Forgiveness and Ibn Arabi

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'To Forgive or Not to Forgive':Ibn Arabi and the QuranicHermeneutic of Forgiveness

Qaiser Shahzad

Abstract:

This paper investigates some problems in the Quranic theory offorgiveness and responds to them drawing upon the work of medieval mystic, IbnArabi. There arise a number of interesting problems regarding the nature, scope

and limits of forgiveness in the Quran. We have to inquire into the meaning of

forgiveness and its relationship with some other concepts like mercy etc., and

make sense of the ambivalence of the Quranic standpoint. This ambivalence is

found on various levels. Firstly, at the level of divine nature, in addition to beingForgiver, God is also described as al-Muntaqim, the Avenger. He says that he

forgives all sins while at the same time certain sins are declared to be

unforgivable. Secondly, it emphasizes seeking forgiveness but also forbids thatfor certain classes of individuals. Thirdly, it recommends forgiving but allows

retaliation. The usual non-reductionist explication would not work as we cannot

combine the apparent contradictories: All sins are forgivable; some sins are not

forgivable. Drawing upon Ibn Arabi, we can develop an interpretation thatreduces divine forgiveness to divine mercy and as the latter encompasses

everything, the second horn of the dilemma disappears and we get what can becalled eschatological optimism.

KeywordsIslam, Qur'an, Ibn 'Arabi, forgiveness, mercy, retaliation

Forgiveness is certainly one of the most important moral values the

contemporary world needs to be reminded of. A loss of this moral value underlies

the horrible situation the world finds itself in today, as far as the international andinter-cultural relations are concerned. The Inter-disciplinary Network is,

therefore, to be congratulated for choosing this important topic as the subject for

a global congress.

Practicing Muslims everywhere refer to the Quran for spiritual and

moral guidance and their understanding of it determines their thinking and

attitude. The classical and contemporary Muslim discourse on many important


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issues, like womens rights and the relationship of Muslims with others departs

from references to Quranic texts. Therefore, we must ask what the Quran saysabout forgiveness, in order to be able to understand contemporary Muslim view

of forgiveness.

In this paper I elaborate the Quranic concept of forgiveness and the way

it is understood by the Muslims. I argue that the express Quranic teachings on thescope of forgiveness are ambivalent. The mainstream interpretation of this

ambivalence, I attempt to show, is logically and pragmatically problematic. A

plausible alternative interpretation, I argue can be worked out from the writingsof Medieval mystic-philosopher Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi (1165-1240 C. E.), whounderstands forgiveness in a refreshingly new way by relating it to boundless

divine mercy.

1. Some Relevant Quranic TermsMaghfirah and Ghufraan are the exact Arabic counterparts of

forgiveness. The former appears 28 times in the Quran while the latter is there

only once.1 Other derivatives from the same root appear 204 times, three of

which denote God, al-Ghaafir, al-Ghaffar and al-Ghafur.2 Ibn Arabi is of the

opinion that these three divine names connote different degrees of forgiveness:

al-Ghaffar conveys comparative degree of forgiving while al-Ghafur issuperlative, whereas the first name is an ordinary adjective. The literal meaning

of both maghfirah andghufraan is concealing, so forgiving a sin would imply

concealing it.Afw is another Quranic word for forgiveness but it implies, erasingor effacing, something more effectual than mere concealing.

3Finally the word

Safhis more effectual then both previous terms as it meansnot to reproach.4

Hence, the Quran mentions three degrees of forgiveness, concealing of the sin,

effacing it and not reproaching the sinner for it. Finally, Quran has two terms

corresponding to seeking forgiveness: istighfaar which is a literal Arabic

counterpart for this phrase, and taubah, repentance or, literally, returning. Thedivine name al-Tawwab denotes someone who 'returns to the servants once they

have repented'.

2. Forgiveness, Retaliation and Damnation in the QuranKey Quranic texts on forgiveness can be divided, on the one hand, into

those which emphasize and widen the scope forgiveness and on the other those

that seem to limit it.

