Pardon and Forgiveness In
The Holy Quran
(As for) those of you who
turned back on the day when the two armies met, only the Satan sought to cause them to
make slip on account of some deeds they had done, and certainly Allah has pardoned them;
surely Allah is Forgiving, Forbearing. (3:155)
What is pardon? As ar-Raghib has
said (and it is the meaning derived from its various uses): "al-'Afw (pardon)
originally means to proceed straight away to get something. They say: 'afah or i'tafah (he
proceeded towards him to take a certain thing from him); 'afati 'r-rihu 'd-dar (the wind
proceeded to the house taking away its traces or vestiges)." They say, 'afati 'd-dar
when they want to say that the house has become effaced, obliterated; probably there is a
fine literary point in this usage: It is as though the house itself came cover its traces
and decorations, got hold of them and disappeared from sight. It is in this meaning that
al- 'afw is attributed to Allah; as though Allah goes to His servant and takes away
whatever sins he might be having—thus the servant is left without any sin.
It appears from the above that
al-maghfirah (forgiveness; lit. = to cover) in a way emanates from al-'afw. The sin is
first taken away then it is covered up so that it cannot be seen —neither by the
sinner nor by others. The Qur'an says: and pardon us and forgive us [2:286]; and Allah is
Pardoning, Forgiving [4:99].
Also it is clear that pardon and
forgiveness — although having different meanings, the one branching out from the
other, academically —are one and the same for all practical purposes. Also, these
meanings are not reserved for Allah; these words may be used for others too in the same
meanings. Allah says: . . . unless they remit [ya'funa] or he remits IYa 'fuwa] in whose
hand is the marriage tie [2:237]; Say to those who believe (that) they forgive those who
do not hope the days of Allah [45:14]; pardon them therefore and ask forgiveness for them,
and take counsel with them in the affair [3:159].
Here Allah enjoins His Prophet to
pardon them; he should not mete out to them the consequences of their disobedience, like
censuring and admonishing them or shunning and avoiding them. He should also beseech Allah
to forgive them (and He will grant that prayer without fail) in order that they are saved
from punishment of their sins.
Also, it is clear that the theme
of pardon and forgiveness may be related with creative phenomena and legislative effects,
as well as with affairs of this world and the next. Allah says: And whatever affliction
befalls you, it is on account of what your hands have wrought, and (yet) He pardons most
(of your faults) [42:30].
This verse definitely includes
pardon of worldly consequences of the sins and faults. The same is the apparent
significance of the words of Allah: . . . and the angels declare His glory with the praise
of their Lord and ask forgiveness for those on earth [42:5].
Also the words of Adam and his
wife, quoted in the Qur'an, point to this reality: They said: "Our Lord! We have been
unjust to ourselves, and if Thou forgive us not, and have (not) mercy on us, we shall
certainly be of the losers" [7:23].
Certainly this injustice to their
own selves and the forgiveness asked for were not related to the hereafter, because the
prohibition which they had contravened was in nature of an advice, not of a law.
Many Qur'anic verses prove that
nearness and proximity to Allah and enjoyment of the paradise's blessings cannot take
place unless and until the rust of polytheism and sins are removed by repentance, etc.,
followed by the divine forgiveness. For example, Allah says: Nay! rather, what they used
to do has become (like) rust upon their hearts [84:14]; and whoever believes in Allah He
guides aright his heart [64:11].
Pardon and forgiveness are, in
short, like removal of impediments and eradication of contrary antagonistic factors. Allah
has counted belief and the hereafter as "life "; and the effects of belief, the
deeds of the people of the hereafter and their lively progress as "light". He
says: Is he who was dead then We raised him to life and made for him a light by which he
walks among the people like him whose likeness is that of one in utter darkness whence he
cannot come forth? [6:122]; and as for the next abode, that most surely is the life
[29:64].
Thus, polytheism is death, and
sins are utter darkness. Allah says: Or like utter darkness in the deep sea: there covers
it a wave above which is another wave, above which is a cloud, (layers of) utter darkness
one above another; when he holds out his hand, he is almost unable to see it; and to
whomsoever Allah does not give light, he has no light [24:40].
Forgiveness then removes the
death and darkness; it takes shape through the life (i.e., belief) and the light (i.e.,
divine mercy). An unbeliever has neither life nor light. A believer, whose sins are
forgiven, has the life and the light both; on the other hand, a believer who is encumbered
with sins is alive but with diminished light; his light will become perfect when he is
forgiven. Allah says: their light shall run on before them and on their right hands; they
shall say: "Our Lord! make perfect for us our light and grant us forgiveness [66:8].
The above discourse makes it
clear that when pardon and forgiveness is attributed to Allah regarding creative affairs
then it means removal of impediment (by creating a factor to erase it); in the context of
legislative matters, it indicates removal of such factors that would prevent man's success
in the hereafter; while in the circle of happiness and unhappiness it would entail removal
of those things that would impede his happiness.
References:
Extract from Al-Mizan, Volume 7
Posted by Ammar on 1/1/2001 |
