Hold to forgiveness, command what is right, and turn away from the
ignorant. (Qur'an, 7: 199)
In another verse Allah commands: "… They should rather pardon and
overlook. Would you not love Allah to forgive you? Allah is
Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (Qur'an, 24:22)
Those who do not abide by the moral values of the Qur'an find it very
difficult to forgive others. Because, they areeasily angered by any
error committed. However, Allah has advised the faithful that
forgiveness is more proper:
The repayment of a bad action is one equivalent to it. But if someone
pardons and puts things right, his reward is with Allah… (Qur'an,
42:40)
... But if you pardon and exonerate and forgive, Allah is
Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Qur'an, 64: 14)
It has also been revealedin the Qur'an that forgiveness is a superior
moral trait: "But if someone is steadfast and forgives, that is the
most resolute course to follow." (Qur'an, 42:43) For that reason,
believers are forgiving, compassionate and tolerant people who, as
revealed in the Qur'an, "control their rage and pardon other people."
(Qur'an, 3:134)
Believers' notion of forgiveness is very different to that of thosewho
do not live by the morals of the Qur'an. Even though many people may
say they have forgiven someone who has offended them, it nevertheless
takes a long time to free themselves of the hatredand anger in their
hearts. Their behaviour tends to betray that anger. On the other hand,
the forgiveness of believers is sincere. Because believers know that
human beings are tried in this world, and learn by their mistakes,
they are tolerant and compassionate. Moreover, believers are also
capable of forgiveness even when they are in the right, andthe other
in the wrong. When forgiving, they make no distinction between large
errors and small ones. Someone may cause severe losses to them by
mistake. However, believers know that everything takes place under the
command of Allah, and according to aspecific destiny, and therefore,
they surrender themselves to these developments, never acquiescing to
anger.
According to recent research, American scientists established that
those capable of forgiveness are healthierin both mind and body. Dr.
Frederic Luskin, who holds a Ph.D. in Counselling and Health
Psychology from Stanford University, and his team, studied 259 people
living in the city of San Francisco. The scientists invited the
subjects to attend six one-and-a-half-hour sessions, and aimed to
instruct the subjects in forgiveness during their conversations.
The subjects of the experiments stated that they suffered less after
forgiving people who had wronged them. The research showed that people
who learned to forgive feel much better,not only emotionally butalso
physically. For example, it was established that after the experiment
psychological and physical symptoms such as stress-related backache,
insomnia and stomachaches were significantly reduced in these
individuals.
In his book, Forgive for Good, Dr. Frederic Luskindescribes
forgiveness as a proven recipe for health and happiness. The book
describes how forgiveness promotes such positive states of mind as
hope, patience and self-confidence by reducing anger, suffering,
depression and stress. According to Dr. Luskin, harboured anger causes
observable physical effects in the individual. He goes on tosay that:
The thing about long-term or unresolved anger, is we've seen it resets
the internal thermostat. When you get used to a low level ofanger all
the time, you don't recognize what's normal. It creates a kind of
adrenaline rush that people get used to. It burns out the body and
makes it difficult to think clearly—making the situation worse . 1
In addition, Dr. Luskin says, when the body releases certain
enzymesduring anger and stress, cholesterol and blood pressure levels
go up—not a good long-term disposition to maintain the body in. 2
An article called "Forgiveness," publishedin the September-October
1996 edition of Healing Currents Magazine, stated that anger towards
an individual or an event led to negative emotionsin people, and
harmed their emotional balance and even their physical health. 3 The
article also states that people realiseafter a while that the anger is
a nuisance to them, and wish to repairthe damage to the relationship.
So, they take steps to forgive. It isalso stated that, despite all
they endure, people do not want to waste the precious moments oftheir
life in anger and anxiety, and prefer to forgive themselves and
others. 4
In another study involving 1,500 people depression, stress and mental
illness were observed to be less frequent in religious people. Dr.
Herbert Benson, who conducted the research, linked this to the way
religions encourage "forgiveness", and went on to say:
There's a physiology of forgiveness… When you do not forgive, it will
chew you up . 5
According to an article titled, "Anger is Hostile To Your Heart,"
published in the Harvard Gazette , anger is extremely harmful to
theheart. Ichiro Kawachi, anassistant professor of medicine, and his
team scientifically demonstrated this with various tests and
measurements. As a result of their research, they established that
grumpy old men had three times the risk of heart disease than their
more tempered peers."The tripling of risk," Kawachi says, "involves
high levels of anger, explosive anger that includes smashing thingsand
wanting to hurt someone in a fight." 6
Researchers believe that release of stress hormones, increased oxygen
demand by the heart's muscle cells, and added stickiness of blood
platelets, which leads to clots explain how anger increases thechance
of a heart attack. 7 Furthermore, at times of anger, the pulse rises
above its normal level, and leads to increased blood pressure in the
arteries, and thus to a greater risk of heart attack.
According to researchers, anger and hostility can also trigger the
production of proteins linked to inflammation in the blood. The
journal Psychosomatic Medicine suggested that the emotion triggers the
production of inflammatory proteins, which may in turn be causing the
hardening of the arteries, causing heart disease and stroke. 8
According to Associate Professor Edward Suarezof the Duke University
Medical Centre in North Carolina, the protein interleukin 6 (or IL-6)
is much higher in men who are angry and depressed. High blood levels
of IL-6 lead to atherosclerosis, the build-up of fatty deposits in the
lining of the walls of arteries. 9 According to Suarez, as well as
factors such as smoking, high blood pressure, obesity and high
cholesterol, heart disease is also linked to psychological states
suchas depression, anger andhostility. 10
Another article, titled "Anger Raises Risk of Heart Attack," published
in The Times , stated that a short temper might be a short cut to a
heart attack, and that young men who reacted to stress by becoming
angry were three times more likely to develop premature heart
disease,and were five times more likely to have an early heart attack.
11 Scientists at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, found
that quick-tempered men are at risk of heart attack even if there is
no family history of heart disease. 12
All the available researchshows that anger is a state of mind that
seriously damages human health. Forgiveness, on the other hand, even
if it comes hard to people, is pleasing, an aspect of superior morals,
that eliminates all the harmful effects of anger,and helps the
individual to enjoy a healthy life, both psychologically
andphysically. Forgiveness, of course, is one of a form of behaviour
by which a person can stay healthy, and a positive virtue everyone
should live by. However, the true aim of forgiveness—as in all
else—must be to please Allah. The fact that the features of this sort
of morality, and thatthe benefits of which have been scientifically
identified, have been revealed in many verses of the Qur'an, is just
one of the many sources of wisdom it contains.
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