We live in the world, full of people to interact with. We make friends, we communicate with them that sometimes we are eventually trapped into a fight, an argument, or a problem that will make us in anger. It’s so common to feel angry when we’re hurt or offended, and it’s very difficult to forgive, especially when those who do that to us are the ones who are the nearest. Certain people think that forgiving others reflect our weakness. But actually it’s a total wrong. Here are 15 benefits of forgiving in Islam:
1. We Forgive in The Name of Allah
وَلَا يَأْتَلِ أُو۟لُوا۟ ٱلْفَضْلِ مِنكُمْ وَٱلسَّعَةِ أَن يُؤْتُوٓا۟ أُو۟لِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَٱلْمَسَٰكِينَ وَٱلْمُهَٰجِرِينَ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ وَلْيَعْفُوا۟ وَلْيَصْفَحُوٓا۟ ۗ أَلَا تُحِبُّونَ أَن يَغْفِرَ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
“And let not those of virtue among you and wealth swear not to give [aid] to their relatives and the needy and the emigrants for the cause of Allah, and let them pardon and overlook. Would you not like that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” (Qur’an: Chapter 24, Verse 22)
Let’s take a look to the story that came behind this ayah. At that time Aisha was slandered and accused of doing something she had not done by the relatives who were financially supported by her father (Abu Bakr AsSeddiq). After knowing about that, Abu Bakr AsSeddiq got really mad and swore not to financially support them anymore as he couldn’t forgive what they had done against his daughter. Then, the ayah above came and Abu Bakr AsSeddiq eventually learned how to forgive them.
The lesson we can take from the story is that Allah, who is the greatest and the most glorious, will bless us with a lot of mercy after forgiving others who offend, hurt, or harm us. How can we not forgive other people meanwhile Allah forgive us everyday? The sins we do to Allah may be a lot more than what others do to us.
2. We Forgive to Be Forgiven
وَلَا يَأْتَلِ أُو۟لُوا۟ ٱلْفَضْلِ مِنكُمْ وَٱلسَّعَةِ أَن يُؤْتُوٓا۟ أُو۟لِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَٱلْمَسَٰكِينَ وَٱلْمُهَٰجِرِينَ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ وَلْيَعْفُوا۟ وَلْيَصْفَحُوٓا۟ ۗ أَلَا تُحِبُّونَ أَن يَغْفِرَ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
“And let not those of virtue among you and wealth swear not to give [aid] to their relatives and the needy and the emigrants for the cause of Allah, and let them pardon and overlook. Would you not like that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” (Qur’an: Chapter 24, Verse 22)
The Ayah from Qur’an 24:22 also teaches us to forgive for the sake of being forgiven. When we forgive others wholeheartedly, we will blessed with mercy as Allah is merciful. It’s also told by the hadith that The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) once said:
“There was a merchant who used to extend credit to people. If he found one of his customers to be in straightened means, he would say to his assistants: “Forgive them their debt, perhaps Allah will forgive us.” Allah did forgive him.” [Bukhari/Muslim] (See also: The Importance of Hadith in Islam)
3. We Forgive as Allah Will Reward Us Without a Limit
وَجَزَٰٓؤُا۟ سَيِّئَةٍ سَيِّئَةٌ مِّثْلُهَا ۖ فَمَنْ عَفَا وَأَصْلَحَ فَأَجْرُهُۥ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ
But [remember that an attempt at] requiting evil may, too, become an evil: hence, whoever pardons [his foe] and makes peace, his reward rests with God – for, verily, He does not love evildoers (Qur’an 42:40)
It is told in Qur’an 42:40 that those who are willing to forgive others will get the reward from Allah. Imagine, how great it is to keep the promise of Allah! Without being asked, Allah has blessed us with the entire mercy, happiness, wealth, health, and success in life. If Allah promise us his reward by forgiving others, the reward will be greater than what he have been giving us in our daily life.
4. We Forgive to Lessen Our Stress and Worry
When we are in so much anger, we often think too much. Spending time overthinking causes so much energy. And sometimes when we can’t forgive others, we keep grudges inside our heart. It’s not good as it will eventually affect our productivity. It’s better to exhale the negativity like stress and worry by forgiving.
When we already forgive others who hurt or offend us sincerely, we spread the happiness and our mind will not be occupied with so much stress and worry. The recent research also said that the act of forgiving others can reduce stress-related backache, insomnia, and also stomachache.
[AdSense-B]
5. We Forgive to Deserve Mercy Upon Us
We all know the Prophet’s (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) famous saying:
“Have mercy on those on the earth, and the One in heaven will have mercy on you” [Tirmidhi]
It’s true that we can’t compare the greatness of Allah. Forgiving is a very good deed that reflects our mercy. When we forgive others who hurt or offend us, we sometimes don’t realize that we also spread mercy to others. It’s proven by the saying of Prophet’s (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) that when we have mercy on others, we’ll have mercy upon us. And believe it, Allah will multiply the mercy for us as Allah is very very merciful.
6. We Forgive to Let Go of Grudges
When we decide not to forgive others, we keep the grudges behind. We are like the prisoner that is chained by our past. It’s better to let go of it slowly, and move on. Keeping grudges is not something good to do, it only harms you in the end. By forgiving, we already do a good thing as Allah likes those who do a good thing.
