Forgiveness is a conscious act, deliberate decision to release feelings of resentment toward a person who has harmed you. forgiveness does not mean forgetting, nor does it mean condoning or excusing offences. Thus, it is an attribute that has received due attention in Islam and which has been extensively discussed in the Holy Quran, hadiths. In a Hadith on forgiveness in Urdu, the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said,

“By the One in Whose Hand my soul is! If you do not commit sins, Allah would replace you with a people who would commit sins and seek forgiveness from Allah; and Allah will certainly forgive them.”

The Concept of Forgiveness in Islam

The concept of forgiveness in the Qur’an is expressed in three terms, pardon (عفو), excuse (صفح), and forgive (غفر). 

1. (عفو) means to pardon, to excuse for a fault or an offence or a discourtesy, waiver of punishment, and amnesty. 
2. (صفح) means to turn away from sin or a misdeed, ignore, etc. 
3. (غفر) or (مغفرة) means to cover, to forgive, and to remit. As the Quran says,

وإِن تعفوا وتصفحوا وتغفروا فإن الله غفور رحيم

“But if you pardon, overlook, and forgive their faults, then Allah is truly All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (64:14)

It is said, “to err is human and to forgive is divine.” Both parts of this statement are very true. As human beings we are responsible, but we do also make mistakes and require forgiveness. 

Aspects of Forgiveness

Islam states two aspects of forgiveness:

• Allah’s forgiveness; Allah the Almighty, Who is the Most Forgiving. There are many names of Allah given in the Qur’an. Some of which are related to His mercy and forgiveness. One of them is “Al-Ghafoor,” which means “The Most Forgiving.”
• Human forgiveness; Just as it is important to believe in the forgiveness of Allah, it is also necessary to base all human relations on forgiveness. Forgiving each other is one of the most important Islamic teachings.

Thus, following the hadith about forgiving and forgetting, one must not forget that as much as we need Allah’s forgiveness for our sins and mistakes, we must forgive those who do wrong to us.

Hadith on Forgiveness

In a hadith on forgiveness in Arabic, Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said, I heard the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) saying:

‏”قال الله تعالى‏:‏ يا ابن آدم إنك ما دعوتني ورجوتني غفرت لك ما كان منك ولا أبالي، يا ابن آدم لو بلغت ذنوبك عنان السماء، ثم استغفرتني ، غفرت لك ولا أبالي، يا ابن آدم إنك لو أتيتني بقراب الأرض خطايا، ثم لقيتني لا تشرك بي شيئاً، لأتيتك بقرابها مغفرة‏”‏.

“Allah has said: ‘O son of Adam! I shall go on forgiving you so long as you pray to Me and aspire for My forgiveness whatever may be your sins. O son of Adam! I do not care even if your sins should pile up to the sky and should you beg pardon of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam! If you come to Me with an earth full of sins and meet Me, not associating anything with Me in worship, I will certainly grant you as much pardon as will fill the earth.” 

Importance of Forgiveness in Islam

Forgiveness means closing an account of an offence against God or any of His creation. Forgiveness is important for many reasons: 

1. Very importantly, for the life hereafter, one forgives to seek forgiveness. Seeking forgiveness is a sign of humility and forgiving others is a sign of benevolence 
2. Seeking forgiveness and forgiving others brings happiness in worldly life. It’s a psychological thing. 
3. Besides, forgiving improves relations with people by bringing a good reputation and respect. 
4. Allah loves the benefactors. Who doesn’t want Allah to love him? Of course, we all want that.

والله يحب المحسنين

Hence, being forgiving and kind to His creation let us close to Allah. 

1. Forgiveness is protection and brings great rewards from Allah.

How to Seek Forgiveness from Allah?

To receive forgiveness from God there are three requirements: 

1. Recognizing the offence itself and its admission before Allah. 
2. Committing not to repeat the offence. 
3. Asking for forgiveness from Allah. 

Thus, if one desires to be forgiven for his offences he must learn to forgive others. However, if someone commits a sin and wants to repent of sin. Then the following are the best ways to seek forgiveness from Allah.

• Ask for forgiveness after the Salat (prayers)

• Using Allah names to ask for His forgiveness

• Staying away from forbidden matters and performing the obligatory deeds

• Practising self-control. Our beloved Prophet (SAW) said: “Whoever suffers an injury and forgives (the person responsible), God will raise his status to a higher degree and remove one of his sins.” If we expect forgiveness from Almighty Allah then we also can forgive others.

