Page 22 - Beauties for Life in the Qur'an

20 BEAUTIES FOR LIFE IN THE QUR'AN

ent from the one found in society in general. People inherit their
sense of courtesy from their families or imbibe that of the sur-
rounding society. Yet this understanding changes from one
strata to another. The type of kindness based upon Qur'anic val-
ues, however, is over and above any of these understandings,
for it does not change according to circumstances or people.
Those who adopt the moral excellence described in the Qur'an
see every human being as Allah's servants and thus treats them
with great kindness, although their conduct may not be perfect.
Such people shun tactless and unmannered behavior, secure in
the knowledge that being kind earns Allah's Love, which is also
stated in a prophetic hadith: "Allah is kind and loves kindness in all
matters" (Al–Bukhari and Muslim).
As the following verse indicates, Allah encourages people to
be good and kind to others:
Remember when We made a covenant with the tribe of Israel:
"Worship none but Allah, and be good to your parents, relatives,
orphans, and the very poor. Speak good words to people.
Establish prayer and pay alms." But then you turned away – ex-
cept a few of you – you turned aside. (Surat al-Baqara: 83)
The Qur'an demands absolute kindness. In other words, be-
lievers cannot swerve from good conduct even if their sur-
rounding conditions seem demanding and inconvenient.
Physical weakness, exhaustion, or difficulties never prevent
them from being kind. Meanwhile, whether they are well-off or
poor, or enjoy a prestigious position or are being held as cap-
tives, believers treat everyone kindly, for they are aware that
our Prophet (saas) stressed the need for every believer to do so
in the following prophetic hadith: "Whenever kindness is added to
something, it adorns it; whenever it is withdrawn from something, it
leaves it defective." (Muslim) This noble morality is recom-
mended in the following verse: