Br. Ayman Alhadheri gave a moving khutbah on Friday about Ar-Rifq (kindness.) Fact about Ayman: He graduated from ACA! It’s really encouraging for the students to see an ACA graduate come back to speak or present for the school. JazakAllahukhairan!
A few very kind Montessori students – they posed for the camera! Thanks guys :)
Ar-Rifq is the real essence of goodness. In terms of da’wah or giving advice to our brothers and sisters in Islam (naseehah), no matter what we say – even if we are one hundred percent correct – it will not be effective unless endowed with kindness.
The Prophet (SAW) was an illustration of kindness himself. Our khateeb told us about four or five specific inspirational examples of his kindness to animals, children, his family and even plants! I could almost picture the scenes from his vivid, detailed and emotional descriptions.
The one below was one of my favorites:
Animal Rights!
The Prophet (SAW) explained to us that if a harmful animal or insect attacks you or someone else, and to save a human being from being hurt, you strike the animal or insect dead, you will receive 300 good deeds. But if it takes you two strikes to kill it, the reward is decreased to 200 good deeds. And if it takes you three strikes to kill the animal/insect, the reward is further lessened to one hundred good deeds. Imagine if a rabid dog broke loose and was trying to kill you, even then Islam’s priority is that you should NEVER prolong suffering of any living creature. SubhanAllah.
The Story of the Little Girl
One day, the Prophet (SAW) went to the market with ten silver coins. He bought a brand new shirt for four of the coins. On the way back home, he heard a beggar’s cry, asking for any good that anyone could give him. The Prophet (SAW) gave him the brand new shirt. This in it of itself is a beautiful mark of his generosity: have you ever given away a brand new shirt that you really wanted to a beggar? Today when we give away clothes to the needy, we give them the worn, tattered, unwanted clothes.
Then he (SAW) went back to the market, and bought another shirt for another four coins. This time, as he he made his way out of the marketplace, he noticed a little girl crying bitterly. This man, who was more important and had more responsibility to his people than the President of the United States of America, stopped and asked her why she was sobbing. The young girl replied that her master had given her two silver coins to buy flour with, and she had lost them; so her master would beat her when she went home empty handed. The Prophet (SAW) had two coins left over from his shopping, and gave those to her. She smiled for a moment, but the tears still rolled down her cheeks and so concerned was the Prophet (SAW) that he asked her once again what the matter was. The girl said her master would be angry at her for taking such a long time to return home. The Prophet (SAW) took her by the hand, bought the flour for her, and carried it all the way to the house of the girl’s master, which was reportedly on outskirts of the city. When the owner came to the door, the Prophet (SAW) told him that his servant girl had been with him and to therefore please excuse her. The master set the girl free on the spot because he said that not only had the girl been honored by the escort given to her by the Prophet (SAW), she was also the reason that the Prophet (SAW) visited his home.
Think about that for a second. This was the Last Messenger, the leader of an entire nation. He teaches hundreds of students, receives revelation from God, advises all the people who come to him, makes decisions that affect a whole country’s fate, prays more than half the night every day, and much more. Does he have time to attend to small things like a child’s worries in the “mall”? This was the man who understood kindness comes before everything.
There were other really amazing examples – but it would make this way too long of a post :P. You should’ve been at the khutbah!
The Islamic School Life 