Ahmadiyyat or The True Islam — Page 180
180 Islam defines the restraints to be placed upon the working of this instinct, which are necessary to convert it into a moral quality, in the following verse: 'If a man commit a trespass against you, you may inflict upon him punishment proportionate thereto. ' 85 This is the general rule and regulates the conduct of those whose reason and judgment are not sufficiently developed to appreciate the niceties of moral rules of conduct. For those whose reason and judgment have been better developed a further restriction is placed in the verse: 'The reward of those who forgive the trespass of others, intending thereby to effect a reformation, is with God. God loves not the transgressors. ' 86 A person who forgives, when forgiveness would promote disorder, and one who punishes when punish- ment would harden the offender, are both transgressors, and God loves not such conduct. In other words, a restriction is placed on the exercise of the feeling of pity, which leads to forgiveness, and of revenge, which leads to punishment. It is laid down that when forgive- ness is more likely to produce a good impression on the offender and to save him from further wrong-doing, pity 85 Al-Baqarah, 2:195. 86 Al-Sh u r a , 42: 41.