1 Samuel 24:17 Meaning He Said to David

Ḥilm: Forbearance Ḥilm is strength that holds itself back. When someone who has been hunting you falls into your hands, the opening feels like permission, and every argument for striking sounds reasonable. Forbearance keeps the hand still through those few seconds, which is all the time the opening lasts. Afterward, the one who held back has nothing to undo.

Repel evil with what is better, and your enemy becomes like a close friend: goodness can undo hostility The Quran puts it that way, and Sufis treat it as a working rule. Returning kindness to someone who has wronged you does what no argument can do. A person who has decided you are the enemy needs your hostility to keep that belief standing, and when it never arrives, the belief starts to give way. Sometimes they end up saying so out loud.

Tawakkul: Leaving the outcome to God Tawakkul is trusting God with the result. Someone who believes a promise has been made to them still feels the pull to seize it early, in a moment that looks handed over. Trust holds that the promised thing does not need to be stolen, and that waiting is not wasted time. Waiting keeps a person from winning something in a way that would spoil having it.

Nafs al-lawwāma: The self that blames itself The Quran names a self that turns and accuses its own owner. It usually shows up uninvited, right after someone else's decency has made yours look small by comparison. Being treated well by the person you have been wronging is hard in a specific way, since it strips away every excuse at once. The words that come out then are honest, even if the person goes back on them later.

My mercy outstrips my wrath: mercy gets the last word A saying of God reported by the Prophet, and one Ibn Arabi returns to constantly. When mercy wins inside a person, it is doing what mercy does everywhere, arriving ahead of punishment. Sparing an enemy can feel like a loss, because anger promises a settled account and mercy leaves the account open. The saying answers that fear by placing mercy first and largest, so the one who chooses it has not come out behind.