Smiling at another person is a sadaqah. It is an act of piety to meet people with a smile. We should never let an opportunity pass, however small it may be, to do a pious deed. One pious deed can tip the scales in your favour on the Day of Judgement. Meeting another muslim , or anyone as a matter of fact, with a happy smiling face will make the other person happy and you will get sawaabs. Many men and women hide behind the cloaks of being highly religious or very wealthy and they do not give proper replies to people’s salutations or reciprocate their friendly approach. These people appear to be perpetually angry, moody and rude and this often makes the other person uncomfortable which is not right.

   What is a smile? A smile is generally defined in dictionaries as a facial expression in which the corners of the mouth curve upwards , expressing one’s feelings or communicating one’s emotions to others. Of course , a smile might also express scorn or disdain, but that is another subject.

   Smiling releases chemicals in our bodies which create a kind or euphoria. The stress hormones in our blood ; adrenaline and cortisone, are lowered and we feel less anxious and troubled. If you don’t have anything to smile about, fake it, it will still produce these hormones in your blood, fake it, till you can do it for real. If you don’t want to smile at anyone right now. Then look in the mirror and smile at yourself, your face will never know the difference and make your body react in the same way.

   When the smile is genuine it melts away the ice of suspicion. It removes layers of prejudice accumulated through the years. It softens hearts frozen by disbelief and mistrust. It brings relief and joy to many. It says I understand. Don’t worry. It makes the appeal, I hope we can be friends. A smile is a powerful tool and this tool can be your smile.

   Does smiling really make a difference? Well do you remember when someone’s smile brought you a sense of relief or made you feel relaxed? Or when the absense of a smile made you feel nervous or even rejected ? Yes, a smile does make a difference. It affects both the one who is smiling and the one smiled at. The positive effect of a smile remains true to this day. A warm smile may help relieve built-up tensions. It may prove to be like a safety valve on a pressure cooker. When we feel tense or fustrated, a smile can help us to alleviate that tension and cope with our fustration. For example, Rahila often observed others looking at her. She assumed that they were critical or her, as they quickly averted their eyes when they saw that she noticed them. Rahila felt lonely and unhappy. One day a friend suggested that she smile at people when she caught their eye. Rahila tried it for two weeks and was amazed that everyone smiled back at her! Tensions were gone. Life became really enjoyable she says. Yes a smile makes us feel more at ease with others and helps us become more friendly.

  

The good effects of smiling on you and others

   Smiling can affect a person emotionally. It helps put one in a right frame of mind. It is good for physical health too. There is a saying Laughter is a good medicine. Ones frame of mind has much to do with ones physical condition. Prolonged stress, negative emotions and the like weaken our immune system. On the other hand, smiling makes us feel good, laughter even fortifies our immune system.

   A smile has a great effect on others, a warm smile, makes you feel more at ease and thus more receptive, a smile helps to reduce misunderstandings in tense situations.

 

Positive thoughts make smiling easier

   We want our smile to be natural and genuine. It is important to relax and give a heartfelt smile. Or else your smile may look artificial. How can we sincerely smile from the heart? The good man out of his good treasure sends out good things, whereas the wicked man out of his wicked treasure sends out wicked things. Remember, a smile is a non-verbal way of communicating our feelings. Bearing in mind that we speak out of the abundance of the heart and that good things come out of a good treasure it becomes evident that the key to a genuine smile lies in our thoughts and emotions. Yes what is in our hearts will no doubt be expressed, sooner or later, but not only by our words and deeds but also by our facial expressions. Thus we need to continue to work on dwelling on positive thoughts. Our facial expressions is strongly affected by our thoughts about others. Behind a genuine smile, will be a heart filled with goodness, mercy and kindness. Our eyes will be bright, and others will know that we really mean it.

 

Take the initiative in greeting others with a smile.

   Some people find it more difficult to smile than others. Even if they are filled with goodwill. Hence, we should not judge others by how big their smile is or how often they smile. People are different, and so are their characteristics and ways of communicating with others. Nevertheless if you find it challenging to smile at others why not work at it? Let us not give up doing what is fine. Let us work what is good towards all. What is good to others is to smile at them- and this is within your means!. So take the initiative in greeting others and giving a word of encouragement with a smile. It will be greatly appreciated. Also, you will discover that smiling becomes much easier as you develop the habit.

But a word of advice, young boys and girl, no flirting smiles at the opposite sex Please thank you!