Islam Commands Us to Do Good , Avoid Evil and be forgiving to Others

Islam Commands Us to Do Good and Avoid Evil

You who have iman! if you have taqwa of Allah, He will give you discrimination and erase your bad actions from you and forgive you. Allah's favour is indeed immense. (Surat al- Anfal: 29)

Muslims are very well aware of the good and bad as described in the Qur'an, and spend their whole lives implementing that awareness. Yet they have another important responsibility on their shoulders, and that is to invite others to see the truth, avoid evil and live by the morality of the Qur'an. That is why believers spend their whole lives telling people about the difference between good and evil. Allah has given the following command to the faithful, "Let there be a community among you who call to the good, and enjoin the right, and forbid the wrong. They are the ones who have success." (Surah Al 'Imran: 104)
Islam commands us to protect the poor, the orphan, the needy and to do good to others.

Furthermore, Allah also stresses in the Qur'an how those who abide by the commandment are much more auspicious than other people:

You are the best nation ever to be produced before mankind. You enjoin the right, forbid the wrong and have iman in Allah. If the People of the Book were to have iman, it would be better for them. Some of them are muminun but most of them are deviators. (Surah Al 'Imran: 110)

The faithful do not only perform that Qur'anic duty in respect of those people who do not know the difference between right and wrong and have no knowledge of religion, but also in respect of the faithful themselves. That is because people do not only fall into error out of ignorance, but also sometime out of forgetfulness, or by mistake, or because of their earthly desires. That being the case, the faithful also encourage good and prevent evil by reminding each other of the commandments of the Qur'an. They warn each other that only those who do good and devoutly carry out their religious obligations in this world will be rewarded with paradise, and that those who fail to avoid evil will suffer the torments of hell. That delightful responsibility means they never feel wearied or discouraged, and continue to warn others, compassionately and affectionately, no matter what mistakes they might have made. That is because in many verses Allah reveals that he loves those who have patience, and calls on the faithful to be patient when practicing the morality of the Qur'an. He reveals this in these terms in the verses:

You who have iman! seek help in steadfastness and salat. Allah is with the steadfast. (Surat al-Baqara: 153)

Except for those who are steadfast and do right actions. They will receive forgiveness and a large reward.(Surah Hud: 11)

Islam Commands us to Repay Evil with Good

A good action and a bad action are not the same. Repel the bad with something better and, if there is enmity between you and someone else, he will be like a bosom friend. (Surah Fussilat: 34)

Ward off evil with what is better. We know very well what they express. (Surat al-Mu'minun: 96)

As we can see from these verses, Allah has promised the faithful that they will be able to secure positive results as long as they adopt a pleasant attitude in the face of wrongdoing. It is emphasised that even if the person he is dealing with is an enemy the believer can still establish a warm friendship with him. Responding to evil with good is also an essential part of believers' understanding of compassion. When he sees that someone is adopting an attitude that will not be pleasing to Allah, the believer first of all considers how that is going to affect the other person in the hereafter, and approaches him with toleration and humility, refusing to become puffed up with pride.

Believers may come across people with very different characters over the course of their lives. Yet they will not change their view of morality in line with the attitudes of the people they meet. The other side may speak mockingly, or use ugly words, or get angry and even behave in a hostile manner. Yet the true believer never stops being polite, modest and compassionate. He will not respond to ugly words with more of the same. He will not laugh at those who laugh at him, nor answer anger with anger. He will be patient and tolerant. In the face of insulting behaviour he will behave in such a way as to symbolise proper morality and with such compassion that the other side will be ashamed. That is the morality recommended to us by our Prophet. In one of the hadiths, he says, 'Be tolerant, so that others may be tolerant of you.' (Ahmad) In another hadith, he called on the faithful in these terms: 'None of you must be the kind of weak person who says, 'I go along with other people. If other people behave well, then so will I. If they behave badly, that is what I will do.' On the contrary, you must curb your passions to do good if others do so, and not to behave unjustly if others behave badly.' (Tirmidhi)

In the Qur'an, our Prophet was told to be forgiving in the face of the betrayal by some of the children of Israel:

...They have forgotten a good portion of what they were reminded of. You will never cease to come upon some act of treachery on their part, except for a few of them. Yet pardon them, and overlook. Allah loves good-doers. (Surat al-Ma'ida: 13)

