By Farheen Naaz
Bismillah
Emaan is that feeling which joins one’s belief to his actions. It would not be wrong to say, it is the belief of a heart which is out to action. Everyone has those days when we feel the rush of emaan and thus we rush to do deeds which will please our Creator, the One and Only. But, everyone also has those days when we do not feel that emaan rush and question ourselves or let ourselves go astray. Kindness is an easy way to bring ourselves closer to Allah. Kindness can be in any form. Allah subhaanahu wa ta’ala loves kindness, as it is narrated in the following hadith:
‘A’isha (radhiAllah anha), the wife of Allah’s Apostle, reported that Allah’s Messenger (sal Allaahu alayhi wasallam) said: ‘A’isha, verily Allah is kind and He loves kindness and confers upon kindness which he does not confer upon severity and does not confer upon anything else besides it (kindness). (Book #32, Hadith#6273 Sahih Muslim)
‘A’isha, the wife of Allah’s Apostle (radhiAllah anha), reported Allah’s Apostle (sal Allaahu alayhi wasallam) as saying: Kindness is not to be found in anything but that it adds stop its beauty and it is not withdrawn from anything but it makes it defective. (Book #32, Hadith #6274 Sahih Muslim)
Malik related to me from Abu Ubayd, the mawla of Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik from Khalid ibn Madan who attributed it to the Prophet (sal Allaahu alayhi wasallam), “Allah, the Blessed and Exalted is kind and loves kindness. He is pleased with it and helps you with it as long as it is not misplaced..."(Book #54, Hadith #54.15.38 Malik’s Muwatta)
There is no doubt whatsoever that any act of kindness done with even a bit of emotion will go wary or will not bring us closer to Allah. In our day-to-day routines, there are a number of small acts which we can do to show kindness without having to go much out of our way. One of the best acts of kindness is charity, and charity does not necessarily mean giving money, clothes, or other monetary things to a poor person. As it is mentioned in the following hadith, one’s smile is also a form of charity!
“Smiling in the face of your brother is charity … and pouring out from your bucket into your brother’s bucket is charity.” (Book#27, Hadith #1879, Sunan at-Tirmidzi. Recognised as hasan by Al-Albani in his As-Shahihah no. 517)
Some other acts of kindness which can be incorporated in our daily life routines now and then in order to increase our emaan are:
- Refrain from negative talk and steer away from that conversation if it seems to go that way
- Do not interrupt when someone is trying to tell you something
- Listen intently and with full interest
- Say please and thank you
- Remove an obstacle from the road/footpath
- Wish people a good day or a good morning/afternoon
- Drive politely
- Give up your seat for someone (not necessarily an elderly person) if you are in a crowded place
- Drop off items of need at orphanages or shelters
- Ask your friends and family how you can help them (sometimes simply asking is a kind gesture that makes the other person feel good)
- Send a thank you note to someone who you remember has helped you in times of need or otherwise
- Plant a seed
- Gift something to someone
- Forgive the debt of someone who owes you
- Feed a cat or dog
There are a number of actions which can be termed as kind and eeman filling. Kindness is also a way to soften one’s heart. Please leave your thoughts in the comments section below. Feel free to mention what kind thing you did today or plan to do tomorrow. Let us build a society filled with love and affection even outside our homes by showing kindness to people, known and unknown. May Allah accept our deeds of kindness and help us create such a society. Ameen!
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