Part of Lives of the Salaf — the Pious Predecessors (series completed)
· Lesson 36 of 72
A summary of the life of the Salaf between words and deeds | Episode (36) | Forbearance, pardon, pardon, and condemnation of anger
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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The lives of the salaf between words and deeds.
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Forbearance, restraint, and pardon.
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The condemnation of anger and its remedy.
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'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
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"The first reward a forbearing person receives for his forbearance
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is that the people become his supporters against the ignorant fool."
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A man reviled Al-Hasan ibn 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and exceeded all bounds in doing so.
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So Al-Hasan said to him, "As for you, you have spared nothing.
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Yet what Allah knows of me is far greater."
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'Amr ibn al-'As (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
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"I endure a word
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that is harsher on me than grasping a burning coal.
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Nothing compels me to endure it
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except the fear of another word even worse than it."
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Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
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We were sitting with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
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and he said, "A man from the people of Paradise is about to appear before you."
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Thereupon, a man from the Ansar came out.
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On the following day,
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the Prophet (peace be upon him) said the exact same thing,
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and that same man came out as he had the first time.
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On the third day,
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the Prophet (peace be upon him) repeated his statement once again,
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and that same man appeared in the exact same state as before.
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When the Prophet (peace be upon him) stood up to leave,
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'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As (may Allah be pleased with them) followed the man
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and said, "I have quarreled with my father
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and sworn not to enter his house for three days.
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If you see fit to lodge me with you until that time passes, I would deeply appreciate it."
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The man replied, "Yes."
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Anas continued:
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'Abdullah used to relate that he stayed overnight with him for those three nights,
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yet he did not see him stand up to pray during the night at all,
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except that whenever he stirred and turned over in his bed,
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he remembered Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, and proclaimed His greatness,
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until he arose for the Fajr prayer.
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'Abdullah said,
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"However, I never heard him speak anything but good."
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When the three nights had passed
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and I was on the verge of belittling his deeds,
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I said, "O servant of Allah,
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there was in fact no anger or boycott between my father and me.
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But I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say three times,
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'A man from the people of Paradise is about to appear before you,'
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and you appeared on all three occasions.
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So I wished to seek shelter with you to see what deeds you perform,
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so that I might follow your example.
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Yet I have not seen you perform a great abundance of deeds.
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What then has raised you to the status that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) spoke of?"
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The man replied, "It is nothing more than what you have seen."
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'Abdullah said: "When I turned to leave, he called me back and said,
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'It is nothing more than what you have seen,
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except that I harbor no malice in my heart toward any Muslim,
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nor do I envy anyone for any good that Allah has bestowed upon him.'"
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'Abdullah said:
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"This is what has raised you to that rank,
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and it is precisely what we cannot bear."
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Al-Ahnaf ibn Qays (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
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"I am not naturally forbearing,
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but I feign and cultivate forbearance."
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How true are the words of the poet:
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"Should I chase away every fly whenever it buzzes around?
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If so, that fly would hold far too much dignity in my eyes!"
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Some articulate scholars said:
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"Nothing protects honor
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like pardoning and turning away."
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A poet said:
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"In forbearance lies a deterrent that restrains the foolish from harm,
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while reckless anger serves only as an incitement.
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So do not be reckless and foolish,
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lest you regret it when regret brings you no benefit—
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just as the cheated trader regrets his loss after the deal is done."
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A man came to 'Ali ibn al-Husayn (may Allah have mercy on him)
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and said to him,
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"So-and-so has harmed you and slandered your character."
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'Ali replied,
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"Come, let us go to him."
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So the man set out with him,
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thinking that 'Ali was going to avenge himself.
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But when 'Ali reached the man, he said:
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"O person,
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if what you said about me is true,
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may Allah forgive me.
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And if what you said about me is false,
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may Allah forgive you."
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It used to be said:
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"Beware the false pride of anger,
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for it inevitably leads you to the humiliation of apologizing."
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A man of letters said:
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"The anger of an ignorant person manifests in his speech,
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while the anger of a wise person manifests in his action."
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A wise man said:
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"If you remain silent before an ignorant person,
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you have given him a most thorough answer
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and inflicted upon him a most painful punishment."
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A poet said:
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"Refraining from reviling a despicable person out of self-respect
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is more painful to him than being reviled in return."
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Another poet said:
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"Never return a speech to a fool,
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save for responding to a greeting he has offered you.
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For whenever you disturb him, you disturb a decaying carcass
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that only increases in stench the more you stir it."
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'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
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"Many a temporary humiliation endured with dignity
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has bequeathed to me long-lasting honor and glory."
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Al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
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"The noble character of a Muslim is best exemplified by forgiveness."
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A man entered upon 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him)
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and began complaining to him about a person who had wronged him, slandering the offender's honor.
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'Umar said to him:
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"That you meet Allah with your grievance intact
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is better for you than meeting Him after having retaliated and diminished it."
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A man came to one of the salaf (may Allah have mercy on him) and said,
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"So-and-so is slandering you."
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He replied, "Convey my greetings of peace to him,
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and let him know that he has impelled me to seek forgiveness from Allah."
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Al-Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
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"The believer is forbearing and does not act ignorantly;
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if others act ignorantly toward him, he remains forbearing and does not wrong them;
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if he is wronged, he forgives and does not sever ties;
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if ties are severed with him, he restores them and does not withhold;
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and if others are stingy toward him, he remains patient."
