Hi, my name is Adrian; I was raised Christian but just started studying Islam this semester and am very much fascinated. I'm currently writing a paper on forgiveness in Islam and thought I'd get the opinion of believers, so here's a couple questions: how do Muslims view forgiveness? What does it mean to a Muslim to forgive? How does one balance forgiveness and justice? Is there a difference between sinning against God versus sinning against man? What are the differences between major and minor sins, and how does one atone for them?
If you could give your name and age when responding that would be very helpful, and thanks so much.
I have just realized something. Allah forgives all sins except shirik, right? Why? Let's look at it this way:
Let's say you have committed a very heavy crime like, maybe, murder in a country like, perhaps, Malaysia. So you are caught, convicted and sentenced to be hung by your neck until you are dead. In Malaysia, you can make a plea for a pardon from the King. That is assuming that you acknowledge the King as your King. If you do not acknowledge the King as your King, then it stands to reason that there is no way that you can appeal for a pardon from the King.
Back to topic.
Shirik is to ascribe partners to Allah. Shirik is to negate the kalimah tayyibah. Shirik is to nullify the meaning of "la ilaha ilaLLah". Shirik is to declare that one believes that other than Allah, there are others worthy of worship. So when one commits the sin of shirik, it stands to reason that there is no way that one can beg for forgiveness from Allah since one has already rejected the truth that Allah is the One and Only worthy of worship. Therefor Allah does not forgive the sin of shirik. WaLLahu aklam.
I find Islam to be the only Religion that recognises Allaah(swt)'s power to forgive with just his will. All other religions seem to claim that forgiveness requires a purchase price and if we can't pay it, somebody else has to pay it on our behalf.
In Islam, forgiveness comes without a purchase price or sacrifice. We do not/can not: buy, sacrifice for, earn or steal it. It comes freely when we sincerely ask for forgiveness and truly repent, accepting Allaah(swt)'s will.
My dear respected brother in Islam, your words ring true, masha'Allah. We acknowledge the immense capacity of Allah (swt) to forgive our sins. If there is a payment, an atonement, or a perfect sacrifice that is required to bring us in to the good graces of Allah (swt), then can it really and truly in that case be called forgiveness?
Your words reminded me of the hadith:
Hadrat Mughira (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Prophet (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) prayed for so long in the night in standing posture that his feet got swollen up. His companions said to him, "O Prophet of Allah! Why do you exert so much when Allah (The Glorified and the Exalted) has forgiven you all sins." The Prophet (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) replied, "Should I not be a grateful servant of Allah?" (Bukhari, Muslim)
For those who would say that we try to earn our salvation by our 'works' or deeds of worship, this hadith shows the proper attitude that we strive to have as exemplified by Prophet Muhammad (sal alahu alayhi wa salam) of being grateful servants to our Creator.
No, the mushrikun are polytheists who worshiped idols such as Hind wife of Abu Sufyan.
Quoted from Qisas- i-Anbiya (A History of Prophets)
Thus Hind, who was to be killed according to an earlier directive, attained forgiveness and became a true believer. Presently, she went home and broke to pieces all the idols and icons, saying, 'We have been idiotically believing you for such a long time.' Rasul-i-akram 'sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam' pronounced benedictions over the women being there." Hind's attaining forgiveness and iman provided encouragement for all the other people who were considering to seek safety in flight. They came back and asked for forgiveness. Their request was accepted. It was so lucky for Hind that she caused many people to escape death and to become believers. http://uiforum.uaeforum.org/showthre...BECOMES-MUSLIM
No, the mushrikun are polytheists who worshiped idols such as Hind wife of Abu Sufyan.
JazakuLLah for the information. I thought you were talking about the munafiqin who pretended to be Muslims while in their hearts, they still worship their idols. btw look out for the munafiqin in our midst. There are more of them than we think. Even in the mosques, praying in jemaah.
Forgiveness is viewed as being much higher and nobler than revenge - (revenge is also allowed in Islam equal to the injustice committed)
format_quote Originally Posted by NewtoIslam
Is there a difference between sinning against God versus sinning against man?
Yes there is a difference b/w sinning against god and sinning against man - sinning against God is forgiven by god and you have to ask repentance from god alone.
Sinning against man is a graver sin than sinning against god, for these actions you have to ask forgiveness of the person you sinned against and as god for forgiveness.
Generally speaking, begging Allah for forgiveness is easier than begging another person for forgiveness.
I agree with you. A thought that comes to mind is that there is nothing that we can do to either benefit or to injure Allah (swt), however can can easily injure others and be injured by them. Our minds are such that it is really difficult to "forgive and forget".
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