FORGIVE AND FORGET

Which is easier done than the other, to forgive or to forget?

I personally think it is easier to forgive than to forget.

Forgiving is difficult but forgetting is almost impossible.  Like love, forgiveness cannot be forced, but some people say you can fake the act of forgiving.  But you can never lie to yourself to say that you have forgotten some wrong doings that hurt you so much.

Again, forgiving someone who hurts you is not easy.  Forgetting the act that was done to hurt you is much harder.  However, to live happily and for our own mental wellness, we must deal with the hurt and anger and try to move on.

Staying angry or upset with a person who hurts you does not cause the person as much pain as you cause yourself by holding onto that hurt.  It is best to try very hard to forgive the person and forget what happened.

I believe I will be able to live happily, with positive vibes when I am able to bury the past.  As human I make mistakes, so surely I want to be forgiven and my mistakes be forgotten by the person that I hurt.

But then, how do we forgive and forget? 

There are many books and articles that discuss the act of forgiving and forgetting and we can learn from these books and articles.  But for me, the easiest way is to emulate Rasulullah s.a.w.  As  Muslims, our main idol should be Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.  Let's learn from the Prophet's s.a.w. act of forgiving and forgetting.  He never harboured hatred, he treated his worst enemy kindly, including those who fought with Him for years and those who killed his relatives and loved ones.  When Allah sent Him an angel to destroy the people of Ta'if for mistreating Him, He instead forgave them and prayed to Allah to save them.

A reminder to myself:

Let's forgive those who hurt us and let's learn to forget their wrongdoings, in sya Allah we will have a peaceful mind and may we get the forgiveness from Allah swt.