Forgiveness is an attribute which has received due attention in Islam and has been extensively discussed in the Holy Qur'an and Hadith. But, nowadays people are lacking in attention, and it seems very hard to practice forgiveness in daily life. That is the reason why we hear news of wars everywhere, people are fighting and killing each other. Every one is blaming other parties and neglecting the virtue of forgiveness. Thus, it is important for us to re-inculcate the value of forgiveness in our lives. Think and ponder first, do we really know what is forgiveness?. What is the importance of forgiveness?. How to inculcate the value of forgiveness in out lives? 

DEFINITION......

WHAT WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT FORGIVENESS...

There are many different words in the Quran related to forgiveness. Among them are:

1. Afw: To pardon, to excuse for a fault or an offense or a discourtesy, waiver of punishment and amnesty.

v     Quran: 42:40; 2:187 and 5:95

2. Safhu: to turn away from a sin or a misdeed, ignore

v     Quran: 2:109, 15:85 and 43:89.

3. Ghafara or Maghrifa: to cover, to forgive and to remit.

v     Quran: 2:263 and 43:43

Forgiveness means....

Forgiveness (Afw): not getting revenge while one has the means to get even with one’s enemies or with aguilty party. It is to treat those with goodness who do evil things to him.

Forgiveness (Musamahat): foregoing things, that are not necessary to forego, willingly in order to be helpful

to others. Another meaning of “Musamahat” is not seeing others’ faults.

Forgiveness signifies overlooking the offence and sin of a person who has purposefully or mistakenly done you wrong, such as insulting you by his words, beating you up or taking your property is called "forgiveness".

TWO ASPECTS OF FORGIVENESS...               

a) Allah's forgiveness:                                                                                  

     Allah Ta'ala is The Most Forgiving. He will forgive everyone  who seek for forgiveness.

b) Human forgiveness:

We cannot expect for Allah's forgiveness unless we also forgive those who do wrong to us. Forgiving each other, even forgiving one's enemies is one of the most important Islamic teaching. Allah says in the Quran: "those who avoid major sins and acts of indecencies and when they are angry they forgive" (al-Shura 42:37)

            TYPES OF FORGIVENESS...

a) We forgive someone when we are unable to take vengeance - this kind of pardon is in fact, tantamount to patience and forbearance and not to forgiveness. It is a kind of tolerance.

b) We forgive someone when we have the power to take revenge - the forgiveness desired by Islam and its leaders relates to this kind.

It is mentioned in the Holy Qur'an that: 

"Turn to forgiveness and enjoin good and turn aside from the ignorant" (7:199)

"And if a false imputation from Shaitan afflicts you, seek refuge in Allah; surely He is Hearing, Knowing" (7:200)

"Those who spend (benevolently) in ease as well as in straightness, and those who restrain (their) anger and pardon men; and Allah loves the doers of good (to others)"(3:134)

The Messenger of Allah said: "The best deed before Allah is to pardon a person who has wronged you, to show affection for relatives who have broken ties with you, and to act generously towards a person who has deprived you". Thereafter he recited the following holy verses: "Turn to forgiveness and enjoin good and turn aside from ignorant" (7:199).

WHY FORGIVENESS IS IMPORTANT?...

Forgiveness is important for several reasons. If one desires to be forgiven for his offenses he must learn to forgive others. If one seeks forgiveness from Allah, he should learn to forgive others. If one desires that Allah overlook his weaknesses, he should learn to overlook weaknesses of others.

1. For the after-life or the life in the Hereafter - seeking forgiveness is a sign of humility and forgiving others is a sign of magnanimity.

2. It brings happiness in the worldly life - psychologically, it brings happiness, in addition, forgiving improves the relations with other people by bringing good reputation and respect.

HOW DOES ALLAH FORGIVE US:           

When we commit a sin, four witnesses are established against us:

a) The place we did the crime (i.e. scene of the murder).                        

    "On that day, the earth will reveal all its secrets." (99:4)                             

b) The organ we used to commit the crime. 

    "When their ears, their eyes, their skin will testify against them". 941:21)

c) The Angels who record the deeds (Kiraman Katebeen).

    "The honored writes and know what you do". (82:11)

d) "We record that which they send before them, and their  footprints, and all things we have kept in a clear register".(36:12)

    Now with four such strong witnesses, how can we present ourselves to Allah, ask for our repentance to be accepted. Allah forgives His servant, then recording angels erase their records, organs lose their memories, and earth removes its stains of evidence so that when that person appears before Allah, there is no one to be a witness against him.

SINS WHICH CAN NOT BE FORGIVEN:            

Although we have discuss earlier that one of Allah's attributes is The Most Forgiving, but He mentioned that there are 3 major sins which cannot be forgiven by Him.

1) The Attributing of partners to Allah (committing shirk) - "Allah pardons not those that ascribe partners to Him. He pardons all except that". (Qur'an:4:116

2) The killing of a believer - "Whoever slays a believer of set purpose, his reward is hell forever. Allah is wroth with him and hath cursed him and prepared for him an awful doom". (Qur'an:4:93)

3) Apostasy -"Lo! Those who disbelieve after their profession of belief, and afterward grow in infidelity, their repentance will never be accepted. And such who are astray". (Qur'an:3:90)

IS ANY CRIME OR TOO MANY CRIMES TOO BIG TO BE FORGIVEN?

1) Hadith Qudsi: Allah, the Almighty, has said: O Son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O Son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O Son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins as great as the earth, and were you then to face Me ascribing no partners to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it.

A certain person had committed 99 murders. he went to a scholar and asked, is there any chance of my being forgiven? The scholar said no, you have committed too many crimes. The man killed the scholar too, but his heart was restless, so he went to another scholar and asked the same question. He was told yes, but you must leave this town of badness and go live in the next town in the company of good people.

So the man set out to the town he was told to go to. On the way he died. A man passing by saw two Angels arguing over his dead body. the Angel from Hell said, "His body belongs to me as he had not done any good in his life". The Angel from Heaven said, "His body belongs to me as he had repented and was set out to be with good people." The man who was the passer-by said, "Let us measure the distance of his body from the town he left and the town he was going to".

This was done. He was found to be nearer to the town he was going to. In another version, the earth was ordered by Allah to shrink and make the distance smaller, so that he was admitted to Heaven.