Virtues

"A prostitute was forgiven by Allah, because, passing by a panting dog near a well and seeing that the dog was about to die of thirst, she took off her shoe, and tying it with her head-cover she drew out some water for it. So, Allah forgave her because of that."

"It is better for a leader to make a mistake in forgiving than to make a mistake in punishing."

"The greatest sin of a person who goes to ‘Arafat and then leaves is to think that he has not been forgiven of his sins."

"A person who circumambulates this House (the Ka’bah) seven times and performs the two Rak’at Salat (of Tawaaf) in the best form possible will have his sins forgiven."

"Surely the recitation of the Qur’an is an atonement for the sins, a covering (protection) from the Hell Fire, and a safety from the punishment. Mercy will descend upon the reciter, the Angels will seek forgiveness for him, Heaven will long for that person, and his Master (Allah) will be pleased with him."

"If one who has been wronged by another does not wish to rebuke or speak to the offender because the latter is a very common person or mentally defective, and if he has sincerely forgiven him, and neither bears him ill-will nor rebukes him — he acts according to the standard of the saints. All that the Torah objects to his harboring ill-will."

"It is forbidden to be obdurate and not allow yourself to be appeased. On the contrary, one should be easily pacified and find it difficult to become angry. When asked by an offender for forgiveness, one should forgive with a sincere mind and a willing spirit. … forgiveness is natural to the seed of Israel."

"These evils I deserve, and more * * * * * * Justly, yet despair not of his final pardon, Whose ear is ever open, and his eye Gracious to re-admit the suppliant."

"There is one only defect in forgiving persons, and not another; that defect is that people take a forgiving person to be weak. That defect, however, should not be taken into consideration, for forgiveness is a great power. Forgiveness is a virtue of the weak, and an ornament of the strong. Forgiveness subdues (all) in this world; what is there that forgiveness cannot achieve? What can a wicked person do unto him who carries the sabre of forgiveness in his hand? Fire falling on the grassless ground is extinguished of itself. And unforgiving individual defiles himself with many enormities. Righteousness is the one highest good; and forgiveness is the one supreme peace; knowledge is one supreme contentment; and benevolence, one sole happiness."

"In what a delightful communion with God does that man live who habitually seeketh love! With the same mantle thrown over him from the cross — with the same act of amnesty, by which we hope to be saved — injuries the most provoked, and transgressions the most aggravated, are covered in eternal forgetfulness."

"For 'tis sweet to stammer one letter Of the Eternal's language; — on earth it is called Forgiveness!"

"God's way of forgiving is thorough and hearty,— both to forgive and to forget; and if thine be not so, thou hast no portion of His."

"From forgiveness anew life will spring in the believer, and as a consequence forgiveness cannot be forgotten. No longer is the Law the only disciplinarian [to lead us] to Christ, but forgiveness through Christ is the gentle disciplinarian who does not have the heart to remind us of what has been forgotten but still reminds us of it to the extent of saying: Just remember that it is forgiven. It is not forgotten but is forgotten in forgiveness. Every time you recollect the forgiveness, it is forgotten; but when you forget the forgiveness, it is not forgotten, but then the forgiveness is wasted."

"Oh, it is not really true that one always get a reply according to what one asks. This saying Christianity has also rendered false, like all the saying of human sagacity! When one overcome asks, “Have you forgiven me now?” the one who loves answers, “Do you truly love me now?” but then he certainly is not replying to what is asked. No, that he does not do; he is too loving for that. He does not even want to answer the question about forgiveness, because this word, especially if emphasis is laid on it, could easily make the matter too earnest in a damaging sense. What a wonderful conversation! There seems to be no sense to it; they seem to be speaking at cross-purposes, and yet they are speaking about the same thing, as love indeed understands. But the one who loves has the last word. For some time they will exchange remarks, and the one will say, “Have you now really forgiven me?” And the other will answer, “Do you now really love me?” but see, no one, no one can hold out against one who loves, not even the one who begs forgiveness. Finally he will be broken of the habit of asking about forgiveness. Thus he, the one who loves, has conquered, because he won the one overcome."

"Oh Thou, who Man of baser Earth didst make, And ev'n with Paradise devise the snake; For all the Sin wherewith the Face of Man Is blackened — Man's forgiveness give and take!"

"Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names."

"Know all and you will pardon all."

"Ex humili magna ad fastigia rerum Extollit, quoties voluit fortuna jocari."

"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."

"In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

"Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times (or seventy times seven).""

"If ye forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you."

"Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."

"And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."

"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."

"If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him."

"Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us."

"Forgive, and you will be forgiven."

""Again Jesus said [to the disciples], "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."

"Ultimately, mercy constitutes perhaps the purest act of love — forgiving someone not necessarily because they deserve it, but because we want to bring out the best in them and in ourselves."

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith."

"Help me, O Lord, my strength and rock; Lo at the door I hear death’s knock. Uplift Thine arm once pierced for me; That conquered death and set me free. Yet if Thy voice in life’s midday, Recalls my soul, then I obey. In faith and hope Earth I resign; Secure of heaven, For I am Thine!"

"Most people will never know anything beyond what they see with their own two eyes."

"When the desert asks for water, the sky sends clouds."

"Faith builds a bridge across the gulf of Death, To break the shock blind nature cannot shun, And lands Thought smoothly on the further shore."

"A faith that can be destroyed by suffering is not faith."

"'Tis hers to pluck the amaranthine flower Of Faith, and round the sufferer's temples bind Wreaths that endure affliction's heaviest shower, And do not shrink from sorrow's keenest wind."

"Of one in whom persuasion and belief Had ripened into faith, and faith become A passionate intuition."

"Religion and science have always been matters of faith in something. It is the same something."

"Scepticism is the beginning of faith."

"The faith of immortality gives to every mind that cherishes it a certain firmness of texture."

"Thomas Daggett: Some people lose their faith because Heaven shows them too little. But how many people lose their faith because Heaven showed them too much?"

"How scrumptious to be faithful! But utterly irrelevant to whether or not the opinion in question is true. Whatever the finer feelings associated with faith, no matter how elevated those who indulge in it, from the point of view of truth and evidence, faith is exactly the same as prejudice. Declaring an opinion to be a matter of faith provides it with no new evidential support, gives no new reason to think it true. It merely acknowledges that you have none."

"A bending staff I would not break, A feeble faith I would not shake, Nor even rashly pluck away The error which some truth may stay, Whose loss might leave the soul without A shield against the shafts of doubt."

"Through this dark and stormy night Faith beholds a feeble light Up the blackness streaking; Knowing God's own time is best, In a patient hope I rest For the full day-breaking!"

"Faith, mighty faith the promise sees And rests on that alone; Laughs at impossibilities, And says it shall be done."

"I must confess that I lost faith in the sanity of the world."

"Whatever faith you have, you ought to be willing to confront it with the discoveries of science."

"Everywhere, always, in everything, the social feeling produces a perfect imitation of faith, that is to say perfectly deceptive. This imitation has the great advantage of satisfying every part of the soul. That which longs for goodness believes it is fed. That which is mediocre is not hurt by the light; it is quite at ease. Thus everyone is in agreement. The soul is at peace. But Christ said that he did not come to bring peace. He brought a sword, the sword that severs in two, as Aeschylus says."

"Faith, though it hath sometimes a trembling hand, it must not have a withered hand, but must stretch."