sense.

Some people say that this must involve compensation, reward, and gracious favor. A person may receive reward without doing any deed himself, as when righteous deeds are performed on his behalf.

As for patiently bearing afflictions, there is great reward in this. Allah Most High says:

“Give good tidings to the patient, who, when an affliction befalls them, say, ‘Indeed, we belong to Allah, and indeed, to Him we will return.’ Upon them are blessings from their Lord and mercy, and it is they who are rightly guided.”

If someone is wronged by being wounded or the like, and he forgoes redress as an act of charity, the wound is an affliction through which his sins are expiated. He is rewarded for his patience and for his kindness to the wrongdoer in pardoning him. Doing good may take the form of bringing benefit or warding off harm; this is why Allah calls it charity.

Allah Most High also says:

“Hasten to forgiveness from your Lord and a Garden as wide as the heavens and the earth, prepared for the righteous—those who spend in ease and hardship, restrain their anger, and pardon people. And Allah loves those who do good.”

He thus states that He loves those who do good and those who pardon people. This makes clear that pardoning others is a form of doing good.

Doing good is the opposite of doing evil. It means performing a good deed, whether its benefit is confined to the doer or extends to others. This includes His words:

“Whoever comes with a good deed will have ten times its like, and whoever comes with an evil deed will be recompensed only with its like.”

The person who restrains his anger and pardons people has done good both to himself and to others, for he has performed a good deed toward himself and toward others. Whoever does good to others does good to himself.

As it is related that one of the early generations said:

“I have done good to no one, nor have I done harm to anyone