Tausiyah by Habib Ali Zaenal Abidin Al-Hamid on forgiving and forgetting

Bismillah.

At Masjid Al-Bukhary in Kuala Lumpur on 8 March 2015, Habib Ali Zaenal Abidin Al-Hamid spoke about the objectives of reciting Asmaul Husna and the attribute of Al-Afuw. 

The Habib quoted a du'a on seeking forgiveness of Allah and asking Allah to make us a forgiving person as taught by the Prophet salallah alaihi wasalam to Saidatina Aishah - du'a to be recited on the Night of Qadar (Laylatul Qadar). The attribute of Afuw must be of supreme importance because the Prophet has asked us to recite it on the most special night, on Laylatul Qadar.

Habib Ali related the story of Ibrahim bin Adham as one alim and areef who showed much patience and was surprisingly forgiving when he was beaten up thrice. Ibrahim forgave the man who hit and hurt him each time he got beaten. Ibrahim said he should be thanking the man instead. Because of him and his unruly behavior, Ibrahim was able to reap plenty of blessings from Allah, whereas Ibrahim was only able to offer the man his pardon.   

The habib says, it is important to note that Allah says: Khudil afwa meaning "take the attribute of forgiveness". He doesn't say 'become one who is forgiving', which means afuw/forgiveness is something that is outside and not within us, meaning we have to take it, we have to grab it, it may be near or far, so we have to train ourselves and make an effort to take it and become forgiving.  

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InshaAllah.