A. Texts Emphasizing ForgivenessAn important stylistic feature of the Quran is that majority of its verses

terminate at ascribing names to God. Among these, the most frequent are the

Forgiver (al-Ghafur) and the most Merciful (al-Rahman). On almost every page


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of the Quran one would find a verse like that, though, Forgiver is sometimes

conjoined with names other than the Merciful, for instance al-shakur, al-Haleem, al-Afuww, al-Aziz.5

God invites people toward his forgiveness, And hasten towards

forgiveness from your lord and the Garden as vast as the heavens and the earth,

prepared for God-fearing.6 .a. Divine forgiveness is subject to Gods will: He forgives whom he

wills and torments whom he wills.7

b. Secondly the Quran also emphasizes the boundlessness of divineforgiveness when it says, despair not of the mercy of Allah, verily Allah willforgive sins altogether.8This verse has been described as the most universal and

hope-inspiring verse in the Quran. And the Prophet himself is reported to have

said that he wouldnt give it up for the whole world.9c.In some texts the believers are asked to forgive others including those

who do not believe, that is, non-Muslims. "Say you to the faithful, let themforgive those who hope not for the days of Allah," 10 "Let them pardon and

overlook. Do you not love that Allah should forgive you?"11"So pardon them and

pass over, until Allah sends the command."12d. The Quran also stresses the importance of asking for forgiveness

(Istighfaar) in many places and makes it clear that a sincere act of seeking

forgiveness is followed by granting of forgiveness from the Lord. And he who

works an evil deed or wrongs his own soul

13

and thereafter begs forgiveness ofAllah on the Day of Judgement shall find Allah forgiving, Merciful;14And if

they, when they had wronged their souls, had come to you and begged theforgiveness of Allah and the Messenger had begged forgiveness for them, they

would surely have found Allah Relenting, Merciful.15

B. Texts on Retaliation and Damnationa. The Quran prohibited Prophet Muhammed to ask forgiveness for

people belonging to a certain section of Medinan society known in Islamic

terminology as the hypocrites and told him that God is not going to forgive them

in any case. The Quran says, addressing the Prophet, It is alike to them whether

you ask forgiveness for them or not. Allah shall not forgive them, and If youask for forgiveness for them seventy times Allah will not forgive them.16At this,

the Prophet said, God has given me the choice, to ask or not to ask for

forgiveness; actually I will ask forgiveness more than seventy times for thesepeople.17b.Once the Prophet visited the grave of his mother with a number of his

companions and bitterly wept. He later told them that he had asked Gods

permission to visit his mothers grave and seek forgiveness for her but God did


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not allow asking forgiveness.18The Quran says, It is not for the Prophet and

those who believe to ask for the forgiveness of the polytheists, even though theybe their relatives after it has become clear that they are the fellows of the Flaming

fire.19c. Certain actions are also nominated by the Quran as absolutely

unforgivable sins: Verily those who disbelieve and hinder others from the pathof Allah, then die as infidels; Allah shall by no means forgive them, and surely

Allah will never forgive that aught be joined with him.20

d.Eternal damnation in the Hell fire is mentioned in countless places inthe Quran as punishment for disbelief, intentionally killing a believer andadultery.21The Quran is particularly explicit regarding severities of chastisement

(adhab) in the Hell.

3. Classical Interpretation and its LimitsIt is difficult to see how the above mentioned two sets of Quranic

verses fit together. The interpreters of the Quran have always been aware of this

difficulty. The mainstream opinion attempts to understand and interpret these

injunctions in the manner statutes are interpreted. Two seemingly conflictingstatutes are reconciled by considering one of them as an exception to or

specification of the other. Therefore, chronologically earlier statute is understood

in conjunction with and subject to the latter. This approach does put forward acoherent picture of Quranic teachings. In some cases however, this legalistic and

non reductive approach doesnt work. One such case indeed is that of forgivenesswhere the conflict is between two logically contradictory statements, viz., "O myservants who have wronged their souls, despair not of the mercy of Allah, verily

Allah will forgive sins altogether" and "Allah never forgives that partners be

associated with Him."22

Another clear instance of apparent ambivalence regarding forgiveness

we find while comparing IX: 80 and XXX: 24 The former reads: If you ask forforgiveness for them seventy times Allah will not forgive them (i.e. the

hypocrites) and the latter says: That Allah may reward the true men for their

truth, and punish the hypocrites if He will, or relent toward them. Lo! Allah isForgiving,Merciful. Despite the absolute unforgivability of the hypocrites in theformer statement, the latter makes forgiveness to the hypocrites subject to divine

will.

