Forgiving One Another - Sheikh Muhammad Ali

Forgiving One Another

Khutbah by Sheikh Muhammad Ali

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

My brothers and sisters in Islam, I would like you to open your ears. I would like you to allow me to borrow your hearts for the next few minutes. Insha'Allah ta'ala, if you open your heart and you listen to the khutbah with sincerity, insha'Allah ta'ala you will benefit from this khutbah. You will learn a lot from this. You will feel much better than you were the time you walked into this masjid. And this is a guarantee.

The Path to Jannah

My brothers and sisters in Islam, Allah has said:

Also, Allah has said:

If I ask you a question today — if I ask all the brothers and sisters in this masjid, and those who are watching us right now, and those who will listen to this khutbah in the future insha'Allah ta'ala — if I was to ask you one question: do you want to go to Jannah? All of you would say yes. No one among this congregation would hesitate to say "I want to go to Jannah at the end of this life."

But Allah has told us how to go to Jannah. He has said: hasten towards the forgiveness of your Lord, as well as Paradise, which is as wide as the heavens and the earth. And who is it that this Jannah was prepared for? Allah has said: أُعِدَّتْ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ — it has been prepared for those who have piety, those who have taqwa.

It is as if someone has said to Allah: "Who are the ones who have taqwa?" And Allah has answered that question immediately in the next ayah:

Those who give for the sake of Allah at the time of prosperity — فِي السَّرَّاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ — and also at the time of adversity. Those who give for the sake of Allah when they have something, and those who give for the sake of Allah when they haven't got that much.

And look at the next level — look at the next characteristics of those who will go to Jannah. May Allah make us among the people who will be residents of Jannah. Every one of us today should ask: how many of these characteristics do I have?

Number one: those who give for the sake of Allah when they have money and when they haven't got money. Then the next level: وَالْكَاظِمِينَ الْغَيْظَ — those who suppress their anger. We have anger problems these days. How much can you suppress your anger, my brothers and sisters in Islam?

And look at the next level — Allah has said: وَالْعَافِينَ عَنِ النَّاسِ — those who pardon and forgive other people. Do you have the capacity to forgive, my brothers and sisters in Islam? When someone wrongs you? When someone does something bad to you? Do you have the ability to forgive? وَاللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ — and Allah loves those who are good-doers.

The Example of Prophet Yusuf

Today in our khutbah, I have also read verses from Surah Yusuf as an example. The topic I want you to put between brackets is the word وَالْعَافِينَ عَنِ النَّاسِ — those who forgive others, those who have the capacity to forgive other people.

Allah has said in Surah Yusuf:

When we read Surah Yusuf, you feel as if it is the first time you are reading it, because it is so beautiful to read. And what happened to Prophet Yusuf — what his own brothers did to him, what Prophet Yusuf went through as a child, and when he grew up what happened to him, until Allah gave him what He gave him at the end of his life.

What did I read at the beginning of this khutbah?

That Yusuf and his brethren — they are ayat, evidences and signs to all of us. And we should benefit from this story. And what can we benefit? There are so many benefits in this story. But the one I want to talk about today is the ability to forgive, the capacity to forgive.

Look what happened to Yusuf. His brothers — we know what they did to him. But at the end, when they came to him, what did he say to them?

When he revealed himself to them, he said: "Do you know what you have done to Yusuf and his brother?" إِذْ أَنتُمْ جَاهِلُونَ — and he even made an excuse for them, saying "when you were in the state of ignorance." And from that moment they realized who they were dealing with.

And just moments before that — when Yusuf had asked the brothers to bring their younger brother the next time they came, and they brought him, and we know what Yusuf did so he could keep the youngster — what did they say?

Even when they accused Yusuf in front of him — although they didn't know it was him — when the younger brother was accused of stealing, they said: "If he has stolen something, he had a brother that used to steal before." Who was that? Prophet Yusuf. And he was there — he was the judge. They were standing in front of him. And still, after all they had done to him, they said these things about him. And what did Allah say? فَأَسَرَّهَا يُوسُفُ فِي نَفْسِهِ — Yusuf kept this to himself. He controlled his anger. These are his brothers. They know what they did to him, but still they are accusing him of things he hasn't done, and they don't even know they are saying this to him.

And at the end, when he revealed himself, what did he say to them?

He said to them: "Today there is no blame upon you. Allah will forgive you." Look at the capacity of Prophet Yusuf — the capacity to forgive. He said to his brothers, those who did all of that to him: "You are all forgiven, for the sake of Allah."

The Example of the Prophet ﷺ

My brothers and sisters in Islam, our Prophet is a great example to all of us. Allah has said:

Indeed the Prophet ﷺ is a great example to all of you — especially those who wish to meet with Allah and those who fear the Day of Judgment.

Look at what Allah has said to the Prophet ﷺ:

This is something that we are missing today as a society, as a community, as Muslim brothers and sisters in Islam. Can we forgive? Can we forgive other people? Allah said to the Prophet ﷺ: خُذِ الْعَفْوَ — take forgiveness, forgive people. وَأْمُرْ بِالْعُرْفِ — and enjoin the good. وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ الْجَاهِلِينَ — and turn away from the ignorant people.

