A Smile and a Salaam

 

Do you wish you weren’t a Muslim? No I’m not crazy, just a bit confused. It is my understanding that all Muslims say they are happy to be within the fold of Islam; they are grateful that Allah has blessed them with guidance. Why then is it that when we see some of our Muslim sisters and brothers, they look so miserable? Why is it that while we’re doing our best to catch their eye and smile, they’re doing their best to ignore and scowl at us. Brothers and sisters, where is the love?

Of course we can’t expect people to go around smiling all the time. We all have problems to deal with but is that really a good excuse? As Muslims we are expected to always look on the bright side of everything. We could be homeless, sick with cancer or simply overloaded with too much coursework but despite all that we must still be grateful.
 

"And be grateful to Allah if it is Him you worship." (Al-Baqarah 2:172)
 

Allah asks us in Surah ar-Rahman, which of His blessings we will deny? The blessing of being able to draw a breath or the blessing of being able to see, hear, eat, and think? No matter how bad things get, there is always hope. The only time when hope is lost is if you’re dead.

Can we honestly use the lame excuse of "being in a bad mood" then? Probably not. So what makes us act against the prophet’s Sunnah? Some of us may not realize it but that is what we are doing.

 

The prophet (S.A.S) said,
“You shall not enter paradise until you believe and you shall not believe until you love one another. Shall I not inform you of something, if you were to act upon it, you will indeed achieve mutual love for one another? Spread the greeting (i.e.Assalamu Alaikum) amongst yourselves. (Muslim)
 

But do we follow this advice? No! Instead we prefer to ignore each other and act like strangers. We’d rather do anything to avoid acknowledging that we share a common bond. Instead of being proud to be Muslims we act as if it’s something to be ashamed of.

This attitude is what we should really be ashamed of as I’m sure the prophet (S.A.S) would be ashamed of us if he were too see us.
"A man asked the prophet (S.A.S) 'Which Islam is best?' He replied, 'Feed the poor and greet those whom you know as well as those you do not.'" (Bukhari, Muslim)
In another hadith, we are told the prophet said,
"The best (in conduct) among you before Allah, is the one who greets first." (Abu-Dawud, Ahmad, at-Tirmidhi)
 

There are other Hadith, but even these two are enough for us to stop and think. We should be competing with each other to say the salaam first. We should act kindly and cheerfully towards each other for we are not strangers. We are brothers and sisters in Islam and just seeing each other alive and well is a blessing.

Think about it. Act on it. I’m not asking for much, only that next time you see your Muslim brother/sister, don’t just walk by. Show them some love by extending a smile and a salaam.
 

posted on Muslim writers society by: lihat