Salam (peace)! Today I was reading the Quran and wanted to share a couple Ayats I read today. 

> I recommend this book: The Clear Quran for Kids Vol. 1 (you don't have to be a kid!)

O believers! Indeed, some of your spouses and children are enemies to you, so beware of them. But if you pardon, overlook, and forgive ˹their faults˺, then Allah is truly All-Forgiving, Most Merciful. Your wealth and children are only a test, but Allah ˹alone˺ has a great reward. So be mindful of Allah to the best of your ability, hear and obey, and spend in charity—that will be best for you. And whoever is saved from the selfishness of their own souls, it is they who are ˹truly˺ successful. If you lend to Allah a good loan, He will multiply it for you and forgive you. For Allah is Most Appreciative, Most Forbearing. ˹He is the˺ Knower of the seen and unseen—the Almighty, All-Wise.

At-Taghabun 14-18

Let's break this down in points and ponder together. Your pondering may not be my own, but let's think on our Lord's words together.

The Warning:

"some of your spouses and children are enemies to you, so beware of them"

This is very clear here.. And this can touch on many different things for many different people. BUT this is not the part of the Ayat I want to lay focus on. It's the one right after:

But if you pardon, overlook, and forgive ˹their faults˺, then Allah is truly All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

The Mercy of Allah is so grand. He knows our enemies even when we don't. Then, even if we do recognize our enemies regardless of who they are or what reasons we are simply told pardon, overlook, and forgive. Easier said than done, right? But a point I take away from this; is the softening of the Heart and an understanding within the soul. Why are people our enemies? They have done something to invoke an anger within us. They may go against us or what we follow in some way, or we may harbor something within ourselves giving the title of an enemy to whom we please. But Allah says to pardon. So regardless of our own inclinations, the why and how doesn't matter. Sometimes we make our children/spouses an enemy to us because they anger us when they don't do small things that we expect them to and when this anger reveals itself it can increase the negativity in the home leading to more fights, and not long after could lead towards a broken unit. But if we set aside our ego and pardon and overlook, not for ourselves but for the love of our Lord then we bring that peace back to the home and within a deeper level of ourself. This ultimately leads to a natural forgiveness, because we begin to understand our own faults when we realize the faults we see in others. 

Mash'Allah!

And something I most love about this particular Ayat here is; Allah isn't just telling us what to do, but he's also reminding us of His mercy, his Love. How many times do we make ourselves an enemy of our Lord? By means of going against Him in ways that could invoke His anger? Such as idol worship, harming others (physically/emotionally), not giving charity, being selfish... This list goes on.. But He knows us because he created us and He pardons, overlooks, and forgives. We still receive His blessings, EVEN when we make ourself an enemy. His Mercy is so grand that he asks us to overlook the faults of another. Imagine how grand this is for you. To not harbor stress because another persons actions. But to harbor so much love for your Lord that you find peace and see the love of your Lord even in an enemy.

This brings me to :

"Your wealth and children are only a test, but Allah ˹alone˺ has a great reward."

Everything we face in life is just a test. It's OUR test. And Allah alone holds our reward if we pass. we just need to "be mindful of Allah to the best of your ability, hear and obey, and spend in charity—that will be best for you." We are spending in charity when we pardon another. And we get rewarded for it! I realize it can be hard because we let our egos get to us, but if we let down that wall and obey our Lord, imagine the serenity in this life, but the grandest of serenities in the next.

Let's think for a minute...

Are you at peace when you're angry? 

Don't you just work yourself up into some sort of frenzy? 

Doesn't this afflict a stress in your own self but we lend the blame on someone else?

What if for a second we just let the walls down.

See a creation other than our own self

See that we also contain our own faults

Wouldn't we like to be forgiven when we mess up? Wether knowingly or unknowingly? 

How can we be free when we harbor so much? Locking ourself up in our own cells...

When you change your perception, you change your reality. With Allah is the best of reality and the best of the afterlife. InshAllah (God Willing).

"And whoever is saved from the selfishness of their own souls, it is they who are ˹truly˺ successful."

"If you lend to Allah a good loan, He will multiply it for you and forgive you. For Allah is Most Appreciative, Most Forbearing. ˹He is the˺ Knower of the seen and unseen—the Almighty, All-Wise."

May peace be with you & me, Ameen.