Faith, love and kindness are secret weapons to change the world

Faith, love and kindness are not cute ideas or naive catchphrases.
They are elemental forces with the power to alter human hearts, and to
change the world. They are transformative emotions and behaviors that
were bestowed upon us by Allah,who is Al-Rahman (The Most Merciful)
and Al-Wadood (The Most Loving). They are stronger than hurricanes,
and they transcend the birth and death of individuals, and the rise
and fall of nations.
Don't we still have love for the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), and for
the Sahabah, all of whom lived many generations and nations ago? In
fact we look upon them as our heroes and leaders and we love them as
if they were dear friends. This is proof of the enduring nature of
love, which survives when all else changes around us.
Faith, love and kindness are the secret weapons that Allah has given
us to conquer corruption, cynicism, hatred, racism, and evil, in
ourselves and in the world.
These ideas are not naive, as some might say. Was the Prophet Muhammad
(pbuh) naive? He suffered in his mission, but he persevered. His
mission was rooted in faith and love of Allah, and expressed through
kindness to all people. There are so many stories about him showing
tremendous kindness to rude and even murderous people, and changing
their hearts in the process. He succeeded in the face of impossible
odds. His success is a testament to the power of these noble emotions
and behaviors.
That's why I illustrated thispiece with a photo of sun rays shining on
a dark and snowy world. Because these powerful emotions and behaviors
are not the stuff of sunny afternoons, cotton candy and daisies. They
are like a guiding starthat is only seen in the darkness. They come
into their own and show their true power by confronting and overcoming
hatred, bitterness, painful loss, war, poverty and despair.
I describe them as behaviors because faith that exists only in the
heartis not true faith. Faith is proven by action. Faith is defined by
the way you live your life. The same is true for love and kindness.
Love is a verb, not a noun. It's not an abstract feeling in your
heart, but a matter of behavior, the way you treat people, the way you
help, forgive, and show mercy to people.

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