Ghurar Al-Hikam Wa Durar Al-Kalim, Exalted Aphorisms And Pearls Of Speech

Apologizing And Offering Excuses

Apologizing and offering excuses-الأعذار والاِعتذار

  1. Being needless of offering an excuse is more honourable than truthfulness [in your excuse].[^1]

1ـ اَلاِسْتِغْناءُ عَنِ العُذْرِ أعَزُّ مِنَ الصِّدْقِ.

  1. Apologizing necessitates pardoning.

2ـ اَلإعْذارُ يُوجِبُ الاِعْتِذارُ.

  1. Repeating the apology is a reminder of the sin.

3ـ إعادَةُ الاِعْتِذارِ تَذْكِيرٌ بِالذَّنْبِ.

  1. One who seeks pardon without having sinned has imposed the sin upon his soul.

4ـ مَنِ اعْتَذَرَ مِنْ غَيْرِ ذَنْب فَقَدْ أوْجَبَ عَلى نَفْسهِ

الذَّنْبَ.

  1. One who admits his wrongdoing deserves forgiveness.

5ـ مَنِ اعْتَرَفَ بِالجَريرَةِ اِسْتَحقَّ المَغْفِرَةَ.

  1. One who apologizes in a befitting manner deserves to be forgiven.

6ـ مَنْ أحْسَنَ الاِعْتِذارَ اِسْتَحَقَّ الاِغْتِفارَ.

  1. One who apologizes has sought pardon.

7ـ مَنِ اعْتَذَرَ فَقدِ اسْتَقالَ.

  1. He who seeks pardon has not sinned.

8ـ ما أذْنَبَ مَنِ اعْتَذَرَ.

  1. How good an intercessor seeking pardon is!

9ـ نِعْمَ الشَّفيعُ الاِعْتِذارُ.

  1. Do not offer an excuse to the one who would like to find you without an excuse.

10ـ لاتَعْتَذِرْ إلى مَنْ يُحِبُّ أنْ لايَجِدَلَكَ عُذْراً.

  1. There is no intercessor more successful than apology.

11ـ لاشافِعَ أنْجَحُ مِنَ الاِعْتِذارِ.

  1. Repeating the apology is a reminder of the [past] sins.

12ـ إعادَةُ الاِعْتِذارِ تَذْكِيرٌ بِالذُّنُوبِ.

  1. Seeking pardon (or taking lesson) is a sincere warner.[^2]

13ـ اَلاِعْتِذارُ(الاِعْتِبارُ) مُنْذِرٌ ناصِحٌ.

  1. When you do wrong, apologize.

14ـ إذا جَنَيْتَ فَاعْتَذِرْ.

  1. Sometimes the admission of guilt for having committed a sin dispenses with the need for seeking pardon.

15ـ رُبَّ جُرْم أغْنى عَنِ الاِعْتِذارِ عَنْهُ اَلاِقْرارُ بِهِ.

  1. Too much apology magnifies the sins.

16ـ كَثْرَةُ الاِعْتِذارِ تُعَظِّمُ الذُّنُوبَ.

  1. Keep away from that for which there is little denial, even if the excuses from you are many, for it is not such that everyone who speaks ill [of you] can be excused by you.

17ـ إيّاكَ وما قَلَّ إنْكارُهُ، وإنْ كَثُرَ مِنْكَ اِعْتِذارُهُ،

فَماكُلُّ قائِل نُكْراً يُمْكِنُكَ أنْ تُوسِعَهُ عُذْراً.

[^1]: Or: Not doing anything that would require apology is rarer than truthfulness.

[^2]: It is a warner in the sense that the shame it causes acts as a warning for one not to do anything that would force him to seek pardon again.