Dear Respected Community Members:

We begin in the name of Allah and we send salutations of blessings and peace upon our beloved messenger Muhammad (saws), upon his family, his companions and those who follow him (saws) in righteousness until the day of judgment.

We live in times where kindness, smiling etc are not the norm. We are individuals so caught up in our everyday lives that we have forgotten how to be kind, generous etc. We live life as if everyone owes us something and as if our morals and views are constantly under attack, thereby lacking communication skills.

We only know how to communicate our needs and wants and do not care about the needs and wants of others. We expect others to be kind while we ourselves are rude, unfriendly, unloving, demanding, lacking that which we expect other to have.

Look at what Allah told Muhammad (saws):

“And by the Mercy of Allah, you dealt with them gently. And had you been severe and harsh hearted, they would have broken away from about you;” (3:159)

We must deal with each other gently. Being hard, severe and harsh hearted only causes separation and division. Be charitable in your conduct with others and gain the reward from Allah for your charity. So say a good word, smile and seek the pleasure of Allah Blessed is He. The messenger of Allah (saws) said,

“It is also charity to utter a good word.” (Agreed Upon)

And he (saws) also said,

“Do not disdain a good deed (no matter how small it seems) even if it is meeting your brother with a cheerful face.” (Muslim)

So, do not think of charity solely in the form of money, but as Imam An Nawawi said, “In Islam, it is not spending money alone that counts as charity; talking to someone in a descent way also comes in the same content.” So be charitable by saying a good word and smile much, for in every smile there is barakah.

May Allah grant us the ability to be charitable to one another through good speech and smiling and may He the Almighty join our hearts, just as He joined the hearts of the Muhajirun and the Ansar. Amin

Your Brother in Islam,

Abu Sumayyah