as if he w ere a w arm friend We must distinguish betw een fighting and missionary ethics. Now, if you w ere offended by your brother then you may have three levels: one is to take back your right and there is no blame on you, it's the nature of the human's self. But Allah w ants you to raise yourself higher. He said: And those w ho restrain their anger, You are boiling like a boiler, but you have absorbed your anger. That is a level: And those w ho restrain their anger, [34-Fusillat] [134-ALImran ] [134-ALImran ] A person, in many cases w ill be much stronger than the one w ho is harsher to him, and he can demolish him if he does not control himself. It w as related by Abu Hurirah (may Allah be pleased w ith him) that the Prophet of Allah (peace & blessing be upon him) said: Belief is a surrendered punishm ent that is not to punish a believer. Stages of forgiveness: [narrated by Abu Dawwoud & Hakim in Mustadrak.] In Islamic history, there are magnificent heroes. When master Salah al Din conquered Jerusalem, he did not kill one person, w hile w hen the Westerners conquered Jerusalem they killed seventy thousands people in a few days. For that "the pardon" is a very high level. 1. Those who restrain their anger: It starts:

9 And those w ho restrain their anger, [134-ALImran ] You may be boiling as a boiler but control yourself. As it w as revealed by the prophet ( peace & blessing be upon him): "Belief is a surrendered punishment that is not to punish a believer " revealed by Abu Daw ood & Hakim in Mustadrak. What is the difference betw een a controlled and uncontrolled believer? The uncontrolled w ill punish tw ice as much as he w as punished as a reverse obligation, but the controlled believer has w isdom, and w ill pardon received punishment so he can be raised on Allah's scale. And, w ith his pardon he can help correct his brother s conduct. The pardon then is a great door. Another case: after anger is repressed, 2. Those who forgive others: Allah said in the same verse: And those w ho pardon people. [134-ALImran ] There is no hate and pain in his heart, and every time a person's faith strengthens, his anger and need for revenge decreases. He sees Allah's hand is at an unseen w ork, and that he w ho abuses him is doing so w ith Allah s allow ance. Then that person has some problem w ith Allah. So, the believer is alw ays judging himself, w hen he is getting injustice from somebody he asks himself: What have I done w ith Allah so that He sends that person's injustice upon me? Some scholars say: I know my status level from my w ife manners, w hen she is sometimes easy going or difficult. From logical faith, the believer 's faith gets him to debate somebody's injustice upon him by thinking about his level of faith and his relation w ith Allah. So, he is inclined to pardon because of his faith. 3. Those who do good to others: But, there is a rank w hich is higher than those w ho restrain their anger and those w ho pardon people. That rank is: And Allah loves the doers of good (to others [134-ALImran ] Could you face somebody's w rongdoing w ith forgiveness? As he is a beloved brother, that is the faith. O' Brothers, to that, I sw ear to Allah, if the honored companions understood Islam as w e do now, then Islam w ouldn't have gone out of Mecca. How did Islam reach all places of earth, East to China, West to the Atlantic, North to Azerbaijan and South to Yemen? That is because the prophet's companions (may Allah please upon them) w ere of the highest level of manners. It's a case of faith, a case of manners, different ranks of manners. Faith is a scientific matter, faith is a beauty matter, faith characterized man as unique. In a correct explanation, man is a unique personality; he has very beautiful, elegant, and measured values, manners and science. It has the rank of science, manner and beauty: And those w ho restrain their anger, And those w ho pardon people, And Allah loves the doers of good (to others

10 [134-ALImran.] The Greatest blessing is the Allah with us: Allah does not love the public utterance of hurtful speech, unless it be by one to w hom injustice has been done, and Allah is Hearing, Know ing [148-ALNessa, ] Allah Almighty hears your speech w hen you speak, and know s your situation w hen you're silent. Some have said: All praise is due to Allah for His existence. How many people are there? Allah Know s if a person is oppressed and He w ill make him victorious and defend him, and the great blessing for us is that Allah is w ith us. He sees and know s: Allah Almighty says: He know s the secret, and w hat is yet more hidden, and Allah is Hearing, Know ing [07-Taha ] [148-ALNissa, ] Say w hat you w ant, seek revenge as you w ant and pardon as you w ant. If you pardon He know s, if you avenge He know s, if you increased your scale of revenge He know s, and if you did not pardon w hen you w ere able to do so, He know s:, and Allah is Hearing, Know ing [148-ALNissa,] The gate of forgiveness is so big: Then Allah Almighty said: If you do good openly or do it in secret or pardon an evil, then surly Allah is pardoning, pow erful [149-ALNissa, ] You have presented a good deed to somebody w ho abused you. This deed is kept w ith Allah. I heard a story that I have told many times. It is not a religious legislation but it represents a status of forgiveness. The story begins w ith a Damascus mosque preacher w ho dreamt he saw the Prophet (peace & blessing be upon him). He said to him: "Tell your neighbor so & so that he w ill be my companion in paradise. This preacher felt upset Why w as this not for me? I am the preacher and it is for somebody else, for my neighbor? He knocked on his neighbor s door telling him: You have good new s from the messenger of Allah (peace & blessing be upon him), but I am not going to tell it unless you describe to me w hat you have done for Allah so that you have deserved this good new s. When he insisted, the neighbor said: I married a w oman, and I thought she w as faithful, and in the fifth month of marriage she w as at the peak of her pregnancy; so, that child w as not mine, it belonged to somebody else! I could've divorced her, announced her status or kicked her w ith my foot etc., but instead, I decided to help her repent. So, I brought her the home nurse and carried her child hidden under my gow n w ith me to one of Damascus mosques at the early morning prayer, and after the imam announced his

11 prayer he left the child behind the door and prayed w ith the imam. After prayer had finished the baby started to cry so people surrounded him and the neighbor w as among them ignoring the situation and asking: What is happening? They said: He is a found baby. He said: I w ill take him, I can adopt him. He took the baby and returned him to his mother. Not all the revenge can get you good deeds, sometimes the pardon, the unseen and the repentance can. When w rong steps are taken, and repentance has happened then he has his return of good deeds, Allah alone Know s its w eight. It is easy to seek revenge, publicize and unveil the story, but Allah w ill keep it veiled. So that neighbor w as convinced of that w oman's sin. She w as a good girl but she took a w rong step; she announced her repentance and the neighbor helped her out by acceptance. He returned her baby to her and before the residents of his tow n he announced his adoption of that baby. The Prophet (peace & blessing be upon him) told the preacher of that Damascus mosque: "Tell your neighbor that he w ill be my companion in paradise." The door of pardon is very w ide. For this, w e go back to beginning of the verse: Allah does not love the public utterance of hurtful speech, unless it be by one to w hom injustice has been done, and Allah is Hearing, Know ing and If you do good openly or do it in secret or pardon an evil, then surly Allah is pardoning, pow erful [148-ALNissa] [149-ALNissa. ] Translation : Iman Nashar Auditing : Zena El-Abaza