The Correct Way

T

hat which you have been given is but the fleeting comfort of this life. For better and more enduring is God’s reward to those who believe and put their trust in Him; who avoid gross sins and indecencies and, when angered, are willing to forgive; who respond to the call of their Lord, are constant in prayer, and conduct their affairs by mutual consent; who bestow in alms a portion of that which We have given them and, when oppressed, seek to redress their wrongs. Let evil be rewarded with like evil. But he who forgives and seeks reconcilement shall be rewarded by God. He does not love the wrongdoers. Those who avenge themselves when wronged incur no guilt. But great is the guilt of those who oppress their fellow men and conduct themselves with wickedness and injustice in the land. These shall be sternly punished. But true constancy lies in forgiveness and patient forbearance. (42:36-43)