People’s rights will not be forgiven unless they are restored. But that does not mean the person must be the one to make restitution. If a repentant, remorseful servant who turns back to God cannot afford to pay, the All-Rich Creator will make restitution on their behalf—provided that they have fulfilled all the requirements of repentance. The sin that will not be forgiven is associating others with God. Let us guard our pure monotheism, but also never take people’s rights lightly: such indifference deprives us of the grace to repent and the chance to make amends!
وَ أَسْأَلُكَ فِي حَمْلِ مَظَالِمِ الْعِبَادِ عَنَّا فَأَيُّمَا عَبْدٍ مِنْ عَبِيدِكَ أَوْ أَمَةٍ مِنْ إِمَائِكَ كَانَتْ لَهُ قِبَلِي مَظْلِمَةٌ ظَلَمْتُهَا إِيَّاهُ فِي نَفْسِهِ أَوْ فِي عِرْضِهِ أَوْ فِي مَالِهِ أَوْ فِي أَهْلِهِ وَ وَلَدِهِ أَوْ غِيبَةٍ اغْتَبْتُهُ بِهَا أَوْ تَحَامُلٍ عَلَيْهِ بِمَيْلٍ أَوْ هَوًى أَوْ أَنَفَةٍ أَوْ حَمِيَّةٍ أَوْ رِيَاءٍ أَوْ عَصَبِيَّةٍ غَائِباً كَانَ أَوْ شَاهِداً حَيّاً كَانَ أَوْ مَيِّتاً فَقَصُرَتْ يَدِي وَ ضَاقَ وُسْعِي عَنْ رَدِّهَا إِلَيْهِ وَ التَّحَلُّلِ مِنْهُ فَأَسْأَلُكَ يَا مَنْ يَمْلِكُ الْحَاجَاتِ وَ هِيَ مُسْتَجِيبَةٌ بِمَشِيَّتِهِ وَ مُسْرِعَةٌ إِلَى إِرَادَتِهِ أَنْ تُصَلِّيَ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَ أَنْ تُرْضِيَهُ عَنِّي بِمَ شِئْتَ وَ تَهَبَ لِي مِنْ عِنْدِكَ رَحْمَةً إِنَّهُ لَا تَنْقُصُكَ الْمَغْفِرَةُ وَ لَا تَضُرُّكَ الْمَوْهِبَةُ يَا أَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِينَ
*Al-Balad al-Amīn wa al-Dirʿ al-Ḥaṣīn*, text, p. 117
I ask You to lift from us the burden of the wrongs we have done to Your servants. If I have wronged any of Your servants, male or female, whether in their person, their honour, their property, their family or their children; whether by speaking ill of them in their absence, or by wronging them out of desire or caprice, pride, prejudice, hypocrisy or tribal partisanship—whether they are absent or present, living or dead—and if my hands are too short and my means too limited to make amends, restore their rights or free myself from the consequences,
then I ask You, O Possessor of every need, whose fulfilment comes at the command of Your will and hastens toward Your purpose: bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, and make that wronged servant content with me in whatever way You will. Grant me mercy from Your own grace, for forgiveness takes nothing away from You, and generosity does You no harm. O Most Merciful of the merciful.