In the first mentioned set of verses, the mainstream interpreters suggestthat the good news of forgivability of all sins has some exceptions, one of which

is the sin of associating others with the one true God, something that is known as

al-shirk, or polytheism. This approach also literally interprets the Quranic verses


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threatening the non-believers with eternal-damnation in the Hell-fire (khulud fi

al-naar), while reserving the exodus from hell only for the believers in Islam.23The mainstream approach, however, is of limited use here also because it can not

do justice to the optimistic context of the first statement. The statement is

addressed not to those who believe, that is the Muslims, but to those who have

wronged themselves, which clearly is much broad. It also states that the sinsaltogether, i.e. all of them are forgivable. If a class of sins is exempted then the

statement will loose all its emotional and comforting appeal. Logically, its

universality24

would also be affected.Therefore what we need is an approach that would explain away the

limiting statement and thus preserve the universalityof the first statement, with a

view to its spirit. I believe that such an approach is to be found, not in exoteric

and legalistic commentaries of the mainstream exegetes but in the work of the Ibn

Arabi. To his views we turn presently.

4. Ibn Arabi on ForgivenessIbn Arabi claims that God had made him Rahim mutlaq, someone

capable of showing mercy without any delimitation.25This self-description would

seem less boastful if one looks towards the unusual and extraordinary emphasis

Ibn Arabi lays on divine mercy and its implications in his work. As ToshihikoIzutsu has shown, Ibn Arabi does not understand mercy in its ordinary sense, as

an essentially emotional attitude, but as an ontological fact or the act of making

things exist.26

Hence the raison detreof the cosmos is divine mercy. Though IbnArabi recognizes that the Quranic God is God of wrath (ghadhab) as he is that

of mercy, however, he thinks that divine mercy, being boundless also coversdivine wrath.27It is with reference to this boundless divine mercy, as we shall see,

that Ibn Arabi refuses to accept any limitations on forgiveness.Ibn Arabi emphasizes the role of forgiveness in the fall, basing himself

entirely on the Quran. "The descent", he writes, "is for the sake of vicegerencynot a punishment."28The Quranic account of human descent, unlike the Biblical

one, does not represent the fall as a punishment. According the Quran29man was

originally created to be the vicegerent in the earth. So the sin was not something

that spoiled the divine plane but was fully forgiven and Adam was to be sentdown on earth anyway.

Ibn Arabi points out, comparing Gods justice (i.e. punishing) and his

grace (fadhl), that the former is always exactly proportionate to the crime orwrong whereas the reward is always far greater than the actual good deed. He

cites the Quranic words the meed of an ill-deed is like thereunto30emphasizing

the last words like thereunto so that no one is allowed to be excessive in taking


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eternal damnation but no one has gone the extent he goes in order to show that

the everything ends up at divine mercy and forgiveness.Conclusion

We have seen how keen Ibn Arabi is to show that Gods mercy and

consequently his forgiveness knows no limits. Ibn Arabis theory of forgiveness

would not stop at that as he considers Godlikeness to be the greatest objectivehumans should aspire to achieve.39Hence the message of forgiveness is not only

a message of hope for human beings but it is should also be seen in the context of

the ethics of godlikeness. Human beings must strive to assume the character-traitsof God like mercy and forgiveness.

Notes

1 The Qur'an, Chapter II verse. 285. In the references to Qur'an we first give

chapter number in Roman and then verse number, in Arabic numerals.2See M Ibn 'Arabi,Al-Futuhat al Makkiyyah, Dar Sadir, Beirut, no date. Volume

IV, p. 215.3See M al-Ghazali,Al-Maqsad al-Asna, Dar El-Machreq Editeurs, Beirut, n.d., p.155.4 The word occurs in the Quran in II: 109, XLIII: 89 and XV: 85. For

explanation of meaning see R Isphahani,Al-Mufradaat fi Ghareeb al Qur'an, Dar

al-Qalam, n.d., vol. II, p. 583.5These four epithets can be respectively seen in the Quran for example at XLII:

23, II: 235, IV: 99 and XLVII: 2.6Ibid., III: 133.7Ibid., II: 284.8Ibid., XXXIX:53.9A Bayhaqi, Shuab al-Iman, Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 1990, V: 423.10The Qur'an, XLV: 14.11 Ibid., XXIV: 22. Compare with the Gospel: "For if you forgive men their

trespasses, your heavenly father will also forgive you." Mathew, VI: 14.12 Ibid., II: 109. The usual exoteric interpreters understand by the word amr,

(command) the permission to wage a war upon the enemies of Islam, which came

with the revelation of (XXII: 39). See, for instance, Ibn Katheer, Tafseer, I: 383.

