Tolerance and Forgiveness:
The Keys to Success
Compiled by Khalid Latif

Nura's eyes blurred with tears as she heard the khateeb proclaimed:

'The Prophet (SAWW] said, 'Do not sever relations. Do not indulge in mutual enmity. Do not entertain rancour and jealousy against one another, and do not be jealous of others. Be brethren among yourselves and become Allah's slaves. It is not permissible for a man to have severed his relations with any of his brethren for more than three days.'

She realised then that almost six months had passed since the last time she spoke to Amina, and now she could not even remember what their fight had been about.

All of us have had some disagreements with our brothers and sisters, but why is it so wrong to harbour animosity? Why does Islam emphasise freeing the heart from hatred and enmity? Even more dangerous is that harbouring hatred will eat away at our faith.

The Prophet said, 'Listen, may I not tell you something more important than salah, fasting and charity?'

The companions requested him to do so. He said, 'To keep the mutual relationship on the right footing, because the defect in the mutual relationship is the thing which shaves a thing clean. I do not mean that it shaves the hair, but that it shaves (removes) the religion.'

Hatred consumes the heart, so much that we forget Allah's justice and mercy. Our gratitude to Allah is repelled by resentment of others.

That is why Satan's favorite method for destruction is instilling enmity in the believer's heart. He uses this weapon to weaken the Muslim community and make it vulnerable to both physical and spiritual enemy attacks.

Our physical enemies do not stand a chance against the Muslim Ummah unless disunity has weakened it. Our spiritual enemies, Satan and our lower desires, do not stand a chance against our faith unless animosity has weakened it.

Most important, however, is that we should  purify  our hearts continuously to

Next Page