Forgiveness in Judaism, Islam and other non-Christian religions

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Years ago, I heard one Catholic say he told somebody of another faith or from a sect something about forgiving those who do wrong against us. He seemed to think the Christian faith to be the only one where people forgive other people because God has forgiven us first. Now in some articles I read there seemed to be some forgiveness practiced in other faiths as well, some conditionally and some unconditionally.
Your thoughts on this? All of any faith are welcome!
 
Forgiveness is nearly as important in judaism as it is in christianity.

Forgiveness is theme that is severely lacking in Islam.
  • note this is in the context of a human being forgiving another.
 
Forgiveness in Islam!

"Show forgiveness, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the foolish (i.e., don’t punish them).’’ (7:199)

"So overlook (O Muhammad (PBUH)), their faults with gracious forgiveness.’’ (15:85)

"Let them pardon and forgive. Do you not love that Allah should forgive you?’’ (24:22)

"And who pardon men; verily, Allah loves Al-Muhsinun (the good-doers)’’ (3:134)

"And verily, whosoever shows patience and forgives, that would truly be from the things recommended by Allah.’’ (42:43)

The Book of Forgiveness in Riyadh us-Saliheen (a famous book of ahadith)

I love this hadith, which shows how much Allah loves to forgive us. Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "By the One in Whose Hand my soul is! If you do not commit sins, Allah would replace you with a people who would commit sins and seek forgiveness from Allah; and Allah will certainly forgive them.’’

About forgiving other people, my favorite is this ayah, which was revealed when Abu Bakr had stopped supporting his relative for slandering his daughter: Allah said: Let not those among you who are endued with grace and amplitude of means resolve by oath against helping their kinsmen, those in want, and those who have left their homes in Allah’s cause: let them forgive and overlook, do you not wish that Allah should forgive you? For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

And that was enough to make Abu Bakr forgive this man who slandered his own daughter! That he wanted Allah’s forgiveness, so he forgave other people.

Here’s a chapter in Riyadh us Saliheen called Forgiveness of the Ignorant.
 
That took you some time, Sister Amy. 😃 I suppose you had to look in your notes first.

Sure there are some messages of inter-personal forgiveness in islam. But it seems like this is hardly taken seriously by muslims. Like where do we hear muslims telling fellow muslims to forgive the jews? to forgive the americans? to forgive people attacking islam? the hardest people to forgive are those who killed your own children. like what the Amish christian community in the U.S. did after a madman massacred their children in school. jesus was forgiving to the very end. while mohammad was forgiving in the beginning, but was vengeful halfway through his career.

this is the reason why i said what i said above.
 
AgnosTheist said:
That took you some time, Sister Amy. 😃 I suppose you had to look in your notes first.
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My notes? I’m at work and don’t have the luxury of notes. I replied to this post as soon as I saw it. (I usually review my “subscribed threads” before looking for new ones.) I gave you links and everything this time, with loads of ayaat. You should say “thank you!”
Sure there are some messages of inter-personal forgiveness in islam.
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Some? You don’t have to go far to find them!
But it seems like this is hardly taken seriously by muslims. Like where do we hear muslims telling fellow muslims to forgive the jews? to forgive the americans? to forgive people attacking islam? the hardest people to forgive are those who killed your own children. like what the Amish christian community in the U.S. did after a madman massacred their children in school.
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Forgive Jews for what, exactly? I’ve never been harmed by a Jew so I don’t see what I need to forgive a Jew for?

Forgive Americans for what, exactly? I’m kind of confused. :confused:

Did you hear the story about the two Muslim boys killed in Raleigh? Their parents donated their organs.
 
Sister_Amy said:
Forgive Jews for what, exactly? I’ve never been harmed by a Jew so I don’t see what I need to forgive a Jew for?
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Sister, you are in a deadly denial of muslim anti-semitism.
Sister_Amy said:
Did you hear the story about the two Muslim boys killed in Raleigh? Their parents donated their organs.
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No I didnt. Can you give me your source for that? Thanks. 🙂
 
Sister_Amy said:
Tell me what the Jews have done that requires forgiveness from Muslims. That was my question. Can’t you answer it?
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re-possession of their holy land.
Sister_Amy said:
abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=6061543
myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/story/414395.html
abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=6073523
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Sister, i was referring to murder. That was an accident. And it was the mother’s fault. She failed to halt her kids from darting in front of rushing vehicles.
 