However, we would prefer the alternative interpretation which takes the word"command" to mean "the day of resurrection" and "Allah will judge between

them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that wherein they differ (II: 113).


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13 For an excellent study of this important Quranic concept, cf. G Hourani"Injuring oneself in the Quran in the light of Aristotle," in his Reason and

Tradition in Islamic Ethics, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1985, pp.

49-57.14Qur'an, IV: 110.15Ibid., IV: 64.16Ibid., respectively, LXIII: 6 and IX: 80.

17M. Bukhari,Al Jami al Sahih, Kitab al-Tafseer.18 The report is found in MuslimSahih, Kitab al Janaaiz, Baab Istidhaan al-nabiyy,Dar al Jeel, Beirut, n.d. III: 65. Classical commentators generally pass the

important issue why someone who died before Muhammed (peace be upon him)

received revelation is a non-believer.19The Quran IX: 11320Ibid, respectively XLIII: 34 and IV: 48.21See Ibid., for example: XXV: 69.22See Ibid., respectively XXXIX: 53 and IV: 48.23 See for example J. Tabari (839-923 A.D.) who is of the opinion that the

polytheists who die before repenting are not included in this verse, Jaami al-Bayaan, Muassassat al-Risaalah, Beirut, 2000, 21: 310. Also see Ibn Katheer

(1302-1373 A.D.) who says: it is wrong to take this verse to imply forgiveness

without repentance, for polytheism is not forgiven unless repented. Tafseer al-Quran al-AzeemDar Taybah, Madinah, 1999, VII: 106.24

S. Aalusi (1802-1854 A.D), a later commentator on the Quran has mentioned17 reasons for taking the verse in a universal and absolute sense. See hisRooh al-

Maaani,Dar Ehia al-tourath al-Arabi, Beirut, 2000, XXIV: 367-368.25Futuhaat, III: 431.26 See T Izutsu, Sufism and Taoism: A Comparison of Key PhilosophicalConcepts(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984), p.116.27See Ibid., 117. On such occasions (e.g. II: 281) Ibn Arabi quotes the saying of

Prophet Muhammed to the effect that God said My mercy takes precedence over

My wrath. The saying is found in al-Bukhari, al- Sahih, Kitab al-Tawhid.28Al-Futuhaat, III: 50.29Quran, II: 30.30

Ibid., XL: 40.31Ibid., III: 7.32Futuhat Makkiyyah, III: 9.33Ibid., II: 491.34See,Ibid., IV: 240.


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35See Ibid., IV: 303.36See Ibid., III: 309.37See Ibid., III: 75-76.38Ibid., III: 263.39I have expounded Ibn Arabis theory in my article Ibn Arabis contributionto the ethics of divine names,Islamic Studies, 43: 1 (Spring 2004), 5-38.

Bibliography

1. Aalusi S.,Rooh al-Maaani, Dar Ehia al-tourath al-Arabi, Beirut, 2000.2. Bayhaqi, A., Shuab al-Iman, Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 1990.3. Ghazali, A.,Al-Maqsad al-Asna,Dar El-Machreq Editeurs, Beirut: n.d.4. Hourani, G., Reason and Tradition in Islamic Ethics, Cambridge

University Press, Cambridge, ?

5. Ibn Arabi, M.,Al-Futuhat al Makkiyyah, Dar Sadir, Beirut, n.d.6. Ibn Katheer, Tafseer al-Quran al-Azeem, Dar Taybah, Madinah, 1999.7. Isphahani, R., Al-Mufradaat fi Ghareeb al Quran, Dar al-Qalam,

Damascus, n.d.8. Izutsu, T., Sufism and Taoism: A Comparison of Key Philosophical

Concepts, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1984.9. Tabari, J.,Jaami al-Bayaan, Muassassat al-Risaalah, Beirut, 2000.

Qaiser Shahzad is associated with Islamic Research Institute, International

Islamic University, Islamabad, Pakistan. He is author of Ibn 'Arabi's

contribution to the Ethics of Divine Names(Islamabad, 2004).

Forgiveness and Ibn Arabi

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