ISLAMIC ARTICLE ~ love and kindness are secret weapons

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 livedmany generations and nations ago? In
fact we look upon them as our heroes and leaders and welove 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 andeven 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 thesenoble emotions
and behaviors.
That's why I illustrated this piece with a photo of sun rays shining
on a dark and snowy world. Because these powerful emotionsand
behaviors are not the stuff ofsunny afternoons, cotton candy and
daisies. They are like a guiding star that 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
heart is not true faith. Faith is proven by action. Faith is defined
by the way you live your life. Thesame 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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