بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
Islam teaches us through the example of the prophet that gentleness is a key aspect of the religion. The prophet (ﷺ) said: “Allah is gentle, loves gentleness, and gives for gentleness what he does not give for harshness.” [Abu Dawud authenticated by al-Albaani]
Sheikh Bin-Baz (may Allah be pleased with him) commented on this mentioning that this applies in all aspects of life. Whether it is dealing with family matters, neighbours, people around us at work or school, whatever the situation may be – gentleness is the way to deal with matters. In another narration: “Allah is Forbearer and loves forbearance in all matters.” [Bukhari & Muslim]
Allah will grant outcomes and goodness in matters that are dealt with kindness and leniency that will simply not come from being harsh and this especially applies when calling people to Islam or advising others on the deen. The prophet (ﷺ) also said: “Kindness is not to be found in anything but that it adds to its beauty and it is not withdrawn from anything but it makes it defective.” [Muslim]
Our anger and ego tends to take a hold of us and we forget that Islam is built on being gentle with others. Many times in the Qur’an Allah commands His prophets to deal with situations in a lenient manner.
One of the biggest examples as mentioned in a previous post, is Musa who was sent to the Pharoah and was ordered by Allah to speak to him gently so that he may be guided, and we’re talking about the Pharoah – one of the worst human beings to have ever lived.
So much can come from simply talking nicely, choosing our words wisely, taking heed of who we are dealing with in all matters. It may be that someone is being harsh to us, but our soft words diffuse the harshness and goodness will come from it on top of the rewards from Allah.
People outside the religion look at how we Muslims deal with the world. In our time now especially with the media against everything Islamic, it is even more crucial to portray what the prophet (ﷺ) really taught us.
May Allah make us of the people that truly embrace the wisdom behind benignity and practice is it in everyday life.
Allah knows best.