What does Islam say about forgiving others?
The Prophet ﷺ forgave the people of Ṭāʾif, the people of Makkah, the ones who had harmed him personally. What the scholars drew about the transformative power of pardon.
10 passages from 7 books in the library
Islam holds forgiveness to be transformative and beloved to Allah, who Himself pardons abundantly. Imam al-Ghazali, in the Iḥyāʾ, relays that when the verse 'Adopt forgiveness' was revealed, Jibrīl explained it as Allah's command to forgive those who wrong you. Al-Ghazali stresses that the servant leaves Allah's door only with forgiveness, that one should always seek pardon, and that wrongs against people — such as backbiting — require seeking the wronged person's forgiveness. Ibn Kathir relates the saying of Wahb ibn Munabbih that Allah's forgiveness and pardon come closer than His anger, mirroring the Prophet's own pardon of those who harmed him.
Drawn from the classical sources below — in the scholars' own words.
The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 7 books by Imam al-Ghazali and Ibn Kathir — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"no escape except in His generosity and pardon. You will not leave His door except with forgiveness"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"Our seeking forgiveness needs much forgiveness. She does not disparage the movement of the tongue"
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"Another said, I fear being denied repentance more than being denied forgiveness, for forgiveness"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"forgiveness a hundred times, and seeks forgiveness for himself and his parents a hundred times,"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"seeking forgiveness, supplicate and seek forgiveness. If you encounter what inspires hope, ask."
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"verse, Adopt forgiveness. Gabriel explained, Allah commands you to forgive those who wrong you,"
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"you have backbitten her, so seek her forgiveness. Thus, it is necessary to seek forgiveness if"
14th century · Bosra, Syria
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
More on Ibn Kathir →
· Provenance →
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"Wab ibn Munabbi said, Tell him, verily, forgiveness and pardon come to me closer than anger and"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"I ask You to grant me, I seek Your forgiveness, so forgive me, and I call upon You, so respond"
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"I ask You to grant me, I seek Your forgiveness, so forgive me, and I call upon You, so respond"
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