The 365 · Verses · Day 256 · Justice
Give when it is hard, forgive when it is deserved - this is God's beloved.
ٱلَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ فِى ٱلسَّرَّآءِ وَٱلضَّرَّآءِ وَٱلْكَـٰظِمِينَ ٱلْغَيْظَ وَٱلْعَافِينَ عَنِ ٱلنَّاسِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ
“Who give, both in prosperity and adversity, who restrain their anger and pardon people: God loves those who do good. (Quran 3:134)”
3:134 Read 3:134 with tafsir
Svenska: de som ger åt andra såväl i välfärdens dagar som i tider av brist och som lägger band på sin vrede och förlåter sina medmänniskor - Gud älskar dem som gör det goda och det rätta -
The story
This āyah paints the portrait of the God-fearing, and al-Sa'dī walks its features one by one. First, they 'give in prosperity and adversity' - in ease and in hardship alike; when wealthy they give freely, and when poor they still refuse to belittle any small kindness. Second, they are 'those who restrain their anger.' Al-Sa'dī describes ghayz as the heart filling with a rage that demands revenge by word or hand; the God-fearing do not act on that human impulse - they hold it in. Third, and higher still, they are 'those who pardon people.' Pardon, al-Sa'dī notes, is greater than restraint: to suppress anger is to lock it inside, but to pardon is to drop the claim altogether, with graciousness toward the one who wronged you. Ibn Kathīr layers the Prophet's ﷺ words over the same verse: 'The strong is not the wrestler; the strong is the one who controls himself when angry,' and, 'No charity ever decreased wealth; no one pardons except that God increases him in honour.' The āyah then crowns the list: 'God loves those who do good' - the muhsinīn. Justice here is not cold retribution. The just believer gives what is owed and more, and when wronged, chooses the higher justice of pardon over the easy justice of revenge.
In the language
Two verbs sit side by side, and al-Sa'dī insists they are not synonyms. Al-kāzimīn al-ghayz - 'those who restrain rage' - comes from kazm, the act of holding something back and sealing it in. The ghayz itself he defines as the heart swelling with fury that demands to strike back by word or deed. To be kāzim is to feel all of that and refuse to let it out. But then comes al-'āfīn 'an al-nās - 'those who pardon people' - and al-Sa'dī marks this as the higher station: pardon, he says, is more complete than restraint, because pardon is the dropping of the claim altogether, with grace toward the wrongdoer. The order is deliberate. Restraint stops the hand; pardon empties the heart. One holds the poison in; the other pours it out. Al-Sa'dī observes that this second act belongs only to a soul already adorned with beautiful character and cleared of base traits - one who has, in his words, traded with God, forgiving God's servants out of mercy so that God might forgive him.
Why this verse
Restraining anger keeps you from sin; pardon lifts you into ihsān. Al-Sa'dī ranks pardon above restraint because it releases the claim entirely rather than merely bottling it - and Ibn Kathīr's ḥadīth promises that whoever pardons is increased in honour, never diminished.
Bring it into today
Anger will come this week - someone will cut ahead of you, speak sharply, break a promise. The āyah gives you two rungs to climb. The first is kazm: when the heat rises, do not let it out. Say nothing you will regret; unclench the hand. Ibn Kathīr's ḥadīth reframes the strength you are showing - the truly strong person is not the one who overpowers others but the one who masters himself in that moment. The second rung is higher: 'afw. Once you have swallowed the anger, go further and drop the grievance entirely, the way al-Sa'dī describes - releasing the claim with grace, not merely storing it away. And pair this with the āyah's first trait: keep giving, in the easy weeks and the tight ones. Justice toward others is not only paying what you owe; it is refusing to make them pay for your worst moments.
A reflection to carry
There is a ladder hidden in this āyah, and al-Sa'dī climbs it for us. At the bottom is restraint - kazm - holding the rage in when someone wrongs you. The Prophet ﷺ called the one who manages it stronger than any wrestler. But al-Sa'dī will not let us stop there. Above restraint stands pardon, and he is precise: restraint keeps the anger sealed inside, while pardon drops the claim entirely and adds grace on top. Notice where the āyah ends - not at 'those who pardon' but at 'God loves those who do good.' So the next time you are wronged, ask which rung you are on: did you only bottle the anger, or did you let the person go free?
Sources: Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī. The Qur'an and its translation are verified; the scholarship is retold faithfully in our own words and credited to its sources, never reproduced verbatim.
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