REJECTION OF AN EXCUSE

Rejecting an excuse shown by a Muslim is makruh [1]. It is stated in a hadith-i-sharif [2]: “It is a sin not to accept an excuse shown by your Muslim Brother.” Accepting excuses and overlooking faults are Attributes of Allahu ta’ala. Allahu ta’ala will be wrathful towards a person who does not adapt himself to these Attributes, and He will torment him. There are three ways of showing excuses. The first way is to rue, saying, “Why did I do so,” or to explain yourself, saying, “I did so for this (or that) reason.” The second way is to apologize, saying, “I wish I hadn’t done so,” or “Yes, I did so, but I shall not do so again.” The third way is to deny what you have done. Saying “I did it but I will not do it again,” would be tawba. A Believer will wait for an excuse to be shown in order to forgive the offender. Hypocrites want others’ faults to be exposed. Rasulullah ‘sall-Allahu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ states in the following hadith-i-sharifs: “You should be chaste. Do not commit ugly things. Also, make your wives chaste.” And “If you yourselves are chaste, your wives will also be chaste. If you are kind to your parents, your children will also be kind to you. A person who does not accept an excuse of another Muslim will not drink water from the Kawthar lake in the Hereafter ‘Akhirat’.” This hadith-i-sharif concerns the Muslim who does not know that his Muslim brother committed an evil action and also he doesn’t know that his excuse is a lie. For rejecting his excuse would mean su-i-zan about another Muslim.” Accepting his excuse although you know that he is lying means to forgive him. Forgiving in such cases is not obligatory (wajib); yet it is a meritorious act (mustahab), (which yields much thawab, reward).


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GLOSSARY

[1] makruh: (act, thing) improper, disliked and abstained by the Prophet (‘alaihi ‘s-salam); makruh tahrima: prohibited with much stress.

[2] hadith-i-sharif: a saying of the Prophet (‘alaihi ‘s-salam).