Forgiveness

Whoever approaches Me walking, I will come to him running; and he who meets Me with sins equivalent to the whole world, I will greet him with forgiveness equal to it.

- Mishkat Al-Masabih

The right way to forgive is in humility. To realize that the burden of forgiveness is not on us, but with God. And that He forgives easily. Forgiveness will be burdensome for us as long as we try to forgive others by ourselves. But then, who are we to judge them? We should only ask God to forgive them.

God is in all of us. Not forgiving others is tantamount to not forgiving the God within others. Not forgiving only further injures us and makes our life miserable because we are not forgiving God, and instead judging God and His will. True forgiving requires humility and faith. It is only then that hurt and anger and sadness will ease. Often we are hurt because of our own expectations and not because of others' actions. We are angry because we are blinded to the idea of the goodness within others, in fact that there is God within others. We are sad because we feel that something that belonged to us is taken away. But over time, each of these misconceptions melt away when we open the window of faith and fully accept the sunshine of God's will. God gives, and God takes away. Others are mere instruments of His will.

Could a finger on one's left hand really not forgive another finger on one's right hand when one pinches it? Dont these very same fingers come and clasp together in prayer only a moment later?

It is said that to err is human, but to forgive is divine. It does not mean that forgiving makes us divine, but it does take us closer to God, because there is divinity in all of us all the time. More importantly, it means that while only humans can do wrong and sin, only God can forgive.