• Select Duas asking for forgiveness. Both the Quran and Hadith provide us with many Duas that one can use to ask for Allah’s forgiveness

Quran Verses on Forgiveness

In the Quran, there is a complete surah named (At-Tawbah), which means “The Repentance”. As with other topics, the act of seeking Allah’s forgiveness has also been discussed in the Quran. A selection of teachings about forgiveness from the Qur’an and Hadith are given below. 

• “Let evil be rewarded with evil. But whosoever forgives and seeks reconcilement shall be recompensed by Allah.” (42:40). ”
• “If you do good openly or keep it secret, or forgive evil! Allah is forgiving, powerful.” (4:149) 

Thus, we must sincerely repent to Allah and seek His forgiveness for our sins, regardless of whether they are major or minor, open or secret, intentional or unintentional. Indeed He accepts sincere repentance.

Islamic Quotes About Forgiving Others

There are many Islamic quotes about forgiveness from the Quran, hadith, and Islamic scholars. Following are a few forgiveness quotes;

• Oqbah Ibn Amir reported that the Prophet (PBUH) said: “you shall pardon on who oppressed you.“
• Abu Hurairah said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) saying, “I swear by Allah that I seek Allah’s Pardon and turn to Him in repentance more than seventy times a day.” (sahih bukhari)
• In an Islamic quote about forgiveness, Yasmin Mogahed says, “You refuse to forgive people, and yet on the day of judgment you will stand bare, begging Allah to forgive you.”

Thus, there are a lot of forgiveness messages in Islam. Islamic quotes on forgiveness from Allah and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) quotes on forgiveness let us learn its importance.

Two Types of Forgiveness in Islam

Many hadiths relate to the issues of “Forgiveness” which signifies overlooking the offence and sin of a person who has purposefully or mistakenly done you wrong, such as insulting you with his words, beating you up, or exacting your property. Ignoring all these issues and not castigating the person who has committed this wrong is called “forgiveness”. 

Forgiveness is of two types:

1. 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. In other words, it is a kind of helplessness and debility.
2. We forgive someone when we have the power to take revenge. The forgiveness desired by Islam and its leaders relates to this kind of.

In a Hadith on forgiveness, Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said that Allah has commanded him with nine things. One of them he mentioned was “that I forgive those who do wrong to me.”

Benefits of Forgiveness

When someone sincerely asks for forgiveness, the intention must be not to repeat the sin or offence. There are a lot of benefits of forgiveness in this world and hereafter. Some of them are the following;

• Forgiveness can lead us to a spiritual pathway. It has a profound healing energy that can bring us serenity and peace. 
• Asking for forgiveness is a successful remedy for getting rid of sins. In a hadith on forgiveness, the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: “O people! Ask for the forgiveness of Allah and repent to Him as I ask for the forgiveness of Allah and repent to Him one hundred times a day.”
• Forgiveness from Almighty Allah brings joy, reassurance, and peace of mind. Allah Almighty says in the Quran: “Seek forgiveness of your Lord and repent to Him, (and) He will let you enjoy a good provision.” (11: 3)
• Seeking forgiveness derives disasters and accidents away from saving us from Fitnah and afflictions.
• The gift of forgiveness transforms itself into a gift to oneself. The psychological benefits to the forgiver can be immense.

Dua For Forgiveness 

There are no particular words to say for asking forgiveness in Islam. However, Muslims are taught in hadith on forgiveness many duas for the forgiveness of major sins in Islam. For example, 

• استغفر الله means, “I ask forgiveness from Allah.” 
• سبحانك اللهم وبحمدك و أشهد أن لا إله إلا أنت أستغفرك وأتوب أليك meaning “Glory be to You, Allah, and with You Praise (thanks) and I bear witness that there is no deity but You, I ask Your forgiveness and I return to You (in obedience).”
• The Prophet (PBUH) said, “The best supplication for seeking forgiveness (Sayyidul istighfar) is to say: 

اللهم أنت ربي، لا إله إلا أنت ، خلقتني وأنا عبدك، وأنا على عهدك ووعدك ما استطعت أعوذ بك من شر ما صنعت أبوء لك بنعمتك علي، وأبوء بذنبي، فاغفر لي فإنه لا يغفر الذنوب إلا أنت.

Conclusion

In the nutshell, forgiveness is not taking revenge nor desiring any harm to the offender for a particular offence. Forgiveness includes not asking Allah’s punishment for the offender in this life or the life hereafter. 

There are many powerful duas for forgiveness in the hadiths on forgiveness. We cannot deny the fact that Allah is Mighty, Just, and Wrathful, however, at the same time, He is Merciful and forgiving. May Allah give us the strength to forgive others and also ask forgiveness from Him and His creation. Ameen! 

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