The Quran

Preface

وَلا يَأتَلِ أُولُو الفَضلِ مِنكُم وَالسَّعَةِ أَن يُؤتوا أُولِي القُربىٰ وَالمَساكينَ وَالمُهاجِرينَ في سَبيلِ اللَّهِ ۖ وَليَعفوا وَليَصفَحوا ۗ أَلا تُحِبّونَ أَن يَغفِرَ اللَّهُ لَكُم ۗ وَاللَّهُ غَفورٌ رَحيمٌ

Yusuf Ali

Let not those among you who are endued with grace and amplitude of means¹ resolve by oath against helping their kinsmen, those in want, and those who have left their homes in God’s cause: let them forgive and overlook, do you not wish that God should forgive you? For God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

The immediate reference was to Abū Bakr, the father of ʿĀisha. He was blessed both with spiritual grace from God and with ample means, which he always used in the service of Islam and of Muslims. One of the slanderers of ʿĀisha turned out to be Mistah, a cousin of Abū Bakr, whom he had been in the habit of supporting. Naturally Abū Bakr wished to stop that aid, but according to the highest standards of Muslim ethics he was asked to forgive and forget, which he did, with the happiest results to the peace and unity of the Muslim community. But he general application holds good for all time. A generous patron should not, in personal anger, withdraw his support even for serious faults if the delinquent repents and mends his ways. If God forgives us, who are we to refuse forgiveness to our fellows?