Subtleties and Allusions

Factors of Forgetting and Remembering

Satan whispers and can decrease or increase memories; however, he does not take away human free will. Similarly, on the opposite side, angels show kindness to humans and sometimes remind them of sins from many years ago—this is divine grace, so that the sinner may repent and seek forgiveness.(76)

Sometimes a sinner forgets the remembrance of God and their past sins: “He has forgotten what his hands have sent forth”(77), and perhaps God’s special mercy may not include them; but if they remember, they must seek forgiveness, and this repentance is divine grace and favor for them.

Humans cannot—unlike closing heavenly, earthly and maritime borders—close the borders of their hearts so that no memory enters it; this is only in the hands of the Turner of Hearts (Muqallib al-Qulūb). The recollection of bitter or sweet memories and their departure and forgetting is either by Satan’s hand or the work of angels, although humans remain free and according to the hadith of “lifting” (rafʿ), forgetfulness is not subject to religious obligation: “Nine things have been lifted from my community: error, forgetfulness, and…”.(78) Indeed! If one’s forgetfulness has voluntary preliminaries and they deliberately neglect them, they will be punished and held accountable for those preliminaries.