1. color our perceptions
2. influence our attitudes
3. mold our motives
4. dictate our actions

which eventually dominate our lives.
We are therefore instructed through prophetic traditions, to keep ...

1. our emotions in check
2. our attitudes good
3. our thoughts pure

so that our actions may be worthy of being considered as 'ibaadah /worship.
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) suggested that  ...
حسن الظن من حسن العبادة
 positive attitude and good consideration is regarded as part of the best 'ibaadah.

Of all the emotions, love is possibly the most powerful and potentially the most beautiful. For a guided person, love is a most noble thing indeed. (For a misguided person, it could be like a guided missile that causes unwarranted damage).

Love and Compassion is Essential
The very fact that ...

1. the most pervasive of all the attributes of Allah in the Qur'an is rahmah / compassion & mercy [Qur'an 7:155] ; the Prophet instructed people to imbue themselves with the attributes of God
2. Allah [Q 1: 1-3], the Qur'an [Q 17:72], the Prophet [Q 21:107] and the basic bond of the most fundamental human relationship [Q 30:21] is referred to as rahmah / compassion & mercy
3. Prophet Jesus / 'Isa (pbuh) referred to the greatest commandment as being the one that states, "Love God with all thy heart and all thy soul and love thy neighbor as thy self." Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said ...

الحب أساسي
                                  Love is the foundation of my existence

1. "The idea of love has left a wider and more indelible imprint upon the development of human culture in all its aspect than any other single notion." [Encyclopedia of Religion]

... all this indicates the significance of love and the need to cultivate positive emotions in ourselves and to manifest compassion in our daily lives. We will find that when eventually we look back on life, the moments we cherish the most will always be those when we have done things in the spirit of compassion; those little acts of kindness and of love.

Being Loving is part of Faith
What we feel in ourselves we often find reflected in the world around us. If we are suspicious, then suspicion abounds around us; if we hate, hate preoccupies us; if we are miserable we make others miserable; and misery begets misery.
The worst disease of this day and age is that of people feeling unloved. There is so much hurt in this world despite so much capacity to show love. When love fills our heart and mind, we see a world that yearns to be loved. Being loving is an integral part of our faith; as the Prophet stated ...
المؤمن يألف و يؤلف  ولا خبر فيمن لا يألف و يؤلف
و خير الناس انفعهم للناس
"A Believer loves and is loved. There is no goodness in one who neither offers love nor accepts love; And the best of people are those best to humanity."

Nurturing Love
The role of family in the overall social structure of Islam is great and if we fail to grasp its importance, the whole edifice will collapse. In Islam there is no family without union or marriage and there is no marriage without rules and discipline. The family in Islam is a unit in which two independent persons unite and share life together. The husband's dignity is an integral part of his wife's dignity. Accordingly, neither of them is better than the other. To unite and share, there must be mutual love and compassion - a genuine feeling which, unless translated into action and behavior, would be mere illusion.
To love persons effectively, we have to know and understand their inner world-their likes, dislikes, thoughts, and feelings. Take the time to do that which nurtures love, compassion, understanding and respect. This creates a loving home, ideal for nurturing loving children who become loving citizens of the world.
We spend so much money on educating our children because without education there is no viable economic future. By the same token, if we do not engender love how will they reflect or manifest that love in their lives and relationships. 

Successful Relationships
Offer your best and bring out the best in others. Anas bin Malik was a young companion who served in the house of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and when his parents came to take him away, he refused. He used to say that in all my years with the Prophet, he never once belittled or insulted me. The more you focus on making others feel good about themselves, the more affectionate they will be towards you. Share your self, give of your self; share your know-how, your wisdom, your resources and your love. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, "Whosoever gives (not only of his/her belongings, but) of himself/herself, is truly a Believer."

The quality and success for us as social beings depends tremendously on each of our abilities to develop the magnetic power of caring enough and reflecting that care in our daily attitudes, through loving words and appropriate behavior; and this begins with those who have the most right to it; those in our homes ... and then the rest of the world.

_______________________

By: Br. Sadullah Khan

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