The Truth About Harshness and Gentleness

[Aaryana Afghan]

Assalam O Alaikum

*We treat others a certain way everyday as well as others treat us. i hev often heard the phrase. "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar"!! Why? Because of the sweetness of the honey. The vinegar is acidy and has a not so pleasant taste.

When we are amongst others, sweetness draws people to you more. When you are kind, people return the kindness most times. It is good for us to be gentle and patient at al times, but Allahu Alim!

In a collection of Hadith, gentleness and harshness is compared:

"Inna ar rifqa bil haiwan la yakona fi shyien illa zanahu, wa la unzau, min shyien illa shanahu"

"Indeed if gentleness is added to something, it will make it pretty, and if it is taken awayfrom something, it makes it ugly."[Ahmad/Abu-Dawud>

Surely if we behave with gentleness we can accomplish many things, Inshallah. Allah is gentle to His creatures so why can't we be gentle to others?

This gentleness is not just for humans, but for all of Allah's creatures. As they too deserve to be treated with kindness and gentleness.

Allah is more gentle with us than we are to our own children. If we give out gentleness we will gain some, Inshallah. Being ugly and harsh is not a good way to accomplish anything. So let us remember when we are in a position to deal out much harshness, let us deal gentleness instead.

May Allah Ta'ala reward those who are gentle and kind, Ameen.