Pardon Others

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

وَلَا يَأْتَلِ أُوْلُوا الْفَضْلِ مِنكُمْ وَالسَّعَةِ أَن يُؤْتُوا أُوْلِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْمَسَاكِينَ وَالْمُهَاجِرِينَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَلْيَعْفُوا وَلْيَصْفَحُوا أَلَا تُحِبُّونَ أَن يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ 
 

Al-Nour (The Light) - 24:22

Hence, [even if they have been wronged by slander,] let not those of you who have been graced with God’s favour and ease of life ever become remiss in helping [the erring ones among] their near of kin, and the needy, and those who have forsaken the domain of evil for the sake of God,  but let them pardon and forbear. [For,] do you not desire that God should forgive you your sins, seeing that God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace?

 

Have forbearance and be quick to pardon others

Ali ibn Husayn (عليه السلا), the son of Husayn (عليه السلا), and one of the most pious scholars of Islam, was not only renowned for his 'ibadah (hence the title "Sajjad", and Zayn Al-Abideen), but was well-known for his excellent conduct.

Once someone insulted him in public, causing outrage and some angry people surrounded the person. He stopped them, saying,  “Let him go. What is hidden is far more than what he is saying about me.” And he gave him a gift of his garment and a thousand dirhams.

 Another story describes an incident in which the imam's neighbor was slandering him in front of someone he knew.  That person, upon leaving the neighbor's house, rushed to the house of Zayn Al-Abideen(عليه السلا) in order to convey the import of this slander to him. Upon hearing it, he visibly perturbed, and told the person:

"A person who supposedly said horrible things about me was as one who had shot an arrow but missed the target. You, on the other hand, picked up the arrow and ensured it pierced the target."

So then he decided to go to visit the neighbor, accompanied by the man.

“It is Ali, and I have come to see you.” he called out to his neighbor, who upon hearing it, came out, looking upset and prepared for an argument.

"O neighbor, this man is saying that you said such and such about me. Is this true?"

 "Yes", he replied, "I said that and I do not repent it for I think what I said about you is correct."

The imam, full of love and in all humility, said:

“If you have said that which truly lies in me, bear witness that I seek forgiveness from Allah, and I repent from it; and if you have accused me of that which I am innocent, I ask Allah to forgive you!”

When the man heard the words, he kissed his forehead and wept:

“Indeed I accused you of that which you are innocent of. These words in all reality describe me.”

And he repented from his actions, becoming a better person.

Shun Arrogance

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

سَأَصْرِفُ عَنْ آيَاتِيَ الَّذِينَ يَتَكَبَّرُونَ فِي الأَرْضِ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ وَإِن يَرَوْاْ كُلَّ آيَةٍ لاَّ يُؤْمِنُواْ بِهَا وَإِن يَرَوْاْ سَبِيلَ الرُّشْدِ لاَ يَتَّخِذُوهُ سَبِيلاً وَإِن يَرَوْاْ سَبِيلَ الْغَيِّ يَتَّخِذُوهُ سَبِيلاً ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَذَّبُواْ بِآيَاتِنَا وَكَانُواْ عَنْهَا غَافِلِينَ 
 

Al-A'raf (The Heights) - 7:146  

From My messages shall I cause to turn away all those who, without any right, behave haughtily on earth: for, though they may see every sign [of the truth], they do not believe in it, and though they may see the path of rectitude, they do not choose to follow it-whereas, if they see a path of error, they take it for their own: this, because they have given the lie to Our messages, and have remained heedless of them,"

 

Arrogance is a barrier to guidance - shun it

Bayazid Bestami, one of the greatest Sufi saints, is an example of one who shunned arrogance. Once while walking to the masjid for prayer, he saw a dog approaching him.  He thought of stepping out of the way, as if his clothes might come in contact with the dog, they might become impure.  Bayazid said that he heard the dog rebuke him which went something like this:

"O Bayazid, I hope your stepping away from me is not due to ignorance, for my fur is dry, and your clothes are dry, so coming in contact will not in any way disturb you or make your clothes impure. I really hope that it is not due to arrogance, for it has so happened that God put me in a dog’s body and you in a human body, and He could have easily chosen the opposite to happen!"

Bayazid, getting chided and guided at the same time, said that after this he had great reverence for dogs.

Some years later, he was walking with his students (all dressed up, on the way to Friday prayers) when they came to a ditch across which a log had been thrown to help people cross. When they were about halfway across,  a dog got on this log from the other side, upon seeing which Bayazid immediately got off in the ditch allowing the dog to cross.

His students protested:
"Shaykh, your clothes have become all dirty. Why did you do so? You could easily have chosen to shoo the dog away, or we could have done it for you."

He responded:
"These clothes can be easily washed with a little soap and water. Had I kept moving on, thinking myself superior to the dog, arrogance would stain my heart. How would I wash that?"