In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
Forgiveness (for 9 years old and upper)
When we make mistakes or disobey Allah [SWT], we ask Him to forgive us and pardon our mistakes. We tell Allah [SWT] that we are truly sorry and ask for a second chance.
We should do our best not to sin, but also always ask for forgiveness as we are still learning and will make mistakes. When we ask Allah [SWT] for forgiveness we should remember the following:
- We should truly regret what we have done and really mean it when we say sorry
- We should apologize sincerely and feel shameful for the sin that we have committed
- We should Promise to Allah [SWT] that we will never repeat the sin and obey Allah [SWT]’s commands
- We should ask Allah [SWT] to be Merciful to us
Mercy or Justice of Allah?
We always ask Allah [SWT] to judge us with His Mercy and not His Justice. What is the difference? Let’s read a story about that:
Once there was a man who was so sure that he had led a good life that he used to pray to Allah [SWT that he should be judged with His Justice and not with His Mercy.
One night that man had a dream that it was the Day of Judgment and in front of him was a scale with all his good deeds on one side and on the other side was an apple. What amazed the man was that the side with the apple was so much heavier than the side with all the good deeds. When the man asked why there was an apple there, he was told that once he had gone to the shops and tasted an apple to see how sweet it was, intending to buy it if it was to his liking, but he had not asked the permission of the shop owner.
As that man had asked Allah [SWT] to judge him with His Justice that one small apple outweighed all his good deeds.
Forgiving Others
When we hurt other people, we also say “sorry” and ask them for forgiveness. In the same way, it is important for us to also forgive others as well as asking for forgiveness. Sometimes people do wrong to us and hurt us, but we must remember that Allah [SWT] loves those who are kind and forgiving like Him instead of getting angry and upset. Not everybody hurts us on purpose.
Imam Ali [AS] says that true forgiveness is when somebody is sorry and you can be upset or angry with them, or hurt them back for what they did, but instead you choose not to, and you forgive them. That is also showing true courage.
Let’s read another story:
The Story of Malik al-Ashtar and the Passer-by
Malik al-Ashtar was the commander of Imam Ali’s army and was one of the bravest and most feared soldiers in battle. He was very tall and strong. He loved to imitate his teacher, Imam Ali [AS], in all his behaviour and manners.
One day, Malik was passing by the market in Kufa when one of the shopkeepers decided to make fun of him and threw a hazelnut at Malik. Then he waited for a little to see what this passer-by will do. The people in the marketplace were surprised to see what this man had done.
But Malik al-Ashtar did not care about what this shopkeeper had done. He did not even look back or pay any attention to what the shopkeeper had done and continued walking on until he disappeared in the crowd of people. As he walked he just looked down with humility. What was Malik al-Ashtar thinking? What was going on in his mind?
One of the other shopkeepers in the market said to this shopkeeper, “Do you know who the man that you threw the hazelnut at was?”
“No”, said the man “he was just a passer-by like all the other passers-by”.
“No, he was not”, said the other shopkeeper. “That was Malik al-Ashtar, the follower of Amir al-Mu’minin Imam Ali [AS] and the commander of his army.”
“Was this really the same Malik al-Ashtar from whom even the lions tremble in fear and the bravest of warriors flee from him in battle?” asked the man in disbelief.
“Yes, that was him”, replied the other shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper ran after Malik al-Ashtar to apologize to him but he could not find him because Malik had disappeared in the crowd and was now far away. But the shopkeeper kept asking about him until he was told that Malik had gone to the masjid. The man then started looking for Malik in the masjid and saw him praying to Allah.
When Malik finished praying, the man fell at his feet and wanted to kiss them and beg for forgiveness because he thought the commander of the Muslim army would punish him severely because of what he did to him in the marketplace.
But Malik moved his feet away and held the man’s hands and asked him, “what is wrong?!”
The shopkeeper said, “I am very sorry because of what I did at the marketplace. I am the one who threw a hazelnut at you to make fun of you but I have come to ask for your forgiveness.”
Malik replied politely and in a beautiful manner, “Do not worry. It is not a problem. I only came to the masjid to pray to Allah to forgive you … you are free to go and I have no hatred for you in my heart.”
