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 thestuff 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.
Love Works Miracles in the Heart
It may be a cliche' to speak about love changing the world. It's not
something we can envision in concreteterms. So let me bring it down to
the level of one human being.
Growing up, I had a friend named Ismail. He was a few years younger
than me– when I was 17 he was 14, I think – and had grown up in a
dysfunctional family that had moved around constantly and had not
bothered to educate the children, so that at the age of 14, Ismail was
functionally illiterate.
I began tutoring Ismail andhis younger brother, teaching them to read
and write. I started from scratch, teaching them the alphabet and the
sounds ofthe letters, and working upto small phonetic words. I tutored
them for one hour every day, seven days a week, in the living room of
their apartment. Their parents were not supportive. I was never paid.
Sometimes their parents were fighting with each other at the same time
I was trying to teach. At times I noticed that the two boys could not
concentrate because they were hungry, so I began feeding them before
our study sessions, and giving them multivitamins. Slowlythey began to
learn, until they could write short essays and letters on their own.
Back then I worked for the United States Geological Survey, measuring
water levels at farms in the Central Valley, and taking water samples
to be testedfor various fertilizers and pesticides. It was hot,
difficult work. I'd ride my motorcycle more than hourto the huge
corporate farms on the west side of the valley. Armed with survey
maps, I would trudge across vast farms in 100 degree heat, seeking the
sumps that brought up ground water for irrigation.If the farms had
been recently irrigated the ground might be soft and my feet would
sink into the mud with every step. Some of the sumps were a dozen feet
deep or more, so in order to get a sample I had to toss a chain link
ladder down into the sump, climb down, fill a test tube, and climb
back out. I was very aware that if the ladder broke I could get stuck
in the sump, and I might not even be missedfor two or three days (no
cell phones in those days). It worried me.
So I began asking Ismail to come to the farms with me. He wasn't doing
anything anyway – he was not enrolled in school because he could not
function anywhere near hisgrade level.
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