As we have seen from this verse, Allah commanded our Prophet to be forgiving, even in the face of betrayal by one part of the children of Israel. One must also not forget that poor morality being displayed by someone else is no justification for doing the same thing oneself. Each individual is solely responsible to Allah for his actions. What is more, being with compassion, affection and proper morality in the face of bad behaviour by someone else is, according to the Qur'an, itself a sign of superior morality. That is because it reveals the extent of a believer's devotion to God. One verse reveals the reward that such a pleasing attitude will bring:

Those who do good will have the best and more! Neither dust nor debasement will darken their faces. They are the Companions of the Garden, remaining in it timelessly, for ever. (Surah Yunus: 26)

Islam Commands The Faithful Always To Be Forgiving

One of the important signs of compassion is for a person to be able to be forgiving. This is how Allah calls upon His servants to be forgiving in the Qur'an:

Make allowances for people, command what is right, and turn away from the ignorant. (Surat al A'raf: 199)

This is something that people may find difficult, but is an attitude that will be well rewarded in the sight of Allah. People may well be caught up in anger and refuse to forgive a mistake. But Allah has revealed to the faithful that it is better to forgive, and has recommended this morality to them:

The repayment of a bad action is one equivalent to it.But if someone pardons and puts things right, his reward is with Allah... (Surat ash-Shura: 40)

In another verse, Allah reveals that "But if someone is steadfast and forgives,that is the most resolute course to follow." (Surat ash-Shura: 43) and emphasizes that this is a very superior form of morality. In the words "Those of you possessing affluence and ample wealth should not make oaths that they will not give to their relatives and the very poor and those who have made hijra in the way of Allah. They should rather pardon and overlook. Would you not love Allah to forgive you? Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (Surat an-Nur: 22) Allah encourages the faithful to consider their own position when it comes to being forgiving. That is because everyone wants Allah to forgive and protect and show him mercy. In the same way, we all hope that other people will excuse and forgive us if we make a mistake. Allah has thus commanded the faithful to treat others in the same way that they would like to be treated themselves. That is an important responsibility, and one that encourages the faithful to be forgiving towards one another. Our Prophet encouraged the faithful to be forgiving in the words, 'Allah has not failed to exalt any man who has forgiven unfairness or cruelty.' (Ahmad)

Since believers know that they may make a mistake at any moment, they behave tolerantly towards others. That is because those verses in the Qur'an that deal with repentance make it clear that the important thing is not making a mistake but rather being determined not to repeat a mistake as soon as one realizes one has done so. One of these verses reads:

Allah only accepts the tawba of those who do evil in ignorance and then quickly make tawba after doing it. Allah turns towards such people. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. (Surat an-Nisa': 17)

Under these conditions, that reveal the sincerity of the individual, the faithful behave most forgivingly and compassionately towards one another. If someone who has committed an error sincerely repents having done so, then they cannot judge that person for his past deeds. Furthermore, even if the faithful are totally in the right and the other side completely in the wrong, they still have no compunction about forgiveness. That is because Allah recommends such behaviour as an example of proper morality, "Those who give in times of both ease and hardship, those who control their rage and pardon other people - Allah loves the good-doers - " (Surah Al 'Imran: 134)

When it comes to forgiveness, the faithful do not distinguish between great and small errors, and do not tailor their view of forgiveness accordingly. Someone may have committed an error and led to great loss of life or great financial loss, thus inflicting severe harm on others. Yet the faithful know that everything that happens does so by the permission of Allah and as part of His destiny, and therefore place themselves in the hands of Allah when it comes to such things, and feel no personal anger.

Alternatively, someone may have transgressed this Qur'anic rule and exceeded the bounds set by Allah. Yet it is only Allah who can judge that person's behaviour. That means that it is never up to the faithful to judge or refuse to forgive anybody on any matter. If a person is truly sorry and repentant then he will have his reward only in the sight of Allah. In fact, Allah has revealed in many verses that apart from 'ascribing partners to Him,' he will forgive the errors of the faithful if they sincerely repent. Since the faithful cannot know that, they simply forgive in the manner revealed to them By Allah, and if the Qur'an has anything to say on a particular subject they treat the person who has committed an error in the light of that.

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Sallam Alaykum / Peace be unto you

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