Letters: There is plenty of forgiveness in the Quran

Forgiveness in the Quran

Sir: Canon Andrew White (‘God’s man in Baghdad’, 21 November) said he could not find any forgiveness in the Quran, and asks to be informed if anyone finds any mention of it. I would be delighted to assist.

Any reader of the Quran would note that 113 of its 114 chapters begin with a pronouncement of God’s limitless mercy and beneficence. In fact ‘forgiveness’ and ‘mercy’ are mentioned roughly 100 and 200 times respectively. An entire chapter of the Quran is devoted to the quality of mercy (Surah Rahman).

The living embodiment of such values was the Prophet Muhammad. Did he not demonstrate the pinnacle of clemency when he forgave Wahshi, the criminal who murdered and mutilated his uncle Hamza? At that time, the following Quranic verse was revealed: ‘O My Devotees, who have committed excesses against their own selves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Surely, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed He is the most Forgiving, the Merciful’ (Quran 39:53). We then learn ‘And the recompense of evil is punishment like it, but whoever forgives and amends, he shall have his reward from Allah; surely He does not love the unjust’ (42.40).

Make no mistake: the Paris murderers who claimed to be Prophet Muhammad’s followers were defying the values he lived by, and acted in contempt of the book he brought. I can assure Canon White that we Muslims revere Jesus, worship the same almighty God — and yes, we also forgive.
Mohamedali Gokal
Harrow, Middlesex

Very PC at Wadham

Sir: I’m not surprised James Delingpole’s Aids joke (‘How to lose a debate at the Oxford Union’, 21 November) went down like a lead balloon. All the same, I’m saddened to read that political correctness has taken over Wadham — but not particularly surprised.