Forgiveness is the virtue that is preached by almost every religion. Forgiving others releases us from anger and allows us to receive the healing we need. Forgiving others spares us from the consequences of living out of an unforgiving heart.
ALMOST EVERY religion preaches the virtue of ‘forgiveness’. In the world so overwhelmed with the darker clouds of avenge, revenge and reprisals, a silver lining was seen in the attitude of a mother.
Five months ago, in the Burmese neighborhood of Al Khalidiya district of Saudi Arabia, a little girl Kalthom (Indian pronunciation Kulsoom) was tortured and killed by her step mother. The heartless woman had brutally disfigured the face of Kulsoom. It was full of blood and it was difficult to recognise her in morgue. It was so abhorrent to know that the father stood back and watched when the heinous was perpetrated.
The mother of the victim had imbued the best spirit of Islam. Perhaps she might have never heard of Bin Ladin or Baitullah and this incident didn’t shake the faith of the real mother in humanity. As the religion says: “Just as it is important to believe in the mercy and forgiveness of Allah, it is also necessary to base human relations on forgiveness. We cannot expect Allah’s forgiveness unless we also forgive those who do wrong to us. ”She says she is willing to forgive her and her ex-husband if asked by a court. The woman was sentenced to death and the man to 15 years in jail. The stepmother is also having here own kids. The aggrieved mother feels that executing the stepmother would not bring her daughter back to life and she was also willing to pardon her. The mother said that she made the decision as she knew what it felt like to lose a child. She said, “She (the stepmother) is also a mother with children and I know that her kids need her. My daughter will not come back if she was executed or jailed.”
It was the best example of ‘milk of humanity’. God says that it is in our own best interest to forgive! He is not talking about what is in the best interest of the person who needs to be forgiven. We are the ones who God is trying to protect. We are the ones who receive the most benefit from forgiveness, not the other person. Forgiving others releases us from anger and allows us to receive the healing we need. The whole reason God has given us specific direction is because He does not want anything to stand between us and Him. God’s love for us is beyond our comprehension. Forgiving others spares us from the consequences of living out of an unforgiving heart.
