Forgiveness

==== Islam ====
{{See also|Al-Ghafūr}}
{{Allah}}
[[Islam]] teaches that [[God in Islam|Allah]] is {{transliteration|ar|[[Al-Ghaffur]]}} "The Oft-Forgiving", and is the original source of all forgiveness ({{transliteration|ar|ghufran}} {{lang|ar|[[Wiktionary:غفران|غفران]]}}). Seeking forgiveness from [[Allah]] with [[Repentance in Islam|repentance]] is a [[Virtue#Islam|virtue]].<ref name="nnjre">{{multiref2
|1={{cite journal|last1=Abu-Nimer|last2=Nasser|year=2013|title=Forgiveness in The Arab and Islamic Contexts|journal=Journal of Religious Ethics|volume=41|number=3|pages=474–494|doi=10.1111/jore.12025 }}
|2={{qref|5|95|b=y}}
}}</ref><ref name="olq" />

{{Blockquote| (...) Allah has forgiven what has been done. But those who persist will be punished by Allah. And Allah is Almighty, capable of punishment.|{{qref|5|95|c=y}}}}

Islam [[Mustahabb|recommends]] forgiveness, because Allah values forgiveness. There are numerous verses in [[Quran]] and the [[Hadith]]s recommending forgiveness. Islam also allows [[Qisas|revenge]] to the extent of the harm done, but forgiveness is encouraged, with a promise of [[Thawab|reward]] from Allah.<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite book|author=Mohammad Hassan Khalil|year=2012|title=Islam and the Fate of Others: The Salvation Question|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=65–94|isbn=978-0199796663}}
|2={{qref|42|40|b=y}}
}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|The reward of an evil deed is its equivalent. But whoever pardons and seeks reconciliation, then their reward is with Allah. He certainly does not like the wrongdoers.|{{qref|42|40|c=y}}}}

{{transliteration|ar|Afw}} ([[Wiktionary:عفو|عفو]] is another term for forgiveness in Islam; it occurs 35 times in Quran, and in some [[Schools of Islamic theology|Islamic theological studies]], it is used interchangeably with {{transliteration|ar|ghufran}}.<ref name="nnjre" /><ref name="olq">{{cite book|first=Oliver|last=Leaman|year=2005|title=The Qur'an: An Encyclopedia|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0415326391|pages=213–216}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Shah|first=S.S.|year=1996|title=Mercy Killing in Islam: Moral and Legal Issues|journal=Arab Law Quarterly|volume=11|number=2|pages=105–115|doi=10.2307/3381592 |jstor=3381592 }}</ref> {{transliteration|ar|Afw}} means to pardon, to excuse for a fault or an offense. According to Muhammad Amanullah,<ref name="maislam">{{cite book|last=Amanullah|first=M.|year=2004|chapter=Just Retribution (Qisas) Versus Forgiveness (‘Afw)|title=Islam: Past, Present and Future|pages=871–883}} International Seminar on Islamic Thoughts Proceedings, December 2004, Department of Theology and Philosophy, Faculty of Islamic Studies Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia</ref> forgiveness ({{transliteration|ar|'Afw}}) in Islam is derived from three wisdoms. The first and most important wisdom of forgiveness is that it is [[Mercy#Islam|merciful]] when the victim or [[Wali|guardian]] of the victim accepts money instead of revenge.<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite journal|last=Gottesman|first=E.|year=1991|title=Reemergence of Qisas and Diyat in Pakistan|journal=Columbia Human Rights Law Review|volume=23|pages=433–439}}
|2={{cite journal|last1=Tsang|first1=J.A.|last2=McCullough|first2=M.E.|last3=Hoyt|first3=W.T.|year=2005|title=Psychometric and Rationalization Accounts of the Religion-Forgiveness Discrepancy|journal=Journal of Social Issues|volume=61|number=4|pages=785–805|doi=10.1111/j.1540-4560.2005.00432.x|doi-access=free}}
}}</ref> The second wisdom of forgiveness is that it increases the honor and prestige of the one who forgives.<ref name="maislam" /> Forgiveness is not a sign of weakness, humiliation or dishonor.<ref name="olq" /> Rather, forgiveness is honorable, it raises the merit of the forgiver in the eyes of Allah, and it enables a forgiver to enter [[Jannah|paradise]].<ref name="maislam" /> The third wisdom of forgiveness is that, according to scholars such as al-Tabari and al-Qurtubi, forgiveness expiates ({{transliteration|ar|[[Fidyah and Kaffara|kaffarah]]}}) the forgiver from the sins they may have committed at other occasions in life.<ref name="olq" /><ref>{{cite journal|first=Khalil|last=Athamina|year=1992|title=Al-Qisas: its emergence, religious origin and its socio-political impact on early Muslim society|journal=Studia Islamica|number=76|pages=53–74|doi=10.2307/1595660|jstor=1595660 }}</ref> Forgiveness is a form of charity ({{transliteration|ar|[[Sadaqah|sadaqat]]}}). Forgiveness comes from {{transliteration|ar|[[taqwa]]}} (piety), a quality of [[Fear of God|God-fearing]] people.<ref name="maislam" />