For children, - Hatred in Islam, Diseases of the Soul

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A kindergarten teacher has decided to let her class play a game. The kindergarten teacher told each child in the class to bring along a plastic bag containing a few potatoes. Each potato will be given a name of a person that the child hates, so the number of potatoes that a child will put in his/her plastic bag will depend on the number of people he/she hates. So when the day came, every child brought some potatoes with the name of the people he/she hated. Some had 2 potatoes; some 3 while some up to 5 potatoes.
The kindergarten teacher then told the children to carry with them the potatoes in the plastic bag wherever they go (even to the toilet) for one week. Days after days passed by, and the children started to complain due to the unpleasant smell let out by the rotten potatoes. Besides, those having 5 potatoes also had to carry heavier bags. After 1 week, the children were relieved because the game had finally ended.
The kindergarten teacher asked: "How did you feel while carrying the potatoes with you for 1 week?" The children let out their frustrations and started complaining of the trouble that they had to go through having to carry the heavy and smelly potatoes wherever they go. Then the kindergarten teacher told them the hidden meaning behind the game.
The kindergarten teacher said: "This is exactly the situation when you carry your hatred for somebody inside your heart. The stench of hatred will contaminate your heart and you will carry it with you wherever you go. If you cannot tolerate the smell of rotten potatoes for just one week, can you imagine what is it like to have the stench of hatred in your heart for your lifetime?"
Moral:Throw away any hatred for anyone from your heart so that you will not carry sins for a lifetime. Forgiving others is the best attitude to take. "Learn to Forgive and Forget."
Remember what Allah (SWT) teaches us in Surah Al-Araf (7:199-200):
"Show forgiveness, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the ignorant (don't punish them). If a suggestion from Satan assails your mind, seek refuge with Allah; surely He is Hearing, Knowing (all things)."
In these verses of Noble Qur'an, Allah (SWT) comforts the Prophet Muhammad (saw) and directs his mind to three Precepts:
1.To forgive injuries, insults, and persecution.
2.To continue to declare faith that was in him, and not only to that was in him, and not only to declare it, but to act up to it in all his dealings with friends and foes.
3.To pay no attention to ignorant fools, who raised doubts or difficulties, hurled taunts or reproaches, or devised plots to defeat the truth: they were to ignored and passed by, not to be engaged in fights and fruitless controversies, or conciliated by compromises.
Of all the things we can give other people in life, forgiveness is one of those that require the most effort. This phrase seems to make the process of forgiving easier for me: "To bear a grudge against someone is like burning down your house to get rid of a rat."
People say or do things often inadvertently and mostly out of personal insecurity or ignorance. You may be just the punching bag for the day. Maybe the other person is envious or afraid of you. Most of the time, these people have their own demons to grapple with.
Don't let their words and actions wear you down. They can only have a moment's effect on you. Then, depending on how you deal with the situation, they can continue to haunt you, or vanish like ashes in the wind.
But only you can make that decision. Discouraging and spiteful words and actions from other people can only have the desired effect if you want them to. Give yourself the pleasure of a free spirit.
Forgiveness is something we "give other people", but forgiveness, really, is a gift to ourselves.
When we wreak vengeance on people whom we think have done us an injustice, we invariably end up bitter and resentful. Worse still, if our vindictiveness provokes retaliation, we might start a cycle of vengeance. And when you bear hatred within your heart, what you're essentially doing is destroying your own state of mind and potential to be happy.
Each day yields opportunities for us to let go of or hold on to grudges, although the severity of each situation may vary. Are you better off holding on to them, or letting go?

- PUBLISHERNajimudeeN M