In Christianity, the love of God is emphasized at every opportunity, “But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” [Romans 5:8 EXT]. And a similar message, “Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.” [1 John 4:8 EXT]. In the Holy Quran, there is less emphasis on the love of God for his people, and while God’s love is still very much present there is much more emphasis on the forgiving and merciful qualities in God, “Say, “If you love God, follow me, and God will love you and forgive you your sins; God is most forgiving, most merciful.” [HQ 3:31 …show more content…
Generally being someone who holds grudges and refuses to let go of other’s sins is not employing the idea of loving thy neighbor as thyself, which is more or less the golden rule that can be applied to both Christianity and Islam. The idea that in order to be forgiven, you must forgive others for when they have wronged you is crucial in both religions, “…if we hate one of our fellow believers because he is evil, we too will be hated by God because we are evil; and if we reject someone’s repentance because he is a sinner, we too will be refused repentance because we are sinners; and if we do not forgive our neighbour his sins, our sins will not be forgiven us.” [Mark the Monk]. Similarly, in Islam, “Imam Sadiq quoted on the authority of God’s Prophet: “Accept apologies, whether or not they are right. I will not intercede on behalf of anyone who does not accept an apology.” [1354 Tabarsi]. Saint Teresa of Avila was quoted on a similar topic of forgiving others before being forgiven by God, “What can a poor creature like myself do, who has had so little to forgive others and has so much to be forgiven herself?... that God should pardon us our sins, which have merited eternal fire, that we must pardon all trifling things which have been done to us.” [Saint Teresa of