Crossing the Bridge: From Mercy to Forgiveness

Alhamdulillāh, we have completed the first third of our journey. If the first ten days were about Mercy, the next ten are about Forgiveness.

And I want to name something we all do. We rush toward forgiveness, of ourselves or others, while our nervous systems are still in fight or flight. We try to “let it go” while the body is still bracing, still tight, still protecting.

That is why we spent the last ten days building your Fortress of Safety. Because you cannot truly put down a burden if you do not feel safe enough to loosen your grip. You cannot release what your system still believes it needs for survival.

Why Safety Precedes Forgiveness

In our first arc, we established clinical and spiritual anchors that stabilise the heart before we do deeper inner work.

• Ar-Raḥmān gave us safety before demand. We did not begin Ramadan with pressure or a corrective lens. We began with being held.

• Ar-Raḥīm taught us repair without abandonment. We learned that a slip does not sever connection. Returning is always available.

• Al-Wadūd softened the belief that love must be earned. We learned that love is not a reward for improvement. Love is what sustains the process of improvement.

• Ar-Ra’ūf met our limits with tenderness. We practiced compassion for tiredness, strain, and vulnerability, without shame.

• An-Nūr brought clarity, but only after steadiness. We learned that insight becomes accessible when the heart is settled, and that hidden clarity can also be mercy in timing.

So we are not walking into forgiveness with force. We are walking into it from a foundation that can hold the weight of truth.

What to Expect in the Arc of Forgiveness (Days 11–20)

Now that your foundation is poured, we start clearing the clutter.

In the clinical world, forgiveness is often misunderstood. People think forgiveness means pretending it did not hurt, excusing what was wrong, or rushing past the grief. But in this journey, forgiveness is better understood as relational release.

Release does not mean denial.
Release does not mean erasing consequences.
Release means you stop carrying what keeps you heavy.

So while the first ten days stabilised the heart, the next ten days will focus on lightening the load. We will explore Divine Names that guide us toward:

• Cleansing: removing the rust of shame, guilt, resentment, and self-condemnation.

• Expansiveness: making internal room to breathe again, without tightness or fear.

• Restoration: returning toward wholeness, and aligning again with fitrah, with sincerity, with steady turning.

A New Intention

As we enter Day 11, let’s adjust our internal ask.

Instead of asking, “Am I doing enough?”
Let’s begin asking, “What am I ready to release?”

Because you have been held by Allah's Mercy.
You are safe.
You are seen.

Now, by Allah’s permission, we begin to put down what you were never meant to carry forever.

Warmly,
Hauwa Bello