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Finally, finally, finally done with this one! Sorry for the delay.
I think forgiveness is something really undervalued. Whenever someone hurts us,
we often become so preoccupied with how we could get even with that person, or how we can get rid of that person from our lives, because we think that it will make us feel better. We don't realize that forgiveness is the best way to erase the feeling of hurt we have. When I listened to the explanation by Nouman Ali Khan of the 159th ayah (often translated as verse, but really means a sign) of Surah 'Ali 'Imran, I was so surprised of how much Islam stresses forgiveness and how practical the instructions Allah gave Muhammad (peace be upon him) are.
First Allah tells us to forgive those who wronged us, which is good, but then
Allah takes us a step further by telling us to ask Him to forgive them. Now if you are asking Allah to forgive someone, how can you still have any feeling of anger left for that person? But that's not enough. In that specific situation, Allah tells the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to take council in the companions who had disappointed him. The wisdom in this is that even if we forgive someone, that person may feel like things are not the same as they used to be. So when you take someone's opinion on a matter, it would make him feel like things are cool again between the two of you. Makes sense, no?
And to end, here is another strong ayah from the Quran about forgiveness: Allah says, "And the retribution for an evil act is an evil one like it, but whoever pardons and makes reconciliation - his reward is [due] from Allah. Indeed, He does not like wrongdoers" (42:40). In Islam, there is nothing wrong with justice. Someone can justifiably punished for harming someone else. In the next part of the ayah, Allah tell us that if we forgive instead, we will be rewarded with a reward that is only limited by Himself. So what would you rather do, have your revenge with the possibility that you might go far, or forgive and be rewarded?