My brothers and sisters in Islam, the Prophet ﷺ is the example that we need to follow. Look at what he has done in his life. When he was sent to mankind as a mercy to all mankind:

The people of Mecca — did they treat him well? They didn't treat him well. They kicked him out, they killed his companions. Even after he went to Medina, they went after him to attack him, to kill him, to get rid of him. And then the Prophet ﷺ — the day he came back and he conquered Mecca — how did he treat the people of Mecca? What did he say to them? "What do you expect from me today?"

Look at the people who used to be against the Prophet ﷺ — especially the leaders such as Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl, Safwan ibn Umayyah, Suhayl ibn Amr. Where did they go? They all ran away from Mecca. All of them thought that the Prophet ﷺ, if he saw them, would kill them. All of them ran away. And the Prophet ﷺ said to the people of Mecca: "What do you expect from me today?" And all of them, hoping for the best from him, said: "You are a generous brother, the son of a generous brother."

Therefore, my brothers and sisters in Islam, the Prophet ﷺ had the capacity to forgive Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl — and we know what he did to Islam and to the Muslims. He forgave Safwan ibn Umayyah — and we know what he did. Safwan ibn Umayyah had planned to kill the Prophet ﷺ by speaking to the companion Umayr ibn Wahb before he became a Muslim. He had plotted to kill the Prophet ﷺ, saying to Umayr: "If you go and kill Muhammad, I will look after your family for the rest of my life." And Umayr planned to do that. But the Prophet ﷺ received revelation from Allah, and when Umayr came to Medina the Prophet ﷺ said to him: "What brought you to Medina?" Umayr said he came to take the prisoners of war back to Mecca. And the Prophet ﷺ said: "What about the sword that you have?" SubhanAllah — the Prophet knew what he was planning. And then Umayr embraced Islam.

Who had planned all of this? Safwan ibn Umayyah. But when the Prophet ﷺ conquered Mecca, he called for Safwan and said to him: "You are forgiven." And Safwan did not embrace Islam immediately. He said: "Give me two months, let me think about it." And the Prophet ﷺ said to him: "I'll give you four months — think about it." SubhanAllah. And not only that — when the Prophet ﷺ became victorious in the Battle of Hunayn and had so much wealth, he gave Safwan ibn Umayyah so much, even though he was not even a Muslim. This is the beauty of Islam. This is the rahmah, the mercy, the forgiveness that we need to show one another.

The Example of Abu Bakr

My brothers and sisters in Islam, in the second part of the khutbah, I will give another example. If you think that those were just the Prophets who did this — look at Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr has also forgiven many times. But the famous one is the one that Allah has mentioned in Surah An-Nur.

When his own daughter Aisha, the wife of the Prophet ﷺ, was accused of committing zina — a great slander — among the people who took part in spreading that was a companion called Mistah, who was a relative of Abu Bakr. And Abu Bakr used to provide for him, used to give him money, used to look after him. But Mistah was among those who spread this news. And Abu Bakr said: "I will never give anything to Mistah." And then Allah revealed the following ayah:

"Forgive and give pardon to people. Do you not want Allah to forgive you?" When Abu Bakr heard that, what did he say? "I have forgiven Mistah, and I will give him even more than I used to give him." Look at the companions!

A Call to Forgive

Today, my brothers, unfortunately every one of us who is sitting here — most of us, the majority of us — we have things in our hearts for other Muslims, for other people. Not only for other Muslims — even for our own families. Some of us might not have spoken to their own brother for five years. We have people who have not spoken to their own sisters for ten years. We have people who are angry with their own parents, angry with their own sisters, their brothers, their children. We are upset with one another.

But look — are we harming ourselves or not? When someone has a grudge in his heart for other Muslims, for other people, this is only going to be harm to you before anybody else. Therefore, my brothers and sisters in Islam, today insha'Allah ta'ala every one of us who is sitting here — let me ask you the question: do you not love for Allah to forgive you? If you need Allah to forgive you, then forgive other human beings.

And Allah has even ordered the Prophet ﷺ to forgive the non-Muslims. You even need to forgive the non-Muslims. Allah has said in Surah Al-Ma'idah:

These are the People of the Book. They were deceitful to the Prophet ﷺ, they did bad things to him. And yet at the same time Allah said to him: فَاعْفُ عَنْهُمْ وَاصْفَحْ — forgive them and pardon them. This is the commandment from Allah.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters in Islam, today let us exercise the ability — let us exercise the moral and the akhlaq of forgiving other people. Look at what the ulema have said about this. Imam al-Hasan al-Basri said: "The greatest virtue that Allah can give to a Muslim is the virtue of having the ability to forgive."

But most of us today — we can't even forgive the little things. We get angry so quickly. And what did Allah say at the beginning? وَالْكَاظِمِينَ الْغَيْظَ — those who suppress their anger, those who keep their anger under control. And the Prophet ﷺ said to that companion who asked him for advice:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6116)

"Do not get angry." And he said that to him three times.

