In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
One
of the most beloved qualities of good character to Allah is kindness
and gentleness. Allah has reserved a special reward for those who are
kind and gentle.
Aisha reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
يَاعَائِشَةُإِنَّاللَّهَرَفِيقٌيُحِبُّالرِّفْقَوَيُعْطِيعَلَىالرِّفْقِمَالَايُعْطِيعَلَىالْعُنْفِوَمَالَايُعْطِيعَلَىمَاسِوَاهُ
O
Aisha, Allah is gentle and He loves gentleness. He rewards for
gentleness what is not granted for harshness and He does not reward
anything else like it.
Source: Sahih Muslim 2593, Grade: Sahih
Kindness and gentleness are traits that are inherently good, and whoever has them has been given his portion of goodness.
Jareer reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
مَنْيُحْرَمْالرِّفْقَيُحْرَمْالْخَيْرَ
He who is deprived of kindness is deprived of goodness.
Source: Sahih Muslim 2592, Grade: Sahih
Abu Ad-Darda reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
مَنْأُعْطِيَحَظَّهُمِنْالرِّفْقِفَقَدْأُعْطِيَحَظَّهُمِنْالْخَيْرِوَمَنْحُرِمَحَظَّهُمِنْالرِّفْقِفَقَدْحُرِمَحَظَّهُمِنْالْخَيْرِ
Whoever
is given his portion of kindness has been given his portion of
goodness, and whoever is deprived of his portion of kindness has been
deprived of his portion of goodness.
Source: Sunan At-Tirmidhi 2013, Grade: Sahih
Allah
loves kindness and gentleness in all matters, so we should manifest
these qualities even when we face abuse and cruelty. On one occasion,
the Prophet was insulted and cursed by his enemies but he did not return
their curse. Rather, he showed patience and forbearance and encouraged
his companions to be kind.
Aisha
reported: A group of Jews asked permission to visit the Prophet and
when they were admitted they said, “Death be upon you.” I said to them,
“Rather death and the curse of Allah be upon you!” The Prophet, peace
and blessings be upon him, said:
يَاعَائِشَةُإِنَّاللَّهَرَفِيقٌيُحِبُّالرِّفْقَفِيالْأَمْرِكُلِّهِ
O Aisha, Allah is kind and He loves kindness in all matters.
Source: Sahih Bukhari 6528, Grade: Muttafaqun Alayhi
Indeed,
Allah sent Moses and Aaron, peace be upon them, to Pharaoh and He
commanded them to speak mildly to him and to begin their invitation to
Islam with gentleness.
Allah said:
فَقُولَالَهُقَوْلًالَّيِّنًالَّعَلَّهُيَتَذَكَّرُأَوْيَخْشَىٰ
Speak to him mildly that perhaps he may remember or fear Allah.
Surah Ta Ha 20:44
Prophet
Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was commanded to
begin inviting the unbelievers of Mecca to Islam with gentleness, even
though they were plotting against him and the Muslims.
Allah said:
إِنَّهُمْيَكِيدُونَكَيْدًاوَأَكِيدُكَيْدًافَمَهِّلِالْكَافِرِينَأَمْهِلْهُمْرُوَيْدًا
Verily,
they are planning a plan and I am planning a plan. So give respite to
the unbelievers, deal gently with them for a while.
Surah At-Tariq 86:15-17
For
this reason, the Prophet was patient and forbearing with their abuse
for more than twenty years. Only after the persecution became so intense
was he allowed to fight back in self-defense. Even so, the Prophet was
given clear instructions to accept their repentance or at least accept
their offer of peace.
Allah said:
فَإِنتَابُواوَأَقَامُواالصَّلَاةَوَآتَوُاالزَّكَاةَفَخَلُّواسَبِيلَهُمْإِنَّاللَّهَغَفُورٌرَّحِيمٌوَإِنْأَحَدٌمِّنَالْمُشْرِكِينَاسْتَجَارَكَفَأَجِرْهُحَتَّىٰيَسْمَعَكَلَامَاللَّهِثُمَّأَبْلِغْهُمَأْمَنَهُذَٰلِكَبِأَنَّهُمْقَوْمٌلَّايَعْلَمُونَ
If
they repent, establish prayer, and give charity, let them go their way.
Verily, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. If any one of the idolaters
seeks your protection, then grant him protection so that he may hear the
words of Allah. Then deliver him to his place of safety. That is
because they are a people who do not know.
Surah At-Tawba 9:5-6
Thus,
the door of mercy and gentleness is never closed, as even the worst of
criminals are given the opportunity to repent and make amends.
Furthermore, kindness and gentleness should be shown to the animals and indeed all of creation.
Aisha
reported: I was upon a camel which was misbehaving so I began to beat
it. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
عَلَيْكِبِالرِّفْقِفَإِنَّالرِّفْقَلَايَكُونُفِيشَيْءٍإِلَّازَانَهُوَلَايُنْزَعُمِنْشَيْءٍإِلَّاشَانَهُ
You
must be gentle. Verily, gentleness is not in anything except that it
beautifies it, and it is not removed from anything except that it
disgraces it.
Source: Musnad Ahmad 24417, Grade: Sahih
Small
acts of kindness, although it might be trivial in the eyes of people,
are an important means for us to be saved from Hellfire and admitted
into Paradise.
Ibn Mas’ud reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
أَلَاأُخْبِرُكُمْبِمَنْيَحْرُمُعَلَىالنَّارِأَوْبِمَنْتَحْرُمُعَلَيْهِالنَّارُعَلَىكُلِّقَرِيبٍهَيِّنٍسَهْلٍ
Shall I not tell you for whom the Hellfire is forbidden? It is every person accessible, polite, and mild.
Source: Sunan At-Tirmidhi 2488, Grade: Hasan
Therefore,
we should train ourselves and our children to be kind and gentle in all
matters, among the Muslims, among unbelievers, and even with the
animals. We should resist the temptation to indulge in cruelty and
savagery. Times will come when must apply justice to criminals, but we
have to remember that the opportunity for repentance will remain and
even a great tyrant like Pharaoh should be given his portion of kindness
We ask Allah to beautify our manners with kindness and to protect us from falling into harshness.
Success comes from Allah, and Allah knows best.
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