The last most important days of Ramadan are here, in addition to praying, it’s a time I like to think of my dear ones, close and loved ones. Even the ones who I have distanced myself from, the ones I haven’t spoken to in a while.
It’s a perfect time to contemplate forgiveness, we all have people in our lives who hurt us and maybe who we have hurt unknowingly, this is the perfect time to let there be that seal of forgiveness, acceptance and forwardness.
How can we move up the ladder of spiritual development when we hold bitterness and anger towards another person? While we may have been in the right, is it worth sacrificing our energy on a grudge instead of on spiritual growth? Is there not something strange about asking for God's forgiveness of our sins while withholding our forgiveness from someone who has hurt us?
Let us use these remaining days of Ramadan to focus of forgiveness to open our hearts to those who have wronged us and forgive them as we ask God to forgive us.
Forgiveness is letting go of the need for revenge, any sense of bitterness or resentment and to let go of the past. While God does this with perfection, it is in fact harder for us to forgive ourselves first as well as ask for forgiveness, but in order for us to ask for God’s forgiveness, we do need to start by forgiving ourselves.
Ask yourself, what have I done wrong? Do I really want to change? What are the bad habits or the mistakes that I made routinely? Have I given much thought into changing them? Am I all right in seeing those changes? If I want to change and be forgiven, I need to do it for God’s sake. Ramadan is the perfect time to do that as during the days of forgiveness, saying sorry seems to become more light weight than usual.
Forgiveness is a liberating feeling, especially if it comes from God. So as Ramadan rolls on, find time to forgive yourself, to forgive others, to apologize to those whom you may have wronged, and to always sleep with a clean heart.