AgnosTheist said:
re-possession of their holy land.
Click to expand...
Not sure I know what you’re talking. Please explain what crime the Jews have committed against the Muslims for which the Muslims must forgive them.

I’m beginning to wonder, since you mentioned the teachings of Judaism and Christianity promote forgiveness of people… do Jews and Christians forgive the crimes against them? Or do they use them as an excuse to go to war?
 
Sister_Amy said:
Not sure I know what you’re talking. Please explain what crime the Jews have committed against the Muslims for which the Muslims must forgive them.
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I told you its about the palestinian conflict. Now you tell me why there is too much hatred for jews among muslims?
Sister_Amy said:
I’m beginning to wonder, since you mentioned the teachings of Judaism and Christianity promote forgiveness of people… do Jews and Christians forgive the crimes against them? Or do they use them as an excuse to go to war?
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You know, if jews & christians are as vengeful as muslims, they would have annihilated you by now.
 
AgnosTheist said:
Forgiveness is nearly as important in judaism as it is in christianity…]
  • note this is in the context of a human being forgiving another.
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That’s exactly the context I wanted to explore, AgnosTheist. Thank you for this timely note. It sure helps delimitate the topic!
 
However, I certainly did not wanted to have people of one faith discuss the non-forgiveness of people of other faith.
Now, AgnosTheist, are you Jewish? I had thought you were not!
Moreover, are all the Muslims of the world against all the Jews of the Land of Israel? It’s hard to read the consciences of so many people!!
Even not all Muslim Palestinians hate the Israeli Jews, even though many might just hate the Israeli Army and the Israeli Jewish authorities. Again, it doesn’t mean it’s all the Palestinian Muslims.
And finally, I understand Sister Amy is not a Muslim by birth. Even if she had been, hatred is not an automatic given for a Muslim… I don’t think so!
 
AgnosTheist said:
I told you its about the palestinian conflict. Now you tell me why there is too much hatred for jews among muslims?
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No that doesn’t answer my question. The “Palestinian Conflict” has roots and origins. So, have the Jews committed a crime against the Muslims which the Muslims need to forgive? If so, say what it is.
You know, if jews & christians are as vengeful as muslims, they would have annihilated you by now.
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It wasn’t Muslims who had pogroms against Jews. It wasn’t the Muslims that had a holocaust. It wasn’t the Muslims who tried to annihilate the Jews. And it is only the most ignorant among the Muslims who associate Jews with Israeli politics.

But you need to answer my question… did the Jews commit a crime against Muslims which needs to be forgiven?
 
Lapell said:
However, I certainly did not wanted to have people of one faith discuss the non-forgiveness of people of other faith.
Now, AgnosTheist, are you Jewish? I had thought you were not!
Moreover, are all the Muslims of the world against all the Jews of the Land of Israel? It’s hard to read the consciences of so many people!!
Even not all Muslim Palestinians hate the Israeli Jews, even though many might just hate the Israeli Army and the Israeli Jewish authorities. Again, it doesn’t mean it’s all the Palestinian Muslims.
And finally, I understand Sister Amy is not a Muslim by birth. Even if she had been, hatred is not an automatic given for a Muslim… I don’t think so!
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Hello my friend, I want to thank you for opening this interesting thread. The dispute which people think is about Islam and Judaism is not. It is a political disagreement resulting from Zionist ideology inhabiting Palestinian land. And really it’s outside the scope of this thread. AgnosTheist has yet to accuse the Jews of any crime, yet he demanded forgiveness from Muslims. If the Jews didn’t do anything wrong, there wouldn’t be anything to forgive, so I’m interested in how he will respond, if he ever does.

Islam is not about hatred of Jews, or Christians, or anyone else. And I don’t hate Jews or Christians. In fact, I have noticed that so many times since becoming Muslim that Jews are much closer, in this country. They are used to being a minority, they are used to facing discrimination, and they are quick to stand up against persecution of Muslims. The Muslims and Jews, at least in my community, seem to have a special kind of bond. The Christians on the other hand don’t seem much interested. But that’s only what I’ve observed.
 