“Then, for having broken their solemn pledge, We rejected them and caused their hearts to harden – [so that now] they distort the meaning of the [revealed] words, taking them out of their context; and they have forgotten much of what they had been told to bear in mind; and from all but a few of them thou wilt always experience treachery. But pardon them, and forbear: verily, God loves the doers of good.” (Qur’an 5:13)
7. We Forgive to Believe More
الَّذِينَيُنفِقُونَفِيالسَّرَّاءِوَالضَّرَّاءِوَالْكَاظِمِينَالْغَيْظَوَالْعَافِينَعَنِالنَّاسِۗوَاللَّهُيُحِبُّالْمُحْسِنِينَ
“The believers are those who spend in charity during ease and hardship and who restrain their anger and pardon the people, for Allah loves the doers of good.” Qur’an (3:134)
After spending wealth in charity during ease and hardship, the thing to do which reflects ourselves as the believers of Allah is by restraining our anger and pardon the people. Forgiving others doesn’t make us becoming the weaker. It even shows that we can successfully restrain our anger and pardon the people in the eyes of Allah. When we forgive we let go the angers and move on. That’s why forgiving reflects ourselves as the believers of Allah and the doers of good.
[AdSense-A]
8. We Forgive Because We Are Patient
وَلَمَنصَبَرَوَغَفَرَإِنَّذَٰلِكَلَمِنْعَزْمِالْأُمُورِ
“Whoever is patient and forgives, verily, that is among the matters of steadfast determination.” (Qur’an, 42:43)
Allah already told us that forgiving reflects our patience. It is good to be patient as Qur’an has told us that being patient is the act of determination and Allah glorifies and multiplies the mercy of those who are determined to do good. (See also: Importance of greeting in Islam)
9. We Forgive as The Prophet Forgives
We may still remember the story of our Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) who was not angry at all when someone do evil to him. As his follower, we must to learn so much of his sincerity to try forgiving others who do evil to us as it is told in the hadith:
“The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was not indecent, he was not obscene, he would not shout in the markets, and he would not respond to an evil deed with an evil deed, but rather he would pardon and overlook.” (Tirmidhi)
10. We Forgive as Allah Will Punish Those Who Hurt Us
We must believe that in the end Allah will earn others based on what they have done. And Allah will punish those based on the evil they have done to others. When we forgive, we will surrender all to The God who will punish who hurt and offend us. We should not keeping grudges more knowing the fact. It’s written in The Qur’an:
قُللِّلَّذِينَآمَنُوايَغْفِرُوالِلَّذِينَلَايَرْجُونَأَيَّامَاللَّهِلِيَجْزِيَقَوْمًابِمَاكَانُوايَكْسِبُونَ
“Say to those who believe that they should forgive those who expect not the days of Allah, as it is for Him to recompense people for what they have earned.” (Qur’an, 45:14)
11. We Forgive as The Prophet Always Asks Forgiveness for Us
Once upon a time, The Prophet (peace and and blessing of Allah be upon him) was beaten by his people. He wiped the blood that covered his face and said:
رَبِّاغْفِرْلِقَوْمِيفَإِنَّهُمْلاَيَعْلَمُونَ
“My Lord, forgive my people for they do not know.” (Bukhari)
It is already seen that whatever the people of him do, whether it is sin or not, The Prophet (peace and and blessing of Allah be upon him) always asks forgiveness of them. It’s better for us to learn from that story. Instead of not forgiving who do us harm, why don’t we follow what The prophet did to others?
12. We Forgive as Allah Will Increase Our Honor
What is so difficult about forgiving? Believe it, by forgiving Allah will increase our honor upon him. There are benefits of forgving in Islam. The next one is told in the hadith below:
“Charity does not decrease wealth, no one forgives except that Allah increases his honor, and no one humbles himself for the sake of Allah except that Allah raises his status.” (Muslim)
13. We Forgive Because We Aren’t Ignorant
Above all I have explained, it is very good to forgive as there are benefits of forgiving in Islam. Allah already told us that by forgiving, we also turn away from being ignorant.
خُذِالْعَفْوَوَأْمُرْبِالْعُرْفِوَأَعْرِضْعَنِالْجَاهِلِينَ
“Show forgiveness, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the ignorant.” (Qur’an, 7:199)
[AdSense-C]
14. We Forgive to Gain More Strength
When we are hurt or offended, we often get upset and angry. We often think that if we forgive we will get weaker. But the truth is, when we move on, we can empower ourselves by learning from our previous experience. We gain more strength to be a better person by not doing the same thing we have experienced to others.
15. We Forgive to Feel Allah’s Pleasure
We can’t be happy without being sad. We recognize happiness by feeling the badness of being sad. It’s just the same when it comes to feeling Allah’s pleasure. When we want to feel the pleasure of Allah, we must suffer the pain. Pain sometimes occurred by those who hurt us. Why don’t we become forgiving then? When we forgive those who make us suffer, we can be easily feel the pleasure of Allah coming in the next chapter.
Finally, those are complete explanation about how many importance as well as benefits of forgiving in Islam that mostly are help you to increase your good deed amount and decrease your sin amount when the day of Yawm Al Hisab (The Day of Reckoning) comes.