The Prophet (peace be upon him) said that: “Whoever suffers an injury and forgives (the person responsible), Allah will raise his status to a higher degree and remove one of his sins” (Al-Tirmidhi).

Brotherhood in the ummah is what holds all the Muslims together as one. Without forgiveness and tolerance the ummah as we see is falling apart. Everyone has been wronged some way or another, but instead of forgiveness we are living in a world where the need for revenge has taken over our hearts.

It is disheartening to see how intolerant we are towards one another and how seldom we forgive each other. The strongest people are not only those who control their anger but also those who have the capacity to truly forgive. When you forgive someone and mean it, we are cleansed of our negative energy.

The inner struggle to become more tolerant increases our Imaan (faith). Fighting the evil within ourselves is to purify our hearts and improve our spiritual conditions for the sake of Allah.

We waste our time and energy plotting revenge on those who have wronged us, we give them the power to control us. Letting go of the anger slowly, we free ourselves from the bonds created by our need for revenge. Answering oppression with kindness helps bring relief to our souls.

The unmatched generosity of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions was evident when they gave gifts to their offenders and were merciful instead of becoming angry. We grant ourselves inner peace when we forgive others. This is how we can prevent anger from taking over our hearts.

Do we not want Allah to forgive us? Here is one way of earning forgiveness:

Narrated by Abdullah Ibn Amr, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) stated “Show mercy and you shall be shown mercy. Forgive others and you shall be forgiven by Allah” (Musnad Ahmad)

Surah Ali-Imran:

3:133. Be quick in the race for forgiveness from your Lord, and for a Garden whose width is that (of the whole) of the heavens and of the earth, prepared for the righteous,-

3:134. Those who spend (freely), whether in prosperity, or in adversity; who restrain anger, and pardon (all) men;- for Allah loves those who do good;-

Shall we then not hasten to the mercy of Ar-Raheem (The most merciful)?

"He who holds on firmly to my Sunnah at a time when my Ummah are (grovelling) in corruption will receive a reward of a hundred martyrs."

Abu Hurayrah rahimahullah reported that Allah’s messenger sallalaahu ‘alayhi was sallam said: “When a human being dies, all of his deeds are terminated except for three types: an ongoing sadaqah, a knowledge(of Islaam) from which others benefit, and a righteous child who makes du’aa for him.” (Muslim and others)

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