Lapell said:
Years ago, I heard one Catholic say he told somebody of another faith or from a sect something about forgiving those who do wrong against us. He seemed to think the Christian faith to be the only one where people forgive other people because God has forgiven us first. Now in some articles I read there seemed to be some forgiveness practiced in other faiths as well, some conditionally and some unconditionally.
Your thoughts on this? All of any faith are welcome!
Click to expand...
Forgiveness in Quran:
“Whether thou ask for their forgiveness or not, (their sin is unforgivable): if thou ask seventy times for their forgiveness, Allah will not forgive them: because they have rejected Allah and His Messenger; and Allah guideth not those who are perversely rebellious.” (Quran 09:80).:mad:

Forgiveness in the Bible:
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”
(Luke 6:37).🙂

However, I think the forgiveness is not a big deal if there is a love, I want the God who loves me, I want to feel God’s love, because once God shows me his love I will think a million time before I sin and ask for his forgiveness.
 
Sister_Amy said:
And it is only the most ignorant among the Muslims who associate Jews with Israeli politics.
But you need to answer my question… did the Jews commit a crime against Muslims which needs to be forgiven?
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Hum… Sister Amy, murder is not the only thing that people may hardly forgive. To your question, AgnosTheist answered “repossession of their land”. Repossession because the land was promised to them by God Almighty and they were driven out, most of them, all over the world. Then, at one point those who we call the Palestinians established there, and they had their possessions there where they lived. So in their view they were spoiled of their houses and had to live in conditions not as good as before. I believe the British government was for something in the coming back of so many Jews at once. And there came to be a new country on the map, Israel. And it’s ruled mostly by Jews.
Maybe they don’t really need to be forgiven by the Palestinians, but I can see that many Palestinians, maybe most of them, could think otherwise.
 
Still, you are right, this is not the topic of this thread, so let’s get back to it. Agreed? 🙂
 
Forgivness in Judaism:

We are required to ask forgiveness from anyone whom we may have harmed in any way. There is slightly more emphasis on asking for forgivness than in granting it in Judaism. However, the Mishna does teach that it is cruel to not forgive.

In discussing what one must do to obtain forgivness from another, Rambam wrote: “It is forbidden to be cruel and difficult to appease, rather, a person must be quick to forgive and difficult to anger and when the sinner asks for forgiveness he should forgive him willingly and wholeheartedly…”

We are also permitted to withhold forgiveness if it is for the good of the person asking. i.e., to teach the person not to take his actions lightly. There is also a teaching that you do not have to forgive someone who spreads false rumors about you (and there’s also a teaching that says you should also forgive even this).

On the evening before Yom Kippur, many Jews recite the following prayer:

“I extend complete forgiveness to everyone who has sinned against me, whether physically or monetarily, or spoke lashon hara (negative speech) about me or even false reports. And (I also forgive them) for any damages, whether on my body or my property, and for all sins between a man and his fellow except for money which I can claim in a court of law and except for someone who sins against me saying, “I will sin against him and he will forgive me”. Except for these I grant complete forgiveness and no person should be punished on my account. And just as I forgive everyone so should You grant me favor in the eyes of all men that they should completely forgive me.”
 
Sam_777 said:
Forgiveness in Quran:
“Whether thou ask for their forgiveness or not, (their sin is unforgivable): if thou ask seventy times for their forgiveness, Allah will not forgive them: because they have rejected Allah and His Messenger; and Allah guideth not those who are perversely rebellious.” (Quran 09:80).:mad:

Forgiveness in the Bible:
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”
(Luke 6:37).🙂
Click to expand...
I guess you didn’t read all the other verses I quoted from the Qur’an. Like the one about ABU BAKR where it says “Don’t you want that God should forgive you?” meaning that we should forgive others to expect God’s forgiveness. And God is certainly the Most Forgiving.

But about the verse from the Qur’an that YOU quoted. I think you should know that Muhammad said, about that verse, that if for 70 times of asking God wouldn’t forgive, then Muhammad would ask a 71st time.

But still the hadith is talking about people who reject God, reject His Mercy, His Forgiveness, and His Love, and so earn themselves hell. Don’t you believe in hell, sam?
 
Sister_Amy said:
Don’t you believe in hell, sam?
Click to expand...
In Islam, Shaikhs used to scare us with hell with this verse from Quran (Quran 19:68-71):
“[68] So, by thy Lord, without doubt, We shall gather them together, and (also) the Evil Ones (with them); then shall We bring them forth on their knees round about Hell;
[69] Then shall We certainly drag out from every sect all those who were worst in obstinate rebellion against (Allah) Most Gracious.
[70] And certainly We know best those who are most worthy of being burned therein.
[71] Not one of you but will pass over it: this is, with thy Lord, a Decree which must be accomplished.”

In Christianity:

“40 As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 13:40-42).

“13The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:13-15).

I’m a lost sheep seeking to put his name in the book of life.
 
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