A Letter to a Dear One — Page 32
32 Letter to a Dear One hope of a reward—like providing mankind with ways and means of comfort and assistance in general progress. Allah is Merciful—He rewards good deeds manifold. Man should try to exhibit this attribute in him and should reciprocate good deeds, service and hard work in an excellent and proportionally enhanced manner. Allah is Forgiving, listens to man’s repentance and forgives and obliterates his sins and even erases the consequences of the sins. Man should try and forgive mistakes of fellow human beings according to the situation. Where deserving, he should forget their mistakes and to erase the ill effects from his heart, having first forgiven them. A legend about a holy man narrates that his slave once committed some mistake upon which the holy man looked angry. His slave quoted from the Holy Qur’ ā n, “those who suppress anger. ” On hearing it, the holy man’s face became calm and he smiled. The slave then quoted the Qur’ ā n again, “ and pardon men,” upon which he was told that he was forgiven. The slave completed the Qur’ ā nic quote, “ and Allah loves those who do good. ” The holy man laughed aloud and told the slave that he was freed. Allah describes believers in the Holy Qur’ ā n as, G ã ≈ I ÀI±M©H¿M ö O Z S ÌI©H † H FOZGy I h£RÀ ö O Z I ãG“ G ãÃI•£G ∑ M ö Z G y G ÙMÃG¸M ö O Z G ãÃI¿I¶«G¼M ö O ZGy [3:135] “those who suppress anger and pardon men; and Allah loves those who do good. ” However, Allah is Just and punishes a crime equitably and does not reward good works any less than their merit. While Allah is Forgiver of sins and Acceptor of repentance, He is also Severe in punishment. He punishes sins, and where appropriate, is very Severe in grasp. God’s Justice and Mercy Some people have not truly understood Allah’s attribute of Justice and Mercy and have been misguided. In order to fulfill the requisite of these two Divine attributes, they have created the idea of penance and atonement. In order to execute this tenet, they have had to consider a mere mortal, son of God and a partner in Divinity. There is no mutual clash in the Divine attributes of Mercy and Justice. It is their failure in