Islam Guidance

If no Excess is Committed

If no Excess is Committed
 

Imam Musa al-Kadhim says regarding two people who have abused each other,

“From the two of them, the one who initiated it, is more unjust, his sin includes the sin of abusing as well as the sin of the one who had cursed him in reply. But the oppressed one should not exceed the limit.”

 It means that a person who is abused should retaliate only with words that equal the abuses. He should not use a more abusive language otherwise his sin will be equal to the sin of the one who initiated.

 For example if one calls another ‘you donkey’ and he replies with ‘you dog’ then this would be exceeding the limits. Or if one says ‘you donkey’ only once and the other person responds by repeating the same word twice or more, it would constitute an excess. If a person who has uttered a bad word, seeks forgiveness immediately before he is replied to, he must be condoned. In this case it is not allowed to reply even with the same words.

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