Allah the Exalted has given human beings natural intelligence, and that intelligence demands responsibility.

The more intelligence a person has, the more responsible he or she is, whether man or woman.

Without intelligence there is no responsibility. Young children, for example, bear no responsibility because their intellect has not yet developed. Likewise, the insane cannot be held responsible for anything because they have lost their intellectual capacity. In any case, part of our human nature is that we make mistakes. Sometimes we make unintentional mistakes; at other times we knowingly and deliberately commit sins and wrong others. There is a saying: to err is human, and to forgive is a quality given by Allah.

Both parts of this saying are very true. As human beings we are indeed responsible, but we make mistakes, so we always seek Allah's forgiveness. Islam speaks of two kinds of forgiveness: a. forgiveness from Allah; b. forgiveness by people.

We need both, because just as we make mistakes in our relationship with Allah, we also make mistakes in our relationships with one another as human beings.

The Holy Quran mentions many names of Allah the Exalted. They are called "Asmaul Husna", the most beautiful names. The names express Allah's various and many-sided attributes and qualities, and several of them relate to mercy and forgiveness. For example:

• Al-Ghafur (the Most Forgiving). This name appears in the Quran more than 70 times. Some other names of Allah come from the same root.
• Al-Afuww. This relates to another aspect of forgiveness and is mentioned in the Quran five times. It means relief, restoration, exemption and setting free. In our relationship with Allah, the word means freeing us from the burden of the punishment we deserve for our sins and errors, or restoring the dignity we have damaged through our sins and mistakes.
• At-Tawwab (the Acceptor of repentance). This name is mentioned in the Quran 11 times. Its meaning is that Allah accepts repentance again and again. We sin and make mistakes again, yet if we repent He mercifully accepts it, and so gives us one more chance to return to the path of truth.

Source: Banglanews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.