Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. The Power of Forgiveness SubhanAllah, I don't mean Allah forgiving us in this instance, I mean us having the capacity to forgive those who wronged us. And you might be surprised by this, you would say, well why should I have forgiveness in my heart for somebody who wronged me? They abused me, they took from me, they slandered me, they hurt me, they bullied me, they had power over me and they were unjust. Are you saying that I should just forget? That I forgive and forget and let people walk all over me? That I give them another opportunity to wrong me? And I say you've read way too much in my words. Forgiving people is giving you power. See the moment that you remain holding on, clutching to that moment of anger, it means that it can be used and leveraged by others towards you and against you. The moment you're unable to take power of that moment and say I'm the one in charge of what is going to make me feel happy or sad. I'm the one in charge of who will provoke me and give me anger or sorrow. I'm the one in charge of who I can forgive and who I can't forgive and when and for what reason. I'm the one who is the narrator of this story. I will not allow my voice to be silenced by other people's actions that make me feel inadequate and unwhole. Forgiveness is the hallmark of the Prophets of Allah. Notice the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam on the day of the conquest of Mecca. He says, Idhhabu, go, live your life. Fa innakum tulqa, I free you, I forgive you for the injustices of the past. Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. Why? Because he's in command, he's in power, he has the authority now. He has the strength and purpose to forgive.
You do not have to exact revenge for there to be justice in this life which will never be achieved. As a part of our theology as Muslims, absolute justice can never be achieved in the realm of this dunya. And as much brooding and hatred and anger and lack of forgiveness you have in your heart, it's actually a type of prison that you inflict upon yourself. But the moment you say, I've turned this affair to Allah, I've set this account that Allah is the one who will give me the justice I can't give myself. Perhaps in this life, perhaps in the next. When I say to forgive, I don't mean that you will stop your court case, or that you won't call the police and ask for justice to be served. But I mean that in your heart you recognize that in you being able to absolve your claim upon that person, that you say, whether justice is delivered to me in this life or not, I know justice will always be served in the court of Allah. That I'm going to pursue the money that was taken from me. I'm going to pursue the charge of the assault against the one who hurt me. I'm going to limit the enforcement upon the one who doesn't have a right to be in my life anymore. I will do everything within my capacity to attain justice in this life. But in my heart, I have forgiveness knowing that it is only Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala who can grant ultimate justice. Listen to the words of the Prophet ﷺ, where he says, give news to a person that they can have a house in the middle, highest parts of Jannah. They said to who, O Messenger of Allah? He said, لمن ترك المراء وإن كان محقا The one who doesn't engage in angry debate, even though they are entitled and they have the right on their side.
The one who is confident with themselves and doesn't need to debate and argue with other people. ولمن and to the one who is able to forgive وعفا is able to forgive, to pardon the one wronged them. اعفو عمن ظلمك Forgive the one who wronged you. SubhanAllah. To forgive the one who wronged me? Yes. Let me give you an example so you understand what I mean. Just say somebody has borrowed from me $5,000. And that person who is supposed to repay it in a year doesn't. Two years, three years, every time I see them, they dodge me, they leave. And then four or five years down the road, $5,000 is still outstanding. I get an invitation in the mail from his wife about their daughter's wedding. Maybe he was too shy to send it himself. And I get an invitation, my daughter's nikah is about to go through. We would be honored to have you attend with us, subhanAllah. It is the haqq of a Muslim upon another Muslim to attend those type of events. إذا دعيا When you're invited that you attend. Forgiveness in my heart compels me. If I seek Allah's forgiveness, it compels me to put aside the fact that money is still owed to me. That wrong has been done to me. That this person has dodged me. This person has not given me what I deserve. That I turn away from that fact. And in my heart I say, this is a matter that is different to this matter. So I attend their wedding. SubhanAllah, he may still owe me money two years down the road. And I hear that he has entered into hospital and is in a grave situation. He's unwell. So I will go to the hospital because the right of a believer over another believer is that we visit them when they are sick. يعوده That you visit them when they are unwell. And I sit with them in the hospital. And I greet them with the salam. And I don't turn my face from them. I don't say, they deserve this from Allah. Look at how they wronged me.
Look how Allah's justice has come. In fact, that becomes a sinful action. It is called the shamata. And the Prophet ﷺ said, Allahumma la shamata. Oh Allah, protect us from ever looking at someone and saying, this is because they did this to me. This is in repayment of Allah to them for what they have wronged me. This isn't the way you and I look at it. That is a dark heart that has that quality. May Allah ﷻ allow us to seek justice, to seek repayment for what has been taken from us. But to understand the balance of our faith is not built upon resentment and hatred. That we take over the narrative and are able to forgive the ones who have wronged us into the future. وصلِّ اللَّهُمَّ وَسَلِّمْ وَزِدْ وَبَارِكْ عَلَىٰ سَيِّدِنَا وَنَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّىٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمْ I leave you with the word of Allah in the Qur'an. أَلَا تُحِبُّونَ أَن يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ Aren't you able to forgive others? Don't you love that Allah will forgive you? Your brother, Yahya Ibrahim. و السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته
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