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A man used to slander 'Umar ibn Dharr (may Allah have mercy on him) and revile him,
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so 'Umar ibn Dharr met him and said:
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"O person, do not exceed the bounds in reviling us,
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but leave room for reconciliation.
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For we do not punish one who disobeys Allah concerning us
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with anything greater than obeying Allah concerning him."
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A man spoke harshly and insultingly to 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him),
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so 'Umar said to him:
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"You wished for Satan to incite me through the pride of authority,
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so that I might strike back at you today and face your retribution tomorrow in the Hereafter.
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Depart now, may Allah have mercy on you."
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Al-Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
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"Four traits—whoever possesses them, Allah safeguards him from Satan
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and forbids the Fire from touching him:
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he who controls himself in times of desire and fear,
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and in times of lust and anger."
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Ja'far ibn Muhammad (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
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"Anger is the key to every evil."
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A slave spoke harshly to his master, so the master said:
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"I endure the offense of this servant, as you see,
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only to discipline my own soul thereby.
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For if I can show patience toward a slave when faced with what I dislike,
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I will be even more patient toward those who are not my slaves."
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A man came to Wahb ibn Munabbih (may Allah have mercy on him) and said,
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"I passed by so-and-so while he was reviling you."
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Wahb grew upset and said,
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"Could Satan find no messenger other than you?!"
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Shortly thereafter, that same man who had reviled him approached;
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he greeted Wahb with peace,
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so Wahb returned his greeting, extended his hand, shook his,
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and seated him right beside him.
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Ahmad ibn Abi al-Hawari said:
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Abu Sulayman al-Darani (may Allah have mercy on him) asked me,
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"From what perspective does a wise person remove blame
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from someone who has mistreated him?"
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I replied, "I do not know."
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He said, "From the realization that Allah Almighty is the One testing him through that person."
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Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) was subjected to trial during the reign of Al-Ma'mun,
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then Al-Mu'tasim, and then Al-Wathiq,
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on account of the Magnificent Qur'an.
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He endured severe harm,
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was cast into prison for approximately twenty-eight months,
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and was struck with more than thirty lashes—
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excruciatingly severe and brutal lashes.
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He lost consciousness,
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losing his senses repeatedly during the flogging.
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Yet he pardoned everyone who participated in his persecution,
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except for the people of innovation.
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In doing so, he used to recite the words of Allah Almighty:
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◁ Let them pardon and forgive. ▷
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“And let not those who possess dignity and ease among you swear not to give to the near of kin and to the needy, and to fugitives for the cause of Allah. Let them forgive and show indulgence. Yearn ye not that Allah may forgive you? Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.” (24:22)
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He would say:
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"How does it benefit you that your Muslim brother be punished on your account?"
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And Allah Almighty has said:
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◁ So whoever pardons and makes reconciliation, his reward is due from Allah. ▷
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On the Day of Resurrection, a caller will announce:
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"Let those whose reward is due from Allah stand up!"
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And none shall stand except those who pardoned others.
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A man used to make implicit insults against Judge Muhammad ibn Bashir (may Allah have mercy on him),
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until news of this reached Ibn Bashir.
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He sent word to him, saying:
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"Indeed, no one is incapable of doing evil,
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whereas good is attained only by those possessing beautiful patience.
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So desist from what has reached me concerning you,
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for that is far more fitting and honorable for you."
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Ibn al-Qalanisi said:
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I heard Shaykh Taqiyy al-Din (may Allah have mercy on him)
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relate the conversation that took place between him and the Sultan
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when they were alone in that private alcove where they sat.
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The Sultan had sought a formal legal opinion from the Shaykh regarding the execution of certain judges
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because of the criticism they had leveled against him,
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showing him ruling edicts issued by some of them calling for his deposition from power
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and the swearing of allegiance to Al-Jashnakir.
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The Sultan said, "They also rose up against you and harmed you as well,"
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attempting to urge him thereby to issue a decree sanctioning their execution,
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His resentment toward them was solely
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because of their efforts to depose him
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and give allegiance to al-Jashnakir.
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Sheikh Murad understood the Sultan's intentions,
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so he began to honor the judges and scholars,
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denying that any harm would come to any of them.
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He said to him, "If you kill these men,
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you will find no one like them after they are gone."
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The Sultan said to him, "They have harmed you
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and sought to kill you repeatedly."
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The Sheikh replied, "Whoever harmed me is forgiven,
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and as for whoever harmed Allah and His Messenger,
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Allah will take retribution from him;
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I do not seek vengeance for myself."
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He kept reasoning with him until he showed them leniency and pardoned them.
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He said: The Maliki chief judge, Ibn Makhluf, used to say,
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"We have never seen the like of Ibn Taymiyyah.
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We incited people against him,
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yet we could not prevail over him;
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but when he gained power over us,
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he pardoned us and pleaded on our behalf."
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Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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One of his senior companions used to say,
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"I wish I were to my friends as he was to his enemies and adversaries!
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I never saw him pray against any of them at all;
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rather, he used to pray for them."
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Ibn al-Qayyim continued: "I came to him one day with glad tidings of the death of his greatest enemy,
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the most fierce in enmity and harm toward him.
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But he rebuked me, showed his displeasure, and uttered the prayer of loss (*Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un*).
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Then he immediately stood up, went to the house of his deceased enemy's family,
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offered them his condolences, and said,
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'I am in his place for you;
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no matter what you need assistance with,
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I will surely help you with it,'
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along with similar words of comfort.
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They were rejoiced by this, prayed for him,
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and greatly revered his nobility."
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May Allah have mercy on him and be pleased with him.