Undeniably, the year\n2020 was not kind to most of us. The pandemic has affected our lives in many\naspects and for many of us, the grey gloomy clouds still hang over our heads\neven when the new year 2021 was ushered in. Despite the worst that it has\nbrought, the Covid-19 pandemic has also managed to bring out some of the best\ncharacters among mankind. There are many among us, either individually or in\ngroups, who rise to the occasion and help those who have been adversely\naffected by the pandemic. These kind hearts reflect the positive in mankind, no\nmatter how hard life challenges can be. Kindness as such, is not only the demonstration of sympathy as is often\nunderstood, but actually doing things in the best possible manner to help\nothers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Islam, kindness is viewed upon\nas a great virtue. Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) embodied kindness,\nmercy and compassion through his words and actions. The Quran mentions the\ncharacters of Prophet Muhammad: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So by mercy from Allah, [O Muhammad], you were lenient\nwith them. And if you had been rude [in speech] and harsh in heart, they would\nhave disbanded from about you. So pardon them and ask forgiveness for them and\nconsult them in the matter. And when you have decided, then rely upon Allah.\nIndeed, Allah loves those who rely [upon Him]. (Ali-Imran<\/em>, 3: 159) <\/p>\n\n\n\n In a hadith narrated by Muslim, Prophet\nMuhammad (Peace be upon Him) also said that \u201cKindness is a mark of faith, and whoever\nis not kind has no faith\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The survival of humanity is dependent upon human\nkindness as such an act actually encourages altruism and benevolence. As a\nvirtue, the principle of kindness rejects conditions such as hypocrisy, feeling\nof superiority and any form of narcissistic behaviour. In the event of disputes\nor conflicts among individuals or groups, kindness and the feelings of respect\nmust always lead the way. It is important to note that the precondition for a\nstrong society is not mainly measured through its economic progress and\nmaterial wellbeing, but more to the composition of ethical values such as kindness,\njustice and compassion that characterised individuals and groups in the\nsociety. When people are kind to one another, it will create a society that is\nselfless and compassionate. The society will then become more resilient and\nsocial stability will ensue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When we encounter or are made known of people who are\ninconsiderate, lack sympathy and are aggressive towards others, we wonder over\nthe paucity of patience, kindness and empathy that were supposed to guide them\neither psychologically or emotionally during those episodes of discontent. In\nthe Holy Quran, Allah the Almighty says: \u201cKind speech and forgiveness are\nbetter than charity followed by injury; and Allah is Most Self-Sufficient and\nMost Gentle (Al-Baqarah<\/em>, 2: 263).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The verse serves as an important guidance that it is\nalways best to consider the feelings of others in any particular situation by\nbeing more empathetic and forgiving. During these hard times of economic\nhardship and the current pandemic grappling that is the world, many individuals\nare adversely affected by the problems that come with it. People are losing\ntheir jobs, businesses are incurring losses, social movements are restricted\nand health are at risk. It is a real life struggle for many. We can actually\nplay positive roles to help those who are truly in need of support in our very\nown capacity and ability. Our meaningful contribution can even be in the simplest\nform of a friendly gesture, smile and humble greeting that might be enough to positively\nimpact someone’s day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Regrettably, there are also those who are oblivious\ntowards the predicaments suffered by others, which lead to the upsetting presence\nof discourtesy. This is made worse by the pervasiveness of technology and\nsocial media platforms which sometimes cause individuals to become less polite\nand inconsiderate. Offensive remarks in the social media and other technology\nplatforms are becoming a worrying trend. Responsible social media users are\nalways mindful of what they post, share and comment. Though we feel that we are\nalone when using the technology recklessly, as people of religion, we must\nrealise that God is forever aware of every little action that we do and even\nwhat rests in our hearts. Allah the Almighty reminds us of this in the Holy\nQuran: \u201cOn the Day of Permission, mankind will come forth scattered that they\nmay be shown their deeds. So, whoever does an atom\u2019s weight of good shall see\nit. And whoever does an atom\u2019s weight of evil shall see it.\u201d (Al-Zalzalah<\/em>, 99: 6-8)<\/p>\n\n\n\n We need to spread the message of kindness through our\nwords or actions. Without us realising it, kindness is actually infectious in a\ngood sense. When we act through a simple and kind gesture towards others and it\nimpacts them significantly, we will see the ripple effect of other kind\ngestures onto others. Therefore, we should always start with the intention to\ndo good deeds and be kind. If we are sincere in making the world a better place\nfor everyone, we should first look into our very own hearts and begin from\nthere. This is what the world really needs right now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Undeniably, the year 2020 was not kind to most of us. The pandemic has affected our lives in many aspects and for many of us, the grey gloomy clouds still hang over our heads even when the new year 2021 was ushered in. Despite the worst that it has brought, the Covid-19 pandemic has also…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_analytify_skip_tracking":false,"_wpzoom_pinterest_image_url":"","_wpzoom_pinterest_hidden_image":"0","_wpzoom_pinterest_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[139],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-new-straits-times","category-139","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28427\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}