Page 57 - Perfected Faith

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THE MORAL PERFECTION CONFERRED BY PERFECTED FAITH

and purifies himself of his mistakes. This is how he attains moral per-
fection. Indeed, the verses about repentance in the Qur'an indicate the
weakness of man. Allah, the Creator of man, best knows these weak-
nesses and states that He will forgive those who do evil in ignorance
but who then immediately repent and make amends for their mistakes:
Allah accepts the repentance only of those who do evil in igno-
rance and then quickly turn to Him in repentance. Allah will
pardon such people. Allah is All-Knowing and All-Wise. (Surat
an-Nisa', 17)
If an individual is sincerely guided by his own wisdom and con-
science, but still cannot help committing a mistake, then he may hope
for Allah's forgiveness. In many verses, Allah informs us that He is
forgiving and merciful. One verse reads:
Tell My servants that I am the Ever-Forgiving, the Most
Merciful. (Surat al-Hijr, 49)
As the verse informs us, Allah forgives human mistakes. This being
the case, it would be improper for a man not to forgive mistakes.
Besides, Allah advised believers to be forgiving:
Make allowances for people, command what is right, and turn
away from the ignorant. (Surat al-A'raf, 199)
In compliance with Allah's commands, people of perfected faith as-
sume a forgiving manner towards believers. Undoubtedly, this is a
sign of a superior conscience. That is because, ordinarily, people find
it difficult to forgive a mistake since a mistake often causes material
or spiritual damage. They cannot even control their anger and feel no
hesitation in showing it. But as the verse maintains, believers "… con-
trol their rage and pardon other people …" (Surah Al 'Imran, 134)
In compliance with Allah's command, believers do not give in their
selves but prefer to forgive. The greatest favour they can do to some-
one who makes a mistake, they know, is to urge him to do better. One
verse says; "And remind them, for indeed, the reminder benefits the
believers." (Surat adh-Dhariyat, 55)