Brotherhood in Islam

Then, if you respond to the small remainder with forgiveness, pardon, and magnanimity—the quickest and safest way of overcoming your adversary—you will be spared both injustice and harm. Otherwise, you would resemble a foolish and drunken Jewish jeweller who buys shards of glass at the price of diamonds: clinging with intense greed, lasting resentment, and perpetual hostility to worldly matters that are fleeting, temporary, and worthless, as though you and your adversary were destined to remain in this world forever. Such behaviour is nothing but grave injustice—or intoxication, indeed a form of madness.

Indeed, if you value your own life, do not allow hatred and thoughts of revenge, which inflict such serious harm upon your personal well-being, to take root in your heart. And if they have already entered your heart, do not listen to them. Instead, heed the words of the truth-perceiving Hāfiz-i ShirāzīThe celebrated fourteenth-century Persian poet from Shiraz, renowned for his lyrical poetry and mystical themes, especially as expressed in his Dīwān.:

دُنْيَا نَه مَتَاعِيسْتِى كِه اَرْزَدْبَنِزَاعِىThe world is not a possession worth quarrelling over.

That is: “The world is not a possession worthy of dispute.” Because it is transient and perishable, it possesses no lasting value. If the vast world itself is of so little worth, then realize how insignificant its petty affairs truly are.

He also says:

آسَايِشِ دُوگِيتِى تَفْسِيرِ اِينْ دُو حَرْفَسْتْ ۞ بٰا دُوسِتَانْ مُرُوَّتْ بۤا دُشْمَنَانْ مُدَارَاThe peace and well-being of both worlds are attained through two principles: generosity toward friends and gracious forbearance toward enemies.

That is: “The peace and security of both worlds are summed up in these two principles: treat your friends with generosity, and deal with your enemies with forbearance and reconciliation.”

“If it is said, ‘It is not within my control. Enmity is part of my nature. Besides, they have touched such a sensitive nerve in me that I simply cannot let it go,’ then the answer is this:

So long as you do not give outward expression to your bad character and malicious inclinations, do not act upon them through backbiting or similar behaviour, and remain conscious of your own shortcomings, they will not harm you. Since these feelings are not entirely within your control and you are unable to cast them off, recognizing your own fault and acknowledging that this disposition is unjust will count as an inward repentance and a silent plea for forgiveness, thereby protecting you from its harmful effects.

It is for this very reason that we have written this section of the Letter: to encourage such an inner repentance and silent seeking of forgiveness, so that injustice may not be mistaken for justice, and so that one may not portray a rightful opponent as being in the wrong.

A remarkable incident illustrates this point. Once, as a consequence of partisan hostility, I witnessed a devout scholar belittle a righteous scholar whose political views differed from his own, going so far as to treat him almost as an unbeliever. At the same time, he praised a hypocrite with respect merely because that person shared his political views. Alarmed by these destructive effects of politics, I declared:

اَعُوذُ بِاللّٰهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ وَالسِّيَاسَةِI seek refuge in Allah from Satan and from politics.

From that day onward, I withdrew from political life.