Allah Most High has said:

“No calamity befalls except by Allah’s permission. And whoever believes in Allah, He guides his heart.”

Anas said:

“I served the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, for ten years. He never uttered a word of irritation to me, nor did he ever say about something I had done, ‘Why did you do that?’ or about something I had not done, ‘Why did you not do it?’ When any of his family reproached me for something, he would say, ‘Leave him alone. Had something been decreed, it would have happened.’”

In the two Sahīhs, ‘Ā’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said:

“The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, never struck a servant, a woman, an animal, or anything else with his hand, except when fighting in Allah’s cause. He never avenged himself for any harm done to him, unless Allah’s sacred limits were violated. When Allah’s sacred limits were violated, nothing could withstand his anger until he had exacted retribution for Allah’s sake.”

He also said, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

“If Fātimah, the daughter of Muhammad, were to steal, I would cut off her hand.”

Thus, in matters of Allah’s commands and prohibitions, he would hasten to obey and enforce the prescribed punishments upon those who transgressed Allah’s limits, undeterred by anyone’s blame in fulfilling his duty to Allah. But when someone harmed him or fell short in fulfilling his rights, he would pardon that person and not hold him accountable, mindful of divine decree.

This is the path of those whom Allah has blessed: the prophets, the steadfastly truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous. What excellent companions they are!

This is obligatory regarding decreed calamities that occur without human agency, such as natural disasters, or through an act for which punishment is no longer possible, such as Adam’s action, peace be upon him. There is no basis for blaming him under revealed law—because of his repentance—or in terms of divine decree, because the matter had been foreordained and decreed.

But when one person wrongs another, the wronged person may obtain just redress. If he pardons the offender, however, that is better for him, as Allah Most High says:

“And for wounds there is equal retribution. But whoever waives it as an act of charity, it will be an expiation for him.”