The Benefits of Forgiving Others

Therefore, my brothers and sisters in Islam, we have seen the virtue of forgiving other people. When you forgive other people:

Number one — Allah is going to forgive you. The moment you forgive other people, Allah will forgive you. The moment you forgive other people, Allah will love you. The moment you forgive other people, the people will love you. The moment you forgive other people, you will get the respect of other people.

Forgiving other people — a lot of us, if not all of us, think it is a point of weakness. When you want to forgive someone, Shaytan will come to you and say: "This is weakness. Why are you forgiving such and such? Take revenge. Harm them. Wish bad things for them." But look what the Prophet ﷺ has said. I want you to listen to this hadith, all my brothers and sisters in Islam:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2588)

If Shaytan used to say to you: "If you forgive people, they will think you are weak" — from today, say to Shaytan: "I will forgive people — those who did small things to me and those who did big things to me, those who are close to me and those who are far away from me." The Prophet ﷺ has said: if a slave of Allah forgives others, Allah will increase for him one thing. What is that? It is integrity and respect. Wallahi, the more we forgive, the more respect we will get — in front of Allah and in the eyes of the people.

Therefore, my brothers, from today insha'Allah ta'ala, we want to forgive one another. Those of us who are sitting together right now in this masjid — every one of us should release that negative energy that you have in your heart. Forgive everyone. Wallahi, the moment that you forgive people, you will feel much better.

Among the virtues of forgiving other people is that you will get better before anybody else. The moment you say: "O Allah, anyone who has done anything to me — whether small or big, whether I know it or I don't know it — O Allah, I forgive them, I pardon them." What will happen? Allah will automatically forgive you. And you yourself will feel much better. You will feel so much relief in your heart, you will feel much lighter.

Unfortunately today, so many of us have become unproductive — and the reason for this is that we have so much hatred in our hearts, so much that is occupying us. But the moment that you forgive other people, you will feel light, my brothers.

Allah has said:

This is a medicine from Allah. You don't need to go to a psychiatrist, you don't need to go to a psychologist, you don't need to go to a doctor and say "How can I sleep better tonight? Give me treatment." There is no treatment better than forgiving other people. Wallahi, when you forgive people, you feel much better.

The Companion of Jannah

I'm going to finish with this hadith. The companion about whom the Prophet ﷺ said three times "He is among the people of Jannah" — Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As went to his house to see what this companion does that is so special. He stayed with him for three nights and didn't see anything major from him. He left and said: "I heard the Prophet saying that you are among the people of Jannah. You must do something very special — what is it?" And the companion finally said: "All I do is what you have seen." And Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As pressed him further. And the companion said:

"I never go to bed at night having any grudges against anyone in my heart."

Try that tonight. Go home and sleep, and make sure that you have nothing against anyone in your heart. And see how you feel. SubhanAllah. Allah will forgive you. Allah is going to love you. The people will love you. It's a guarantee. Wallahi, you are going to feel better.

A Personal Pledge

And let me tell you, my brothers and sisters in Islam, from this minbar — I want to say to you: all of you are forgiven from me. Whatever you have said about me before, whatever you will say about me in the future — everything, you are forgiven. I have forgiven every human being, and I live a comfortable life, alhamdulillah. I have nothing against anybody. Why should I have anything against anybody? My forgiveness depends on forgiving other people. If I don't forgive you, I might cause you to go to hell — and why do I want that? Jannah has enough space for all of us. So why should I be against you? Why should I have hatred for you in my heart?

Therefore, my brothers — one person who is not going to come to you on the Day of Judgment and say "You have done something to me" is Muhammad Ali. That is the guarantee you will have: at minimum, Muhammad Ali will have nothing against you. I have forgiven all of you, my brothers and sisters in Islam. And why am I forgiving you? Because I need the forgiveness of my Lord. That's all. It's not because you are going to give me money. It's just because I need Allah to forgive me. That's it. Because we cannot go to Jannah without the forgiveness of Allah, without the mercy of Allah.

Therefore, my brothers — those who have said something bad about you, those who cheated you, those who took money from you, those who are from your family, those who are far away from you — everyone, please forgive.

Unfortunately today we have the same people who pray in the same masjid who cannot even give salam to each other. What's the point of praying? The same people who live in the same locality can't go to the same masjid. The same people that live in the same area can't sit together and eat together. We turn our backs on each other in the same masjid. Why? Forgive. Wallahi, the moment you forgive, you feel much better. That's my message to all of you, my brothers — the message of forgiveness.

Wallahi, you will feel better. Insha'Allah ta'ala you will feel better. And you will say: "Alhamdulillah, I have forgiven everyone." And insha'Allah ta'ala, on the Day of Judgment, you will get the reward from Allah.

Brothers, at the end of the salah — please, before you go home, give a hug to the brother who is next to you. Forgive, and say: "My brothers, you are all forgiven." And insha'Allah ta'ala you will see the brotherhood and the love that we all can have for one another insha'Allah ta'ala.

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah.