Page 138 - 24 Hours in the Life of a Muslim

24 Hours in the Life of a Muslim
24 Hours in the Life of a Muslim

Understanding, mercy

and forgiveness

According to Allah's command, "… Be good to your parents
and relatives and to orphans and the very poor, and to neigh-
bours who are related to you and neighbours who are not related
to you, and to companions and travellers and your slaves" in verse
36 of Surat an-Nisa', believers behave well towards those around
them. They are never quarrelsome, contrary or negative but inter-
act with people positively and correctly. Because they live accord-
ing to the teachings of the Qur'an, they display a character that is
conciliatory and open to communication. They know that the
anger, quarrelsomeness and argumentativeness of those who live
without the deen have no place in the way taught by the Qur'an.
For this reason, they are forgiving, tolerant and try to see the good
in the other. In the Qur'an, Allah draws our attention to this as an
expression of a superior character:
But if someone is steadfast and forgives, that is the most res-
olute course to follow. (Surat ash-Shura: 43)

Allah commands us to be understanding, tolerant and forgiv-
ing toward others. He commands this in the following verse:
Those of you possessing affluence and ample wealth should
not make oaths that they will not give to their relatives and the
very poor and those who have emigrated in the way of Allah.
They should rather pardon and overlook. Would you not love
Allah to forgive you? Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
(Surat an-Nur: 22)
For this reason, a believer is careful to treat any believer he has
to deal with in his daily life with understanding and mercy. For ex-
ample, he will be understanding towards a believer who makes
noise and wakes him up in the morning. He knows that he acts only
by Allah's decree; Allah wanted him to wake up at that moment

136
136